Mark Shead&#039;s articles

I've previously talked about how the size of your blocks determines how productive you are. In a nutshell, someone who builds a shed by planting trees to grow into lumber and mining the ore to make nails is going to be much less efficient than the person who buys a kit and assembles it from Home Depot. In this piece, I want to look at the size of blocks from a process design or work-flow standpoint. This is probably going to be a little abstract because it can apply to a number of different areas on many different levels. Regardless of what you do, you are responsible for creating processes and work-flows. These may be as simple as working out the process for cooking dinner or as … [Read more...] about Boxing Things Up

Smart Shopper

Smart Shopper sent me their interesting grocery list device yesterday. Basically it is a box that does voice recognition on grocery items and then prints them out when you are ready to go to the store. At $79 it isn't cheap, but it might make a unique present for a gadget lover who seems to have absolutely everything. I haven't had much of a chance to play with it, but the idea is very interesting. We are going to try using it for our grocery lists for awhile. I'll let you know how well it works. … [Read more...] about Smart Shopper

How To Simplify Your Life Links

Simple Living Simplified: 10 Things You Can Do Today to Simplify Your Life - Leo Babauta This article provides information regarding the simplification of a person's everyday life and tasks. The author points out that this can seem to be a daunting task early on, but that the process can be taken in small steps. Breaking the simplification of your life at home and at work into these smaller tasks will make this process seem do-able. How To Simplify Your Life With Technology - Rob Witham This article provides some insight on the topic of whether technology really simplifies our lives, or whether it complicates them even further. The author explores some of the ways that technology can … [Read more...] about How To Simplify Your Life Links

Laptop Contingency Planning

If you have a laptop, there are three things you should plan on happening: Theft Dropping Data Loss If you are not preparing for these situations, you are asking for trouble. There are three main things you need to do to handle these areas: Security - If someone steals your laptop, what information will they have access to? All of your data? Damage - If your laptop is damaged, how long will it take you to get back up and running? Data - If all of the data on your laptop is gone, do you have a way to recover it? Security Your laptop security could be as extensive as encrypting your entire hard drive. The big thing you need to do is think about what would happen if … [Read more...] about Laptop Contingency Planning

Productivity Magazine

An article from Productivity501 was featured in the debut issue of Productivity Magazine. You can download a PDF for free here. … [Read more...] about Productivity Magazine

The Problem With Media

One evening I'm reading a hard cover book. The next morning when I get in my car, I start playing the audio version through the car stereo at the point I left off. While waiting for a lunch appointment, I read a few more pages off my cell phone. Later on at gym, I listen to 15 minutes of the book on my iPod. The next morning, I finish off the book on my eBook reader while on a long train ride. If you haven't figured it out, the paragraph above is pure fiction. It represents the way I want to consume media. While all of this is technically possible, publishers' view of how people will read books doesn't allow for this type of usage in any cost effective manner. They will want to sell you … [Read more...] about The Problem With Media

Winner Announced

Angela from Louisiana won our latest ergonomic giveaway. Also Kevin Butler sent us a response to some of the questions people had asked on our original interview with him. We still have one more wrist support mouse pad to give away (courtesy of Fellowes), so stay tuned. It’s exciting to see so many responses on what I feel is one of the most important components to maintaining a high quality of life in today’s heavy work load world. While any cost might seem difficult to justify, the proper workstation investments will pay for themselves almost immediately. This can be seen either in increased safety or productivity. A basic worksurface (i.e. desk) is not ergonomically … [Read more...] about Winner Announced

Gifts for Getting Things Done

By Mark Shead 5 Comments

A relative of mine had been trying unsuccessfully to get a letter from a doctor. The letter was important for part of an insurance settlement, but the doctor was always busy or gone and the letter just never seemed to get written. I offered to help, so I called and talked to one of the nurses. She was sympathetic and said she would try to help, but the doctor was, after all, a doctor and it was really up to him. I thanked her and got off the phone. My wife pointed out that when she worked as a nurse, food was often a very big motivator. An hour or so later, my assistant had located a bakery nearby and ordered them a batch of cookies along with a note thanking them for their … [Read more...] about Gifts for Getting Things Done

