If you travel a lot, it can be helpful to create a checklist of items you need to take with you. This lets you perform the decision making process once, instead of repeating it again each time you go on a trip. Obviously you may need to tailor your plans to match a particular trip, but your list can help make sure you don't forget anything important and can help reduce the feeling of, "I'm forgetting something, but don't know what it is." … [Read more...] about Travel Tip: Create a Checklist
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Links for Setting Up a Filing System
Everyone needs some type of filing system. Even if you are attempting to go paperless, chances are you will still need some type of filing system--even if it is computer based. The five articles below look at different ways to setup and improve your filing system. They deal paper based systems, but some of the principles will apply to paperless systems as well. Taking a little time to improve your setup can be a very good investment. If you can reduce the amount of time you spend hunting for things each day by even just two minutes, it will save you 12 hours per year. If you have an article that you would recommend on filing, please add it in the comments. Filing Organization … [Read more...] about Links for Setting Up a Filing System
Facebook for Kids
Johnathan Fields has a nice article about 14 year olds having Facebook accounts. He really looks at a perspective I hadn't thought of. … [Read more...] about Facebook for Kids
Productivity at the Fringes
The physics most of us are familiar with is called Newtonian physics. You can use it to calculate how fast a ball will fall when dropped from the Eiffel tower, where a canon ball will land when shot at a particular angle and all kinds of other useful things. However, if you start dealing with things that are very small or very large, Newtonian physics is no longer accurate. When dealing with very small things like computer processors, individual photos and other partials, you have to use Quantum Theory to produce meaningful results. When dealing with very large things, distances and objects, you have to use Einstein's Theory of Relativity. With Newtonian physics, the GPS in your … [Read more...] about Productivity at the Fringes
Failing Quickly
Failing can be one of the most productive things you can do. Most people try to avoid failure. I'm not saying that this is bad, but in many cases they are just delaying failure to a later point in time. If something you are doing is going to result in failure you should do your best to make sure it happens sooner rather than later. With few exceptions, failing now is going to be less expensive (in time, money, mental stress) than failing one year from now. As an example, think about a relationship. If two people are dating and they discover a particular area where they aren't compatible at all, they can avoid that area. However, this may extend their relationship and just cause it … [Read more...] about Failing Quickly
9 Programs Worth Buying for OS X
Here some of the software I have spent money on and that was well worth worth the cost. Most of these deserve their own post and screencast just to show you how truly useful they are, but for now, here is a high level overview of each program. 1Password - I owned this software for about a year before using it. It was part of a MacHeist packaged deal. I didn't think I would ever want to use a password manager. (Real men keep their passwords in their head right?) Grant mentioned that it was a must have piece of software, so I finally decided to try it out. It really is incredible. I've been blown away by how much time I was wasting dealing with passwords. If you deal with passwords for … [Read more...] about 9 Programs Worth Buying for OS X
Contratulations Martin
Martin won the ergonomic giveaway. He chose the mousepad with the wrist-rest. We shipped it out to him today. Be watching for another contest with a giveaway. … [Read more...] about Contratulations Martin
How big are your blocks?
The ability to be productive is not something that is evenly distributed to each human. Take five random people and give them all the assignment to create a storage shed and a week to work on it. At the end of a week, how much variance would you expect to find? Some individuals wouldn't have started while others would be completely finished. There are several reasons for this. If one of your subjects happens to be a carpenter, it makes sense that he would make more headway than the Wal-mart clerk. So skill and past experience definitely have an impact. However, there is another difference that is even more important that has to do with how different people see a problem and what … [Read more...] about How big are your blocks?
Ergonomic Giveaway – Still Time
Just a reminder that there is still time to enter our ergonomic giveaway of some cool Fellowes products. To enter just leave a comment on the post where we interviewed Kevin Butler. We will pick a winner later this week. … [Read more...] about Ergonomic Giveaway – Still Time
$10,000 Stack of Paper
In my computer bag, I have small stack of papers that is worth a bit over $10,000. This is a story about the importance of keeping good records. Before my wife and I went to Mexico, we decided we needed a new car. Our Buick had well over 200,000 miles on it. The high mileage wasn't a problem, but the area where we were going couldn't easily get Buick parts. It was a similar situation with our 20 year old BMW. After some checking, we found that Volkswagens were pretty common and there was even a dealership in the area where we were planning to live. We test drove about 15 vehicles before we found one we liked. It was an off-lease 2003 Passat with a bit over 50,000 miles on it. … [Read more...] about $10,000 Stack of Paper