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Six Tips for Eating Out Frugally

2008 by 4 Comments

Most of the time, people go out to eat, not just for the food, but for social and entertainment purposes. These six suggestions will help you get the experience at a "discount". Order water - In the US, you'll usually pay $1 to $3 for a soft drink with your meal. Water is healthier and can often reduce the cost of your meal by 10% to 20%. Go out for lunch - Many places charge more for the evening meal than for lunch. Sometimes the evening portions are bigger, but this isn't always the case. If you go out for lunch you'll often save 35% to 50% on your meal. (This seems to be particularly true for Chinese restaurants.) Go out just for dessert - Eating at home and going out for … [Read more...]

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Simple Tip

2008 by 2 Comments

When buying electronics, try to get items that can be charged using a standard USB cable. It makes it a lot easier to travel when one charger fits multiple devices. … [Read more...]

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Breaking the Internet

2008 by 3 Comments

I just saw a video where someone explained that typing Google into Google can "break the internet".   I sent the link to my dad and then went and tried it at Google.  I immediately (I'm not joking) got a message from my remote executive assistant saying that her internet was down.  I think I broke the internet in India.  Sorry about that everyone. … [Read more...]

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Excellence – Perfection vs. Efficiency

2008 by 12 Comments

I use to work for an organization that put a lot of emphasis on "excellence". This sounds like a good thing, but it was very poorly defined and tended to become an excuse for wreaking mayhem with the budget. Spending 100% more for a 10% gain toward perfection didn't seem like what I would define as excellence. As I thought I about it, I realized the the problem  stemmed from equating excellence with perfection. Excellence is actually made up of more than one dimension. Perfection is one of those dimensions, but you must have another dimension that recognizes we are dealing with finite resources. Usually this is best represented as cost in monetary terms, but it could also represent … [Read more...]

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Plaxo Question

2008 by 7 Comments

Has anyone found a good way to sync Plaxo (an online addressbook) with a Blackberry over the air?  Any ideas or suggestions would be helpful. … [Read more...]

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Interviews

2008 by Leave a Comment

I've been busy working on a new set of interviews with over 100 different people.  I'm pretty excited about how this is turning out.  We'll have some more on this late on the week. … [Read more...]

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Reader Question – Organized Work Desk

2008 by Leave a Comment
organized-wide

How should I organize my desk at work Get a file cabinet. Most of the junk on a work desks is paper that should be filed. Take the time to setup a reasonable filing system and then commit to keeping your papers stored in the file cabinet. Limit your personal clutter. A family picture or two is fine, but 20 framed photos, three baseballs, 2 snowglobes, and 4 unidentified objects is a bit excessive. Keep your extra stuff at home. Don't use your desktop for storage. If you need additional storage space, get some boxes you can put on the shelf or a cabinet of drawers. If you use the top of your desk for storage it will quickly accumulate many more items. Route your wires. Computer and … [Read more...]

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Productivity501 on Stumble Upon

2008 by 1 Comment

Consider adding Productivity501 as a friend on StumbleUpon. … [Read more...]

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Vote!

2008 by 3 Comments

As I mentioned before, we are doing a series of interviews for Productivity501.  However to help make things a bit more interactive, I'd like some help in determining which tips are the best.  If you have a few minutes take a look at this question and answers about the most useful gadget. You'll see two answers.  Simply click on the vote button for the one you think is the best answer.  You can do this as many times as you like.  Once we get a number of votes, we'll publish the results. … [Read more...]

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American Express Concierge Employees

2008 by Leave a Comment

We've had some interesting comments from former and current AMEX concierge employees.  Worth reading if you are thinking of using their service. … [Read more...]

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Bank Mistake

2008 by 7 Comments
bankerror-wide

I have a bank that didn't get my last change of address notification. When the mail was returned to them, they found my address and sent it to me along with a note telling me to change my address with them. The odd thing was along with my statement were 5 other statements from people I don't know. I called them and confirmed the address change and mentioned the other statements. They said they would take care of it. The other day I got my next statement--and the statements from 5 different people I've never heard of. I don't mind getting other people's statements. However, I'm very concerned that some of my statements may be sent to total strangers. This is one advantage of online … [Read more...]

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Large and Multiple Monitor Study

2008 by 2 Comments

Study from Utah.edu about productivity and larger monitors (pdf start on page 31). NPR interview regarding study. In particular the NPR interview is well worth the time. … [Read more...]

