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Archives for 2008

Cell Phones and Sleep

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Some experiments seems to suggest that using a cell phone before going to bed can make it more difficult to fall asleep.  It seems that the radio waves can mess with the mind and excite it.  The effect is fairly subtle and is about equivalent to drinking half a cup of coffee, but still something to consider if you are having trouble going to sleep. … [Read more...] about Cell Phones and Sleep

Working Effectively with a New Assistant

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Most successful and efficient people will eventually come to a point where they at least consider hiring an assistant.  It seems like a very logical step.  If some of your work can be handed off to someone else, then you can concentrate on the things that can only be done by you which will increase your personal productivity.  Unfortunately many people hire assistants and end up in this type of situation: Lets say you are a mad scientist out to destroy the world.  You can spend more time thinking up doomsday scenarios if you had an assistant to study gauges and push the buttons that simply must be studied and pushed to keep your diabolical lab running smoothly.  So after a careful search … [Read more...] about Working Effectively with a New Assistant

The Zone

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There are two things that will impact how much you get done.  First, there is the amount of time you spend.  Obviously, you can get more done in 20 minutes than in 2.  The second is how focused you are.  This factor is referred to as, being in "the zone". When it comes to your personal productivity, the second factor is usually more important than the first.  How many times have you spent 30 minutes working on a task that you didn't really want to do and made very little progress, but when you truly decide you want to complete that task it only takes 15 minutes? This a common occurrence for most people. Often the biggest differentiator between highly productive and less productive people … [Read more...] about The Zone

The Rat Experiment

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There was an experiment where researchers were given a set of rats and told to rate their ability to learn mazes.  They were told that certain rats were "smart rats" and had an abnormally high IQ.  When the researchers tested the rats, their studies showed that the "smart rats" performed significantly better than the ordinary rats. The experiment, however, wasn't focused on the rats, it was testing the researchers.  All of the rats were the same, but telling the researchers that some of the rats were smart caused them to rate the rats better, even though there was no difference. People will view what you do through their own set of prejudices.  To a certain extent, your ability to … [Read more...] about The Rat Experiment

Trained Smelling Bees

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Scientists are training bees to smell certain diseases.  The bees are then used to recognize whether or not someone has a particular disease by smelling their breath. This is a far cry from the little hand held scanner StarTrek predicted we'd have, but it demonstrates a valuable lesson.  Don't get so caught up in looking for high tech solutions that you overlook simple, but very effective low tech opportunities. … [Read more...] about Trained Smelling Bees

A few useful links

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Unclutterer has some photos of a wall mounted laptop desk from Ikea.  It looks like it would be useful in homes where you are short on space. GetRichSlowly examines some of the changes people are making due to high gas prices and considers getting a scooter. LIfeClever looks at some tools to help you focus on a single window in OS X. … [Read more...] about A few useful links

Take a Nap for Memory

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Studies suggest that your memories are solidified while you sleep.  Your brain does a lot of work during your rest--almost like it is busy filing and making sense of everything you've discovered while you were awake.  When you've learned a new concept or information that you want to retain, consider taking a nap or reviewing it right before going to bed.  This will give your brain the best chance to assimilate the new information. … [Read more...] about Take a Nap for Memory

Omnifocus Review

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In our lives, as tasks build up, stress tends to build proportionally with the number of them that are present in our memories. In addition to worrying about the time needed to finish these tasks and the skills required to accomplish them, many of us are stuck worrying that we will forget what we needed to do in the first place! For those of us that need a bit of a hand in writing down and categorizing our everyday to-do list, the team at Omnifocus has produced a remarkable software product that allows a person to put tasks into a system that gives them the ability to prioritize, categorize and organize their tasks in a way that seems logical to that person. The best feature of Omnifocus is … [Read more...] about Omnifocus Review

Benefits of Expensive Oil

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Most people are concerned about the high cost of gasoline. The countries that produce oil are, of course, thrilled. In the Middle East, people are paying millions of dollars on car license tags with unique numbers. Evidently, having a Rolls Royce isn't enough to make you stand out over there. Saeed Khouri paid $14 million dollars to be able to put a license tag containing "1" on his car. People living in the US and other countries that are primarily consumers and not producers of oil are less fond of the current pricing trend. However, in an effort to always discover the silver lining, we are going to look at some of the potential benefits of expensive oil. Technological … [Read more...] about Benefits of Expensive Oil

