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Top 5 Worst Productivity Ideas

2009 by 5 Comments
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Here are some of the top five traps I find people fall into when they try to increase their productivity. Most of them aren't bad things in and of themselves.  However, if they become your focus, you can be sure you aren't going to be getting the benefits you are striving for. Buy (yet more) software to make you more productive Software needs to enable your system.  Just buying a piece of software won't make you any more productive.  Sometimes when you buy software you are also buying the system and procedure that comes with it.  This isn't bad, but if you don't understand that the real thing of value is the system you are setting yourself up for disappointment. I know people … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Productivity Tagged With: ,

Prepare for the Worst to Save Time

2009 by 3 Comments
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It isn't uncommon for small crises to turn into a huge time drain if you haven't planned ahead. I'm not saying that you should spend an inordinate amount of time trying to plan for every possible emergency, but there are some very basic level precautions that are worth the small amount of effort they require. Here are a couple crises to consider: Your wallet gets stolen while you are traveling to another city. Your car gets a flat tire. Your cellphone gets its memory erased. These are all fairly minor issues if you are prepared. They can become catastrophic issues if you are not prepared.  For example, if your cellphone memory gets erased, as long as you have a backup of … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Organize Tagged With: , ,

Productive Blogger: Promotion vs. Production

2009 by 10 Comments
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Most bloggers have the idea that blogging is 97% writing and 3% promotion. This view places way to much emphasis on writing. It isn't that writing isn't important, but if you write 5 posts per week that no one knows about as opposed to writing 1 post per week that get spread around the web, which do you think will be more effective? Network With Peers There are a bunch of ways to promote your content. Getting on the front page of Digg or Delicious is great, but you will probably have better results over the long term by focusing on good old fashion networking. You need to meet other people in your niche. Subscribe to their blogs, comment on their posts and email them offers to … [Read more...]

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The Right Things

2009 by 7 Comments
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Last night I made a late night run to the grocery store. As I got out of my car, I noticed a woman walking around the lot looking at the ground. She had her hand cupped as if she were holding something. By the time I exited the store, she had worked her way across the parking lot to the store entrance. In her hand, I saw five slightly smoked cigarettes. I watched her continue her search as I got into my vehicle. It took me a few minutes to realize what she was doing. She was looking for cigarettes that had been partially smoked and discarded. I assume that she would take them home and finish smoking them. While I admire her frugality, it was a sorry sight. She was going through … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Misc

Upper, Lower and Middle Class Tax Breaks

2009 by 29 Comments

Many people feel that rich people don't pay enough taxes. The question of what type of tax structure is best for the economy isn't something I want to address in this post. Instead, I'd like to talk about the idea that rich people pay less in taxes than the poor and middle class. Part of this view is rooted in what people see as the purpose of taxes. I see the government as providing a very valuable service to me. They keep the infrastructure running and create the rules and environment that allow me to live happily and run a profitable business. I am happy to pay taxes to support the police and military to keep me safe, pave roads to drive on, help prevent the outbreak of horrible … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Money Tagged With:

People Who Come to Distract You

2009 by 20 Comments
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If you work in a traditional office, it is likely that you deal with a lot of traffic in and out your door that is little more than distractions. Here are a few tips for keeping distracting people out of your office. Don't have a place for them to sit -- If you have a chair, put a stack of books or papers on it. You can also keep a folding chair behind some furniture for the times you need it. It is much more difficult to get someone to leave once they have found a seat. Stand and come out from behind your desk -- If you conduct your conversation standing, it will likely be much shorter. This is a good thing to do before you know if they have something valuable or if they are … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Productivity Tagged With: , ,

The Noguchi Filing System

2009 by 5 Comments

Link: The Noguchi Filing System is a way to organize the paper in your life without requiring that you categorize it. Basically, you use "pockets" to hold everything and place them vertically on a shelf. Whenever you need something from a pocket, you remove it from it's place and place it back on the shelf as the leftmost pocket. This means that, over time, all of your frequently used pockets will be on the left and the least used pockets will be on the right. … [Read more...]

