Archive for the ‘work’ Category
Bike to Work Week 2009
Summer has more or less come to Milwaukee so it’s time to get back on the saddle : Bike to Work Week 2009 is here!
We had nice weather on all but 1 day this week, and I’m on track to ride to work 3 of 5 days. I find that I consistently overestimate the “hassle factor” of biking to work and I underestimate how great I feel after 30 minutes of moderately vigorous exercise in the morning.
Since the 2008 season, I’ve made some observations and modifications to my bicycling routine that helped a lot:
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Dress the part – Bicycle shorts look silly but they really do help. Add a bicycling jersey or other top and you’ll notice the difference.
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Get a rack – A rear rack and pair of panniers (or saddlebags) can comfortably carry a lot of gear. I used to use my Timbuk2 messenger bag and found that the strap would get uncomfortable. With the panniers, I have full range of motion and can carry my work clothes, computer/supplies, and a lunchbox.
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Plan for flats – Ride long enough and you will get a flat. A spare tube, tire levers, and CO2 canister are very easy to pack in a small kit and will get you back on the road in no time.
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Winter training helps – After blowing out my knees from marathon training, I switched to stationary bike for the winter. Remarkably, the work I put in during the off season translated to much faster/easier cycling on the real bike.
To keep myself honest, I’m tracking my commute for the rest of the year based on transportation mode. (Using my new favorite data collection + display tool DAYTUM):
Filed under Milwaukee, energy, work : Comments (1) : Jun 11th, 2009
The New Socialism (WIRED Magazine)
Don’t be frightened by the title. This article is actually a pretty good review of how social media is redefining many of the concepts we learned to abhor from previous incarnations of socialism.
This is why I love WIRED magazine. They’re willing to write about ideas and concepts before they’re fully formed and ready for mainstream consumption. Best $12 I spend each year.
Filed under culture, economics, work : Comments (0) : Jun 4th, 2009
How could 100 Million drivers be wrong?
Some statistics about our automobile culture to ponder:
- American adults average 72 minutes a day behind the wheel of a car, according to the WorldWatch Institute.
- That’s more than twice as much time as the average American father spends with their kids, according to the United States Department of Labor.
- It’s the equivalent, if you do the math, of just over one eight-hour workday a week or just under 11 40-hour work-weeks a year.
- According the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 17 percent of the average American’s income goes on the costs of owning and running a car.
- That means, in other words, that we spend eight weeks of every year working to pay for our cars.
- Putting it all together, we Americans spend the equivalent of nearly five work-months a year either driving our cars or working to pay for them.
- And a lot of the time, reports the Texas Transportation Institute, we aren’t even getting anywhere, since we annually spend the equivalent of 105 million weeks of vacation sitting in traffic jams.
- Every ten minutes we spend commuting, according to Robert Putnam’s Bowling Alone, means 10 percent less connection with our friends and communities.
- Even if you don’t own a car, research also shows that the more traffic on our city street the fewer friends we have, because the traffic causes to spend less time hanging out in our neighborhood.
- You don’t need to own a car either to breathe the 70 to 80 percent of air pollution that automobiles and trucks contribute in New York, Los Angeles, and Dallas, according to the Environmental Defense Fund
- Meanwhile, studies show that the more a nation’s citizens commute by walking, biking and public transportation, the less obese they are.
- To top it all off, people who ride bikes or walk to work are 24 percent more likely to be happy with their commute than those who drive their cars.
Your thoughts?
Filed under culture, energy, environment, work : Comments (3) : Mar 2nd, 2009
The opportunity cost of corporate bureaucracy
I’ve had lots of time to reflect on the causes and effects of corporate bureaucracy at my current job. I’ve watched it spread right before my eyes. During my first year, I actually generated some bureaucracy myself (I’m sorry!). We all know that bureaucracy is ultimately counter-productive, but lots of intelligent people seem to spread it almost by second nature. Strange.
My thesis on why bureaucracy is so dangerous is that it’s not a zero-sum game. If I spend 1 hour filling out banal spreadsheets, forms, and templates, I don’t just lose one productive hour. I lose much more–my current estimate is at least at 4x multiplier. I’ve lost the opportunity for 4 hours of creative, productive work because I spent just one hour on bureaucracy.
There’s a reason that most (all?) highly-creative jobs are done by individuals or small teams. As a working group grows, bureaucracy almost always grows with it. At some point, the bureaucracy (with its 4x multiplier) overtakes creativity as the dominant force. Bureaucratic groups are still productive, but rarely are they creative. And within those groups, the remaining creative-types tend to work in small enclaves mostly shielded from the rest of the corporate culture.
Do not give up. There is a solution (I think).
As with most addictions, the first step is admitting the problem. Judging from the popularity of Dilbert, I think most corporate-types have already done this to some extent.
The next step is to deal with the problem. Aggressively. If you’re in a leadership position, make bureaucracy-killing a highly rewarded and highly publicized skill. Find those bureaucracy killers in your organization and empower them. (Hint : they will not be found in any of the large consulting firms [see above for why]. Second hint : they are almost certainly under 30 [and probably under 25].)
Celebrate every template that is slain.
Make “team meetings” and “status updates” rare or non-existent.
Write this on every one of your team members (and your) yearly goals :
I will kill bureaucracy this year.
The word “kill” is not hyperbole. If you don’t kill bureaucracy, it will kill your team’s creativity, productivity, and passion. Don’t become the Pointy Hair Boss.
Filed under culture, work : Comments (1) : Dec 16th, 2008
Bike to work : an update
This week I really hit my stride with the whole bike commuter scene. Somewhat by necesity (my car was in the shop), I rode to work 3 days in a row. After experimenting with a few different routes, I’ve found the optimal balance between distance, traffic, hills, and road conditions (in my case, Wisconsin Ave and State Street). I also discovered realized that my office building has a bike rack on the same side of the building as the gym (& showers) so I can minimize the risk of bumping into anyone in my sweaty condition.
I had my first roadside flat today, but fortunately I had all the necessary equipment to fix it. Surprisingly, it only took about 10 minutes to get back on the bike with a new tube. (I guess I just earned my bike commuter street cred?)
The biking itself is getting easier and faster. I can now consistently make the commute in 30 minutes, which compares very favorably to driving by car. I’ve noticed that I’m eating about 1000 more calories on the days I ride, but I suppose this is in line with the energy I’m using.
Final verdict : bike commuting is easy! fun! inexpensive! green! You should try it too.
Filed under energy, environment, frugal, work : Comments (3) : Jul 17th, 2008