Pre-Charged Batteries

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Duracell sent me a few of their new pre-charged batteries to try out.  The idea is that people don't purchase rechargable batteries because they need to use them right away.  In the past you couldn't pre-charge Ni-Cad rechargeable batteries because they would lose their charge while sitting on the shelf.  The new pre-charged batteries seem to overcome this problem which also means you can charge up the batteries and not use it for awhile without losing power.  I'm still testing them out to write up a better review of their performance.  Duracell seems light on stats for the batteries with most of their efforts going into marketing based on humor, however the product seems good and will … [Read more...] about Pre-Charged Batteries

Language and Learning

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For my freshman English class in college, I wrote a paper looking at the correlation between language and thought. My premise was that certain thought capabilities would be impossible without having a language in order to express those thoughts. There has been some recent research looking at how language can help with learning. The experiment was designed to see if people could learn information more quickly if there was a word associated with it. They were shown a series of "aliens". These were clay sculptures some had roughly shaped heads and others had smoother heads. The subjects of the experiments were told to tell if each alien was friendly or not. The smooth head aliens … [Read more...] about Language and Learning

The Benefits of Failure

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My wife and I were doing some research into how education is handled in various countries when we ran across some interesting statistics. Basically researchers took middle school age children from a bunch of different countries and tested them in mathematics. The US children did very poorly compared to the rest of the developed world. However, the researchers went a step further and asked the children to rate themselves in mathematics. The US children consistently ranked themselves higher than the children in the countries who were actually more skilled in math. So while the US wasn't the best in actual mathematics, they are the best in teaching students how to feel like they are good … [Read more...] about The Benefits of Failure

10 Articles on Creating the Perfect Resume

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A Professional Resume is Essential- Carla Vaughan According to Carla Vaughan, writing an impressive resume is not as difficult as one might initially think. The important headings for the content of your resume are your contact information, education and objectives as well as a few others. Because many employers simply scan resumes, these headings are essential to the creation of a well-written resume. How to Create a Resume that Gets Results-Penny Loretto In this article, Penny Loretto describes the importance of a resume. She highlights the purpose of a resume by pointing out that it should work toward the ultimate goal of providing the interested party an interview, and perhaps, the … [Read more...] about 10 Articles on Creating the Perfect Resume

Mobile Me Email Down for a week.

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My .mac (now Mobile Me) email has be non functional since last Friday.  I can't believe a company with the resources of Apple can't get an email server fixed in 4 to 6 hours much less a whole week.  Walt Mosberg says the other services aren't very reliable either.  I had been told that they were storing all incoming emails in a queue, but when I asked them if they could print out my emails and fax them to me (I know that is insane, but they weren't offering me anything useful and being down for a whole week is even more crazy than faxing emails) I found out that their servers are simply rejecting incoming connections so after four days they will be returned as undeliverable.  At this point, … [Read more...] about Mobile Me Email Down for a week.

FDIC Insurance – When Banks Fail

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This post was originally published October 29th, 2007.  I'm bumping it up because in today's financial climate it is extremely important.  If you have any experience in dealing with getting money back from FDIC, please read the comments.  Several people are having problems getting their money.  Any advice you can give would help them out. Recently NetBank was shut down by the FDIC. The FDIC was created to prevent runs on the bank. They insure your accounts so even if the bank goes under, you will get your money back out. In exchange the bank gives up some control. The FDIC can come in, inspect things and force the bank to sell out to another financial institution if the FDIC doesn't … [Read more...] about FDIC Insurance – When Banks Fail

Reader Question: Why isn’t my assistant saving me time?

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I just got a personal assistant, but they aren't saving me any time. What am I doing wrong? Several people have asked me about this. There are many different issues that could be involved, but I see a lot of people who hire an assistant and then can't think of what they wanted them to do. Either that, or it turns out their original ideas are all things that really can't be handed off to someone else. Here are some of the things I have had assistants do for me. Some of these tasks can be done virtually, but many of them require physical presence. I'm leaving out most of the things my assistant helps me do for clients and trying to primarily give you some ideas of how your assistant … [Read more...] about Reader Question: Why isn’t my assistant saving me time?

