Christmas is coming soon so I thought I'd do a few posts with gift ideas based on things I've used this year and found to be exceptionally useful and or fun. Here is the first post and I'll try to do a few more as I think of ideas and have time to write about them. If you have suggestions, please add them in the comments. You might be able to suggest the perfect gift that another reader hadn't though of. Fingerless Gloves Fingerless Gloves ~ $3.50 My office is in the walk-out basement of our home. It is typically 60 to 65 degrees in the winter, but when there is a strong wind on the walk out portion of the house, it can get a lot colder. This isn't to big of deal because I can … [Read more...] about Christmas Gift Ideas
Mark Shead's articles
Mark Shead
LifeRemix Announcements
Productivity501 is a member of LifeRemix--a network of bloggers who are all focused on enriching people's lives in one way or another. Everyone has been pretty busy writing books, starting podcasts, and creating courses. Here are four of those projects ranging from a free manifesto PDF to a paid course on living without clutter. The Tower Chris Guillebeau from The Art of Non-Conformity has released a new manifesto called The Tower. You might be familiar with his previous Brief Guide To World Domination. The Tower is a beautiful PDF that is designed to be viewed on an iPad. (But in my experience looks very nice on a normal computer screen.) There is also a Kindle version available. It … [Read more...] about LifeRemix Announcements
Shopping Challenge Wrap Up
Thank you to everyone who participated in the Holiday Shopping Challenge. We had a lot of great Christmas shopping tips and suggestions. The winner of the $250 gift card is Jennifer Marie. She was chosen based on a random number from www.random.org. So how did my shopping, turn out? You can read about it below. My Dad The local hardware store was offering a sale on "gear wrench" sets. These are wrenches with the normal open end on one side, but the closed end has a gear mechanism in it that allows it to turn the bolt in one direction, but it "slips" when you push it the other. So it lets you ratchet the wrench back and forth to turn the bolt without needing to take the wrench off and … [Read more...] about Shopping Challenge Wrap Up
Holiday Shopping Challenge
Last week I got an email from someone at American Express asking if I'd be interested in doing some Christmas shopping (at their expense) and blogging about it. To really make it enticing, the offered to give a $250 gift certificate away to a reader of Productivity501. (See below for details.) So here is the plan. In this post I'm going to discuss some strategies for getting the most out of your credit card benefits and rewards programs--particularly related to Christmas shopping. I'll use American Express as an example, but most everything will relate to other cards as well. Then I'm going to try to buy 5 gifts for family and follow up with a post on what I found in a week. In that post … [Read more...] about Holiday Shopping Challenge
Desk Organization Tips
A few months ago we put out a request for tips on keeping a desk organized. Here are the tips that were submitted. Simplify instead of organize. Have as few things as possible, and you don't need to organize. Leo - Zen Habits Try to keep the desk clean, leaving only the essentials on its top. The rest goes into the drawer, boxes, the archive, or the bin. Your computer, the phone, and the paper you are currently work on is enough. Eric Böhnisch-Volkmann - DEVONtechnologies LLC Buy the smallest desk you can possibly find - then you're forced to be organized! Joe Bennett - Tweddle Group Clean desk is key. Have the following folders available on one of those accordion style … [Read more...] about Desk Organization Tips
Announcements
Here is a collection of products, events and applications that people have sent in over the past few weeks that might be of interest to readers. If you try any of these things out, please take a few minutes to leave a comment on your experience for others. Manvotionals The Art of Manliness has launched their second book, this one is called Manvotionals. Christmas is coming and it might be the perfect gift for a man in your life. Executive MBA Online Fair The Economist is holding an Executive MBA online fair. Executive MBAs are generally aimed at people who are mid career and follow a schedule that allows busy professionals to complete their MBA degree while working full time. They … [Read more...] about Announcements
Are You Reading Too Much?
