Back to Work

TOPIC: Obsessions, Compulsions, Obsessions, and Compulsions. Also, Obsessions—and Compulsions.

This week, Dan and Merlin lick the doorknob five times, tap their heads with their shoes, and ponder the problem of obsessions and compulsions.

Links for this episode:

• Staying on Top of Calendar Events — Jamie Phelps
  
• Morning Glory | You Look Nice Today
  
• Staying on Top of Calendar Events — Jamie Phelps
  
• Safe (1995)
  
• Five Somewhat Novel Compulsions I had at one time or another | 5ives
  
• 5by5 | Back to Work #29: I Download FLAC
  
• How To Start a Meditation Practice
  
• The Aviator ending scene , the way of the future. - YouTube
  
• Cognitive behavioral therapy - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  
• The Aviator ending scene , the way of the future. - YouTube
  
• In Which We Sleepwalk At Our Convenience - Home - This Recording
  
• Edge of Sanity | This American Life
  
• History of Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy
  
• Cognitive behavioral therapy - MayoClinic.com
  
• Best "Obsessive Compulsive Disorder" Titles
  
• [SPONSOR] Ting - Mobile That Makes Sense
  
• Trepanning - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  
• Amazon.com: Naked (9780316777735): David Sedaris: Books
  
• Attractive nuisance doctrine - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  
• Hearts of Space
  
• Winston Churchill and Manic Depression: A fatal curse or the root of his genius?
  
• Ice Station Zebra (1968)
  
• Amazon.com: Don't Think Of An Elephant!/ How Democrats And Progressives Can Win: Know Your Values And Frame The Debate: The Essential Guide For Progressives (Paperback + DVD edition) (9781931498821): George Lakoff, Howard Dean, Don Hazen: Books
  
• Latest Anxiety Reliever — Jamie Phelps
  
• “Number eighteen in 1988, Charlie Babbitt squeezed and pulled and hurt my neck in 1988.”
  
• Positive feedback - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  

This week's episode of Back to Work is sponsored by Ting.

TOPIC: Capture, Contracts, and Mapping the Territory.

This week, Dan and Merlin talk about keeping an honest calendar and ensuring you regularly review your "contracts" with yourself.

Chock-a-block with practical COM-ponents for making sure your map is up to date with the territory.

¿Spanish question marks? ¡Si!

Zibba-zabba! Fax my gal!

Links for this episode:

• [SPONSOR] Squarespace (10% off with offer code, "`soold`")
  
• Merlin’s Squarespace 6 Blog — Merlin Mann
  
• [Screencast] Ep. 03: Blocks Intro — Merlin’s Squarespace 6 Blog — Merlin Mann
  
• Q: What would you like to see here? — Merlin’s Squarespace 6 Blog — Merlin Mann
  
• Twitter / hotdogsladies: Offer—mail me a SASE and ...
  
• Back to Work Starter Pack — Merlin Mann
  
• I…uh…have plenty to spare. - mlkshk
  
• Garden Gnome | Flickr - Photo Sharing!
  
• Rondo Hatton - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  
• kung fu grippe • Hooooly shit. Looks like a few people want them...
  
• kung fu grippe • rotl: For serious scholarship only. Two hundred...
  
• Timeboxing - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  
• Amazon.com: Aveda Self Control Hair Styling Stick, 2.6 oz (75 g): Beauty
  
• [SPONSOR] Ting - Mobile That Makes Sense
  
• Fugue state - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  
• 5by5 | Back to Work #61: I Handed Him My Luke
  
• Inverted question and exclamation marks - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  
• Amazon.com: Tap Bell -Desk Bell - Nickle Plated, Black base: Sports & Outdoors
  
• Back to GTD: Do a fast "mind-sweep" | 43 Folders
  
• Garden Gnome | Flickr - Photo Sharing!
  
