Working Up

by Dwayne Phillips When you call me that, smile from “The Virginian: a horseman of the plains” by Owen Wister The statement above is one of the most misquoted from American literature, movie folklore, and culture. The misquote is: smile when you say that The implication is simple, if you are smiling, you can say [...]

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by Dwayne Phillips Time and again I have seen people make a terrible mess, work hard to fix their mess, and be proclaimed a hero. I still don’t understand why anyone would reward such a person. In the mid-1980s I started managing projects. I looked about to see what my peers – other project managers [...]

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by Dwayne Phillips Feeling like there is nothing you can do in our current economy to help others? Can you do one of the following? cook a meal listen If you can, you can help someone. If you can do both, you can really help someone. Now for the hard part (at least the hard [...]

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by Dwayne Phillips Fatigue is natural. Thinking that I can beat fatigue is wishful. Find a test that indicates your level of performance. Adjust your activities to meet your level. Fatigue beats wishes, but rest beats fatigue. I wish that fatigue didn’t always win. I wish I conquered fatigue all the time. I that no [...]

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by Dwayne Phillips I have learned how to email bad emotions and their accompanying physical ailments away. It is a good technique to master. Several years ago, I opened some shipping cases to inspect some systems that a contractor had built for us. I was disappointed, then I was upset, then furious. There were a [...]

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by Dwayne Phillips I have seen encouragement change the lives of people. Here I relate one episode of such. This post is a bit different from the rest. Well, that is if you can find a pattern in the rest of my posts. I’ve read a lot of blogging experts that say you should find [...]

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by Dwayne Phillips Design reviews can be important parts of projects. At design reviews, we attempt to communicate clearly and minimize misunderstandings. There are several design reviews that are important to the success of a project. This essay describes one design review that people want to have but should never be allowed. We have design [...]

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by Dwayne Phillips Just a thought on health insurance from an engineer. I see that President Obama doesn’t like what existing health insurance companies are doing with their rates and policies. It seems that the president wants health insurance companies to be non-profit and insure everyone regardless of pre-existing conditions. Health insurance seems to be [...]

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by Dwayne Phillips We spend too much time avoiding some tasks. They are not interesting, praiseworthy, or worthy of note. We simply cannot stay on task. I recommend changing tasks – at least temporarily. There are many benefits to changing tasks. Some benefits apply to the original task. All the benefits apply to me. I [...]

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by Dwayne Phillips The latest computer, the best desk and chair, even coffee brought to you while working – these are nice, but not the subject of this post. No, the most valuable asset a freelancer has is good health. No Work No Pay The reason I picked good health is simple: freelancers don’t have [...]

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