Don't worry, I'm not going to delve into the world of cat blogging, but I learned something here…
On Saturday morning, I put the kettle on to boil water for coffee and started making my breakfast. Our large fluffy orange cat sat on the other end of the counter next to the stove and was quietly eyeing my breakfast. If you've never seen a cat stalk their prey, it's an interesting experience. They hunch down, focus their eyes, turn their ears, swish their tails, and prepare their mighty leap. Everything was fine except for the fluffy swishing tail next to the stove…
Seeing all of this made me think of CaseySoftware and some of the goals and practices which I've followed so far. Am I so focused on a certain opportunities to the point of ignoring possible threats and risks coming from other directions? Are all of these actually threats or simply unrecognized opportunities for which we aren't prepared for?
After checking on his tail, I went back to my office and re-evaluated some things. I have a trio of places where all my tasking and priorities are managed. The first and most obvious is dotProject. This list is the most comprehensive by far and always has deadlines attached. The second list is managed via Basecamp. This is a general todo list without deadlines that describe overall items. Finally, I have a tried and true notebook which travels with me everywhere and is my immediately log during meetings, calls, etc.
In the meantime, there are some major dotProject and CaseySoftware/dotProject efforts happening simultaneously splitting my attention. Some are purely development-related, others are documentation-related, and others are purely support-related. While all are important and demonstrate a growing dotProject community, some have a great deal more potential and strength than others. Throughout this week, I have been reviewing priorities and analyzing the different projects to determine the best mix. I can't say that I've discovered the best combination or even that I'm complete, but it certainly got me thinking…
Just to let you know about the cat, he didn't ignite himself this time around. He has burned his nose on candles once or twice and still doesn't seem to get the idea…