Uncategorized | Leif Baradoy

Public comment on upcoming art installation along the Arkansas River. Reported in Harper’s, 2/2012, pg. 21.

17-01-2012

We do need artists … but we also need the people who tell them they’re being ridiculous.

Getting shit done

12-01-2012

“Getting shit done”; that’s a fun phrase I like to use, mostly because it helps me feel like my to do list is badass—necessary but nonetheless edgy. But, I also employ this phrase for another reason, which is the reason for this post.

Suffering a moment of self-reflective honesty (as I sometimes do), I realized again that so much of the shit I get done is just that: shit. How did I come to be a creature that feels some degree of fulfillment (not to mention superiority) for making a list and then crossing items off the list?

While a love of lists has certainly helped me progress and organize myself, projects, and teams, I remain vigilant. I check-in and ask whether I am making real progress or whether I’m simply conjuring up the feeling of progress despite remaining still. Confusion between the real and the fake endangers myself and my team.

Thus, the phrase “getting shit done” serves its purpose: to remind me of the distinction between illusory and real progress.

Focused effort

11-01-2012

The Counter-Intuitive Benefits of Small Time Blocks

Wonderful quick post over at 99% on the value of short, focused periods of work, which is my style of getting things done. I often make a plan or create a deadline for myself that forces a sprint then it’s down to work.

Analogies: Urban Cycling -> Startup

10-01-2012

Parallels: Urban cycling and startup

Hammering on the bike through the slick street of Victoria a few days back, I started drawing an analogy between cycling and startups. While analogies are never perfect (since A does not equal B), here are some of my thoughts.

(1) Purposeful speed

When I commute on my bike, it is for a reason. I am going somewhere. Speed is not the point; the destination is. I aim to get to my destination as quickly as possible. Speed is an important factor, but not the only one.

(2) Safe as possible in a risky activity

Urban cycling is not safe, but there are many things riders can do to diminish risk: knowing the rules of the road, anticipating the movement of vehicles and flow of traffic, rapid reflexes and reaction time, functioning equipment. One never knows what the road will bring. A person attentive to their situation will avoid accidents and arrive safe.

(3) Basic equipment

I want the best bikes (n+1), the nicest kit and apparel, the fanciest bike computers, the newest tires and components, and constant service from a world-class mechanic. Of course, the fantasy of wants differs from what is possible in my present reality. What do I actually need? What can I currently afford? What can I creatively DIY or repurpose to make functional?

Identifying and accepting the non-negotiable and then prioritizing the nice-to-haves means I manage to get where I need to go, I just have to work a little harder to get there.

08-01-2012