Information Coping Skills

An intelligent constraint informs creative action by outlining the "sandbox" within which people can play and guides that action not just by pointing out what to pursue but perhaps more importantly what to ignore.

The pressing question for managers here is this: Are constraints preventing or propelling your innovation efforts? There is only one right answer.

I disagree with this. I use both methods for note taking, but taking handwritten notes help me because I get another chance to reflect on what was discussed.    

Love the "Not to do" list. Good idea

Some interesting informationa bout why we make to-do lists.    

Does not provide a solution or tip to making to do lists and ignoring them.

Great piece.   Love the idea of "calming technology" 

This is the question motivating the embryonic movement known variously as "calming technology", "the slow web", "conscious computing" or (Pang's preferred term) "contemplative computing". Its members hope that we might be able to perform a sneaky bit of jujitsu on the devices that dominate our lives: to turn the agents of distraction into agents of serenity. Their inventions so far include wearable sensors that deliver rewards ("calm points") for breathing well while you work, developed by Stanford University's calming technology laboratory; iPad apps to help you meditate yourself into a state of super-focused concentration; software that lets friends decide collectively to disable their smartphonesfor the duration of a restaurant meal; and scores of pieces of "zenware" designed to block distractions, with names such as Isolator andStayFocusd and Shroud and Turn Off The Lights. I wrote most of this article using OmmWriter, which filled my screen with a wintry backdrop of bare trees and my headphones with the hypnotic clanking of old railway engines. I also used f.lux, which changed the glare of my screen to yellowy evening light, precisely timed to synchronise with the sunset outside.

This isn't as bad as checking your mobile phone in the bathroom, but another piece of evidence that the Internet is continuing to have a dramatic impact on our daily lives.

More research on bathroom and technology:

Plus, a 2011 survey by Staples Advantage, a division of the office-supply giant, found that 35% of tablet owners brought their tablets into the bathroom. That’s more than those who brought them into restaurants (30%), though not as much as those who brought them into the bedroom (78%). Either way, Staples exec Ed Ludwigson said the surveys showed that tablets “offer fantastic convenience.”

Of course, if iPad fans don’t want to pay for a $100 bathroom stand, they have alternatives. On Apple and furniture-related message boards, iPad users boast of their homemade solutions for bathroom reading. Said one member of the MacRumors.com community: “I hot glued some small pieces of wood together to make a stand that holds the iPad at the perfect angle.” 

Some basic getting stuff done advice.

Some useful tips for brainstorming sessions.