• John Roderick: A Night on the Town - a set on Flickr
  
• Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity: David Allen: 9780142000281: Amazon.com: Books
  
• Day One | A simple Journal
  
• App Store - DSLR Camera Remote Professional Edition
  
• [43f] Philip K. Dick: "There's the First Law of Kipple... 'Kipple drives out nonkipple.'"
  
• Map–territory relation - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia ("The map is not the territory")
  
• Two Cats Comic Book Store - Two Cats Comic Book Store
  
• John Forbes Nash, Jr. - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  
• Recipes « World Aeropress Championship
  

This week's episode of Back to Work is sponsored by Ting and Squarespace.

Sign up for Squarespace today to get an extra 10% off any new account with the offer code "soold" (as in, "Merlin looks sooooooo old!"). Watch Merlin's new Squarespace 6 site get built in real time (including screencasts) at http://merlinm.com/s6.

TOPIC: Honesty and Sociopathy Go to Work

Merlin and Dan talk about the cultural divide between you and your work. Coping with work is a little like being a sociopath so you better make sure you're taking away the right lessons and being honest about the right things. Anything else is a little dishonest.

You don't need to quit your job, but you made want to at least resign your certainty.

Nice!™

Links for this episode:

• "We're officially broken-up for ten minutes" TextExpander snippet
  
• 5by5 | Systematic #6: Merlin Talks A Lot
  
• Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity: David Allen: 9780142000281: Amazon.com: Books
  
• Merlin Mann - Independent Writer, Speaker, and Broadcaster
  
• Squarespace 6 Blog — Merlin Mann
  
• Ep. 01: Quick Intro — Squarespace 6 Blog — Merlin Mann
  
• Ep. 02: Content Collections — Squarespace 6 Blog — Merlin Mann
  
• [SPONSOR] Squarespace (10% off with offer code, "`soold`")
  
• [SPONSOR] 1Password - Have you ever forgotten a password?
  
• [SPONSOR] TextExpander: Mac Typing Shortcut Utility Saves You Time!
  
• Super-Fast WordPress Blog Posts via E-Mail with TextExpander 4 « The Overthinker
  
• TextExpander Snippet (using AppleScript) to open the currently visible page in Safari in Chrome — Gist
  
• TextExpander shell script snippet to set Safari 6 default fonts - Mac OS X Hints
  
• The Safari 6 URL crisis - All this
  
• Toward Better Master Passwords | Agile Blog
  
• Urban Dictionary: mann's assumption
  
• Me & You
  
• Me & You
  
• R. Lee Ermey - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  
• Voice procedure - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  
• Procedure word - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia {"Say Again")
  
• "Accept loss forever"
  
• 5by5 | Back to Work #77: Sadness Harmonica
  
• Retroactive continuity - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  
• List of retcons - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  
• Wanda Maximoff (Earth-616) - Marvel Comics Database
  
• Story of R. Lee Ermey's "Full Metal Jacket" audition
  
• kung fu grippe • Nice!™
  
• Anhedonia - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  

This week's episode of Back to Work is sponsored by 1Password, Smile Software, and Squarespace.

Sign up for Squarespace today to get an extra 10% off any new account with the offer code "soold" (as in, "Merlin looks sooooooo old!"). Watch Merlin's new Squarespace 6 site get built in real time (including screencasts) at http://merlinm.com/s6.

TOPIC: Kicking and Screaming

Merlin has been dragged kicking and screaming into at least two things this week. Sometimes, that works out, and sometimes it doesn't. But, how many of those things do we need? How many can you sign up for? How often do you see Beast coming down the hall?

There aren't that many things you have to do, but how can you see it coming? Well, you know where your cumin is and you haven't checked your MySpace this week. How's that for complicated?

Links for this episode:

• 1Password is Ready for John the Ripper | Agile Blog
  
• Blizzard and insecurity questions: My father’s middle name is vR2Ut1VNj | Agile Blog
  
• lowe/zxcvbn
  
• Passfault Demo: Password Evaluation
  
• kung fu grippe • Merry Christmas. My office bathroom is a very...
  