Benefits of a Large Monitors

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If you are thinking about adding a larger monitor to your workspace, you might want to checkout these articles: Large Monitors for Productivity - Jason Calacanis The Large Display Paradox - Jeff Atwood Increase Your Productivity - Buy a Large Monitor! - Andrew Mason Dual Monitor Display Increases Productivity - Chris A Large Monitor Makes You More Productive - Jeremy Zawodny Big Monitors Can Increase Productivity? - DanB Enhance Your Productivity with Multiple Monitors - Mike Gunderloy Multiple-Monitor Productivity: Fact or Fiction? - Patrick Dubroy … [Read more...] about Benefits of a Large Monitors

No Flotation Devices

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We signed our 15 month old daughter up for swimming lessons at the city pool. Arriving early, I read the pool rules for the regular swim periods. I hadn't been to the pool in about 14 years and was suprised to see that they didn't allow any type of flotation devices. No rafts, life jackets or arm "floaties". I asked one of the lifeguards why, and discovered that the city pool puts some real thought into their policies--much more than the local library. The lifeguard explained that when people have a flotation device, they tend to rely on it instead of their swimming skills. A child with a life raft is more likely to get into water that is too deep than one without. Worse still, … [Read more...] about No Flotation Devices

False Memories

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Your memory is not as reliable as you think it is. Even events that you vividly recall in your mind may never have happened. Here is an example. I have two cousins, Josh and Sam. When they were little Sam sat on a cactus. It was a very painful experience and their mother told the story many times over the years. 25 years later, Josh thinks it happened to him. He can remember the pain, the extraction, everything--even though it didn't happen to him. The experience was so imprinted on his mind that he has all these false memories of an event that never happened to him. These types of memories are particularly troubling when it comes to eye witness accounts of crimes and other … [Read more...] about False Memories

Contests

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We have number of contests going on right now. The Belkin Concealed Powerstrip Giveaway, the Bento Software Giveaway, and the Fruitfultime Software Giveaway are all still open for entries. Each contest has a different way to enter so be sure to check them all out. If you have any suggestions for future, prizes, please leave them on this post. … [Read more...] about Contests

Five Things You Didn’t Know about OS X Terminal

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This video shows five things that most people don't know about using the terminal in OS X. 5 Things You Didn't Know about OS X Terminal from Productivity501 on Vimeo. Just in case you want to make sure the items look interesting before taking the time to watch, the five things are: You can drag folders and files into the terminal. How the open command works for files and applications. Safari style tabs in terminal. The "say" command. Copy to and from the clipboard using the command line. If you have some killer tips for using the terminal please share them with others in the comments. … [Read more...] about Five Things You Didn’t Know about OS X Terminal

Interview: Managing Wires

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We interviewed a number of bloggers about how they manage the wires in their office setup. Wireless technology was the most frequently mentioned solution, but there are a bunch of other great ideas as well. Organization interview question: What is your best tip for managing the multitude of wires in a typical computer setup? (182) Use a good computer desk or table along with zip ties to keep everything out of sight John Richardson from Success Begins Today (rss) I've also had good luck with using double sided velcro for this purpose. Another thing that seems to work well is using black electrician's tape to tape up cables that are longer than what you need. I use as many wireless … [Read more...] about Interview: Managing Wires

Fruitfultime Task Manager 2 Review

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Many of us struggle with keeping our lives in proper order. It is nothing new, and there are many ways in which to attempt to prioritize one's tasks and manage one's time. There are a plethora of different programs available to the public that are meant to make a person's life simpler and more productive by assisting that person with the organization of their daily routine. However, this is not to say that all of these programs are equally useful and user-friendly. The developers of FruitfulTime Task Manager have put much thought and time into their latest version of the Task Manager, making it easier to use, more useful and less complex, in the very best sense of the word. Fruitfultime … [Read more...] about Fruitfultime Task Manager 2 Review

Productive Sonic Environment

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It is easy to focus on how the things we see contribute or detract from our productivity and overlook the impact of what we hear. I started experimenting with creating audio environments using ambient nature sounds when my daughter was born. Back in April, I published a short, lower quality version of what I was using. The idea is that distractions cause you to lose focus and it takes awhile to get back into what you are doing. A 30 second distraction may take 5 to 15 minutes to recover from If you can eliminate even just a two of these distractions it can easily give you an extra 30 minutes per day. The feedback I got from the low quality versions was positive, but most people … [Read more...] about Productive Sonic Environment

