Comments on: FlexTime 1.1a1 http://www.red-sweater.com/blog/210/flextime-11a1 Mac & Technology Writings by Daniel Jalkut Tue, 6 Jan 2009 23:11:16 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.7 hourly 1 By: Jan http://www.red-sweater.com/blog/210/flextime-11a1/comment-page-1#comment-19212 Jan Fri, 20 Oct 2006 17:12:35 +0000 http://www.red-sweater.com/blog/210/flextime-11a1#comment-19212 Yeah! Charles, I need just something like that. I tried post-itting a "keep going" note behind my display and I added that line to my desktop background, but all I do is not to look at the reminders. I'll give the random beeps a try. Thanks for sharing! :-) Jan -- Yeah! Charles, I need just something like that. I tried post-itting a “keep going” note behind my display and I added that line to my desktop background, but all I do is not to look at the reminders. I’ll give the random beeps a try. Thanks for sharing! :-)

Jan
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]]> By: Charles http://www.red-sweater.com/blog/210/flextime-11a1/comment-page-1#comment-19103 Charles Thu, 19 Oct 2006 22:31:38 +0000 http://www.red-sweater.com/blog/210/flextime-11a1#comment-19103 Well, you could probably just create a randomly timed popup that says "Hey get back to work!!" and it would be just as effective. Well, you could probably just create a randomly timed popup that says “Hey get back to work!!” and it would be just as effective.

]]> By: Daniel Jalkut http://www.red-sweater.com/blog/210/flextime-11a1/comment-page-1#comment-19097 Daniel Jalkut Thu, 19 Oct 2006 21:45:54 +0000 http://www.red-sweater.com/blog/210/flextime-11a1#comment-19097 Charles: Interesting story! Maybe I'll write a scripted cue that simply asks the user what they're doing, and stores it in a text file. That wat you know you're getting recorded and can't lie :) Charles: Interesting story! Maybe I’ll write a scripted cue that simply asks the user what they’re doing, and stores it in a text file. That wat you know you’re getting recorded and can’t lie :)

]]> By: Charles http://www.red-sweater.com/blog/210/flextime-11a1/comment-page-1#comment-19096 Charles Thu, 19 Oct 2006 21:41:58 +0000 http://www.red-sweater.com/blog/210/flextime-11a1#comment-19096 Your gadget reminded me of an old productivity research story I read many years ago. I read about how some efficiency experts were trying to measure the amount of time executives spent on each task during their work day. They couldn't do continuous monitoring, as their work behavior would be affected (perhaps even subconsciously) by them realizing they were being watched. So they decided on a statistical approach. They gave executives a little box with electronics that beeped every 15 minutes, and asked them to write down in a diary what they were doing when the beeper went off. Being thorough statisticians, they tried various timed approaches, like random intervals. General productivity was measured with the usual office metrics, like total work generated, time spent on completion of routine, fixed tasks, etc. Productivity was measured before the beepers were issued, as a control. What they found was surprising. As soon as they started issuing the beepers, productivity rose immediately. The statisticians despaired, the measurements were altered by the measurers. They tried to eliminate this as a factor, or else their study would provide no useful results. But then they finally realized what was happening. Whenever the beeper went off, the execs wrote down what they were doing, which might have been daydreaming or sipping coffee or whatever, but then they were jolted into a productive task (writing in the journal) and then they WENT BACK TO WORK. After the study was completed, some of the executives begged the statisticians to keep their beepers. They said it was just the sort of productivity booster they needed, it would nudge them every once in a while to quit loafing and get to work. Your gadget reminded me of an old productivity research story I read many years ago.
I read about how some efficiency experts were trying to measure the amount of time executives spent on each task during their work day. They couldn’t do continuous monitoring, as their work behavior would be affected (perhaps even subconsciously) by them realizing they were being watched.
So they decided on a statistical approach. They gave executives a little box with electronics that beeped every 15 minutes, and asked them to write down in a diary what they were doing when the beeper went off. Being thorough statisticians, they tried various timed approaches, like random intervals. General productivity was measured with the usual office metrics, like total work generated, time spent on completion of routine, fixed tasks, etc. Productivity was measured before the beepers were issued, as a control.
What they found was surprising. As soon as they started issuing the beepers, productivity rose immediately. The statisticians despaired, the measurements were altered by the measurers. They tried to eliminate this as a factor, or else their study would provide no useful results.
But then they finally realized what was happening. Whenever the beeper went off, the execs wrote down what they were doing, which might have been daydreaming or sipping coffee or whatever, but then they were jolted into a productive task (writing in the journal) and then they WENT BACK TO WORK.
After the study was completed, some of the executives begged the statisticians to keep their beepers. They said it was just the sort of productivity booster they needed, it would nudge them every once in a while to quit loafing and get to work.

]]> By: Jeroen Leenarts http://www.red-sweater.com/blog/210/flextime-11a1/comment-page-1#comment-19086 Jeroen Leenarts Thu, 19 Oct 2006 21:10:34 +0000 http://www.red-sweater.com/blog/210/flextime-11a1#comment-19086 I see, this would mean the right hand side is fixed in size in some way and other size is taken bij the left hand side. *If* the right hand side is to stay fixed then it would imply that it is best to show the time display at another area in the UI. I don't know your opinion on drawers: perhaps a drawer that drops down from the bottom of your app? Or an optional time display in the bottom part of the left hand side. Just some ideas. Couldn't find anything conclusive in Jenifer Tidwell's Designing Interfaces (great UI design pattern book ISBN 0-596-00803-1). I see, this would mean the right hand side is fixed in size in some way and other size is taken bij the left hand side.

*If* the right hand side is to stay fixed then it would imply that it is best to show the time display at another area in the UI. I don’t know your opinion on drawers: perhaps a drawer that drops down from the bottom of your app?

Or an optional time display in the bottom part of the left hand side. Just some ideas. Couldn’t find anything conclusive in Jenifer Tidwell’s Designing Interfaces (great UI design pattern book ISBN 0-596-00803-1).

]]> By: Daniel Jalkut http://www.red-sweater.com/blog/210/flextime-11a1/comment-page-1#comment-19083 Daniel Jalkut Thu, 19 Oct 2006 21:00:40 +0000 http://www.red-sweater.com/blog/210/flextime-11a1#comment-19083 Hi Jeroen: that's a possibility. The main reason right now is that the other UI that lives in that part of the screen while the routine is not running, it's not resilient to being resized. But that is certainly something I could look into. Hi Jeroen: that’s a possibility. The main reason right now is that the other UI that lives in that part of the screen while the routine is not running, it’s not resilient to being resized. But that is certainly something I could look into.

]]> By: Jeroen Leenarts http://www.red-sweater.com/blog/210/flextime-11a1/comment-page-1#comment-19082 Jeroen Leenarts Thu, 19 Oct 2006 20:59:16 +0000 http://www.red-sweater.com/blog/210/flextime-11a1#comment-19082 Why ot make the vertical splitter dragable (If it isn't already, haven't tried your app) and rescale the right hand side accordingly? Why ot make the vertical splitter dragable (If it isn’t already, haven’t tried your app) and rescale the right hand side accordingly?

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