Thoughts from "Kanban in Action": WIP Limits

• WIP Limit is not a strict rule but a trigger for discussion.
• There is no true WIP limit to be found. WIP limits are tools that you use to improve.
• Start with your gut feeling and adjust the limit up or down.

1. Lower is better than higher

• Better lead times.
• Faster Feedback.
• It forces you to remove impediments.

2. People idle of work idle

WIP too high = Work Idle

• Work items that no one is responsible for.
• You want the WIP limits to push you into resolving problems, not allow you to work without noticing them.

WIP too low = People Idle

• All items are being worked on, and there are people without work.
• Collaborate to get items done or raise WIP limit.
• If too low any disturbance -blockers, people out of the office, etc.- will cause all work to stop.

3. No limits is not the answer

• Eventually, the board will end up not being used, because you can't see the work items for all the work on the board.
• Removing the WIP limit will remove the incentive to improve. Nothing will force you to finish the ones there before starting new work.

• Strive to complete current work before starting anything new.

It's not "the more you start, the more you finish", it's "the more you finish, the more you finish". -David P. Joyce

Book: 10 Steps to Earning Awesome Grades

• 10 steps to earn better grades and take the most of your time at college.
• It can be applied to every aspect of your life.
• Time to work on projects, build relationships, stay involved in clubs and have fun/relax.

1. Paying better attention in class
2. Take more effective notes
• Flow method: “Flow-based notetaking is a creative process, not a recording process. Instead of just writing down what the professor argues, you’re also going to come up with your own ideas, examples, and connections.” - Scott Young
• Flow method is my favourite but it is not perfect for every subject: You learn while you take notes (opposite to take notes to learn later.)
3. Get more out of your textbooks.
• “How often you read something is immaterial; how you read it is crucial.” - Virginia Voeks
• Active reading
• Active recall
• Summarising
• Teach others to learn better (The Learning Pyramid)



4. Plan Like a General [Planning Efficiently]
• Why? Without plan we don't now how to start and we risk end up doing nothing.
• Planning more and Robot Mode (Doing Mode)
• Plan out your entire education.
• Plan your week (Thomas suggests Sunday to do this).
• Daily plan.
• Tasks context (High/Low thought-intensity work; batch low-intensity ones).
• Schedule for optimum effectiveness.
• Timeboxing. Hofstadter's Law. Fudge ratio.
• Break down projects into actionable steps.
5. Build Your Optimal Study Environment.
• Design it deliberately: Location, study music/noise, limite distractions.
• Tools you may need available
6. Fight Entropy and Stay Organised.
• Organize your files and have them available.
• Quick capture system: "Your mind is for having ideas, not holding them" - David Allen.
• 
  
7. Defeat Procastination
• Get over "I don't feel like it". (-> but I'm going to do it anyway).
• Procastination Equation. Luke Muehlhauser.
• Willpower vs Strong Habits.
• Avoid low-density fun.
• Pomodoro.
• Bring the pain.
8. Study Smarter
• Replicate the Test Conditions.
• Gather your materials.
• Identify what is important and build a study guide. “The mark of good learning isn’t that you got it right; it’s that you can’t get it wrong.”
• Get to studying: Get to work!
• Emphasise Active Learning.
• Use Spaced Repetition: One of the most efficient techniques for getting new things into your long-term memory quickly. Flashcards/Anki.
• How to Study Math (and Similar Subjects): Abstract subjects are like a house, each new concept builds upon the last.
• Learn to notice your confusion.
• Understand, don't memorise: You should be shooting for the "Aha!" moments.
• Do.The.Math!: Math is not a spectator sport. Seek Help (Ask professors, form a study group, use online resources)
9. Write better papers
• Do a Brain Dump
• Develop a Focus and Key Questions: Well-defined focus; guiding questions to answer. Research.
• Conduct Better Research: Cal Newport's book How to Become a Straigh-A Student; Avoid "Research recursion syndrome".
• Write an awful first draft: Perfectionism is paralysing.
• Edit Ruthlessly.
• Get feedback.
• How to Write a Great Research Paper
10. Make Group Projects Suck Less
• Make good use of the first meeting.
• Everyone in the group is already present.
• The details of the project are fresh in everyone’s mind.
• Any relevant hand-outs haven’t had time to be lost yet.
• Avoid the Bystander Effect (“I’m sure someone else will take care of it”)
• Be deliberate about assigning tasks.
• When in doubt, be the leader..
• Bonus: If the project if substantial enough, you can actually list it as experience on a resume.
• Solutions vs. Mixtures.
• Well integrated final product vs separated portions of work slapped together at the last minute.
• The group needs an editor.
• The final deadline for each group member’s assignments should be well before the actual due date of the project.
• Use Great Tools to Be More Effective
• E-mail sucks. It wasn’t built for managing projects.
• Suggestions: Trello, Slack, Google Docs.