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Some Online Tools

2008 by Leave a Comment

Rajesh pointed me to Jiffle a web based program for scheduling meetings that integrates with Outlook and Google Calendar. One of the more interesting uses is allowing customers to directly schedule and appointment when you whenever you are free. It looks like it provides many of the features of an Exchange server--without the server. Louise wrote to tell me about PassPack an online password manager. It will let you autologin to your saved sites and will generate passwords for you. … [Read more...]

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20 Tips to Save Money on a Home Office

2008 by 14 Comments
save-sq

1. Go cheap on your desk. When it comes down to it a desk is simply a work surface. If you are on a budget, concentrate on getting something stable as a desk and put the savings to work elsewhere. A used door can make a great work surface once you remove the door handle. Place it on some sawhorses and you have an easily adjustable solid surface. Place it on two file cabinets and you now have desk drawers. This type of desk is what Amazon uses for all their employees. They attach 4x4s to a desk and it is ready to go. In the early days Jeff Bezos made the desks him self--now a carpenter makes them. When it comes down to it, as long as your desk is solid it probably won't make a … [Read more...]

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Bigger Monitors

2008 by 5 Comments

WSJ has a post referencing a study showing that people with a 24 inch monitor were 44% faster than people with 18 inch monitors on a particular set of tasks.  They said that performance started to go down again when given 26 inch monitors. I find that most people don't really know how to use a big monitor--especially with Windows.  I've watch a lot of people open an application and maximize it regardless of how big their screen is.  Then they jump back and forth between screens just like they would with a smaller monitor.  You have to learn how to get the most productivity out of a bigger monitor--especially if you are in the habit of working with a smaller computer screen.  This is … [Read more...]

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Noise Canceling Headsets

2008 by 11 Comments

Many years ago, I was reading a popular science article reviewing the first noise canceling headsets.  (Noise cancellation is done by creating a sound wave exactly the opposite of the ambient noise so the two waves cancel each other out and you hear silence.)  The reviewer noted that he had no jet lag when wearing the headset on a long flight. Has anyone experienced this? … [Read more...]

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Reader Question – Getting Your Money

2008 by 3 Comments
receive-tall

How do you get money back from someone who owes you? Generally if you are asking this question, you've probably made a mistake somewhere. Here is a list of rules I follow for loaning money. Never loan money to friends or family that you can't afford to lose. If you can't forgive them the debt without holding it against them, you are not the person who should be loaning them money. Do everything in writing. Don't expect to remember the terms of the loans. Get it in writing and signed. Make sure you have terms listed to handle the case where they don't pay. This could be listing an item as collateral, late payment fees, etc. You need to leave yourself an out if they don't pay. Be … [Read more...]

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International Holidays

2008 by 2 Comments

When working with someone from another country it is easy to forget that they will probably have a different holiday schedule than what you are used to.  If you hire a remote executive assistant, make sure you get a list of their holidays.  It helps with your planning and is a great way to better understand their culture. … [Read more...]

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Looking for Bloggers to Interview

2008 by Leave a Comment

I'm working on a new set of interviews on various productivity and life management topics and I'm looking for bloggers who would like to participate.   We will then publish all the answers to a particular question together along with the name, website, and RSS feed of the person who contributed each answer.  This can be a great way to highlight your website and your writing. You choose which questions you want to answer, so it only takes a few minutes to participate. If you are interested in participating, send an email to contact@productivity501.com with the subject interview and a link to your website. … [Read more...]

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Brook Sounds are Quite Popular

2008 by 11 Comments
spike

Yesterday I posted an MP3 that I use to give me ambient noise.  The audio is the sound of a brook.  Evidently brook sounds are very popular.  Here is what my outgoing traffic looked like for the past few days. The blue line is my outgoing traffic, which suddenly jumped when it was posted.  It looks like a couple thousand people downloaded the file.  If you were one of the ones who downloaded it, please give me some feedback on whether it was useful or not.  I've got a few other ones with different sounds that I'm thinking about releasing and I'd like to know what was good or bad about the way this one worked. If you didn't download it and want to check it out, the link is in the … [Read more...]

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Leo’s Desk

2008 by Leave a Comment

Leo Babauta talks about his minimalistic home office setup. … [Read more...]

