A few weeks ago, my eyes started bothering me when reading things on the computer. I think they were just tired, because they seem fine now. However I did make one small change that has proved useful. I've tried to stop reading news on the Internet. I subscribed to the Wall Street Journal and it comes every day with more news than I care to read. If I catch myself starting to go to a news site on the internet, I stop and pick up the newspaper. I've found that this reduces the amount of time I spend reading news and the quality of what I'm reading is usually higher. … [Read more...] about Stop Reading on the Internet
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Your House Temperature
Quick Question: As summer weather sets in, what do you keep your thermostat set to? I'm just curious how our 77 degrees compares to other people. Also do you keep it constant (we do) or do you change it based on the time of day. … [Read more...] about Your House Temperature
Quick Paperless Update
My paperless experiment is going well. Most of my incoming paper gets filed in DevonTHINK and I've been very happy with the the results. DevonTHINK will let you do stuff like put the same file in two folders. Once you get a number of documents in the right folders, DevonTHINK can automatically suggest where to put new incoming documents. This is surprisingly helpful and extremely accurate. The ScanSnap is good with flat paper, but sometimes has trouble with items that have been folder (think anything that comes in the mail). I'm contemplating looking for a higher end scanner just to simplify the scanning process. It isn't bad, but it isn't a smooth as I'd like it to be. … [Read more...] about Quick Paperless Update
Learning to Delegate
When working with an assistant it can be difficult to learn to delegate. One way to practice is to find a task that they can't mess up. For example, getting quotes on a print job from a handful of print shops. Let them know that there isn't anything they can mess up and tell them you want them to handle the process on their own. Give them as much info as they need and ask them to clarify if they have any questions. Then turn them loose on the project and don't interfere. This is good practice for you and good practice for them. It will teach you both how to work together more efficiently. … [Read more...] about Learning to Delegate
Take a Vacation to get Ahead
40% of the workforce took a vacation last year. This year 33% of workers plan to take a vacation. Don't underestimate the value of having a week away from your job. It can make a marked increase in your productivity. Make sure you are in the 1/3 of your coworkers to go on vacation this year. … [Read more...] about Take a Vacation to get Ahead
How To Memorize Resources
Here are some great resources on memorization in addition to our popular post and memory tool for memorizing verbatim text. If you like this collection, please consider signing up for the daily email or rss feed. Memorizing Lines - Grace Fleming Looks at how to decrease the effort of memorization by including multiple senses. A combination of sound, sight and emotions can do wonders. Steps are provided to include each sense organ. Strategies to Improve Memorization - Joni Rose Different techniques to help you remember better. This simple article covers a lot of different ideas in memory technique. Memorize This - 7 Ways to Memorize Anything! - Gideon Addington Each of us are unique … [Read more...] about How To Memorize Resources
Interview: Getting Organized
As part of our interview questions on organization we asked people what tip they would share with someone looking for a single way to better their organization skills. Then Productivity501 readers were asked to vote for their favorite answers. The results below are organized based on the results of the voting. (You can still vote on answers to other questions.) What is the single most important piece of advice you would give to someone looking to better organize his or her life? Start by reducing clutter and getting clear about your priorities. It's a lot easier said than done, but it's true. Disorganization starts with indecision caused by your own conflicting needs, values, … [Read more...] about Interview: Getting Organized
Early Withdrawal from an IRA
If you have a lot of money in an IRA you might be interested in 72(t) distributions. They allow you to start taking a certain amount of money out now (and paying normal income tax on it) instead of waiting until you are 59.5. For most people this isn't a good idea, but it is a good option to know about. … [Read more...] about Early Withdrawal from an IRA
Ultimate Virtual Assistant Guide
I have been experimenting with using virtual assistants. I've worked with two, one in the US for about two weeks and one in India for two months. It has been an excellent learning experience and I wanted to share it with everyone in the form of this guide. My goal is to give readers a good idea of how a remote assistant can help them, along with an idea of the benefits and drawbacks. This guide should give you a pretty good idea of what you need to get started working with a virtual assistant and should help you avoid some of the errors I made in the process. I am also going to look at the idea of having a local assistant and how that compares to working with their virtual counterpart. … [Read more...] about Ultimate Virtual Assistant Guide
Michigan’s Big Bet
Recently the state of Michigan made a big bet. The government decided that they could spend money more efficiently than businesses could, so they raised business taxes. I don't understand the logic making it harder for businesses when a good percentage of your work force is looking for jobs. The result is that businesses are moving out of Michigan. This along with a number of companies simply shutting down is putting a strain on the economy. The thought of "if we only had more money we could fix our problems" is prevalent in government, business and personal life. If your focus is on getting more money you will often overlook solutions that actually solve the problem. Worse still, … [Read more...] about Michigan’s Big Bet