Excerpt from "Justin Performance Optimization Studies" : Task Envisioning

the new technique has shown promise. "Task envisioning" has been broadly implemented in the subject's work habits and it seems to have yeilded more higher rates of information output during computer sessions. The subject's testimony follows:

"Yeah, task optimization, it makes total sense. I envision what I intend to do before I sit down at the computer. Do I want to finish that letter? Revise my Clock project draft? Write a first draft of that proposal? By thinking about what I intend to to before I sit down, I stay more focused."

Under observation, the subject does seem to be visiting external web sites. We have the feeling that the subject might be avoiding aimless occasional surfing, but our studies in this area have probably been colored by the subject's relentless personal narrative vocalization. He just keeps talking about his own process for productivity!

Here's another brief bit of his remarks that we transcribed:

"Yeah, I'm aiming to reduce my unfocused time on the computer - if I have free time, I don't just check my email. Or I don't just see what's happening with news. I think, what creative work do I want to make? What outstanding communication obligation do I want to finish?"

Of course, the subject still manifests moments of his previous behaviours - he still visits friend and associate weblogs, browses cyberculture and incessantly checks news related to the upcoming presidential election. That last area of attention is expected to diminish after the upcoming President is inaugurated next January.

Web surfing seems to have become a more constrained "inbetween" activity; a tangible amount of his email reading seems to have been offloaded to his mobile device, the Treo 600. He's dangerously begun to correspond over email during driving in his car. More from the subject on the subject:

"I'm working to be more focused about my projects; rather than meandering through a few different things a day, trying to put out fires, I work to resolve things when they're in front of me, so I can move on. If I'm away from my computer, driving home maybe, or brushing my teeth, I practice task rehearsal; imagining myself finishing things, budgeting my time. Then web surfing becomes a pleasure activity, something I do when I've finished other things, when I have too short an interval to invest in a project, but I want to stay informed. Actually, constraining my reading online makes the reading better, because there's more new stuff on BoingBoing when you don't check it four times a day and novelty is refreshing, whereas rereading an unupdated web page is a sign that I'm wasting time."

The subject's words seem to match his actions somewhat; whether this is a deep-seated shirt in his behaviour or a temporary adaptation to a particular workload remains to be seen.