Standing on Shoulders of Giants

You've probably read the quote from Isaac Newton: If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of Giants. The idea is that we can leverage the work of people before us in order to do things that wouldn't be possible on our own. If you want to create a new type of time-saving computer application, you don' t have to start with inventing a computer. You don't even need to completely understand how a computer works in order to leverage it for your success. Learning to use the results, accomplishments, and skills of others doesn't always come naturally. While you might not be tempted to reinvent the computer, it can be very easy to overlook the input from your friends and … [Read more...] about Standing on Shoulders of Giants

Children and Slotload DVD drives

After a difficult surgery, I successfully removed 4 square "Memory" cards from my wife's MacBook, I have a new piece of advice from people with small children. Put a piece of tape over your slot load drives. :) … [Read more...] about Children and Slotload DVD drives

Expect Change

By Mark Shead 8 Comments

Years ago there was a millionaire who was getting old. He decided he wanted to provide for his heirs, but he wanted to protect them from poor investments that would make them lose the fortune he had built up. He had his lawyer draft his will in a way that would provide for his heirs, but only allow his money to be invested in a reliable, solid industry. The industry he chose was electric street cars. Within a generation, his descendants were pumping gasoline at service stations. The millionaire had good intentions, but he was short-sighted. His basic failure was that he didn't expect change. He correctly assumed that people would always need cheap transportation. He incorrectly … [Read more...] about Expect Change

Four Important Folders on my Computer

Here are four folders that I have in my Documents on my hard drive that I've found save me time. Receipts - When I buy something online that I need to keep track of, I'll print a copy of the receipt page to a PDF and save it in this file. Usually I'll save it with the date as part of the file name. For example: 20071012-cell-phone-order.pdf. This makes it easy to find records of purchases. Rebates - Rebates are awful. Basically, companies are betting on the fact that you won't take the time to fill out the paperwork and send it in. I've found if I keep everything in a single location, it makes it a lot easier for me to gather up all the pieces of info I need and it is easier to … [Read more...] about Four Important Folders on my Computer

Striving for Greatness

Statistically speaking, you are unlikely to achieve above average success on accident. Here is a short list of things that seem like common qualities in people who achieve greatness. If you have qualities you'd like to see added to the list, please leave a comment at the bottom of the page. Embrace Failure – The lives of the greatest successful people would often seem like horrible failures if you remove their one or two biggest achievements. Successful people often fail. While they aren’t intentionally trying to fail, they see it as a path to success. Failure is part of the learning process and is seen as a necessary step toward success. Right Place, Right Time – Most great people … [Read more...] about Striving for Greatness

Investing in Education

Education is an investment in the future. Just like investments have different rates of returns, studying different things will give you different payback. There are generally two types of education available to people after high school. A technical education prepares you to do specific tasks. A general education prepares you be able to learn. Many people don't understand the difference between these two types of learning. Going to massage school may seem great in the short term. It doesn't take too long to learn and the pay is significantly better than what you can get from a job right after high school. However, it doesn't really prepare you for changing jobs in the future. A … [Read more...] about Investing in Education

Productivity and Values

The concept of being productive is meaningless without a good understanding of your values or what is important to you personally. Being productive isn't just a matter of being busy. It isn't a matter of doing a lot of things. Productivity is accomplishing important things. Many people try to get organized so they can do more, but really they are just trying to fit a bunch more unimportant things into their day. Until they define what is really important to them, just scheduling a bunch of tasks won't help them really accomplish more. Sometimes being productive doesn't mean doing more. In fact, sometimes it can mean doing fewer tasks each day. When these tasks are carefully … [Read more...] about Productivity and Values

