Hmm, from that last blog entry it looks like I've been off biking for a couple of months! That's not the case, although I did have a great time in July and really enjoyed seeing some of Tuscany, Naples and the Amalfi coast. We became quite adept at working out how to throw our bikes and all our luggage onto and off of trains, and even managed to rack up about 200 miles of riding.

Because Booklert and tedium are well tested and carefully written, they don't require a lot of attention on a day-to-day basis. For the next three weeks I'll be taking advantage of that, and heading off for a well-earned holiday and doing some fairly mad cycling and sight-seeing round Italy.

The bike is laden with panniers and a tent, and we've got the train booked to take us to the start of the first bike route near Genova...

As a result, I'll be checking email a bit less frequently than usual. If you need an urgent response then give me a call on +44 7710 036866.

Russell Davies is an author. He's been experimenting with ways of promoting his book, but wasn't sure of the best way to measure the results. The book's rank on Amazon seemed the best measure of its popularity, but he'd have to remember to check it regularly. Surely that's something a computer could do for him...

Y is for You.

I'd like to say that I deliberately left the hardest lesson till almost last, but it was just how the letters fell. To be honest, when I was sketching out how an A-Z might look I chose something completely different for Y. But that other word didn't feel right, which is why this entry is late - I've been fighting against writing it as it didn't seem worth writing about. Maybe W should have been for "wait", as sometimes your brain wants to cogitate some more on a project before throwing the right answer your way.

Anywhow, we're not here to talk about me; let's talk about you...

As part of the new not-just-talking-about-to-do-lists approach, let me introduce the latest research project here at MCQN - The Mazzini Project.

For a while now I've been thinking about how we green all these old houses that most of us live in. One of the ideas is to help people visualize where their energy is being used. Then they can see where any is being wasted, or work out whether it's worth replacing old appliances with something newer.

So far, www.mcqn.com (and this blog) has been primarily concerned with talking about the tedium, the company's main product.

However, that's never been MCQN Ltd's sole activity - it's just that the other stuff either didn't seem too exciting to talk about, or was covered by a confidentiality agreement with whoever we were working for.

X is for eXecution.

I know, I know... execution doesn't strictly begin with X. Well, once I've worked out how you can use a xylophone to get more done then I'll come back and update this entry; until then it's staying as execution.

"Execution" is the sort of word you only expect to encounter on the powerpoint slide of a high-powered business executive, but it's just a fancy way of talking about doing the tasks on your list.

W is for Work.

I'll keep this short because it's a topic that nobody wants to dwell on. However, sooner or later almost everything worth doing will involve some effort.

We've been conditioned by adverts that claim that we can have it all without having to do any work - we can get thin without exercising, get rich without lifting a finger - but they're all touting that tempting easy fix that deep-down we know won't work.

When he was talking about people who say that successful people are lucky to be where they are, Stephen Fry said...

V is for Victories.

What was the last thing that you ticked off your to-do list? Can you remember? How did it feel when you drew the line straight through the middle of it? Did you notice it, or were you busy rushing onto the next item that needs to be done?

If it's just a blur, then go back and cross it out again. This time really savour it. That task is gone... done... you've have vanquished it from your life. I can wait if it gives you time for an extra moment of enjoyment.

U is for Urgent.

When I first matched all the letters to their productivity term, having Urgent for U was one of the easier choices. Now I come to write it, however, I realise that what I'm about to write about is more to do with not urgent than urgent. Can this be "U is for Un-Urgent"?

I think we can get away with "U is for Urgent".