I ran across and interesting quote by Albert Einstein the other day. Reading, after a certain age, diverts the mind too much from its creative pursuits. Any man who reads too much and uses his own brain too little falls into lazy habits of thinking. ~ Albert Einstein This isn't exactly the best known quote by Einstein and I doubt many teachers quote this to their students. Reading is generally a good thing, but if it starts becoming a substitute for thinking on your own it can hold you back from reaching your potential. This quote touches on a problem that holds many people back from actually accomplishing things. It is easy to spend so much time researching that you never actually … [Read more...] about Are You Reading Too Much?
End Malaria Book
The Domino Project has released a new book called End Malaria. The book is available for the Kindle and in paperback. It is a great idea! They got a bunch of authors together and put together a book where $20 from every sale goes to help end malaria. The contents are short essays by many famous business authors. There are three sections: Focus, Courage, Resilience. The contents of the book are great. They are all short and you can pick it up and randomly read any page to get something out of it. What most impressed me though was just the idea for the project. It is a great example of how creative thinking and a little organization (ok maybe a LOT of organization) can bring people … [Read more...] about End Malaria Book
Share Your Desk Organization Tip
I'm collecting short desk organization suggestions. Just visit this form and fill it out with your 200 character or less suggestion for keeping your desk organized. If you have multiple tips, feel free to add more than one. I'll edit them and publish a big list of desk organization tips. Feel free to share this link with anyone else you think might like to participate. http://bit.ly/pkXJNq … [Read more...] about Share Your Desk Organization Tip
Write Hot Truth
Danielle LaPorte is hosting a tele-Q&A on communications. It will cover topics from blogging to publishing. She is doing this as a fund raiser for someone who is trying to donate $50k to Write Girl--an organization that tries to help at risk girls find a voice through writing and communicating. Checkout the info page to see if this is something you might be interested in doing. … [Read more...] about Write Hot Truth
Productivity501 Community Links
A week or so ago I asked what Productivity501 readers had been writing. This post highlights some articles written by our readers. I encourage you to check them out. If you see something that you like, be sure to let the author know in their comments or in the comments here. As someone who does a lot of writing, I know first hand how encouraging it is to hear from a reader. Managing Expectations Begins with your Members and Clients - William Biggs works as a communications consultant and has been a long time reader of Productivity501. This is an article he wrote about working with donors for non-profits. Much of it is relevant to the for profit sector as well. Don't Focus on … [Read more...] about Productivity501 Community Links
Donkey, Mule and Garden Hoses
A MULETEER set forth on a journey, driving before him an Donkey and a Mule, both well laden. The Donkey, as long as he traveled along the plain, carried his load with ease, but when he began to ascend the steep path of the mountain, felt his load to be more than he could bear. He entreated his companion to relieve him of a small portion, that he might carry home the rest; but the Mule paid no attention to the request. The Donkey shortly afterwards fell down dead under his burden. Not knowing what else to do in so wild a region, the Muleteer placed upon the Mule the load carried by the Donkey in addition to his own, and at the top of all placed the hide of the Donkey, after he had … [Read more...] about Donkey, Mule and Garden Hoses
App Inventor
If you want to make applications for your android phone, but don't know how to code, checkout App Inventor. It is kind of like Apple Automator, but for Android devices. It is getting a lot of use in education, but looks like it could be useful for anyone who wants to be able to do something automatically on their phone. … [Read more...] about App Inventor
Google Plus
I've started playing around with Google Plus. It has some interesting potential. If you are on G+, please consider following (or should I call it circling) my profile. Be watching for some up-coming contests on G+ as I figure out how it works. … [Read more...] about Google Plus
Do Airlines Need a CLO – Chief Lying Officer?
My wife, two kids and I had a trip planned to Florida to spend a week with her family on the beach. Originally we were going to drive, but at the last minute decided that was a bad idea and bought plane tickets on Delta. My parents graciously drove us to the airport in Kansas City. We checked our luggage and paid the $50 to take the pack and play and our suitcase. The fee was expected, but it still amazes me how much airlines can get by with. Oh well, at least Delta doesn't charge for using the restrooms like some airlines are trying. We went through security, found we had drastically over-estimated how long that would take, and settled in to wait for a few hours watching the planes with our … [Read more...] about Do Airlines Need a CLO – Chief Lying Officer?