Stretching Yourself

Take the time to do something hard. Take the time to do something new. Your biggest surges of growth will come from stretching yourself. You can stretch yourself in small ways by trying a new type of food, talking with a stranger, or watching a movie that is different than your norm. You can stretch yourself in big ways by quitting your job and going into business for yourself. Regardless of how you go about it, you will grow more by stretching yourself on a consistent basis than by reading every self-help book you can find. When you are looking for things to stretch your capabilities, here are a few things to keep in mind. What are the risks? You need to understand the impact of … [Read more...] about Stretching Yourself

Paper vs. Importance

By Mark Shead 7 Comments

I have noticed the most important people have a very clear desk. This also tends to be the case for people with much less important jobs. To illustrate, I've created a graph. I'm sure this isn't true across the board, but it does seem to be at least partially true. How clear are the desks of the most important three people at your organization? Here are a few reasons that paper seems to go down as importance goes up: The top person can always give his paper to someone else, so it pushes the paper down toward people of mid level importance. The mid-level people will only push the paper down so far, themselves, because it is their neck on the line if something gets messed … [Read more...] about Paper vs. Importance

Manly Contest

Just a quick reminder about The Art of Manliness' Old Spice contest to find the Man of the Year. You have a few more days until November 8th, to nominate the person you feel displays the ideal traits of “Manliness”. The winner gets $2,000 in cash and the top 10 entries all get a selection of Old Spice products. … [Read more...] about Manly Contest

Top 5 Time Savers

Yesterday we looked at my list of top 5 time wasters, so today it seemed appropriate to look at the top 5 time savers. It is hard to measure the value of something that saves you time, so these may seem fairly random. Your suggestions for top time savers are welcomed in the comment section below. Podcasts in the Car - I have a system that allows me to subscribe to podcasts, transfer them to an iPod that hooks directly to my car stereo (when I turn off the car the iPod is paused until I start it back up again), and delete podcasts once I've listened to them. This allows me to keep informed on many topics with very little effort on my part and very little wasted time. I generally go … [Read more...] about Top 5 Time Savers

Little by Little

Often one of the biggest road blocks to our personal growth is that we feel we can't take on a new project until we have vast amounts of free time. The reality is that we will probably never have a couple hours of free time each day. However, if we can set aside just 15 minutes each day to dedicate to doing something we've been putting off for a better period of our life, these small investments will add up and go a long ways toward achieving our goals. For example if you want to learn a foreign language, practice a neglected musical instrument, read through the works of Shakespeare, or any number of enriching activities you probably don't feel you have enough time to start. Most … [Read more...] about Little by Little

Productivity In Other Countries

My wife and I lived in Mexico for awhile. This post was a look at how people approach productivity differently in different countries. I am currently living in Mexico for a year. It is amazing how much our productivity is based on being familiar with our culture. It has taken a while to get into "the groove" of things here, but I'm finally getting to the point where I feel like I'm starting to be productive again. Here are a few things that are different in Mexico: Time - There is a different view of time here. In the USA if a bus says it is leaving at 9pm, you plan to be there by 8:45pm. Here in Mexico if the bus leaves around 10:30pm or 11pm it is considered to be leaving pretty … [Read more...] about Productivity In Other Countries

10 Steps Toward Safely Relying on Technology

I know many people who have easily lost a week of their valuable time because of a technology glitch. If you are willing to invest time and money on technology to make you more productive, you need to make sure you don't wipe out all of the productivity gains through an unexpected failure of your equipment. The following list covers 10 things you can do to minimize the impact of of Murphy's Law on your productivity: Expect things to go wrong. This seems simple, but most people are far too optimistic about technology. You need to assume that, at some point, your hard drive is going to crash, your cell phone will be stolen, your PDA will lose all of its information, etc. Now, maybe … [Read more...] about 10 Steps Toward Safely Relying on Technology

