When it comes to organizing your stuff, most people deal with every item and ask "Where do I put this"? This is not the question to ask. When you go to look for the item you may or may not be able to remember the answer to the question "Where do I put this?" The real question to ask yourself is "Where will I look for this when I need it?" There seems to be a big separation between the way the brain makes connections when you are trying to store something and when you are trying to retrieve it. This makes sense because when you ask yourself "Where do I put this?" your brain is going to start thinking in terms of size, available storage space, danger to surrounding objects, etc. … [Read more...] about TIP: Where Do I Look For It?
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Graduate School Options
Graduate school is the next academic step after getting a bachelor's degree. Graduate schools award masters and doctorate and several other types of recognition. In this post, we are going to look at some of the different types of graduate school options and talk about what each one entails and how it benefits you in the job market. Graduate Citation A graduate citation isn't a degree, but it recognizes the completion of a collection of classes on a particular topic. A graduate citation is similar to a certificate (see below), but smaller in scope. It is the smallest unit of work you can do beyond a single class that is formally recognized. It generally requires three or four … [Read more...] about Graduate School Options
Solving the Wrong Problems
It is amazing how good people are at problem solving. Think of all the inventions and methods people have come up with to fix everything from minor annoyances to large scale worldwide problems. Even as good as everyone seems to be at solving problems, we are notoriously bad at identifying the correct problem to solve. Let me give a few examples. Aviation safety Our public aviation security in the US is based around the idea of keeping bad stuff off airplanes. The idea is that if we can keep anything dangerous off planes, we will be safe. Lots of problem solving effort has gone into keeping dangerous stuff off planes, but is that the real problem? There is stuff all over in a plane … [Read more...] about Solving the Wrong Problems
Other Side of Productivity
Occasionally I'll get some criticism that I'm too focused on productivity. People say that I need to lighten up, etc. The problem is that on this site we focus on productivity--not on what to do with the free time that being productive buys you. Here is a short video about enjoying the fruits of productivity--free time to do things with family. (If you want to more of the other side, you can checkout my personal blog.) The Other Side of Productivity from Productivity501 on Vimeo. It's great to strive for efficiency, but it is also important to make sure that being above average in what you accomplish buys your above average rewards. … [Read more...] about Other Side of Productivity
My Company Newsletter
My company spends about 25% of our effort doing consulting with other businesses to help them become more productive and efficient. If your job encompasses any type of business responsibility, you'll probably benefit by signing up for my monthly business newsletter. The content covers a wide range of business and technology information that will help you make better decisions, avoid dangerous technology mistakes and make your business operations more efficient. You can sign up using the form below (you may need to click through to the website if viewing in RSS or email) or go to my company site and sign up in the right sidebar: Xeric Corporation Xeric Corporation … [Read more...] about My Company Newsletter
The Sacred To-do List
Everyone is familiar with a to-do list, but most people don't really understand the importance of having a list of the things you want to accomplish. Creating a to-do list is creating a list of goals. The list tells you what you need to do to achieve some larger outcome in your life. The power isn't so much in the list itself, but in the overall goal it helps you to achieve. A list is a way to break down your life goals into easy manageable steps that you can complete in a specific amount of time. In this sense, your list becomes a guide showing you how to succeed in life. The way most people start off creating to-do lists, isn't particularly effective. It is easy to end up with … [Read more...] about The Sacred To-do List
Productivity501 Design Update
I've updated the design of Productivity501, please check it out and let me know what you think. In particular, let me know if you see anything that looks wrong or needs fixed. The design is similar to the original so you may not notice too many changes. The biggest differences are in the ways the site deals with images--it will now autosize images so we don't have to do quite as much work in an image editor. Let me know what you think! Also if anyone has suggestions for improvement, please let me know. I can't change to match every suggestion I get, but I'd appreciate any feedback about any aspect of the site. It helps me plan ahead for the next time we revamp the design. For anyone … [Read more...] about Productivity501 Design Update
Power of Routines
Routines are a simple method to guarantee that you do the same thing at the same time in the same way every day. Routines allow you to decide ahead of time what you are going to do, make the decision once, and then spend all of your effort executing rather than pondering what you should do next. Here are some examples of beneficial routines: Reading something helpful for your career for 15 minutes each day during your lunch break. Going for a 30 minute walk every evening. An hour first thing in the morning spent with 15 minutes organizing your desk, 15 minutes sending networking emails and 30 minutes writing for your blog, Those are just some simple examples, but the point is to … [Read more...] about Power of Routines
Letting Go of Paper
I've been surprised at how difficult it is to let go of my paper. As I move more and more of my paper to a digital format I keep finding myself hesitating when I get ready to shred a document. We are trained so very well to keep our paper records. Has anyone else experienced this? I think part of the issue is that most people have suffered some type of data loss with their computer. Even though I have multiple systems in place for backup I'm still haunted by losing important files years ago. Another issue is the physicalness of paper. You can hold paper in your hand. Spread it out. Write notes in the margin, etc. Not that I ever do that with my car insurance statement or gas … [Read more...] about Letting Go of Paper
Apple’s Patent on Destroying Productivity
Apple has a patent for displaying ads in an operating system. Basically, ads would pop up and prevent you from doing work every once in awhile. The patent shows a mechanism where the ads could be delayed for 10 minutes or you could view one immediately so it won't interrupt you for a bit longer. What do you think? Are people so accustomed to being interrupted during work that they would accept something like this? … [Read more...] about Apple’s Patent on Destroying Productivity