• Sublime Text 2 Tips and Tricks (Updated) | Nettuts+
  
• Passfault Demo: Password Evaluation
  
• 5by5 | Build and Analyze #90: This Person Isn't Really Here
  
• dan on App.net
  
• [SPONSOR] Squarespace (10% off with offer code, "`soold`")
  
• [SPONSOR] Back To Work - Igloo Software (giving away a "Giant-Size X-Mann Bundle")
  
• Some Sublime Text 2 packages of note - Brett Terpstra
  
• Sublime Text Packages by the Community – wbond
  
• kung fu grippe • "Non-Canonical" (in which two Jean Greys totally make out)
  
• kung fu grippe • You happy now, bitch?
  
• [SPONSOR] 1Password - Have you ever forgotten a password?
  
• Toward Better Master Passwords | Agile Blog
  
• textmate/textmate
  
• Textmate: Recent enhancements | 43 Folders (Merlin's first post on TextMate, ca. 2005)
  
• Ep. 34: "A Shit Barge Full of Long Pigs" - Roderick on the Line - Merlin Mann
  

This week's episode of Back to Work is sponsored by 1Password, Igloo Software, and Squarespace.

TOPIC: Adapting to the Danger Room of Life

Dan and Merlin talk about how the protagonist of your story handles change in personal and work environments.

How do you respond in the face of change you haven't anticipated or isn't conducive to who you want to be? What is the worst that could happen? Who can help you except you?

Links for this episode:

• kung fu grippe • I’m The Old One I love this photo. [via]
  
• Merlin’s Awkward Hair Odyssey - a set on Flickr
  
• badtz & me - march '99 | Flickr - Photo Sharing!
  
• FL Driver's License; Summer, 1991 | Flickr - Photo Sharing!
  
• Manhattan, 1989 | Flickr - Photo Sharing!
  
• 5by5 | Hypercritical #79: Grandpa Uncle Joe
  
• [BUY THIS!] Back to Work 'That's Fine for Merlin' T-Shirt
  
• kung fu grippe • Sweet Dreams (I love you, Alex Hardy)
  
• Twitter / danbenjamin: In the box http://t.co/NAAGyX9E
  
• Avalanche (comics) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  
• Cognitive bias - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  
• Meriln Mann - Indie Writer, Speaker, and Broadcaster
  
• Pro tempore - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  
• [SPONSOR] Squarespace (10% off with offer code, "`soold`")
  
• Amazon.com: Astonishing X-Men Vol. 1: Gifted (9780785115311): Joss Whedon, John Cassaday: Books
  
• Genosha - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  
• Danger Room - Marvel Universe Wiki: The definitive online source for Marvel super hero bios.
  
• Amazon.com: Story: Substance, Structure, Style and The Principles of Screenwriting (9780060391683): Robert McKee: Books
  
• Magical thinking - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  
• 5by5 | The Comic Shack #7: Snakt!
  
• Kobayashi Maru - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  
• 'Rubric' - Part 4 of 'Glassworks' - Philip Glass - YouTube
  
• Tony Robbins firewalking injuries: Why doesn’t everyone who walks on hot coals get burned? - Slate Magazine
  
• Nearly Two Dozen Injured at Tony Robbins Seminar - NYTimes.com
  
• Charles Whitman - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  
• kung fu grippe • the-x-gene: X-Men Season One by Dennis Hopeless...
  
• kung fu grippe • “I am the walrus?” Part of me thinks it ought to...
  
• kung fu grippe • Li’l Byrne
  
• List of Sanrio characters (Badtz-Maru)
  
• Squarespace 6 Template Tool - Squarespace PluginsSquarespace Plugins
  
• Peak
  
• Read Me — Peak
  
• I'm Waiting for the Man - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  
• Angst - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  

This week's episode of Back to Work is sponsored by Squarespace. Visit Squarespace.com today to get an extra 10% off any new account with the offer code "soold" (as in, "Merlin looks sooooooo old!")

