Engines of Work

Everyone has things they use to solve problems. As I have mentioned numerous times, for it is list and schematics and maps. This is how I parse problems.

The idea I'm having can go in a few ways, but at its base is that everyone has their own set of tools that they can use to get at the thinking they want the best way they can. And premade sets of tools aren't going to necessarily get you there. They may even end up hurting your thinking in the long run.

Take Microsoft Office for example. I hate spreadsheets. Sure they are a powerful tool, but that is not my thing. And all office programs revolve around that sort of thing. Now what I think would be better would be a way to customize the tools that are available to you. Maybe you would pick the types of settings you like to see for each type of tool and then have those pre-populated in a set of tools that actually functioned as your own personalized set.

But I don't mean to make this just about computer programs. That is the second part of the idea. Which is that if you can't get computer programs that are your custom set of tools and you can't build your own computer program, you might be better off switching back to the analog pen and page.

For me, I could probably make a really cool binder/date planner sort of thing that had my favourite type of paper with the right lines or no lines and had a little calendar and a phone booky thing and a page with stamps and envelopes and stuff. And maps, or paper to draw my own maps.

And I could put that together myself. It would be my specialized work suite. With everything I need for my own personal productivity. Altho I would probably like a box or a kit of some sort that could also hold my pens and stuff too.

But that is just me. Maybe yours is Google Apps and somehow you fit perfectly into the mold that is already out there. Tevs.