News, Quotes, Thought & Misc
Google Plus & Google Apps Google Plus is starting to offer games on their new entry to social networking. However, they still haven't figured out how to let Google App users (you know, the people who pay google to use Gmail on their own domain) join the service. It seems odd to roll things out to you paying customers last. Are Ebooks a Good Deal? I've seen from several sources that students are buying ebooks in record numbers. I can understand the advantage of ebooks, but the economics are usually pretty poor. If you buy a real book, take care of it and sell it to someone taking the class next semester, I think you'll have a hard time justifying the cost of ebooks. Of course if … [Read more...] about News, Quotes, Thought & Misc
What Have You Written?
Have you written anything that you think readers of Productivity501 would enjoy? If so, send a link to your best article or blog post to [email protected]. We'll select some of our favorites and publish them in a community links post. … [Read more...] about What Have You Written?
Aversion to Change
Across the country, state and federal funding is being cut for education and this has left many communities scrambling to figure out what to do. I was originally hopeful that less money would prompt a reassessment of the fundamentals of education and encourage schools to really focus on the things that will give kids the tools they need for a successful career and benefit society as a whole. Unfortunately that doesn't seem to be what is happening. The small town where I live voted to raise local taxes to make up some of the difference in funding to try to maintain the status quo as much as possible. I'm not opposed to paying more in taxes if the result is better educated kids but doing … [Read more...] about Aversion to Change
Some Great Links from Guiding Tech
Guiding Tech is a blog that focuses on technology with an emphasis on online productivity tools. It is worth checking out. Here is a sampling of some of the useful posts: Online Alternatives to Powerpoint Chrome Extensions To Block Distracting Sites Creating Screencasts with Screencast-o-matic Retro Photo Effect Webapp Email Signature Creator WiseStamp … [Read more...] about Some Great Links from Guiding Tech
Links of Interest
Here is a short collection of very random links that may or may not be of interest. They are just various things that I've found interesting and wanted to share. Non-Profit Donations - Most people are involved in some type of non-profit organization. This post lists some of the options available for accepting donations online. The good news is that it is a lot easier than it used to be. The Thin Home - I'm not sure I'd want to live in a house this thin, but it sure makes efficient use of the space between two buildings. Throwing a tomahawk - I spent many hours trying to figure out how to do this with hatchets growing up. First and last shuttle launch - This is a picture of a … [Read more...] about Links of Interest
Interview with Al Pittampalli
I recently wrote a review of Read This Before Our Next Meeting by Al Pittampalli. It is a good book and well worth the money. Al was gracious enough to do an interview with us about his passion for creating better meetings. You may end up buying a bunch of extra copies to give to give out at the office. Also check out the Modern Meeting Standard website. Al used to work for Ernst & Young where he spent his working with a bunch of different companies. A good percentage of his time was spent in meetings, so he is in a good place to understand the problems with normal meetings. More importantly, he has some great ideas about how meetings should be used and how they should be … [Read more...] about Interview with Al Pittampalli
Being Wrong vs. Doing Nothing
It is easy to get so caught up in trying to make the best decision that we do nothing. Next time you find yourself struggling with this, re-read this quote: A person determined never to be wrong won't likely accomplish much. ~ Ken Wisdom Of course, that doesn't mean you should try to make bad decisions, but it does mean that lack of action is more harmful than occasionally making a mistake. At the very least, making a mistake means you are doing something and the chances of success when you are actually doing something is much greater than the chances of failure when you are unable to decide what to do next and do nothing. … [Read more...] about Being Wrong vs. Doing Nothing
Free Derek Sivers Video
AppSumo has some free videos of Derek Sivers talking about starting, running and selling CD Baby. Derek wrote the book Anything You Want which I highly recommend--except the cover, I hate the cover. The free deal only goes for the next 60 hours or so. You have to sign up for an AppSumo account, but it relatively painless and doesn't require a credit card because the cost is $0. If you are interested in starting a business or helping run a business, I'd highly recommend getting this. You can download the MP3, video or PDF of the talk. I haven't listened to all the videos yet, but I wanted to let readers know about it while there was still time to get it. If it is anything like the book … [Read more...] about Free Derek Sivers Video