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Getting the Most from a Large Monitor

2008 by 30 Comments
maximized-desktop

Recently I read about a study that showed productivity increased (up to 52% increase for certain tasks) when people used a larger monitor--up to 24 inches. After that productivity started dropping off again. Having used monitors 24 inches or larger for the past 3 years, I've learned a few things about getting the most from screen real estate. I think I know why productivity doesn't continue to go up with even larger screens. To use a larger screen effectively you have to break a lot of bad habits developed over years of using smaller display devices. This is a lot harder than it sounds. In this article I want to explore some of the ways to get more from your screen as well as some tips to … [Read more...]

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No Refund

2008 by 4 Comments

If you live in the US, today is the day your personal taxes are due.  It is also a good time to take a look and consider whether or not you got a refund.  If you got more than a couple hundred dollars back beyond the economic stimulus payment, it is a sign you need to adjust your deductions.  Don't get excited when you get money back.  It simply means you've over paid and gave the government an interest free loan.  Your HR department should be able to help you readjust your deductions. … [Read more...]

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Commercial Memory Application

2008 by Leave a Comment

Jeff wrote in to say that he has a created a commercial memorization application based on the technique and tool I demonstrated in the How to Memorize post. … [Read more...]

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Ambient Sound Download – The Brook

2008 by 8 Comments
brook-sq

Have you ever wished you could tune out background noise--maybe to drown out an annoying co-worker or just to stay focused? I know a lot of people use music for this, but personally I find music divides my concentration (a possible side effect of my training in music theory and composition). To help concentrate I need something that will stay in the background. Trying a bunch of sounds, I've found that water seems to be the most effective. Someday I'll probably get a fountain for my office, but until then I've created an MP3 file to help me concentrate. I'm making the file available as a special bonus to RSS and Email subscribers. If you'd like to download it, just subscribe to the … [Read more...]

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Mac Audio Input

2008 by 3 Comments

If you try to use your Mac for Skype you'll probably want to get a headset microphone some time.  Be aware that Macs don't actually have a microphone input.  They have a line in input.  This means with most microphones the signal will be too soft.  You can get around this problem by getting a USB headset or some type of preamp.  Hopefully this little bit of knowledge will save some readers a few hours of time and 3 or 4 trips to Radio Shack. (I speak from experience on this.) … [Read more...]

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QWERTY vs. Dvorak

2008 by 6 Comments

An article about standards and another from Reason.com both look at the comparison between Dvorak and QWERTY keyboards and suggests that there is a less of a difference than is commonly advertised. Of particular interest is the look at how the research was conducted for the Dvorak layouts. … [Read more...]

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Adapx

2008 by Leave a Comment

Adapx is another company selling a digital pen.  This one converts your writing into computer text. … [Read more...]

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Mindnode – Mind Mapping Software

2008 by 2 Comments

If you have OS X 10.5 and are looking for a simple free mind mapping program, take a look at Mindnode.  It is very basic, but that helps keep things very simple. If you want a good introduction to the mind mapping process, you should take a look at this book. … [Read more...]

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Podcasting Conference

2008 by Leave a Comment

I'm attending a day long conference of educators talking about podcasting at Kansas University today. At lunch it was very interesting to hear the professors talking about how their students approach to learning has changed after coming out of No Child Left Behind style education.  They felt that current students tend to take much less responsibility for learning than students from 3 or 4 years ago.  One teacher said he had 5 students go to the dean because they had attended every one of his lectures and didn't understand how they got an F in the class.  Their grades were evidently less impressive than their attendance records.   … [Read more...]

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Live Scribe

2008 by 3 Comments

If Live Scribe works as well as their demo it will be an incredible tool.  It was supposed to ship in March.  Does anyone actually have one of these? … [Read more...]

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Darren gets Control of his Email

2008 by Leave a Comment

Darren at Problogger talks about the changes he has made to manage his email.  Basically he moved everything to Gmail.  I like the idea of keeping the archives around, but I don't know if I'd want to trust Gmail with the only copy of all my messages.   … [Read more...]

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Reader Question – Tidying Up Computer Wires

2008 by 6 Comments
cwires1-wide

How do I clear my desk of computer wires? Make sure your cables are long enough - Many messy wire situations are caused by using cables that are too short. Route your cables using velcro straps - Bundling wires together and routing them out of sight can help you keep your desk clear. Black electricians tape is another option if your wire setup doesn't change too often. Get rid of equipment you don't need - If you have a bunch of gadgets that aren't being used, remove them from your desk. For example, your scanner might be better of keeping in the closet if you only use it once or twice each month. Use wireless - WiFi for networking and bluetooth for keyboards, mice, and audio can … [Read more...]

