The paperless office is no longer being held back by technical challenges. Everything you need to "go paperless" exists. The current barriers are cultural and process issues more than anything technical. In this article, we are going to look at ten of the common myths about going paperless. 1. Technology isn't ready for a paperless office The components of a paperless office are readily available and fairly inexpensive. The technology is readily available not only to scan in your existing paper, but to eliminate the creation of new paper through better workflow tools. While the technology for going paperless is readily available, the rate of adoption for these tools and this system is … [Read more...] about 10 Paperless Office Myths
Blog
Severance and FICA Taxes
Current tax law says you and your employer must pay a tax of 15.3% of your total wages (subject to certain limits) because of the Federal Insurance Contribution Act (FICA). This is what pays for social security and medicare. This tax is only due on earned income and it is split between you and your employer. A recent tax court ruled that severance payments are not earned income and are thus not subject to FICA tax. If this applies to you, your former employer will need to file to get the taxes back, but it might be worth checking with anyone who paid you severance since 2006. … [Read more...] about Severance and FICA Taxes
5 Tips for Networking Geniuses
Your network is the people you know and stay in contact with. The size and quality of your network has a huge impact on your opportunities in life. Obviously, keeping your network "healthy" is instrumental in growing it. What is a healthy network? A healthy network is one where the people who know you, think of your name when there is an opportunity that you might be interested in, a job you might like, or question you can answer, or a favor you can provide. Notice, it isn't just about taking--it is about people thinking of you both when they need something and when they can help you. In this post, we are going to look at five tips that will help make you a networking genius--someone … [Read more...] about 5 Tips for Networking Geniuses
Why You Aren’t Successful
If you feel you are wildly successful, then you probably don't need to read this. However, if you are only moderately successful, you probably spend a lot of time wondering what the people who are wildly successful are doing differently than you. There is one huge difference between successful and unsuccessful people. That difference is their ability to finish. Yes, luck, connections, family, training and a number of other factors influence success, but none of those things really matter if you can't finish. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mPTfO8U3kCs Things of Value Success is a matter of producing things of value. That doesn't mean everything you create and finish will be a … [Read more...] about Why You Aren’t Successful
Happiness Project Video
We reviewed the Happiness Project a month or so ago. Gretchen just wrapped up a television advertising campaign. You can watch the ad on YouTube. If you are interested in television advertising, be sure to read how she used Google to get her ad on national television. … [Read more...] about Happiness Project Video
Technology Worth Noticing
Here is a short collection of different pieces of technology I've dealt with lately that might be worth looking into if you ever have a need for the particular problems each one solves. Ubuntu Lucid Lynx Ubuntu's newest version of Linux is a nice step forward. Ubuntu is an operating system. You can install it in place of Microsoft Windows or OS X. After playing with it a few hours, I've been impressed with the new look and feel. It includes a number of free applications as part of the default installation very much on par with (if not better than) what you'd expect to get with a commercial operating system. For general computing where a good deal of your work is done on the Internet, … [Read more...] about Technology Worth Noticing
How to keep from Wasting Time on the Web
I saw this quote on a mailing list: For personal reasons, I do not browse the web from my computer. (I also have not net connection much of the time.) To look at page I send mail to a demon which runs wget and mails the page back to me. It is very efficient use of my time, but it is slow in real time. -- Richard Stallman Basically, if he wants a page, he sends an email to a special address asking for it and the page is emailed back to him. That is definitely one way to keep from wasting time on the internet. A lot of times the internet doesn't help productivity because it wastes just as much time as it saves. Here are some tips for keeping focused. Block Ads - Ads are there to … [Read more...] about How to keep from Wasting Time on the Web
Prepare for Next Year’s Taxes
With tax season behind us, it is worth taking a few minutes to prepare for next year. As the deficit rises, it seems pretty difficult to imagine that our taxes won't be going up in one form or another. A little preparation can help make sure that you pay no more than your fair share. Tax folder Start a folder today for 2010 tax papers. Even if you don't put anything in it, having it ready helps make sure that you don't accidentally misplace something when it does come in. Many people spend more time looking for tax papers than they do actually preparing their taxes. This folder is also a great place to keep anything that will help you with your taxes. If you read about a tax credit … [Read more...] about Prepare for Next Year’s Taxes
Can Exercise Make You Fat?
Sounds like a stupid question doesn't it? We all know the answer. Exercising in and of itself will not make you fat. However, the side effects of exercising can encourage behavior that will make you gain weight. Unless you understand how you mentally react to exercising, it is easy to get in a situation where your rituals around exercise can make you put on the pounds instead of shedding them. Self-control Most people tend to treat self-control as a finite commodity. In other words, if they exercise self-control in one area, they will lessen the self-control they apply in another area. Some of this is a mentality of trying to reward yourself for good behavior. So if you exercise for … [Read more...] about Can Exercise Make You Fat?
Diversified Income
Nearly everyone knows that, when it comes to investing, you shouldn't put all of your eggs into one basket. Investing in many different types of investments helps lower the risk that a downturn in a particular area will wipe you out, financially. (See the story about a man who only invested in street cars.) Most people don't take what is common knowledge about investing and apply it to other areas. In particular, they don't apply it to their income. When you are in a position where all of your income is determined by a single employer, you are just like the guy who had all of his money in street cars. Many dual-income families have some level of diversification by having two adults … [Read more...] about Diversified Income