Free Book – Read This Before Our Next Meeting
I just finished reading The Modern Meeting Standard - Read This Before Our Next Meeting. I was going to wait a few days to review it, but I wanted to tell you about it in time to take advantage of a special free give away. For a limited time you can get Read This Before Our Next Meeting Kindle Edition for free. (Don't forget you can read the Kindle Edition on most cell phones and computers even if you don't have a Kindle.) The book lays out a plan for more effective meetings with the following seven principles: Meet only to support a decision that has already been made. Move fast. End on schedule Limit the number of attendees. Reject the unprepared. Produce committed action … [Read more...] about Free Book – Read This Before Our Next Meeting
Is an MBA a Waste of Money?
Normally I've taken the position that an MBA can be well worth the money. Even my arguments that many employers overvalue MBA candidates suggests that the degree may be a very profitable career decision. My article Never Hire an MBA got a lot of attention. I was surprised at the number of people who missed the point of the article, thought I was saying that no one should get an MBA and tried to defend the degree. While there were some well thought out arguments, there were quite a few that were---well lets just say, less well reasoned. Take a look at them for yourself and you'll see what I mean. Also keep in mind that I moderated quite a few of the really … [Read more...] about Is an MBA a Waste of Money?
Anything You Want – Book Review
Anything You Want is a short book by Derek Sivers. Derek started CD Baby and eventually sold it to Disc Makers. CD Baby lets musicians sell their CDs online and grew out of Derek's frustration with trying to find a solution to sell his own CDs over the Internet. Usually when I review a book, I try to give enough information that Productivity501 readers can tell if they should invest in reading it for themselves. This is one of the few books where I feel I can safely say, "just go read it." It is an excellent book and I can't imagine anyone who wouldn't learn something from it. It took me a lot longer to review Anything You Want because I couldn't ever find the book in my house. It … [Read more...] about Anything You Want – Book Review
Gojee Recipes
Gojee is a web application that helps you find recipes. You can kind of think of it as a recipe search engine. You tell it what you crave, what you have and what you dislike. I told it I have peanut butter and meat. The results included several Asian recipes with different types of peanut sauces and a bunch of different types of deserts (without meat). When you find a recipe you like, Gojee gives you a link to the original recipe site. It is a nicely designed site and each recipe has a picture for people like me who have a hard time visualizing from a recipe. If you avoid trying new exotic recipes because you don't like buying a bunch of ingredients you don't already have, this is the … [Read more...] about Gojee Recipes
Effective Communication
Yesterday we talked about influence. One of the primary keys to influence is good communication. It doesn't matter how good your ideas are if you can't communicate them in a way that will connect with your audience and bring about change. In this post, we are going to look at three ways to communicate more effectively. 1. Be visual I once ran an IT department for a non-profit with about 200 employees. In the work room we had a large color and a large b&w printer. The cost on the color printer was about $0.15 per page. The cost of the b&w was $0.015 per page. I kept trying to ask people to use the b&w unless they had a compelling reason to print color. When you are … [Read more...] about Effective Communication
Beware of the Linen Cocktail Napkin
Beware of the Linen Cocktail Napkin is a brilliant post by Gretchen over at the Happiness Project. It talks about how we often buy things because of who we want to be instead of who we actually are. It is an excellent read and very worth your time. … [Read more...] about Beware of the Linen Cocktail Napkin
Post at Manilla
I am going to be doing some writing for Manilla.com. My first post on multi-tasking is live so check it out. If you like it, don't forget to click the "Like" or "Tweet" button at the bottom of the page. … [Read more...] about Post at Manilla
Influence
