Sleep is one of those little things we often overlook that can make or break our productivity. Here are 10 great articles with tips and thoughts on how to get the most out of your sleep. If you know of any other great articles on sleep, please add them in the comments. Good Sleep, Good Learning, Good Life-Dr. Pitor Wozniak Although many Western civilizations may consider the traditional "siesta" of the Latin American countries to be out-dated, research shows that these short naps are rich in NREM sleep, and improve alertness during the day. Napping may also provide relief from severe sleep deprivation, and also may play a significant role in memory consolidation. Sleep's Healing … [Read more...] about Articles on Sleep
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Efficient Reading
Quick Tip: It is easy to spend hours browsing news sites on the web. Give yourself a limited amount of time to look for anything important. Better yet, set Google Alerts to notify you once each day of any news stories you think are important. … [Read more...] about Efficient Reading
Hard Drive Instead of CDs
Quick Tip: If you use a lot of CDroms, consider copying them to your hard drive instead. If you have more than will fit, see about getting an external hard drive. A drive about the size of a deck of cards can easily hold as much as 50 CDs. … [Read more...] about Hard Drive Instead of CDs
Prewritten Cards
Quick Tip: If you send out a bunch of birthday cards, consider doing them all at once. Write the date they need to be sent where the stamp goes and keep them in chronological order. When you mail them out the stamp will cover the date. … [Read more...] about Prewritten Cards
Outsourcing Efficiently
Quick Tip: The idea of outsourcing some of your daily tasks to someone else is very attractive. However, if it is easy to do, then it may indicate you weren't operating very efficiently in the first place. Make sure you aren't just moving busy work from your plate to someone else. First fix the process, then delegate. … [Read more...] about Outsourcing Efficiently
Reader Question – Guns and Safety Deposit Boxes
Can I keep a gun in a safety deposit box? I talked with someone in the safety deposit department of a large national bank in Kansas City and they said it was not allowed. Even if it was, there is the issue of taking a gun into the bank in the first place. Many banks have security devices behind the scenes that are watching for these types of things. The individual I spoke with couldn't tell me about the bank's security system, but he made it clear that bringing a gun into a bank would not be a very wise thing to do--even if you were just going to put it in the safety deposit box. I also talked to the VP at a small bank in Oklahoma. He said it wouldn't be a problem at his bank if they … [Read more...] about Reader Question – Guns and Safety Deposit Boxes
Buying Software
Quick Tip: Don't avoid buying software when it will save you time. I found a $150 piece of software that automates a task I was paying $1,000 per month to have someone else do. … [Read more...] about Buying Software
Productivity501 on StumbleUpon
Consider adding Productivity501 as a friend on StumbleUpon. … [Read more...] about Productivity501 on StumbleUpon
Interview: Cause of Disorganization
What is the single biggest mistake you see people make that causes disorganization? Not following simple daily routines and systems. It is really easy to spiral into disorganization and chaos in any area of life. Success all comes back to basically two things: systems or routines that make sense for our life and our goals, and daily discipline to maintain them. If routines and systems are optional, there will be way too many days we end up not following them. As soon as we even start thinking about not sticking to our simple routines, we begin to spiral into disorganization. Melissa Michaels from The Inspired Room (rss) It tends to be the little things that are done consistently that … [Read more...] about Interview: Cause of Disorganization
Good Bookshelves
Quick Tip: When buying bookshelves beware of particle board shelves. They are usually decorative and not designed to hold the weight of real books. After a few months they will bow and eventually dump your books on the floor. You can sometimes glue or screw a board to the bottom of each shelf to improve its strength, but solid wood is a better option. … [Read more...] about Good Bookshelves