When most people approach their computer backup, they focus on how to create the backup and don't really think about how to use it if it is ever required. I backup in several different ways, but in this post I want to outline the backup strategy that I am most likely to make use of in case my laptop is stolen, submerged, lost, dropped, kicked, eaten, or incinerated. I'm just going to outline the theory behind this backup strategy regardless of the OS. In a later post, I'll show you how to actually implement it on OS X. The Goal If we approach backup with the end in mind, it makes us take a different approach than. So lets define the desired outcome. In our case the desired outcome is to … [Read more...] about Ideal Backup Solution
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Tuesday’s Tip: Organized for Happiness
I have two tool boxes. On is a large box with a bunch of tools thrown in it. It has a wide selection, but they are all just stored in the main compartment. My other toolbox is much smaller. It has an individual place to hold each tool. For some reason I hate using the large toolbox and love using the smaller one. I think this is a function of organization. Since each tool has an exact location, it just feels better to use the organized toolkit. Also I find that with the smaller toolbox, I am much more likely to put everything back, because it has a specific place for each tool. With the larger box, I'll leave a tool sitting out or in … [Read more...] about Tuesday’s Tip: Organized for Happiness
iPod Contest Update
In January we gave away an iPod Shuffle to one of our email subscribers. In February we started another iPod giveaway contest where you could win an iPod Shuffle by reviewing this site. Once we got 150 reviews we were going to give away the Shuffle. So far we have 18 reviews and they have been very valuable in the redesign of this site, but I'd like to speed things up a bit. We are going to expand the ways you can enter. We are going to have 5,000 chances to win and you will be able to enter in 4 different ways: Full Review - 10 chances to win Link to Site & Contest - 5 chances to win Subscribe to RSS - 1 chance win Subscribe to Email - 1 chance to win If you have … [Read more...] about iPod Contest Update
Maximizing Benefits
John posted an article about Multiple Positives which he defines as doing activities in a way that give you multiple benefits. This got me to thinking about ways that I've been able to stack things together in order to get the most benefit. In general, I consider multitasking to be a bad habit. However, there are times where "multibenefiting" is highly profitable. The difference is that with "multibenefiting" you are concentrating on a richer outcome. With multitasking the focus is just on doing things at the same time--even when the outcome is less productive. Here are some examples: 1. Mowing the Yard with a Book I hate mowing. To make things a little more bearable, I started … [Read more...] about Maximizing Benefits
Your Turn — Three Questions
Previously I interviewed about 30 bloggers asking them to answer three questions. The responses (linked below) were very insightful. What is the single biggest way people waste time without even realizing it? What change has made the most difference in making you effective in life? If someone were to read just one post from your site, which would you recommend the read and why? However, as with any large group interview, it is easy to leave out people who have some great ideas to share. So if you would like to give your opinion on any or all of these questions, please post the answers to your blog and I'll link to them in this post. If you don't have a blog, feel free to … [Read more...] about Your Turn — Three Questions
Father’s Day and Productivity
Having been a father for a whole 3 months, I am not the most experienced person to comment on fatherhood. However, I do have something to say on how your productivity impacts one's ability to function as a father. In a recent post about wasting time I received the following comment: We mustn’t get too obsessed with efficiency, otherwise we become machines ourselves. Chill out a bit, guys! I agree that when productivity becomes an end in itself, work has very little meaning. However, when productivity enables you to live a life that is richer than what others experience, it can add value. Productivity is what lets you provide for your basic needs with less effort. The less effort it … [Read more...] about Father’s Day and Productivity
Best Posts from 2005
I've had some readers asking what I considered my best past posts, so I took some time and went through the archives for 2005 and compiled a short list of what I consider to be the best content. Some are long, some are short, but these are the posts that challenged me the most in my personal productivity. Two Types of Technology User Paradox of Powerful Tools Social Glass Ceiling The Rat Experiment Making Decisions in Advance Define and Conquer … [Read more...] about Best Posts from 2005
Interview: Best Post
This is the third and final post where we interviewed a number of experts in personal productivity, time management and organization. I wanted to thank everyone who participated and also thank Leo at ZenHabits for putting together the list of 50 Productivity Blogs back in April which gave me a great starting point for these interviews. The first question we asked had to do with identifying the biggest way people waste time without realizing it. The second gave the experts a chance to share the single change that has had the biggest results in terms of being effective. The third and final question was: If someone were to read just one post from your site, which would you recommend … [Read more...] about Interview: Best Post
Thoughts on Safari For Windows
Steve Jobs did his annual keynote for Apple's developer conference earlier this week. People weren't particularly impressed as seen by the in Apple stock price right after the keynote that is continuing. The "big" announcement was Safari for Windows. This struck me as pretty odd and only made a little more sense once he went on to explain that the only way developers could put applications on the iPhone was to create web applications. My biggest problem with Safari is that it doesn't support WYSIWIG editing in Wordpress. Maybe it is the other way around--Wordpress doesn't support Safari, but from what I understand the problem has more to do with Safari than Wordpress. I've heard … [Read more...] about Thoughts on Safari For Windows
Interview: Becoming Effective
What change has made the most difference in making you effective? Mmmm...tough question. Ironically, I think having less time available for discretionary projects has made me more effective in the areas of my life that I choose to spend time in. So get married, have kids and take a job that keeps you busy all the time: it'll make you more effective! Brendon Connelly from Slacker Manager (rss) This seems counterintuitive, but I guess it makes sense. Having more stuff to do should help force you to be more efficient. … [Read more...] about Interview: Becoming Effective