Much of what it takes to do anything in life comes down to influencing human behavior. Solving the technical issues is often the easy part. Getting people to use the solution is what takes the real effort. This is important to recognize because it isn't how we are trained to think. We are trained to think that if you build a better mousetrap, everyone will want one. That is simply not true. Lets say you are trying to solve the problem of sickness in a remote tribe. After visiting it is obvious that sanitation is a big problem. You bring in a work crew, build public toilets and feel like you've accomplished something, but you haven't. You may have solved the technical problem, … [Read more...] about Influence
Digital Signature & Encryption
In the past we've talked about how to scan your signature to help go paperless. In this post, we are going to look at the fundamentals behind sending truly encrypted emails and documents that can be verified with a digital signature. The idea is to show you the concepts so you understand what is going on behind the scenes to make a secure communication channel over email. So why spend the time on this? As we switch to doing more business over the internet, secure communications are going to become much more important. Even if you don't have a use for encryption right now, you probably will over the next 3 to 5 years (if not before). There is a lot of value in understanding why email … [Read more...] about Digital Signature & Encryption
Joplin After Tornado
A few weeks ago my wife and I went to Joplin to help with the cleanup. The the pictures and videos you see don't really convey the level of devastation. Last I heard there were around 150 people who died. Just looking at the destruction, you'd assume that thousands died. From what I understand, FEMA is going to pay for 90% of the cleanup if it is done by early August. The city will be responsible for the remaining 10%. However, volunteer hours count toward the city's portion. So if you are in a position to go help, you'll be helping in more than one way. We spent half our day clearing a bunch of trees from a neighborhood near the hospital that was … [Read more...] about Joplin After Tornado
More Efficient Emails
When working with businesses, one problem I see over and over again is people who don't know how to write an efficient email. For example, I was helping a business put processes into place to streamline their help desk. Some of the requests that were coming into the tracking system just boggled my mind. My English 101 classes years ago spent a lot of time explaining that authors need to think about the reader. It doesn't matter what you write--it matters how the reader understands what you write. Unfortunately, people forget this when writing emails. Here are some of the emails I've seen (with names changed to protect the innocent and guilty parties): My computer doesn't work. … [Read more...] about More Efficient Emails
Business is Doing Smart Things
Marketing isn't really all that complicated. If you have a decent product, you simply have to let people know what you are selling and some of them will buy right? Obviously you can be more efficient by focusing your efforts on people who are likely to buy your product. It wouldn't make too much sense to show financial services ads during Saturday morning cartoons.(Assuming that Saturday morning cartoons still exist.) Omaha Steaks probably wouldn't want to mail their flyers out to religiously fanatic vegetarians. If you have two lists, one of people who are deaf and one of people who love to listen to music, which do you think would create more sales for high end headphones? This … [Read more...] about Business is Doing Smart Things
How to Create a Scanned Digital Signature
If you like this article you might also enjoy our post about how to use your signature to sign documents in Acrobat. We also have a number of other articles about going paperless and one on Digital Signatures and Encryption that might be useful. If you want to create a scanned electronic version of your signature, there are several ways to do it. The "right" way would be to send your signature to a company that will create a truetype font of your entire signature so you can print it at any size and still have the beautiful vector drawn lines. The easy way to do it is to scan in your signature and remove the background. If you make it large enough and scan at a high enough … [Read more...] about How to Create a Scanned Digital Signature
Leaps of Imagination
Einstein was a smart, but the world is full of smart people. What was different about Einstein that allowed him to come up with the theory of relativity? Simple. Einstein was able to take a leap of imagination. At the time, everyone believed that time was constant. If you and I synchronize our watches and I wait on the ground while you take off and fly on a very fast space ship, it was assumed that when you came back our watches would still match. It was such a fundamental concept that no one even bothered to question it. However, Einstein realized that something didn't quite seem right. The basis of his uneasiness with the modern theories came when he was 16 years old and began to … [Read more...] about Leaps of Imagination
