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Vote!
As I mentioned before, we are doing a series of interviews for Productivity501. However to help make things a bit more interactive, I'd like some help in determining which tips are the best. If you have a few minutes take a look at this question and answers about the most useful gadget. You'll see two answers. Simply click on the vote button for the one you think is the best answer. You can do this as many times as you like. Once we get a number of votes, we'll publish the results. … [Read more...] about Vote!
American Express Concierge Employees
We've had some interesting comments from former and current AMEX concierge employees. Worth reading if you are thinking of using their service. … [Read more...] about American Express Concierge Employees
Bank Mistake
I have a bank that didn't get my last change of address notification. When the mail was returned to them, they found my address and sent it to me along with a note telling me to change my address with them. The odd thing was along with my statement were 5 other statements from people I don't know. I called them and confirmed the address change and mentioned the other statements. They said they would take care of it. The other day I got my next statement--and the statements from 5 different people I've never heard of. I don't mind getting other people's statements. However, I'm very concerned that some of my statements may be sent to total strangers. This is one advantage of online … [Read more...] about Bank Mistake
Large and Multiple Monitor Study
Study from Utah.edu about productivity and larger monitors (pdf start on page 31). NPR interview regarding study. In particular the NPR interview is well worth the time. … [Read more...] about Large and Multiple Monitor Study
Some Online Tools
Rajesh pointed me to Jiffle a web based program for scheduling meetings that integrates with Outlook and Google Calendar. One of the more interesting uses is allowing customers to directly schedule and appointment when you whenever you are free. It looks like it provides many of the features of an Exchange server--without the server. Louise wrote to tell me about PassPack an online password manager. It will let you autologin to your saved sites and will generate passwords for you. … [Read more...] about Some Online Tools
20 Tips to Save Money on a Home Office
1. Go cheap on your desk. When it comes down to it a desk is simply a work surface. If you are on a budget, concentrate on getting something stable as a desk and put the savings to work elsewhere. A used door can make a great work surface once you remove the door handle. Place it on some sawhorses and you have an easily adjustable solid surface. Place it on two file cabinets and you now have desk drawers. This type of desk is what Amazon uses for all their employees. They attach 4x4s to a desk and it is ready to go. In the early days Jeff Bezos made the desks him self--now a carpenter makes them. When it comes down to it, as long as your desk is solid it probably won't make a … [Read more...] about 20 Tips to Save Money on a Home Office
Bigger Monitors
WSJ has a post referencing a study showing that people with a 24 inch monitor were 44% faster than people with 18 inch monitors on a particular set of tasks. They said that performance started to go down again when given 26 inch monitors. I find that most people don't really know how to use a big monitor--especially with Windows. I've watch a lot of people open an application and maximize it regardless of how big their screen is. Then they jump back and forth between screens just like they would with a smaller monitor. You have to learn how to get the most productivity out of a bigger monitor--especially if you are in the habit of working with a smaller computer screen. This is … [Read more...] about Bigger Monitors
Noise Canceling Headsets
Many years ago, I was reading a popular science article reviewing the first noise canceling headsets. (Noise cancellation is done by creating a sound wave exactly the opposite of the ambient noise so the two waves cancel each other out and you hear silence.) The reviewer noted that he had no jet lag when wearing the headset on a long flight. Has anyone experienced this? … [Read more...] about Noise Canceling Headsets
Reader Question – Getting Your Money
How do you get money back from someone who owes you? Generally if you are asking this question, you've probably made a mistake somewhere. Here is a list of rules I follow for loaning money. Never loan money to friends or family that you can't afford to lose. If you can't forgive them the debt without holding it against them, you are not the person who should be loaning them money. Do everything in writing. Don't expect to remember the terms of the loans. Get it in writing and signed. Make sure you have terms listed to handle the case where they don't pay. This could be listing an item as collateral, late payment fees, etc. You need to leave yourself an out if they don't pay. Be … [Read more...] about Reader Question – Getting Your Money