CodeWeavers Giveaway

This is coming a bit late, but if you use OS X or Linux and need a way to occasionally run Windows programs, CodeWeavers is doing a one day giveaway of software that will let you do just that. The giveaway looks like it ends on the end of Tuesday. … [Read more...] about CodeWeavers Giveaway

Protecting People From Themselves

With credit markets freezing up, I thought it might be a good time to put some money into Prosper.com--a site that lets you loan money to individuals. It seemed reasonable that if people couldn't get loans elsewhere you might be able to make a reasonable return filling the role that banks have filled in the past. Unfortunately they aren't allowing you to lend money to people. The best I can tell the SEC has decided that they need to be more tightly regulated and wants them to apply for some type of license or certification. I'm concerned that in trying to fix things the government is going to put too many regulations in place to try to protect people from themselves and in the end … [Read more...] about Protecting People From Themselves

Worry vs. Problem-solving

There are some circumstances that you have no power to change. Worrying about these types of circumstances is pointless. On the other hand, you shouldn't give up looking for a solution just because you don't see an immediate solution. It is important to be able to differentiate between worry and productive problem-solving. Worry usually has the following characteristics: It involves repeating the same thoughts over and over. Any "solutions" deal with things that you don't have the power to change. It focuses on changing things that have already happened. Problem-solving on the other hand has the following characteristics: It doesn't involve thinking about the same thing … [Read more...] about Worry vs. Problem-solving

Dealing with Clutter

Everyone seems to have some degree of clutter in their lives. The paperless office is still a dream, so we still have to deal with many pieces of "stuff" all around us. This stuff can be paper, equipment, books, printouts, electronics, or any number of things. A certian amount of clutter may be productive. Some people just function better when things are in site. However when clutter gets to the point that it slows you down, you need to do something about it. If you find yourself spending time looking for things, that is a good indication that clutter is controlling you. Here are several tips for reducing clutter in your life: Open your mail over the trash can. This will help … [Read more...] about Dealing with Clutter

Jamming Paper Shredders

By Mark Shead 10 Comments

After a large batch of scanning items into my paperless office, my shredder seemed to be jamming more than normal for my assistant. After helping her clear the stuck paper I got to wondering if there is a way to minimize the jams. Fellowes claims they have created a jam proof shredder. It look like it basically just stops before the paper gets packed in so tight that you can't remove it. Has anyone used one of these? Do they work very well? … [Read more...] about Jamming Paper Shredders

How Good do you Look

In the perfect world, our opportunities would be directly tied to our skills. Luck wouldn't play any part in our successes and our looks would most certainly not be a factor. We don't live in a perfect world and no matter what we do, there isn't a single thing we can do about it. In the real world, luck plays a big part in success and good looking people are picked for promotion over their more skilled peers. You can fight the system, but it won't make a difference. What people think of you is at least partially dependent on how you look. In some ways this isn't so unfair. If you are looking to hire someone, would you be more likely to hire the person who hasn't cut his hair in 6 … [Read more...] about How Good do you Look

Investment allocation

Usually when people talk about properly allocating investments, they refer to money. Even more important is how you allocate your time. With money you usually want to have some investments in areas that will pay off over time, some investments in areas that will pay off quickly, some risky, and some safe. This strategy is to protect you from future events that are outside of your control. Your time needs to be allocated with the same type of care. For example, if you put all of your time into earning money at a high paying job, that does nothing to develop your skills or talents as a person and you could be wiped out by a lawsuit and be left with nothing. On the other hand, if you … [Read more...] about Investment allocation

Focus for Results

Computers are a great tool, but they can tend to make it hard to focus when you are trying to do planning. I've heard it said that the people who get the most done spend the first half of their day planning and the second half executing the plan. However, when I'm sitting at my computer trying to do planning and research simultaneously, it is easy to get distracted--especially when I'm trying to research something on the web. I've found a simple solution for this. By sitting down with a paper and pen away from a computer, I can better focus on my plan. In many cases, my plan will involve answering several questions that require using the internet. If I can stay focused on my planning … [Read more...] about Focus for Results