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10 Articles on Writing

2009 by 1 Comment
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Behind the Blog: How I Write an Entry-Get Rich Slowly In this article, the author outlines how the process of how he creates articles for his blog. He shows through his own experiences how an article takes much time and planning to create before it is ever even nearly ready to be published. Writing and Remembering: Why We Remember What We Write-Dustin Wax In this article, the author explores the reasons why we tend to remember things that we write down. One example of this is note-taking at a meeting. Once a person has taken down the information in writing, he or she may not need to refer back to the notes because the information was put into memory while being written down. There are … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Development Tagged With:

Interview: Home Office

2009 by 6 Comments
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Despite the popular misconception that working from home is simple, creating an effective work environment in your own home can be quite a challenge. Dealing with interruptions and distractions is something that every job holder faces, but for the home worker, these distractions are often more abundant and become very detrimental to productivity. We asked experts for advice on the following topic: What is your best piece of advice for creating an effective work environment in your home office? The single most important productivity strategy is equipping the home office to facilitate the work. Today, in fact, a (used!) Steelcase desk system is being delivered here. The U-shaped work … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Organize Tagged With: , , ,

14 Must-Have Online Banking Features

2009 by 10 Comments
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Our daughter just turned 3 months old. She has already visited 10 states and she's spent 1/3rd of her life on the road with us. My point is, we travel a lot. We need to be able to manage our finances from anywhere in the world. Rich online banking services are much more important than a physical location. Since I have been doing all of my banking online with quite a few different online banks as I looked for the best solution, I've had a chance to really experiment with what works and what doesn't work for us. Here is a checklist of things to look for in an online bank. Some items you may be familiar with. Others might be new to you if it isn't something your current bank … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Money Tagged With: , , ,

Fewer Choices Result in Better Efficiency

2009 by 3 Comments
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There was a study published in 2003 by the Journal of Psychology that attempted to measure how helpful time management training was for employees.  They sent a group of employees to a 1 and 1/2 day seminar on time management and then compared their self-assessment one month later with a control group. The study showed that individuals who had been through time management training believed that they significantly decreased their avoidance behavior and worry.  They also reported that they had an increased ability to manage time. (Notice that the study wasn't trying to measure their actual skill level, only their perception of their skill.) This is, of course, a great study for all … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Productivity Tagged With: , ,

Previous Posts

2009 by Leave a Comment
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Here is a list of a few important posts from past years that you may have missed. Expect Change - How a wealthy man destined his family for poverty by not expecting change. Top 5 Time Wasters - Small things that will eat up your time and keep you from being productive. Time Discounting - A look at why it is psychologically difficult to work on things that give future reward. Fewer Choices for Greater Productivity - A look at how limiting your choices helps you get more done. Not To Do List - The opposite of your to-do list.  This list can be just as important as the list of things you want to do. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Misc Tagged With: ,

Controlling Your Mind

2009 by 11 Comments
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"Stop! You aren't thinking about what you are doing. You can't do this unless you give it 100% of your focus." My piano teacher went on to tell me about how her mentor had stopped her in the middle of playing a piece because she got distracted by a bird on the outside of the window. Taci King was a very kind woman, but she made it clear that I wasn't going to get any better unless I learned to control my mind and concentrate on the task at hand and at that moment, the task at hand was playing a particular piece of music. This lesson has stuck in my mind more than any other from the two years I studied with her in high-school.  I remember it every time I'm trying to do something … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Development Tagged With: ,

You Shouldn’t Always Look for the Right Tool

2009 by 12 Comments
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When I was 13, I set my room on fire for the first time.  I had found an electric fan that I assumed had been wired together by my uncle (and electronics guru).  When I plugged it in, there was a loud pop, some sparks and a flaming piece of the switch flew to the floor and started burning the carpet. I took off running downstairs for the fire extinguisher in the kitchen.  My mom (who happened to be in the room) calmly walked over and put the fire out by stepping on it. It turns out that the fan had been wired together by my 11 year old brother, who had hooked a 12 volt automotive fan into a regular household wiring cord with an automotive switch, shorting the connection between the … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Technology Tagged With: ,

Saving Money on Cooling Your Home

2009 by 11 Comments
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Dealing with the summer heat can be pretty expensive.  The colder you need to keep your house, the more it costs.  Here are some tips to help you stay cool at home more efficiently. Dress light - Make sure you are wearing cool clothing in your home.  Wearing long sleeves and warm pants is going to force you to keep the temperature colder to stay comfortable.  If dressing in cooler clothes lets you turn the thermostat up even just a single degree, it can still result in significant savings. Take off your shoes - This is related to dressing light, but if your feet are cool, it is much easier to feel cool all over.  A cheap pair of sandals to wear inside can pay for themselves … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Money Tagged With: , ,