AT&T DSL Only Option
AT&T is offering DSL without requiring phone service. This is sometimes referred to as "dry dsl" or "naked dsl". For about $29 per month, you can get 3.0Mbps down and 512Kbps up high speed internet connection. This also gives you free internet service from AT&T's wireless access points across the US. This service would normally cost $39 per month, so if you need it, this can work out to be a very good deal. In my area of the country they also offer 6.0/768k internet service for about $34 per month. This is what I used before we bought a house that is a few hundred feet from where AT&T offers service. This "DSL without phone service" package has been around for … [Read more...] about AT&T DSL Only Option
TIP: Logging Instant Messaging
I do a lot of business over instant messaging. Often, these chat sessions have important information that I need later. I used to copy out any important info into a separate file, but now many of the chat clients let you log your instant messaging. Some operating systems make it easy to search through your chat sessions to find a bit of information when you need it. If you use iChat, here is the configuration window where you can save the chats (it is at the bottom of the image). Notice you can also open the folder directly from this window. If you use the web version of Google's chat product that is integrated with Gmail, you can set it to record your chats and make them … [Read more...] about TIP: Logging Instant Messaging
Time Discounting
There is a psychological phenomenon known as time discounting. Basically, it means that a desired result in the future is perceived as less valuable than one in the present. For example, if you allow people to choose from being paid an amount in one year as opposed to being paid a smaller amount now, they will settle for a much smaller payment right now than they will in the future. There has been some research done on this and scientists found that a $100 payment in 12 months is just as attractive as $68 right now for the average person. This means that on average, people will discount the value of a gain made in one year by 32% over how they would value the gain made … [Read more...] about Time Discounting
Popular Book – Personal MBA
I was just reviewing some stats from Amazon and it looks like the most popular book for readers of this site is The Personal MBA. If you missed it, be sure to read through our review of The Personal MBA. Statistically speaking, there is a very high probability you'll enjoy it. It is the type of book that is very relevant regardless of what industry you work in and regardless of what position you hold. … [Read more...] about Popular Book – Personal MBA
Self-Reliance by Emerson – Review and Free eBook
Self-Reliance is an essay that was first published by Ralph Waldo Emerson in 1841. Emerson's didn't always write in the most accessible prose, but the essay is short enough that it should be within the reach of most readers. In Self-Reliance Emerson is issuing a call to avoid conformity--without worrying about what other's think. This essay contains the following quote which you may have heard before: To be great is to be misunderstood. Since Self-Reliance is old enough to be out of copyright, you can easily find a copy from Project Gutenberg or other online resources. The Domino Project has printed a nice hardback edition that they were kind enough to send me. The right hand pages … [Read more...] about Self-Reliance by Emerson – Review and Free eBook
The Two Types of Technology Users
Every year, a new slew of gadgets promises to solve all of our problems. Manufactures are constantly adding more features in hopes of getting us to upgrade. I've managed technology for an institution that had a large "gadget budget". Employees were able to request pretty much anything they wanted as long as there was a slight chance that it might in some way make them more effective at their jobs. I noticed that some people seemed to use the technology very well and it seemed to make a big difference in their productivity. On the other hand, there was another group of people who never seemed to get much of a benefit out of their tools. What was odd, is that the ineffective group … [Read more...] about The Two Types of Technology Users
Nexus S 4G Sprint Android Phone Review
Switching phones is expensive, so I try not to do it very often. The cost of phones isn't that bad, it is the time investment required to get a new device setup, the important data transferred over and learning how to use it. I've been using an old Blackberry Curve for years, but when it started randomly shutting itself off, I finally decided it was time to go ahead and get and updated device. In this post I'm going to review the Nexus S 4G and cover some of the technology decision points I made along the way to selecting it. Most of the reviews I've seen concentrate on the technical specifications of the Nexus. This review of the Nexus S is going to be focused … [Read more...] about Nexus S 4G Sprint Android Phone Review