Setting up a Home Office

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Here are some articles with tips and ideas for getting started with setting up your home office. How to Set Up Your Home Office - Beverly Block Working from home is the latest trend. The environment has a direct or indirect relationship with the output of your work. This article helps you to set up the right backdrop for your home office. The entire process involved in setting up home office is given in 5 simple steps. Seven Rules in Setting Up Your Home Office - Jenny Fulbright This article is about giving importance to productivity and creating a balance with life. 7 important steps that covers all the aspects in setting up a home office and yet not getting interrupted by … [Read more...] about Setting up a Home Office

Password Chart

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Password Chart is an interesting method to generate secure passwords. You give it a "master" password which is used to generate a chart that maps single letters to one or more letters.  You then just type in the name of the service you need a password for, and it will turn that into a password. Be sure to checkout our 10 Tips for Creating Secure Passwords. … [Read more...] about Password Chart

Reader Question: Wireless Setup

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Mark, I'd be interested in reading what else you have done to remove the wires from your office. I'm looking at as much as possible to wireless and I'm a bit stumped as to where to start. --James Here is a general overview of our setup. Apple Airport Extreme - This sits on a chest of drawers across the room from my desk. It hooks into DSL and also into an external 500GB hard drive. Our house is small enough that it covers the whole thing, but in the past I've exanded the network with additional Airport devices. I have also used an Airport Express to hook up desktop computers that have a network connection, but not a wireless card. I use WPA encryption on the wireless network.  I … [Read more...] about Reader Question: Wireless Setup

Prius vs. BMW

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Some time ago, I wrote about how we are very bad at making cost vs. benefit decisions and illustrated it with the cost benefit of hybrid vehicles and later with the total energy consumption of hybrids. If you enjoyed those discussions, you might be interested in real test between a BMW and a Prius conducted by the London Times. … [Read more...] about Prius vs. BMW

Costs Going Down?

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Bank for International Settlements says that if economies keep cooling we may be in for a period of deflation and falling prices.  On one hand, this doesn't sound bad, but a small rate of inflation is usually considered healthy.  If the house you bought for $100,000 today is only worth $75,000 next month, it tends to have all kinds of bad side effects. … [Read more...] about Costs Going Down?

Encrypted Email Links

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If you are interested in sending and receiving encrypted emails, these links are a great place to get started in understanding the process and configuring your system. What is a Digital Signature - David Youd An excellent explaination of how digital signatures work.  The graphics help make this easy to understand.  The article focuses on how it works by telling short stories instead of dealing with all the technical background. How PGP Works - Network Associates This is a good introduction to public/private key encryption. PGP (pretty good privacy) is one implementation of public/private keys. The article can be applied to other solutions as well. Encrypted E-Mail Company … [Read more...] about Encrypted Email Links

Three Things You Didn’t Know About Excel

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Excel is really a "swiss army knife" type tool. I have used it for all kinds of odd things including HTML for long lists, creating a checkerboard, analyzing server log files, projecting cell phone usage and analysis whether people preferred live or telecast music at a church overflow room.  Excel has so many hidden little features that it is easy to overlook some of the capabilities that let you do a complicated task quickly. This video demonstrates three capabilities of Excel that the average user does not know about. Three Things You Didn't Know About Excel from Productivity501. (If you have trouble seeing the video, turn on HD.  You'll have to go to Vimeo, but you can watch it … [Read more...] about Three Things You Didn’t Know About Excel

Interview: Managing Physical Media

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What is your single most important tip for keeping your books, magazines, software and other physical media organized? (549) The key to keeping your physical media organized is to have as little as possible. Only keep the absolute essentials and either trash or convert to a digital file what you want to keep. For example, I don't purchase any fiction books-- the library is perfect for that. I only keep books that I will either read again or reference in the future. CD's and DVD's are easy to convert to digital files and centralize on an external hard drive (be sure to back it up!) Basically, if you drastically reduce the amount of physical media in your life the problem of … [Read more...] about Interview: Managing Physical Media