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Big Monitor, Big Mouse Pad

2008 by 4 Comments

If you get a large monitor, consider getting a larger mouse pad as well.  It will help you navigate the larger screen without requiring that you pick the mouse up and move it. … [Read more...]

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Popular Post: How to Memorize

2008 by Leave a Comment

How to Memorize Verbatim Text has been our most popular post for the past month. If you missed it, be sure check it out--particularly the Javascript tool toward the bottom. You type in the text you want to memorize and it gives you a "cheat sheet" to help with the process. … [Read more...]

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Binge Productivity

2008 by 2 Comments

Glen at LifeDev writes about how is is trying out Binge Productivity.  Instead of dealing with a big todo list, he is working on whatever project he wants for as long as he wants.  If you have the flexibility to work like this, it can be a great way to take advantage of the intense focus that comes from getting into your work zone. … [Read more...]

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Fruitful Time

2008 by Leave a Comment

Gaetano sent me a link to screen shots of his companies application FruitfulTime.  It is a windows based task management system. … [Read more...]

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Fixing the Mighty Mouse Finger Ball

2008 by Leave a Comment

Apple's Mighty Mouse works reasonably well, but they didn't provide a way to clean the finger ball.  If the ball stops working it is probably because of dirt.  Sometimes you can fix it by turning off the mouse and pressing down on the ball very hard with your thumb.  Move it forward, backwards, and side to side.  So for this has worked for me in dislodging the internal dirt and getting it working again. … [Read more...]

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Praise for the Procrastination Prevention Course

2008 by 1 Comment

Since its release the Procrastination Prevention course has quickly gained over 550 users.  Here is what some of them are saying: Thank you so much for these Procrastination Prevention emails, they have been very interesting and useful. Changing one small thing has had profound effects and I feel much less likely to procrastinate in the future now I have tools like the 5 minute contract to hand! - Dianne … [Read more...]

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Reader Questions

2008 by Leave a Comment

If you have any questions you'd like to see answered on Productivity501, remember to send them to questions@productivity501.com. … [Read more...]

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Resume Template

2008 by 1 Comment

If you need to brush up your resume, consider giving the design a facelift.  The link includes a Word template and a detailed explanation of the design. … [Read more...]

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Two Types of Technology

2008 by Leave a Comment

Two Types of Technology Users - One of the first posts from Productivity501. Which type of user are you? … [Read more...]

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Google App Platform

2008 by Leave a Comment

Google is going to let developers write applications that run on Google's infrastructure.  This means we will probably see a flood of applications like Google Apps over the next year or so. … [Read more...]

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Lifesourcing

2008 by 2 Comments

Steve Rubel tries outsourcing some tasks as an experiment. … [Read more...]

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Asking for a Discount

2008 by 4 Comments
the-deal

One way to realize great savings is to simply ask for a discount. For example, when we were getting ready for our daughter to be born we asked the hospital if we could have a discount for paying the entire fee up front. They gave us 20% off what we would have paid otherwise. I've generally had good luck asking for discounts. Here are some tips to follow: Make sure you have something to offer - If you can pay in cash, but in bulk or offer some other type of incentive it is easier for the person selling to want to negotiate with you. Be prepared to walk away - If the sales person realizes that you might not make the purchase you have much better bargaining power. I've had car … [Read more...]

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Facebook

2008 by 2 Comments

Facebook Isn't Private - If you use social networking, you should read this post by Legal Andrew.  Most of us skip over the TOS acceptance screen, but this is a good remind about the types of things you've agreed to. … [Read more...]

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Group Interview – Staying Organized

2008 by 7 Comments
disorganized-sq

What is your best piece of advice to help someone stay organized once they have gone through the initial effort? "Organization needs to be a habit rather than a one time event. Having a daily routine to maintain the system is as important as the initial effort. While some people cringe at the thought of a daily routine, it is really the secret to more than just organization. Daily routines keep us organized, help us to achieve goals, but most importantly, they allow us to live a balanced life. With the ultimate goal of balanced living, it is easier to view disciplines and habits of organization in proper perspective." Melissa Michaels from The Inspired Room (rss) This is an area where I … [Read more...]

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Delays with Email

2008 by Leave a Comment

Outgoing messages may be delayed from Gmail or Google Apps. If you send an important message you may want to followup up by phone or ask for confirmation. … [Read more...]

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Email Related Links

2008 by Leave a Comment

Free Exchange accounts with mobile sync from Mail2Web Consolidate email addresses to Gmail. Gmail importer - Not sure why you wouldn't just use IMAP. … [Read more...]

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