And, watch Merlin's new Squarespace site get built in real time at http://merlinm.com.

Screencasts of the process coming soon.

TOPIC: Gut Churn, Pointing Arrows, and Recognizing Change

This week, Dan and Merlin talk at length about a recent article by Radiolab's Jad Abumrad, called, "The Terrors & Occasional Virtues of Not Knowing What You’re Doing."

From the genesis of Radiolab through casting about for what comes next, Jad's article reads like a Greatest Hits of Back to Work. Just terrific.

It all comes down to working through the times you don't know what you're doing and making, then accepting that—even once you do know—you still have to push through change and evolution.

Working through the fear to make something awesome? Well. That's Fine for Jad Abumrad.

Links for this episode:

• Transom » Jad Abumrad
  
• Behaves So Strangely - Radiolab
  
• Podcasts - Radiolab
  
• Home - Radiolab
  
• Jad Abumrad - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  
• Protools-Screen-Shot.png 1,677×1,020 pixels
  
• Behaves So Strangely - Radiolab
  
• Binary Bonsai
  
• Merlin Mann's Wishlist
  
• Official Squarespace 6 Templates and Themes
  
• Back to Work That's Fine for Merlin T-Shirt | 5by5
  
• Jad Abumrad (JadAbumrad) on Twitter
  
• Amazon.com: Radio: An Illustrated Guide (9780967967103): Jessica Abel, Ira Glass: Books
  
• Retraction | This American Life
  
• Ira Glass on Storytelling, part 1 of 4 - YouTube
  
• Ira Glass on Working Through the Suck | 43 Folders
  
• kung fu grippe • I’m The Old One I love this photo. [via]
  
• People - Oliver Sacks - Radiolab
  
• Radiolab (Radiolab) on Twitter
  
• Transom » Radiolab: An Appreciation by Ira Glass
  
• “There are some people who don’t wait.” Robert Krulwich on the future of journalism | Not Exactly Rocket Science | Discover Magazine
  
• The 'Decline Effect' and Scientific Truth - On The Media
  
• kung fu grippe • John Cleese - “A Lecture on Creativity” ...
  
• WAR GAMES Gen. Beringer SPARK PLUG - YouTube
  
• [SPONSOR] Squarespace (10% off with offer code, "`yourshow`")
  
• Rosacea - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  
• Amazon.com: The Creative Habit: Learn It and Use It for Life (9780743235266): Twyla Tharp: Books
  
• Amazon.com: Sennheiser HD-280 PRO Headphones: Electronics
  
• Merlin Mann's Wishlist
  

This week's episode of Back to Work is sponsored by Squarespace. Visit Squarespace.com today to get an extra 10% off any new account with the offer code "yourshow".

TOPIC: Motivation, Hardware Stores, and Fighting the Last War

This week, Dan and Merlin talk about motivation—how it changes, how it doesn't, and how it can be fueled by anxiety and cognitive dissonance.

There is also discussion of Merlin's pear tart problem, the challenge of the engineering triangle, and, yeah, a new t-shirt That's Fine for Merlin.

Links for this episode:

• Back to Work That's Fine for Merlin T-Shirt | 5by5
  
• And now it’s all this
  
• Commuting Takes Its Toll: Scientific American
  
• fjohnrickert: "@hotdogsladies That doesn't look like you at all! Where are the wrinkles? And the cane?"
  
• [SPONSOR] Squarespace (10% off with offer code, "`yourshow`")
  
• [SPONSOR] DocuSign (Support 5by5 with a free 30 day trial)
  
• 5by5 | The Comic Shack #7: Snakt!
  
• Letters: Marx-Engels Correspondence 1864
  
• kung fu grippe • Ubiquitous Capture I already mostly forgot what...
  
