43 Folders

Back to Work

Merlin’s weekly podcast with Dan Benjamin. We talk about creativity, independence, and making things you love.

Join us via RSS, iTunes, or at 5by5.tv.

”What’s 43 Folders?”
43Folders.com is Merlin Mann’s website about finding the time and attention to do your best creative work.

Contexts for academia

What contexts do folks involved in academia find work well? I divided my contexts into "Need brain" and "Don't need brain", but my "Need brain" group seems to need some additional granularity, but I can't quite figure out of what sort.

I've been considering a context that is basically "need at least an hour of uninterrupted time"--but it's rare for that context to actually arise when the term is in session.

Anyway, I was just curious what other people who are academics do in terms of contexts. (I have searched the forums and found some answers, but not quite the answer as to what people find works well)

Thanks

Penny's picture

Except my list of things...

terceiro;10350 wrote:

Except my list of things to read is either too long or too silly. Do I want to have "Read chapter 1 of X" followed by new NAs for each chapter? If not, then do you put "Read X" as a single NA even though it'll take you seven hours to complete?

I tend to have NAs that say "Read X a bit". When I decided I've read X enough - which may be a paragraph or three chapters depending on my mood and inclination - I'll cross it off and put "Read X a bit" as a new item later on the list. FWIW, my NA lists are all paper, so this effectively rearranges the list, and makes me feel I'm progressing on that task.

(BTW, Hi, this is my first post. But I've been reading 43 folders for a while.)

 
EXPLORE 43Folders THE GOOD STUFF

Popular
Today

Popular
Classics

An Oblique Strategy:
Honor thy error as a hidden intention


STAY IN THE LOOP:

Subscribe with Google Reader

Subscribe on Netvibes

Add to Technorati Favorites

Subscribe on Pageflakes

Add RSS feed

The Podcast Feed

Cranking

Merlin used to crank. He’s not cranking any more.

This is an essay about family, priorities, and Shakey’s Pizza, and it’s probably the best thing he’s written. »

Scared Shitless

Merlin’s scared. You’re scared. Everybody is scared.

This is the video of Merlin’s keynote at Webstock 2011. The one where he cried. You should watch it. »