A while back Jason Calacanis made a list of things to save money in a startup. One of his points was to fire people who aren't workaholics. David from 37 Signals responded with a post saying that you should fire the people who are workaholics. Since then Jason has changed his position, but the idea of how much time you should expect employees to dedicate to their work is thought provoking. Both of these posts are worth reading--even if you have no intention of starting a business yourself. Behind the work you do is a problem that needs solved. Your work solves this problem. Your paycheck reflects that somewhere in the value chain, someone is willing to pay for your ability to solve … [Read more...] about Fire (or keep) the Workaholics
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Evernote Book
Brett Kelly has written a book called Evernote Essentials. If you've been considering using Evernote, this Evernote book is the guide you'll want to makes you are getting the most out of it. The PDF is well illustrated and covers a lot of the details that you probably won't discover on your own. It took me about 3 minutes of skimming through the book to discover 5 huge timesavers that I didn't previously know about. The book isn't just limited to Evernote. It shows you how to integrate other services as well. For example, there are detailed instructions showing how to set up Gmail to automatically log receipts from Amazon purchases into Evernote. The PDF book is $25 and is highly … [Read more...] about Evernote Book
Improve Your Focus
One of the most important skills you can develop is the ability to focus. Anything you can do to improve your focus is going to make you more successful. Any non-trivial task requires focus and attention if you want to reach any level of productivity. When you aren't focused, tasks take significantly longer, are prone to mistakes and in some cases progress is impossible. Multi-tasking Myth The multi-tasking myth has done more to destroy our ability to focus than just about anything. People consider multi-tasking to be something they are proud of. After all, computers multi-task right? It turns out that humans are amazingly horrible at multi-tasking. Many people feel like they are … [Read more...] about Improve Your Focus
Diplomas – What to do with them?
Erin at Unclutterer posted an interesting reader question about what you should do with your diplomas. Some of the suggestions in the comments really blew me away. Here are a few: Hang them in your closet or bathroom where no one will see them. Give them back to your school. Put them in a binder on a bookshelf. Evidently some people feel awkward about putting them on the wall in their home, office or cubicle. Granted, everyone's college experience is different, but I think people are missing out on some of the motivational value of keeping your diploma visible. Inspiring Your Children While I don't believe that college is for everyone, there are many people who could … [Read more...] about Diplomas – What to do with them?
Interview with Jennifer Armitstead
Back in June I met Jennifer Armitstead who runs a career coaching company and does a weekly radio program called Job Club Radio. She does career coaching at both the corporate and individual level so she has some great insights into current issues on what it takes to find and get an ideal job. She graciously agreed to be interviewed about some of the current trends in the job market and career planning. You can read more about Jennifer's company at JA Career Coaching and be sure to check out her blog for more career tips. I know you work as a career coach, but what exactly does that entail? Can you give us an idea of what you do for clients? As a career coach, I work with people … [Read more...] about Interview with Jennifer Armitstead
AppSumo
AppSumo has a productivity bundle that will give you a bunch of subscription services for only $55. The bundle includes are: Evernote - The subscription gives you OCR, larger storage and some other features. (Our review of Evernote) Remember the Milk - Online To-Do list. Time Bridge - Calendar and scheduling tool. Mind Meister - Mind mapping software Rescue Time - Time tracking service that shows how you spend your time. ShoeBoxed - Document scanning service. (Our review of ShoeBoxed.) If you've ever thought about trying one or two of these apps, it may be well worth checking out their package deal. They have just a few left to sell and the deal is only good for the next … [Read more...] about AppSumo
Would You Hire An MBA?
My post Never Hire An MBA has been getting quite a bit of attention particularly in other countries. If you read the comments, you'll see that there is a lot of disagreement with my point of view. However, nearly everyone who is commenting seems to have or be in the process of earning an MBA. If you are in a position to actually hire people, I'd be very interested in hearing your thoughts and comments. … [Read more...] about Would You Hire An MBA?
Never Hire An MBA
If you are responsible for hiring people, someone with a master's degree in business administration might look like an attractive hire. While, "Never Hire An MBA" might be a bit extreme, I see a lot of people who overvalue an MBA. In particular, small and medium sized businesses will often try to "hire an MBA". Consider that statement. Wouldn't it seem strange to say, "I want to hire a Bachelors of Science in Computer Engineering"? A Bachelors of Science in Computer Engineering isn't a person--it is a degree. You can't hire a degree. What you really want is a software engineer or maybe a computer scientist--a person. But when it comes to the MBA degree people talk as if you can just hire … [Read more...] about Never Hire An MBA
100 Personal Outsourcing Ideas
The idea behind personal outsourcing is to free up more of your time by delegating tasks that don't require your personal touch to complete. I've heard of people outsourcing reading to their kids and even arguing with their spouse, but the whole point of personal outsourcing is to free up time from unimportant tasks to focus on family and other things of high importance. In this list we are going to look at 100 different ways you can use an assistant to save you time. Some will work with a virtual as well as an on site assistant, some will only work with on site help. Obviously you need to match the job with the skills of your assistant, but this can provide a valuable starting … [Read more...] about 100 Personal Outsourcing Ideas
The Role of Lighting
Lighting plays a much greater part in our productivity than most people realize. There is quite a bit of research that supports the idea that productivity increases along with the amount of light in your workspace (at least up to a certain point). However, if the increase produces glare, it is counter-productive. This is especially true for people working in front of a computer. The best lighting solution is one where the lighting is indirectly bounced off the ceiling. This helps diffuse the light and cuts down on the amount of glare. Some of the best lamps I've used are the halogen floor lamps that shine their light all on the ceiling. Another thing to consider in lighting your … [Read more...] about The Role of Lighting