Brilla.org

The last couple years have been about things cheap, fast, and accessible. Google and Wikipedia cemented themselves as de-facto brain extensions for anyone working on the web. Twitter became the 140 character venue for the A.D.D. blogger. Life hacks, lists of 46 best blanks to do blank. Even a broader sense of advertising: getting ripped in two weeks with one simple rule. Lose weight & get rich fast have been around for a while now, but you see what I’m getting at.

But there’s a new trend we’re seeing here. Lots of brilliant web thinkers (and even celebrities-turned-Twitter allstars) are turning a new leaf. Project52 insists we start blogging again and revive this mostly-dead medium. Guys like Anil, Merlin and Seth are beckoning us to reach a little deeper and put a lot of creative force and focus into what you produce. Derek dissects burnout beautifully. My buddy Jay has kindly asked all the hack get-rich-on-bullshit-content people to leave his internet alone. Rob Goodlatte preaches it. Even Mister Santa Maria’s new manifesto is fucking righteous.

I am thrilled to see a slow shift away from the hyper-multi-tasking life. From spreading ourselves so thin; we’ve done that. I feel like we as a small society of designers, developers and nerds, have proven to ourselves that we can juggle 528 things at once. But also, we’re going to start getting picky and turning away the 524 things we don’t want to do, and start focusing the handful of engaging projects where our passion lies.

THEN. Oh man. Big beautiful nasty things are going to start surfacing. Geeks being geeks for the sake of being geeks, and not just to fulfill a stakeholder’s wish or some bloated business objective, man. The Pictorys, and the Favrds (bless its little heart); the stuff EJS is talking about.

And, as I wrap up this post now, I see Jina writing on a very similar theme.

I have seen the future, people. It is lovely.

These days, we do a lot. A LOT. I don’t even have wife/kids/mortgage to tangle with, or a business to run, and still I feel too busy for my own good sometimes. We have come to expect that out of ourselves; the world being so small and our ability to move so fast, I want to sink my teeth into everything I see.

And we can almost do it, too, if we’re organized enough.

But organization was never my strong suit!

… understatement of the year. There is no way I can get organized to do EVERYTHING I’d like to do—but damn if I can’t fake it! I had an idea today on how to feign organization, efficiency, and other valuable managerial terms.

First, look at all the roles we play to others every single day. On a daily basis, I am a friend. Brother. Son. Coworker. Stranger. Some days, I am also an actor, ultimate frisbee player, or motorist. Some other days, I need to fake like a mechanic, a writer, or a salesman.

Get a list of these roles together. Then once a week, pick three (3) of those roles, and focus that week on being a better ____.

Say, motorist: Get that car tuned up, oil checked, and give it a good wash.
Son: Call your Dad, just ’cause. Shoot the shit, or ask him for practical fatherly advice. Send Mom flowers.
Coworker: Buy the office a box of donuts. Be more proactive in following up on emails & calls. People notice.

Or heck, try out one thing you don’t already do. Make this the week you pick up a book on kiteboarding at the library, or go get First Aid certification.

Three sounds not overwhelming, and a week seems like a healthy time period to spread out conscious, focused efforts on doing these better.

& on that note… Imma go buy a dry erase board to keep track of my 3 things each week.