nikhilbhaskaran's posterous http://nikhilbhaskaran.posterous.com random thoughts posterous.com Thu, 14 Apr 2011 15:36:00 -0700 Backup! http://nikhilbhaskaran.posterous.com/backup http://nikhilbhaskaran.posterous.com/backup

It is always a good idea to back up your data regularly. Drive failure is inevitable, but unpredictable. However, most drives do make sounds that can clue you into their impending demise. Datacent has uploaded this handy collection of sounds of hard drives that are about to kick the bucket.


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http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/1066410/DSC_8885.jpg http://posterous.com/users/hdKDJWsEAJWX0 Nikhil Bhaskaran nikhilbhaskaran Nikhil Bhaskaran
Sat, 26 Mar 2011 00:37:16 -0700 Making sense of my weight gain http://nikhilbhaskaran.posterous.com/making-sense-of-my-weight-gain http://nikhilbhaskaran.posterous.com/making-sense-of-my-weight-gain

I just came across this on Lifehacker today. This makes so much sense! My sleep habits started taking a dive when I started working night shifts. It was so difficult to change my circadian rhythm that I wouldn't get enough sleep. I haven't work night shifts in more than 5 years now, but I have moved half-way across the world, so in effect, my days and nights have flipped. I have trouble falling asleep*, but when I do fall asleep, I have no trouble sleeping for 8-9 hours at a stretch, but I usually cannot, because I have to get in to work at a decent hour. 

*I have trouble falling asleep because I can never fully unplug. I'm always either checking email, browsing facebook, or twitter, watching TV, or Netflix. The only thing that helps me sleep is reading a book, but I haven't done that in a while. I really need to reset my sleep clock.

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http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/1066410/DSC_8885.jpg http://posterous.com/users/hdKDJWsEAJWX0 Nikhil Bhaskaran nikhilbhaskaran Nikhil Bhaskaran
Tue, 08 Mar 2011 19:09:21 -0800 Feedback http://nikhilbhaskaran.posterous.com/feedback http://nikhilbhaskaran.posterous.com/feedback

I recently received some indirect (from them to my manager, and from manager to me) positive feedback about my mentorship from a colleague. And this got me thinking about how important feedback is. It helps you know if you are on the right track with what you are doing. There were some challenges mentoring this person and, I must admit, it was pretty frustrating. In a moment of inspiration (or maybe reflection*) I decided to change my strategy. Instead of giving them an answer to their question, I sat them down and had them derive the answer to the question by themselves. At the end of it, my colleague knew the part of the product for which they had the question like the back of their hand. And they thanked me for taking the time to walk them through it. 

Thanks to this feedback, I know I am on the right track with mentoring this person, and this makes my job easier. They think that they were the only one who stood to gain, but they are wrong. I learnt something too :).

 

*I remembered that sometime in the past, I was that kind of person that might have caused a lot of frustrations for my colleagues with the constant questions. If it wasn't for their patience in dealing with me, I wouldn't have been where I am right now. Always pay it forward!

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http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/1066410/DSC_8885.jpg http://posterous.com/users/hdKDJWsEAJWX0 Nikhil Bhaskaran nikhilbhaskaran Nikhil Bhaskaran
Sun, 06 Mar 2011 01:37:58 -0800 GTD http://nikhilbhaskaran.posterous.com/gtd http://nikhilbhaskaran.posterous.com/gtd Or getting things done. There are lots of apps and tools available for GTD, and I've tried a lot of them; outlook, Things, Remember the Milk and so on. But the one thing that always works for me is pen and paper. It's a lot easier to maintain than an app. I always have my notebook with me (while at work or at home) so referring to my list is easy.

• What I do is make a list with all items left pending from my previous list and add new tasks to that.

• Completed items get a tick against them, so they get ignored when the new list is made.

• Meeting notes are made on separate sheets; action items from the meeting are added to the running To Do list.

So far this has worked great for me, and until I can afford a secretary, I think this is what I'll continue to do.

Unless you, dear reader, have a better suggestion. I'd love to hear it.

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http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/1066410/DSC_8885.jpg http://posterous.com/users/hdKDJWsEAJWX0 Nikhil Bhaskaran nikhilbhaskaran Nikhil Bhaskaran