Simon Fowler

Want to change the world? Start right where you are.

In 1990, at the age of 23, I set out on a trip around the world. I was planning on a leisurely ‘sight-seeing’ journey. But God rudely interrupted my life, and as my heart started to change my hike along the Inca trail in Peru was replaced by an uncomfortable two months in a children’s home in El Salvador. The civil war was still raging. Some time later I found myself working with Burmese students and guerrillas in Bangkok, Thailand and at Manerplaw on the Thai/Burma border.

My cosy upbringing and my rose-tinted view of the world (and of myself) was shattered by that year. For the next two or three years, back in the UK at college (I was what is hilariously known as a ‘mature’ student), I wrestled with what to do about it. I didn’t have the benefit of ignorance, and the reality, extent and complexity of the vast problems in the world were too big for me, emotionally and practically. I’d lived with abandoned, abused children. I’d seen people moments after they’d been shot dead. I’d talked to people who’d witnessed or experienced horrendous injustices. I’d corrected the English of Burmese students writing stories of how “the villager’s legs ~~was~~ were blown off”. I’d met the Prime Minister-in-exile of Burma, seeing him try to establish a government in the malaria-ridden jungle on the Thai/Burma border while most of his NLD party members were in prison near Rangoon, Burma. What was I, this one little person, supposed to do with that knowledge?

By the grace of God (for my sanity, and for doable next steps) I came to the conclusion that the minimum I must do is act justly, and seek justice, where I am, in my immediate sphere of influence. If I’m not treating people around me with justice, then what kind of hypocrisy is it to campaign for justice elsewhere? And by people I mean family, friends, business owners, musicians, artists; everyone.

This is isn’t a matter of order – it’s not to say one must fix ones own back yard first – but a matter of integrity.

The closer we get to people, the harder it is to act unjustly, or the more the injustice is exposed for what it is. But if we want to change the world, we have to start where we are. I hope, I pray, that at the very least that’s what I’m doing.

For a story of how a mega-church did that in a declining neighborhood of Indianapolis, read “Before ‘Transforming’ Your Neighborhood, Talk to your neighbors“.

2012: Make more stuff. Watch less. Read less. Do.

The full text of Scott Hanselman’s productivity tip is:

Spend 10% of your time consuming and 90% of your time producing. Make more stuff. Watch less. Read less*. Do.

That’s how I want to to live & work in 2012.

This won’t be easy for me. I have ingrained habits of information consumption. And there’s barely a topic in all of reality that doesn’t interest me, so focus is a … oooh! what’s that?!.

But “there’s a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens.” (Eccl. 3:1-8). And I’m made in the image of my Creator – and so are you. So I believe, for me, now is the time to build, the time to speak, the time to create, the time to do.

My Top Ten Productivity Apps

These are my top ten productivity apps and why I use them.

I’ve hit the groove with all these (except twitter which I’m struggling to use well right now) and the “why” for me is mostly because: they’re easy to use, the data is accessible from multiple devices, they almost all allow sharing, and they’re all free for a substantial range of features and capacity :

1. Google calendar – a) can view personal and work calendars on same page (google calendar can sync with outlook), b) can share with others c) syncs with doodle.com for meeting planning, d) available on all mobile devices

2. Dropbox file manager – a) keeps/syncs copy of file in the cloud and every connected device b) can create public link to share large files with others, c) easy mobile access, d) first 2GB free

3. Toodledo task manager – a) based on Getting Things Done philosophy, b) great user interface, c) great Android app (GotToDo), d) can share tasks with others (Pro account only) & track changes.

4. Evernote note keeper – a) easy to use & organize (with notebooks and tags), b) easy to share a note with others, c) great desktop app (includes screenshot clipper, and outlook plug-in to convert emails to notes to keep). d) available on all mobile devices, e) allows upload of mobile photos – e.g. flipchart, the text of which is scannable!

5. Google docs doc/ppt/spreadsheet- a) live synchronous collaboration, b) live synchronous collaboration! c) can download/upload as Microsoft document, d) no more version issues! e) mobile accessible (limited) f) live synchronous collaboration!!

6. Diigo bookmarking – a) easy bookmarking, caching, tagging of websites, articles etc. b) can highlight & annotate sections of page c) private/public sharing options, d) very handy browser plugin (one click bookmarking), e) syncs with Delicious

7. Jing (by Techsmith) screen still & video capture – a) create and share instant narrated tutorials/powerpoints/presentations, b) capture partial or full screenshots (similar feature to evernote)

8. Skype – a) free computer-to-computer, b) cheap international calls, c) easy conference calling of both landline/mobile phone & computer users, d) screen & file sharing, e) multiple video calling (Premium only)

9. Yammer/Twitter micro-blog – a) informal, serendipitous, non-interruptive (i.e. not email) sharing and connection with others, b) simultaneous yammer and twitter post via #yam hashtag c) mobile access

10. Hootsuite social media aggregator a) updates twitter/facebook/linkedin simultaneously (if needed), b) available on mobile devices (though I use Tweetdeck in Chrome on my desktop)