Resources for recovery from software addiction or CRIMP?

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Posted by marcus
Mar 9, 2013 at 12:04 AM

As a person who considers himself recovering from software perfectionism (well, perfectionism) generally and CRIMP (Compulsive-Reactive Information Manager Purchasing) in particular, I thought I would share a few resources which I’ve found helpful, and invite others to share what they’ve found helpful in managing or recovering from CRIMP. Individual personalities, talents, needs, and so on of course vary tremendously, but still, perhaps some of us can learn something from each other.

Here’s a short list for myself:

Workrave — free software which reminds me to take breaks and limit total computer usage. Helps me to reign in my perfectionism and tendency to get lost on the computer (doing things which in retrospect turn out to have been less necessary or important than I thought).

Devices of the Soul: Battling for Ourselves in an Age of Machines — book by Steve Talbott, whose writings have done more than anything else to enlarge my view of computers, as well as of the human capacities which they can tempt us to forget or neglect. Many of his free articles are indexed by topic here: http://netfuture.org/inx_topical_all.html

The Intellectual Life: Its Spirit, Conditions, Methods — book by A.G. Sertillanges, O.P., with advice on organizing time, memory, and notes, among other things. Despite its age (written 1921), my very dubious status as an intellectual, and the author’s theology, I find it quite insightful and stimulating. I can freely transpose his suggestions about notecards to computer tools, and translate his occasional religious terminology to concepts and ideals that have meaning to me. I personally believe that his advice, “excess is to be avoided,” is hardly less relevant in an age of computers and unlimited data storage. (Of course his advice is far more detailed and practical than that.)

Organizing From the Inside Out — book by Julie Morgenstern. The last chapter discusses time management. I find her ideas refreshing, and have finally given away my earmarked copy of Getting Things Done, which always tempts me to waste time chasing after perfect task lists (and perfect software to manage them).

The Road Less Traveled — book by M. Scott Peck. Insightful and challenging each time I revisit it. I find the first section on “discipline” especially relevant to my issues with time management, organization, and perfectionism.

What are some resources you’ve found helpful in managing or recovering from CRIMP, and/or from software perfectionism more generally?

Posted by shatteredmindofbob
Mar 9, 2013 at 08:43 PM

Set this: http://i.imgur.com/0Omx1PC.jpg as your background.

Posted by Alexander Deliyannis
Mar 16, 2013 at 08:40 PM

marcus wrote:
>What are some resources you’ve found helpful in managing or recovering
>from CRIMP, and/or from software perfectionism more generally?

Not exactly resources, but I have found that when I have tight deadlines I generally stop thinking about what new tool I could use for the job, and simply get on with it. This is such a period, with several consecutive deadlines since the end of the previous year, and it has led to my being much more focused and productive. It has also motivated me to simplify my workflow and use less and less programs. Another, artificial but useful, constraint is my using a cheap Linux notebook for many of my out-of-office activities; as a result I need to limit myself to programs and formats that work on both Windows and Linux.

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