Keyboard Karma Blog ~ Helen Crozier

Randy Pausch: may you continue to lecture forever

It's strange that with the current way information travels almost faster than the speed of light I could totally 'miss' the phenomenon that is Randy Pausch,  Computer Science Professor at Carnegie Mellon University. In September of last year he delivered a what is now famous 'last lecture' entitled "Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams".  The reason I found out about him (albeit belatedly) is he also delivered an inspiring lecture on time management which popped up in my rss feeds. In August he was told he had 3-6 months of good health left. Pancreatic cancer is waging war on his body - secondaries in his liver. I downloaded both lectures and started to get to 'know' him. He's a totally wonderful, charismatic being. I then panicked and was afraid to find the news that he had perhaps passed away. Thankfully not. I was relieved beyond belief that he was so far proving stronger than what was trying to destroy him. The update on his web page says that he has been approved for a treatment involving radioactive injections into the liver. I hope and pray that this treatment will give Randy more time - he really doesn't want to leave and from the response to the lectures  on youtube plus the ABC special show - many many people do not want him to go either. If you get the chance watch his lectures. Both are incredible. His book has been released as well and can be purchased from Amazon. More resources are available here. Read, watch & listen to this man - he has a lot of important information about life that he has generously shared with us - intending it to be a legacy for his three beautiful children. I keep reminding myself ever since I watched the lectures on my ipod how unbelievably important it is that we get this time management thing sussed.... if only so we get more hours to have 'fun with the ones we love'. Essential tools for this? An electronic calendar, PDA or paper diary.... a to do list..... a filing system.... an empty email inbox..... a man after my own heart!!

Birthday Coach gets spoilt rotten

OK so it was my birthday today - late January not a great time for celebration - we are kind of all 'over it' by then and it always coincides with the back to school rush....so I was very pleasantly surprised with lots of special spoiling. A nice new 8gb nano in calm blue (needless to say it's gorgeous) ..... a promise of a weekend away at the Peppers Bale Salt Resort in April, two gorgeous homemade cards from my sweet 'babies'..... lunch at the delectable Whitewater and then a visit from a great friend who so generously gave me a Maggie's Harvest .....
I've downloaded a few ABC Television shows which is exciting so if I dare to experience insomnia I can discretely catch up on the First Tuesday Book Club and no-one will be any wiser.  New technology, a  promise of a child-free weekend away to look forward to, the most spectacular food book .... what a lucky lucky girl...

Zen To Done: The Simple Productivity E-Book!

Zen Habits won "Best Overall Blog 2007" and it's not hard to see why if you hang out there for a while. Leo Babauta's a brilliant writer and seeing as I"m the 'calm tech coach' I can relate well to his 'zen' habits.

Zen Habits covers: achieving goals, productivity, being organized, GTD, motivation, eliminating debt, saving, getting a flat stomach, eating healthy, simplifying, living frugal, parenting, happiness, and successfully implementing good habits.

This morning I purchased his e-book Zen to Done and read it from cover to cover. One of the best e-books around - you can buy it here and the reason I recommend it is that it merges some of the best productivity theories around (David Allen, Stephen Covey) but brings a whole new fresh look of simplicity and possiblity to the idea of getting the IMPORTANT done rather than just the URGENT.  I'm going to buy more copies and GIVE them to my clients.

What is ZTD?

Simply put, Zen To Done is a simple system to get you more organized and productive, and keep your life saner and less stressed, with a set of habits. ZTD teaches you:

1. The key habits needed to be productive, organized, and simplified … and no more than that.
2. How to implement these key habits … tips on forming a habit.
3. How to organize these habits into a simple system that will keep everything in your life in its place.
4. How to simplify what you need to do.
5. Minimal ZTD. Also includes an even simpler version called Minimal ZTD.

Leo's got an astronomical 32900 subscribers to his blog - and the great news is that today he QUIT HIS DAY JOB and he attributes the success of his e-book to being able to do that so let's keep buying his work and supporting him.

Congratulations Leo I'm so happy for you!

Slow Guide - Sydney

I was in Dymocks Bookstore yesterday and I swear I truly love being in a book shop almost if not as much as being in an Apple Store. I found this gorgeous book - the SLOW guide to Sydney (live more, fret less) and seeing as I've not been the calmest lately I thought I'd grab a copy and check it out. "Whether it's urbanisation, consumerism, technology or globalisation, the truth is everything has become a race to the finish line - with a price" - how yuk and how true!!!The writers describe it as a city guide in praise of wonderful, rich, soul-tingling slowness. A guide that reveals the best places in the city to reconnect with your passion for food, hand-made fashion or gifts, architecturally stunning buildings or parks that are brimming with flora and fauna. Excellent.... I shall use this on my tech-fast days and report back.
There is a website where you can peek inside, and also a Melbourne guide.
PS I've set up a new blog category SlowCoach :-)

"Almost-Perfect Marriage" Relationship Refresher

On Monday I heard the promo for that night's ABC's Night Life Radio show which was featuring Stephanie Dowrick talking about her new book The Almost-Perfect Marriage. Made a mental note to listen but life got in the way. Thank God for podcasts!! I've just been listening to the recording while I work on the computer now and it's terrific. She is well aware that men aren't too keen in general on reading heavy relatinship books so she's put together these "one minute relationship skills" for time-poor readers. You can buy the book from Stephanie's online bookshop (which has an enormous selection of titles) or in any other good book store. Dymocks even offer a digital version in case you get the urge to read it late at night when the shops aren't open. The podcast is currently available from  the ABC website here but I suspect they only keep the current week's shows available so don't leave it too long to download.

How much MSN is too much?

Today at 5.30pm I was walking the dog at the ocean, grabbing some oxygen after too many hours working at the computer. I'd promised myself a swim because it was such a gorgeous day but the work was never-ending so this walk was a compromise.  Two girls got out of a car parked near by and walked past me. This is the fragment of conversation I heard as they were passing. They were possibly 18 or so.... hard to say.

Girl A: I've just spent five hours on MSN
Girl B: With "What's his face?"
Girl A: Yeah!

Call me old-fashioned but it was an absolutely brilliant sunny day and if I had five hours up my sleeve....... arrrrgghhhh.......

Online tool calculates your risk for Breast Cancer

I've been through this calculator twice - just to confirm my result. My risk was assessed as being 'low' which is good I guess. While this doesn't at all replace physical checks it does help educate us on risk factors and what has raised or lowered your risk depending on how you answer the questions.

One thing that lowered my risk was having my first child before I was 30 (I squeezed that in by 3 weeks). What raised my risk was that my weight was slightly above my recommended BMI and I have one drink per day (it wouldn't let me put in half a drink per day which is probably closer). Confirmed my need to take some health action so for the whole of November I'm off caffeine, sugar & alcohol yikes!

Read about the risk calculator here.
Click here to calculate your risk.