No dead air please (day 114)

Multitasking was a desirable trait back in the early 90s.  Saying you were a multitasker was a winning interview strategy.  Multitasking meant you got a lot done.  Now the word is old and the belief is waning.  Whatever way it's sliced, the time to do something is the time to do something.  The real killer quality is the ability to find the minimum amount of time to do something particularly amongst other things.  Optimization is key.

If I had an app in my iphone that could somehow tell me the most efficient thing to do given:

• the list of things pending
• deadlines
  
• the time before my next meeting, lunch time, etc.
• proximity and availability of resources
• time of day
• location
• energy level
  

...I would be very efficient.   My friend Christopher gave an example of an app that would be aware of all the gifts you need to buy in the next year and the state of your bank account.  It could then suggest that you stop in at certain stored based on proximity to a store, state of bank account, and the other person's preference.   It may start to feel like an onboard gps navigator: "please turn left.  turn around.  turn around. "  Maybe it could be a once a day schedule suggestion based on previously entered data, which would be less annoying.

It is based on a notion of slotting in the appropriate thing at the appropriate time which is the hardest problem most of us face in our work lives.   But it comes with an assumption of complete quantifiable data.  Even if that assumption were satisfied, someone would have to enter that data.  Would it be worth it?  Perhaps if some learning was taking place over time and the dependence on the app lessened. 

I can't shake the idea that the solution may be in doing less though.

A song for this post.