It was a long time ago. I was working for a cable TV company. Internet was booming in Poland. I started to learn Linux and wanted to change my job. The opportunity came as my company bought the Sun Microsystems server. I called my director, and full of enthusiasm, I explained why I was a good candidate.
In response, he bluntly asked me: do you know how expensive this computer was?
It was a long time ago. At that time, I was not too fond of trekking. Yet, I was there, exhausted, but happy. I was at the top of the mountain. I was with my friend who convinced me to go for this journey with him. To our surprise, there was a place where we could buy hot food. My friend asked me did I want anything. I said something like “yes probably, just bring me something”. He disappeared, and a moment later, he was back with a juicy, beautifully smelling burger. He brought me … nothing. I was furious. I was blaming him. It was years after when I realised that it was me who was wrong, and there is the right way to hold people accountable.
Read More »The right way to hold people accountable
What do you think when you hear the word “responsibility”? The place where I come from (Poland) it usually has negative connotations, and it means you are in trouble. You broke the glass, you are responsible, and you need to pay for it. It comes hand in hand with the fact that our education systems teach us to avoid failures. All of that combined makes us think that responsibility is a bad thing, and we should avoid being responsible for things in our lives. Is this the full picture? What if we look at this from a different angle? If I am responsible, it means I am response-able – able to respond, able to think logically and move, fix and correct things around me. Let’s take a look at the Responsibility Process.
Read More »The Responsibility Process: How to Overcome Challenges and Take Personal Responsibility
Are you tired of constantly switching between apps? Maybe you feel like there’s never enough time in the day to get everything done?
Well, my friend, it’s time to introduce you to the game-changing world of automation. I hope this introduction to Apple Shortcuts will get you some inspiration. And it will inspire you to use more automation and gain more time for yourself and your family. How to automate your life? Let’s dive in!
When I arrived at the airport to start a new life in a new country, I had one suitcase, hand luggage and a laptop. For many years we haven’t moved practically anything from Poland. We handed over the household appliances because they did not fit the English plugs. The books were also given away because initially, we only rented a room, and every free corner was worth its weight in gold. Then, as we got back on our feet in the new conditions and enlarged our living space, my wife and I started to accumulate things … things that we had to get rid of. But how to do it? How to declutter your house in one day?
Read More »How to declutter your house in one day?
It is fast, it is different, and it is not backwards compatible. It protects your private data. But what matters the most to me, it saves me a ton of time by providing several productivity-boosting solutions. Does your email save or waste your time? Or quite the opposite, it’s your alerting system? I am saying “bye” to the oldie but goodie email to say hey to Hey. Let me explHEYn.
Read More »Hey there, does your email save you time?
In previous posts, I shared what we have seen and what we have learned during our dad and son trip through Europe last year. In this closing blog post, I would like to share how did I prepare and what technology I used to help to make our trip the most effective, smooth and memorable. I was travelling on my own with 6yo kid. We didn’t want to rush, so we designed our trip in a way that the distance to go every day was not vast. We allowed for spontaneity and thanks to this principle we saw a lot of beautiful places. It was amazing.
On the other hand, I knew that travelling with a kid will be challenging and I felt responsible. I allowed to be spontaneous, but I also prepared as much as I could. I would like to share some tactics, applications and tools for travelling. I hope it may inspire you and it will be helpful.
You decided to step into the people leader role. There is a good chance, however, you still have been helping your team with daily operations. At some point, you noticed that to accomplish all things that are on your plate, your day would need to have 26 hours. You may even look to time management technics, just to find out that you cannot manage time. You can only control yourself in time. Maybe it is a good moment to shift the focus? It is time to let the team run with daily operations and start to learn a new role. But how to start your professional development as a leader?
Read More »How to start professional development
October 30 in 1938. An actor Orson Welles announced to radio listeners that Martians were invading the Earth. People believed in that news. It caused real chaos. It turned, it was the realistic dramatisation of the famous science-fiction book “The War of the Worlds”. The information was very convincing. The radio station clarified that it was a weekly broadcast of the new series created in collaboration with the Mercury Theatre. It was a fake news story. Fast forward a few decades, and we have a fresh take on the news business. With better technology, the global connection of the internet, and instant gratification urge, we look for thrilling news, constant entertainment and the satisfying rush of dopamine. Our challenge is the same – how to spot a fake news story?
Read More »How to spot a fake news story
In the previous post, I presented a list of on-line resources that may help when we need to work from home and also manage with homeschooling, education and also entertain our kids. It looks like it is a popular topic these days, so I would like to present another way to keep the whole family entertained. Google 3D Augmented Reality. Thanks to this technology you can experience real size animals like tiger in your living room, a snake in your shower, or a bear in your garden. Thanks to Google collaboration with NASA, you can also generate some planets, including the Earth 🌏 load into your bedroom and have a vertical journey with your little astronauts before you go to sleep.
Read More »3D Augmented Reality – a snake in my shower and a bear in my garden