As a web developer, I’m constantly struggling with the concept of feature creep. Feature creep is when the developer keeps adding features to the software to the point that the core product starts to lose it’s focus. The software slowly becomes less elegant and very un-simple, which is a developer’s worst nightmare.
The worst part about feature creep is that it’s almost always the result of the best intentions. The developer takes a mindset that by adding more features, more people will want to use it. Pretty soon the documentation for the product resembles a dishwasher and requires the smarts of a doctor to decipher it. Eventually it takes so long to learn how to use the program that it’s no longer useful.
Feature creep can also be present in our lives. If we pretend for a second that our lives are a piece of software, we can see the types of “features” that we’ve added to it. Cell phones, email, IM, iPhones, Crackberry’s, Twitter, Facebook, Myspace… suddenly we’ve got a bunch of digital accounts that are stealing our focus. All of these accounts demand attention, and carve bits of attention from our day. We’ve become more and more connected to our computers and other communication devices. Life, it seems, has become much less simple.
So how do we break away from all the “feature creep” that we’ve added to our lives? It’s simple, but painful. We have to start dropping features. But take heart, it can be done. Here are a few techniques to help make sure that you don’t add feature creep to our lives.
- Set hard deadlines on Internet usage. I’ve tried a computer fast before, and it worked really well. It’s incredibly hard to do, but if you can at least make a deadline when your computer will be shut off every day with no exceptions, the control shifts back to your favor.
- Be mindful of the accounts you set up. Every social media account that you sign up for will require at least some attention. They send frequent emails, and ultimately try to get you on their site.If you need to set up a ton of accounts, be sure that the email settings are turned waaaay down so that the amount of email you receive is minimal.
- Communicate on your terms. Try to push aside the need to always be connected to IM, Twitter, or even the Internet. By disconnecting, it allows you to focus more on what needs to be done, without distracting IM’s and people wanting to chat.
- Turn off email notices. If you use a probgram like Outlook or Thunderbird, be sure to turn off the popups that let you know when you’ve got mail.
- Only check email a few times each day. This could be very hard for some, but you’ll find that email is a huge timesink. By limiting the number of times you actually open up the inbox, you’ll find yourself getting more done.
- Limit amount of time on social sites. Yeah, they’re fun and addictive. But being social and working never usually go together very well.
- Be mindful of your goals. It’s hard to justify chatting on IM if your goal is to become your own boss. Keeping constant reminders of what you want to do can keep you focused on what’s important.
- Constantly evaluate social commitments. For me it’s hard to tell people no. But in order to really focus on what’s important to me in life, I have to really think about what commitments I can make to friends and family. It’s incredibly easy to commit to an unmanagable amount of events. But if these events and commitments start to dictate your life and goals, think about cutting back on them.
- Everyone needs a time to reflect. If you don’t have a quiet time built into your day, get one (I recommend the morning). Everyone needs personal time to reflect on what the day holds, or to just take some personal time to unwind. I’m not alone here, some of the greatest minds did this as well. Gandhi would often spend time just staring at the horizon. Churchill would sit down to smoke a cigar after lunch and Beethoven would stop off for a few beers after his afternoon walk (more examples here).
Adding extra “features” can quickly add a lot more expectations on our lives, to the point of becoming unmanageable. Remember, where we spend our time dictates what is truly important in our lives, whether we’d admit it or not.
译文:
9种方法拒绝日常生活中的“功能蔓延”
作为一个网页开发商，我一直很不赞同对“功能蔓延”这个理念。功能蔓延就是软件开发商在软件的应用开发中不断加入和强调新的功能以至于损害了其他的设计目标。慢慢地，这些不再突出、简洁的软件却成了开发商最可怕的梦魇。
最糟糕的是，功能蔓延这个概念正出于开发商美好的愿景。开发商们觉得只要在产品上增加越来越多的功能，将会有更多的顾客会选择它。举个例子，开发商制造了一个洗碗机器人并聘请了一位博士进行诠释，可是事与愿违，结果这位博士需要花很长一段时间来弄懂怎么使用这个程序，舍本逐末，产品并没有达到预想中的效果。
同时，功能蔓延也能在我们日常生活中得到体验。假设某天，我们的生活就是一个软件，将所有的功能都加进去，比如手机，电子邮件，IM， iPhones， Crackberry’s， Twitter，Facebook， Myspace等等。突然间，我们拥有了一堆电子帐号，而这些家伙吸走了我们所有的注意力，把我们从日常生活中硬生生地分隔了。我们再也不能没有了电脑和其它通讯设备，而这些，似乎将生活弄得越来越复杂。
那么，到底怎么做我们才能彻底地摆脱这样的功能蔓延呢？很简单，但是很痛苦，因为我们必须把这些习以为常的“功能”丢掉。当然，只要用心，我们绝对可以做到。以下有几个小技巧可以帮助大家将“功能蔓延”拒绝在门外：
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为“上网”加一个期限：我曾经尝试这样使用过一台电脑而且效果很好。如果你可以为电脑设上一个期限，每天固定时间内就关掉它。这是一件很难做到的事情，但是如果你做到了，它会给你很好的回报。
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留神你的账号：每个设立的账号总会吸走你的部分注意力。他们会频繁地发给你邮件，希望你登陆他们的网页。如果你需要设立大量的账号，请确定邮箱的设定能为你保证受到最小限度的骚扰。
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设定自己通讯的条件：不用以为自己总要挂线，远离IM, Twitter等聊天工具。这样做可以让你更加专注于该做的事情，也不会被其他人打扰。
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关掉邮件提示：如果你使用outlook 或者雷鸟等软件，请确定你已经将新邮件提示窗口关闭了。
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每天只查询几次邮件：对于某些人这是一件很难做到的事情，但是开启邮箱是一个时间陷阱。如果每天将开启邮箱的次数减少了，你会发现自己能做的事情更多了。
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减少登陆交际网页：是的，这些网页通常很有趣，很容易上瘾。但是鱼与熊掌不能兼得。
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留心你的目标：如果你想为自己打工，那么我将很难界定你在IM上交谈的好坏。不管怎样，请在聊天的同时，请记住要时刻提醒自己：什么是最重要的。
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不断评估责任：对于我来说，这很难界定哪个是最重要的。但是为了真正地专注于我的生活，我必须认真考虑哪些责任是我为了朋友和家人应承担的。我们可以很容易作出承诺，但是如果这些事情或者承诺已经影响了你日常的生活或者目标，请考虑放弃它。
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反省自己：如果你还没拥有一个个人时间，请马上界定一个（我建议是早上）。每个人都需要一个时间来反省自己的所作所为，或者放松一下自己。我不是唯一会这么做的人，很多伟人也有这种习惯。甘地经常会凝视地平线，邱吉尔会在午饭后抽一根雪茄，贝多芬会在下午散布之后喝上一点啤酒。
增加额外的功能可以为生活带来更多的期待，但是过犹不及，只有当我们确定真的需要这些功能的时候，再增加也不迟。