• Gastroesophageal reflux disease - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  
• Cognitive dissonance - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  
• Tracy, California - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  
• Fletch (1985)
  
• Search results for 'hipster pda' - All this
  
• B1 battle droid - Wookieepedia, the Star Wars Wiki
  
• 5by5 | Mac Power Users #95: Engineering Workflows with Dr. Drang
  
• 5by5 | Systematic
  
• My curtain calls - All this
  
• Bolt upright - All this
  
• kung fu grippe - "Jeff Goldblum"
  

This week's episode of Back to Work is sponsored by Squarespace and Docusign.

TOPICS: Better Meat & Working Backwards

This week, Dan and Merlin talk about the many strategic and tactical benefits of reverse-engineering your next project.

There is also extensive discussion of choosing, preparing, and cooking meat.

It's not food until is sounds like food and it smells like food.

Links for this episode:

• 5by5 | The Incomparable #98: Obscure References and Sadness
  
• [SPONSOR] TextExpander: Mac Typing Shortcut Utility Saves You Time!
  
• TextExpander: bit.ly with authentication - Brett Terpstra
  
• TextExpander 4.0 Fill-In Feature on Vimeo
  
• How to Tell If That Steak is Done
  
• Amazon.com: Jaccard Supertendermatic 48-Blade Tenderizer: Home & Kitchen
  
• Netflix's lost year: The inside story of the price-hike train wreck | Internet & Media - CNET News
  
• The Finger Test to Check the Doneness of Meat | Simply Recipes
  
• Amazon.com: Cooking for Geeks: Real Science, Great Hacks, and Good Food (9780596805883): Jeff Potter: Books
  
• Cooking For Engineers - Step by Step Recipes and Food for the Analytically Minded
  
• Code Library - Squarespace Code Library
  
• Twitter / hotdogsladies: @MailChimp @markdicristina
  
• Amazon.com: The Complete Meat Cookbook (9780618135127): Bruce Aidells, Denis Kelly: Books
  
• Amazon.com: Home Comforts: The Art and Science of Keeping House (9780684814650): Cheryl Mendelson, Harry Bates: Books
  
• [SPONSOR] Squarespace (10% off with offer code, "`yourshow`")
  
• Amazon.com: Marvel Masterworks: The Uncanny X-Men Volume 4 (Marvel Masterworks (Numbered)) (9780785158691): Chris Claremont, John Byrne, George Perez: Books
  
• Amazon.com: Little Owl Lost (9780763650223): Chris Haughton: Books
  
• kung fu grippe - (Phoenix at Comic-Con. Sigh.)
  
• Fernet - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  
• [Merlin's MailChimp visitor badge]
  
• Flat iron steak - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  
• 5by5 | After Dark #193: Grillin' with Marco and Dan
  
• The Picture of Dorian Gray - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  
• The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde - Project Gutenberg
  
• Ep. 13: "Then There Was Pump Chili" - Roderick on the Line - Merlin Mann
  
• TextExpander Shortcuts (per Back to Work e76) — Gist
  
• 2011/12 Creative Mornings with Ben Chestnut on Vimeo
  
• Screencast on TextExpander 3 fill-in snippets (by Merlin)
  
• PURE Solutions: Hypoallergenic Hotel Rooms, Purifiers, Bedding
  
• Guerras Deli & Meats, San Francisco Deli, Bay Area Deli, Steak, Beef, Pork, Veal, Lamb, Sausages, Poultry, online deli ordering
  
• Home :: EmpireStateSouth.com
  
• NPR.org » Delicious Turkey Tips From Food Scientists
  
• Farm Egg - "ESS pepperoni, crisp carolina gold rice, corn puree, beech mushrooms, lambs quarter"
  
• Interpunct - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  
• Prime Rib or Standing Rib Roast - Recipe File - Cooking For Engineers
  

This week's episode of Back to Work is sponsored by two of our favorite friends, Smile and Squarespace.

