Brilliant article by lifehacker editor Gina Trapani. She compares your productivity system to the ultimate example of robustness – the UNIX operating system. A must-read for everyone – either if you are just designing your productivity system ; or if you are relooking/rehashing your productivity system. These rules should give a good foundation for you to base your productivity system on.
I have just listed the rules below.
- Write simple parts connected by clean interfaces. (Rule of Modularity)
- Clarity is better than cleverness. (Rule of Clarity)
- Fold knowledge into data so program logic can be stupid and robust. (Rule of Representation)
- When you must fail, fail noisily and as soon as possible. (Rule of Repair)
- Programmer time is expensive; conserve it in preference to machine time. (Rule of Economy)
- Prototype before polishing. Get it working before you optimize it. (Rule of Optimization)
- Design for the future, because it will be here sooner than you think. (Rule of Extensibility)
Read the article here for the full meat.