Most people have a collection of sites that they like to check every few days. Unfortunately, checking a few sites can turn into several hours of pointless surfing without any real benefit. Here are some strategies that will let you maximize your productivity while using the web to stay up to date. Set aside time to visit your favorite sites. If you don't create space for it, you'll end up opening your browser everytime you are faced with a task that you want to procrastinate on. Avoid this by setting up a specific time. This can be in the morning before going to work, at lunch time, in the evening. It doesn't matter when it is, but set up a time and get into a schedule. Set a … [Read more...] about Effective Web Browsing
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Turkeys and Skunks
Turkeys don't like skunks. Skunks like turkeys, but mainly because they can eat the baby chicks. So it isn't surprising that when a skunk comes around, a mother turkey will attack it to keep it away from her babies. Here is another fact about turkey mothers. They respond to their chicks saying "cheep cheep". If the chick says "cheep cheep" the mother will care for it. No "cheep cheep" and the mother will ignore it and sometimes even kill it. So if you are a baby chick, the "cheep cheep" is very important. In a slightly bizarre experiment, scientists rigged a stuffed skunk and sent it toward a mother turkey. Ask expected, the turkey attacked the stuffed skunk with her claws … [Read more...] about Turkeys and Skunks
Relenta Review
During the course of a day, many of us find ourselves using to-do lists and other means of getting thoughts and tasks out of our minds and into a trusted place of reference. For a business, keeping employees aware of tasks and duties in an organized fashion can be a challenge. From a customer service point of view, making sure that a customer is not overlooked is certainly very important. Since much of the communication in the business world is done through email, companies are finding that it is difficult to consolidate communications so that everyone is "in the loop." Relenta CEO Dmitri Eroshenko states that, "Relenta keeps everyone on the same page...literally." And the software does just … [Read more...] about Relenta Review
Don’t Repeat Yourself
In software engineering there is a principle known as DRY -- Don't Repeat Yourself. The idea is this: If you are going to solve a problem, do it only once. Don't solve the same problem again and again in different parts of your code. In software, this means that you take your solutions to these common problems and code them in a way so they can be used from wherever necessary. The DRY principle can also apply to your personal work habits as well. Over the course of a week, a good portion of our time can be taken up by unnecessary tasks or overly complicated processes. Proactively looking for areas where we are "repeating" ourselves can unearth these areas where we can … [Read more...] about Don’t Repeat Yourself
Your Own Business
In a previous post I mentioned that if you are the type of person who focuses on personal productivity, you probably shouldn't be working for someone else. I wanted to explain why. Many people focus on being highly productive, but no one seems to talk about how to actually benefit from being more productive. Sure you can make your boss really like you, but just because you are helping your employer be more efficient doesn't mean you are going to see any personal benefit--other than being well liked. How Businesses Make Money Businesses make money by selling items or services for more than it costs them to produce those items or services. The dry cleaner may charge you $2.00 per … [Read more...] about Your Own Business
5 Minute Outliner 2.0 Review
Sometimes compatibility issues between technological devices leave us scratching our heads and disheartened at the loss of productivity that results. One such frequent frustrate-or is programs for mobile devices. Few truly helpful organizational programs are available for use with a wide range of cell phones or PDA's. However, the developers at 5 Minute Downloads have created software that allows a user to effectively visualize and organize ideas, create outlines for projects, import information from a personal computer, and to top it all off, stay compatible with other team members in the work place and with their mobile devices. The product in question is the 5 Minute Outliner, which … [Read more...] about 5 Minute Outliner 2.0 Review
Collegiate Time Management
College is one of the most exciting and activity-filled times of a person's life. Making new friends, developing new skills, and shouldering many more responsibilities take up a lot of time, let alone the ever-present studying that needs to be done. Time management is so important for students that many Freshman Experience classes focus on the subject. Here are a few tips to help busy students make good use of their time. 1. Plan ahead Studying in college requires more preparation than one might think. With all of the other distractions that are available, it is important to plan out a study schedule and really stick with it. That way, you will already have your studying done when your … [Read more...] about Collegiate Time Management
Skydeck
I am really enjoying the Skydeck service on my Blackberry. It basically gives you an inbox for all your phone calls and gives you voice mail transcription that is quite a bit more accurate than Vonage. One of the best features is the way it adds contacts automatically. If I call a restuarant, Skydeck will notice, look the number up in a directory and add the information to my address book. So I can place a call and within a few minutes I have their name, number and address in my phone. … [Read more...] about Skydeck
Harvard and the Economy
You know there are significant economic problems when Harvard---an institution known for having the largest foundation endowment in the US world--starts looking for ways to cut back. I got an email from the president this morning outlining the ways they are trying to cut expenses. They plan to slow the construction on a science complex and possibly scale back their plans, offer early retirement options, look for ways to streamline operations, but still keep tuition increases in check. Most notable in the email was the closing paragraph--a reminder that we are defined by what is in our heads and hearts rather than our bank accounts: In a time of dramatic and often disquieting change, it … [Read more...] about Harvard and the Economy
Internet–Friend or Foe for Productivity?
The internet is a valuable tool that can let us do things faster than anything we imagined 20 years ago. But at the same time it can be a very big time waster. The internet is kind of like a dictionary with beautiful illustrated pictures. It is wonderful to look at, but it can take 10 times longer to actually do anything up because of all the amazing (and distracting) pictures: Lets see how do you spell "artichoke"....neat here is a nice little drawing of an airplane...wait what was I...oh yeah "artichoke" ok that will be a little further...what is that a picture of?....oh an anteater. I didn't realize their noses were so long. Ok now focus...."artichoke". Hm. How do they know what … [Read more...] about Internet–Friend or Foe for Productivity?