The answer was “yes.”

Automate what you do. Just don’t tell your boss that that is why you are so productive.

Good to know that you are a professional editor, Johanna, but honestly, to me, his style of writing doesn’t need to be more warm and fuzzy. Many folks need a decent nudge now and again to get them moving. I find most of Trent’s writing to be soft and non-confrontational enough, no need to make it squishier. I feel his writing appeals to the types of people looking for personal reflections as well as concrete ideas for making difficult changes in their lives. This post offers concrete ideas that everyone can implement, in some form or another, to do just that. If they don’t apply to you personally, then I applaud you. What’s your secret?

And I *am* a professional editor.

It doesn’t matter what I read, or where, I never assume that a writer is necessarily singling me out when he advocates/cautions/advises, etc with his words. Any work, in general, but especially a web blog, is about a point of view. Inherently going to be subjective.

Trent’s work never strikes me as being about pigeonholing people. If the advice applies, use it. If not, ignore it. That’s pretty much how Trent presents all his work, for those who may have missed that obvious positioning.

Unlike a lot of the self-styled gurus out there, he is not preaching the “word” and does not believe that his thoughts/ideas are the “law.” He’s not dictating, he’s suggesting. Perhaps some of you don’t recognize the difference.

If you don’t like his writing style, so be it. But unless you’re a professional editor he’s hired to work for him, how he writes something is not the issue. Focus on his ideas and thoughts. DOn’t worry about rewriting copy for him so it’s more palatable for you! Please.

And if you have something to say beyond comments, write your own blog articles.

Heck, I’ll read a 400 page ‘how to’ book and be happy if there are three or four (out of dozens) of points that will be of benefit to my situation. It only takes a few to make the book pay for itself many times over. (The rest is entertainment).

That said, this topic has been in the back of my mind all day, even before I read Trent’s post. While I’m swamped with work now, I’m making notes on organizing projects I want to do, forms I want to revamp, and software tricks I want to learn when I *will* have downtime in another month or two. I consider these tasks to be gifts to my future self.

Very timely post, Trent — thank you!

Good post! ;-)

“One, clean your workspace.” I
loath my (dis)ability for procrastination…

I love it, by the way…though I’m striving to actually practice what I preach.

For example: “One, clean your workspace. Get rid of the junk sitting on your desk. Go through it and either file it or trash it, since that’s where most of it should be. Throw away any garbage you have lying around.”

Trent does not know what my workspace looks like or whether it needs cleaning. He does not know how much stuff is on my desk, or how much of that is junk that belongs in the trash. (In fact, my desk does not need cleaning today because I just cleaned it yesterday, as I do every month when I finish a big project. I don’t need the stuff from last month’s project anymore, so I filed it away.)

My criticism here is not that this particular piece of advice does not apply to me – obviously, not every piece of advice is going to apply to every reader – but that it is phrased as though it does. It gives me the impression that it’s never occurred to Trent that there might be someone out there whose desk does not need cleaning. But he could have given the same advice, phrased differently, without giving that impression. Something like, “Look around your workspace. Does it need cleaning? Maybe you have piles of junk on your desk, like I used to have, that slow you down every time you need to find something. Could some of that stuff be filed away, or thrown in the trash?”

I just keep forgetting to mention that I did something to make my job easier/quicker so I can focus on more important things to my boss…

My office also relies a lot on paper and written documents, but in my spare time, I’ve tried to type them all up in one main directory on the computer so I’m not flipping through dozens of pages.

Efficiency works! (And should be taught at any workplace.)

I also use my extra time to focus on my blog and read other blogs so it all works out!

Nearly any job in an organization can be subbed out today, if need be, but the person who can handle multiple responsibilities is a real asset and might also have a deeper understanding of what it takes to run the business apart from his own job.