Pick up Smile's TextExpander 4 with awesome new fill-in features. And, visit Squarespace.com today to get an extra 10% off any new account with the offer code "yourshow".

TOPIC: Feeling Stuck in the Middle

This week, Dan and Merlin talk about a topic suggested by listener, @toddsandends: what happens when you're stuck enforcing rules you don't agree with?

Whether you're a security guard, an RA, a SysAdmin, a character on The Wire, or pretty much anybody else, sometimes there's just stuff you gotta do. Even when you think it's a terrible idea.

So, who's allowed to corrupt you, what's it worth, and how long is that going to be okay with you?

As ever, work is a lot of work.

Links for this episode:

• [SPONSOR] Squarespace (10% off with offer code, "`yourshow`")
  
• kung fu grippe - A Sense of Scale I’ve wanted to see what’s...
  
• The Wire - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  
• dog diapers - Google Search
  
• X - See How We Are - (Acoustic) - YouTube
  
• kung fu grippe - Trinity “C’mon, help ol’ Gil out here!”
  
• Brainstorm (1983)
  
• Brainstorm Movie Trailer - YouTube
  
• SF bay area all housing classifieds "birds" - craigslist
  
• MarsEdit 3 - Desktop blog editing for the Mac.
  
• The Wire - "These are for you McNulty" - YouTube
  
• Dog Whisperer Cesar Millan | Achieving balance between people and dogs
  
• San Francisco Multimedia Gulch Nostalgia via Yahoo Maps
  
• Online NewsHour: Multimedia Gulch -- July 20, 1999
  
• Making sense of Multimedia Gulch - SFGate
  
• Gil Gunderson - Simpsons Wiki
  
• LBi - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  

This week's episode of Back to Work is sponsored by our good friends at Squarespace. Get an extra 10% off your new account with offer code "yourshow".

TOPIC: How Much Honesty Can We Stand?

This week, Dan and Merlin talk about how ridiculously complex "Honesty" can be. Do "Candor," "Transparency," "Frankness," and all those other Capital Letter Nouns mean the same thing?

Links for this episode:

• Things said can't be unsaid - selfesteem cruelty brutalhonesty | Ask MetaFilter
  
• The 'Busy' Trap - NYTimes.com
  
• [SPONSOR] Squarespace (10% off with offer code, "`yourshow`")
  
• Gellies Local 416 | You Look Nice Today
  
• 107.7 The Bone / KSAN-FM San Francisco > Home
  
• kung fu grippe - Mixed Grill
  
• Jester - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  
• I Think You're Fat - Esquire
  
• Radical Honesty - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  
• Amazon.com: On Bullshit (0218681122946): Harry G. Frankfurt: Books
  
• PowerMate Support | Griffin Technology
  
• Ted From The Internet: On a recent 5by5 AD, Dan and Merlin were throwing around the idea of a 5by5 Morning Zoo.
  
• Great Tools For Your Mac By Andreas Hegenberg » BetterTouchTool, BetterSnapTool & SecondBar
  
• Tackling keyboard shortcut woes in OS X | MacFixIt - CNET Reviews
  
• How to use services in Mac OS X | Macworld
  
• cough button - Wiktionary
  
• Twitter / hotdogsladies: M: Sorry about my office t
  
• The Fantastic Mr. Fox's 'Trademark'
  
• John Hummer - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  
• Urban Dictionary: back door brag
  
• Politics and the English Language - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  
• George Orwell, "Politics and the English Language," 1946
  
• Pseudologia fantastica - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  
• Neighbors | This American Life
  
• 5by5 | Back to Work #57: Start with Anger, End with a Sign
  
• Pittsburgh in Words - Can You Say ... 'Hero'? by Tom Junod
  
• Merlin and Chauncey Gardiner
  

This week's episode of Back to Work is sponsored by our good friends at Squarespace. Get an extra 10% off your new account with offer code "yourshow".