Procrastinating in Sheeps Clothing

Most of the time, procrastination is easy to spot. However, there is a subtle and very dangerous type of procrastination everyone should be on the lookout for. It looks like productive work, but the result is the same...it keeps you from accomplishing the things you need to accomplish. This type of procrastination can take several forms, but in the most dangerous one, the victim appears to be involved in good habits of organizing and planning their work. In reality, they are being lured into doing nothing that will actually move them closer to their goals. To avoid this type of procrastination, you must be alert. When you get the urge to suddenly rearrange your office from … [Read more...] about Procrastinating in Sheeps Clothing

Man of the Year Contest

Brett McKay over at The Art of Manliness has launched a contest with Old Spice to find the Man of the Year. You have until November 8th, to nominate the person you feel displays the ideal traits of "Manliness". If you know of a special man who would be ideal, head on over and nominate them. … [Read more...] about Man of the Year Contest

Choosing a PDA

Personal digital organizers can be a a great tool for your productivity when used correctly. They can also be huge time wasters. I've used a number of digital hand-held devices over the last few years. Some were great time savers and others cost me more in productivity. Here are some tips on choosing a device that will help you save time and be more organized. Make sure you'll actually use it. For example, if the device requires you to select letters one by one using a stylus, be honest about whether or not you'll have the patience to actually type anything that way. Will you carry the device with you? If you are already toting a cell phone, wallet, pager, etc. are you going to … [Read more...] about Choosing a PDA

Streamlining your business

Owners of small businesses are particularly concerned about productivity. For a small company the difference between being highly efficient and moderately efficient can be the difference between profit and going out of business. Most efficient practices are also applicable to personal productivity as well. However, with businesses, small productivity gains can be replicated over many people multiplying the gains well beyond the benefits you'd get just for yourself. A focus on productivity can let you cut your costs so you can make a profit even when your competitors are losing money. Here are eight key points to consider when establishing productive practices for your … [Read more...] about Streamlining your business

Ergonomic Giveaway

We are doing another give-away of the fine products donated by Fellowes. To enter, just sign up for our new weekly newsletter below (you can always unsubscribe after the contest). We will be giving away your choice of a wrist support mouse pad or a back support. We will be drawing names later this week and sending out prizes this weekend. Productivity501 Newsletter Name: Email: Don't forget to verify your email address by clicking on the link in your email. If you don't see the above signup form in your email or RSS reader, you may have to visit the site to sign up. … [Read more...] about Ergonomic Giveaway

My EVDO Connection

The Internet lets me work from just about anywhere. In this video, I talk about using an EVDO connection to get the internet in areas where there is a cell phone signal, but no wired options. It includes a speed test comparing the cellular connection to a cable modem and talks about some of the bandwidth limitations from various carriers. Here is the video from VIMEO. You should be able to click the HD button watch it in high definition if you like. Broadband EVDO Speedtest Demonstration from Productivity501 Let me know what you think of these videos--particularly if it works better to use YouTube or Vimeo. I'm still trying to decide if they are worthwhile to do so let me … [Read more...] about My EVDO Connection

Dealing with an Unorganized Boss III

Bosses who don't communicate Many managers with no previous leadership experience are poor communicators. This isn't surprising, because the communication skills required to be a good manager are generally only learned through experience. One common situation you'll find yourself encountering under this type of person is working on a team of people who are out of sync. For example, your boss may tell you about an important upcoming project, but no one else hears about it until the last minute. On the other hand, you may also find yourself in a position where everyone else knows some crucial piece of information except you. The best solution is for your boss to learn how to … [Read more...] about Dealing with an Unorganized Boss III

