Excel is really a "swiss army knife" type tool. I have used it for all kinds of odd things including HTML for long lists, creating a checkerboard, analyzing server log files, projecting cell phone usage and analysis whether people preferred live or telecast music at a church overflow room. Excel has so many hidden little features that it is easy to overlook some of the capabilities that let you do a complicated task quickly. This video demonstrates three capabilities of Excel that the average user does not know about. Three Things You Didn't Know About Excel from Productivity501. (If you have trouble seeing the video, turn on HD. You'll have to go to Vimeo, but you can watch it … [Read more...] about Three Things You Didn’t Know About Excel
Blog
Interview: Managing Physical Media
What is your single most important tip for keeping your books, magazines, software and other physical media organized? (549) The key to keeping your physical media organized is to have as little as possible. Only keep the absolute essentials and either trash or convert to a digital file what you want to keep. For example, I don't purchase any fiction books-- the library is perfect for that. I only keep books that I will either read again or reference in the future. CD's and DVD's are easy to convert to digital files and centralize on an external hard drive (be sure to back it up!) Basically, if you drastically reduce the amount of physical media in your life the problem of … [Read more...] about Interview: Managing Physical Media
Contests
Just a reminder about two current contests. First we have the Belkin Concealed Powerstrip giveaway. When we get to 1250 email subscribers of them will get the powerstrip. (We are currently at 1088. It has been slow because many people have been switching over to feedreaders.) Second we have the Bento software giveaway. The last person to comment on the post gets the software. … [Read more...] about Contests
Past Post: Paradox of Powerful Tools
Paradox of Powerful Tools - Simple is often better. … [Read more...] about Past Post: Paradox of Powerful Tools
Younger Look for Resume
Thursday's WSJ has an example of how a 49 year old woman was able to get more attention for jobs by adding a photo to her resume where she was dressed to look younger and trendy. She also tried to minimize the length of her experience by removing her graduation date and some of the earlier jobs. What do you think of adding a photo to your resume? … [Read more...] about Younger Look for Resume
Review of Shoeboxed.com
At times, the amount of paperwork that one person has do deal with can become extremely overwhelming. Many people find that a pile of unorganized paper can have drastic effects on the amount of work that they accomplish. For many of us, the motivation to organize the chaos is sometimes too much to even contemplate. However, an enterprising business has found a way to make the lives of the ordinary person much simpler. Shoeboxed.com is an organization that provides a service that categorizes and organizes your receipts in a hassle-free manner. There are several levels of service that the company provides. One is the free version, in which you must scan in or direct your online order … [Read more...] about Review of Shoeboxed.com
Boston Magazine
Productivity501 got a nice little mention on page three of the Boston Magazine on an article about American Express Concierge services. This explains the surge in comments from people doing "damage control". … [Read more...] about Boston Magazine
Virtual vs. Inperson Assistants
It is hard to beat having someone you can send to the store with your grocery list or wait in line for you at city hall. Maybe I just lucked out, but my non-virtual assistant is really cutting down on the amount of running around I have to do. … [Read more...] about Virtual vs. Inperson Assistants
Past Posts: Personal Productivity From Management
Personal Productivity From Management Theory - How academic management theories can be used to help improve your self management. … [Read more...] about Past Posts: Personal Productivity From Management
Bill Gates on XP
This email is a pretty interesting account of Bill Gates trying to install Movie Maker. … [Read more...] about Bill Gates on XP