Making Room On Your Hard Drive
I remember when I first started looking at computer catalogs back in the late 80s. There was a 540MB hard drive for sale that I found fascinating. It seemed like a limitless amount of storage and I remember dreaming about what type of huge business you could run with that amount of storage space. Of course now that is even less data that can fit on a single CD rom and many programs come on multiple DVDs now days. No matter how big of hard drive you have, you'll eventually be able to fill it. There are two ways to clean out unnecessary information. One is to go through, folder by folder, and clean out what you don't need. This is the "correct" way to do things. However, in the … [Read more...] about Making Room On Your Hard Drive
Tuesdays Tip: Start Something
Procrastination is the first hump we have to get over to do something. Here is a trick to get over procrastination. If there is something you don't want to work on, promise yourself to start the task and work on it for 15 minutes and then you can quit. Much of the time, once you get started you'll find that what was really holding you back was just starting the task. This is a great way to handle exercise. If you dread going to the gym, go for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes if you still don't want to exercise, you can leave. If you don't like it that day, no problem, you made the effort and you'll stay longer on a day when you like it better. We can apply Newton's first law of … [Read more...] about Tuesdays Tip: Start Something
Being Organized Saves More Than Time
Everyone knows that being more organized can save time. But it can also save you a lot of money. How many times have you had to go out and buy something just because you couldn't locate it in your house? Some time ago we were having someone come over to house sit for a few weeks. I felt bad because we didn't have a television in the house, so I set about hooking up an old DVD player to my computer monitor so they could at least watch some movies while we were gone. The video worked fine, but I needed a connector to hook up the audio. I looked through a box of audio cables, but finally gave up and went to Radio Shack. 25 minutes and $7 later (which seems ridiculous for 6 … [Read more...] about Being Organized Saves More Than Time
Setting Goals and Making Them Visible
When I was in high school, I wanted to get a computer. Computers weren't nearly as inexpensive as they are now days. The one I wanted represented about 15% of my fathers yearly salary at the time. It was much more expensive than what I could reasonably expect to save during the summer--even with taking on some extra odd jobs and saving every penny possible. I really wanted to have a computer when I started the next school year, so I decided to make that my primary goal for the summer. To help me focus on my goal, I set aside a savings account specifically for the purchase. Using my parents' typewriter, I created a thermometer style graph showing how much money I had saved and taped … [Read more...] about Setting Goals and Making Them Visible
Aging – Your Auto Self-Destruction Timebomb
Everyone gets older, but have you ever wondered why? Our bodies heal themselves, so why do organs eventually fail? The answer is fascinating. Our cells divide and make duplicates of themselves, but each time this occurs there is a section of the DNA that gets a little bit shorter. DNA replication starts at the middle and a bit of the ends don't get copied. These sections are called telomeres. Telomeres are basically end caps to the information in our DNA. If this was important information for creating a new cell, then the duplicate cell would be incomplete. The telomere data is not necessary data for the creation of a new cell. However each time the DNA is duplicated the telomere region … [Read more...] about Aging – Your Auto Self-Destruction Timebomb
Taking A Break
When you are focused on a problem, issue or task, it stays in the conscious part of you brain. However, there are some problems that you are unlikely to solve until the problem gets the attention of your unconscious mind. How do you let your unconscious mind take a look at your current enigma? You have to take a break. Mentally demanding work requires taking break to stay efficient. Unfortunately we have a cultural viewpoint that encourages people to see taking a break as a weakness. Nothing can be further from the truth. Taking a short period of time away from your main task requires a discipline. It takes discipline to know when to start and it takes discipline to get back to work … [Read more...] about Taking A Break