Dealing with an Unorganized Boss II

Bosses who contradict themselves. This can be a really annoying type of person to work for. In mild forms, it just seems like they are slightly confused. In really bad situations, these bosses seem totally deranged and malicious. If you have a boss who will tell you to drop everything and work on X and then come back and ask why you aren't working on Y, you are dealing with one of these bosses. In most cases, these types of people aren't outright malicious; they just have a very short memory, no clear goals, and are very unorganized. You can usually improve the situation by putting their statements in writing. For example, if your boss comes in and asks you to drop everything and … [Read more...] about Dealing with an Unorganized Boss II

Not Used to Television

By Mark Shead 5 Comments

We haven't had a television for around 5 years. Tonight I was thinking about watching the Presidential debates and considered a few ways I could watch it (webcasting, etc.). Once the debates were over I looked for some summaries online. Then it hit me. That 32 inch black thing mounted on the wall behind me in my hotel room was perfectly suited for watching the debates. I'm so use to not turning on a TV that I overlooked the fact that there was one right behind me. … [Read more...] about Not Used to Television

Dealing with an Unorganized Boss

In the last few months, I've spoken with several people who are having a difficult time working with their boss. In each case, the boss isn't a bad person, but they are so unorganized that it is difficult to get much done under their leadership. Obviously, the fault lies with the boss. However, for people who are used to being highly productive, knowing where to place the blame offers little consolation. This is the first in a series of posts listing common problems you'll face with an unorganized supervisor and some suggestions on how to best deal with them. The boss who doesn't know what needs to be done. This happens in two different forms. Some bosses know exactly what they … [Read more...] about Dealing with an Unorganized Boss

Make Decisions in Advance

A good portion of our time goes into make decisions. Sometimes these decisions are big, important things, but often they are mundane simple things. Most decisions require some type of investment in time. Let's look at an example: If I'm in a video store trying to pick out a movie to watch that evening, there is a certain amount of time that will go into evaluating the options and selecting a video. From personal experience, this process can take 10 to 20 minutes, easily. For most people, this 10 to 20 minutes is completely wasted time because at some point in the last 6 months they have already made a decision about a movie they would like to see, but they just don't remember. … [Read more...] about Make Decisions in Advance

Thoughts on the Bailout

By Mark Shead 10 Comments

If the bailout doesn't happen, I will probably lose money. However, I am still not in favor of the proposed bailout. Why? Because I would rather lose money over the next 3 or 4 years in order to keep my country strong over the next 10 to 50. The last time we heard this much talk about the bad things that would happen if we did nothing, we went to war in Iraq. It now seems that the "bad stuff" that was suppose to happen if we didn't go to war was overrated and based on faulty information. My guess is that this is happening again. It seems to me that the long term damage from a bailout is likely to be worse than the shorter term damage (if any) of not passing the bailout. But what do … [Read more...] about Thoughts on the Bailout

Keep People from wasting your time

By Mark Shead 10 Comments

I'm sure everyone has been in situations where a coworker is wasting your time, but there doesn't seem to be a polite way out of it. Here are several simple strategies for keeping your distractions to a minimum without appearing impolite or rude. Stand - By standing when someone walks into your office, you will usually prevent them from taking a seat. This can help keep them focused on the purpose of their visit and getting back to work (where they can sit again). Meet them at the door - If you see someone about to come into your office, meeting them at the door puts you physically between them and your area. You are being polite because you've walked toward them to meet them, but … [Read more...] about Keep People from wasting your time

Vote for best answers

We have some new interviews online. You can help by voting the the answer that you think is the best. When we publish the interview the highest rated questions make the top of the list. … [Read more...] about Vote for best answers

Books I’m Reading

I just finished Never Eat Alone (a book on how to network with people) and would highly recommend it. I'm also half way through Work the System by Sam Carpenter (a book in the style of The 4 Hour Work Week) and just starting Brain Rules by John Medina. (These two books were given to me in hopes of a review, but they look pretty good so far.) Another book I recently read and recommend is Physics of the Impossible. … [Read more...] about Books I’m Reading

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