Productivity501

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Archives for May 2009

Cost Savings Options

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In today's economy, there aren't a whole lot of jobs that are completely safe from company cut-backs and layoffs. Though your job may be safe, saving extra money for emergencies is always a good idea. Here are some frugal ideas that might help with the saving: Food Try not to eat out. Food prepared at home is often better for your health, anyway. Turn leftover food into new dishes everyone will like. Lots of things can be made into soups or stews. Learn to make your own coffee/lattes instead of having to pay $4. Try drinking water instead of other beverages. It is much cheaper and can help prevent some health problems, helping you save on future medical bills. Angel Food … [Read more...] about Cost Savings Options

Interview: Successful Habit

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What productive habit do you feel is most responsible for your success? (960) I try to only do things that make me happy. I could make more money working in an office than from cooking or writing, but it would bore me and make me frustrated and angry. So while I might not always want to get up at eight AM to slave in a hot kitchen, knowing that I'll enjoy the work and have fun with my friends there means I never resent it. And I apply that same mentality to my writing and my studies and everything else I do. It's only hard work if it's something that you don't want to do in the first place. David Robertson from The Church of Chris Martin (rss) Getting started. It's only … [Read more...] about Interview: Successful Habit

9 Alternatives to Mindless Television

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Even if you can find something you want to watch, television is generally a waste of time. Approximately 20 minutes out of every hour is commercials, so when you watch 3 hours of television, you actually are watching 2 hours of your show and 1 hour of commercials. Here are a few ideas to make watching television more productive. (It sounds funny reading that.) Don't Channel Surf If there is a show you want to watch, then watch that show. Jumping from channel to channel can eat up huge amounts of time without actually watching anything. Think in terms of having a complete experience: a start, a middle, and an end. If you simply jump from channel to channel you aren't really having … [Read more...] about 9 Alternatives to Mindless Television

Taking a Break

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A common mistake I see performance oriented people make is not taking break when they need it. Taking a break is like changing the oil on your car. It is a basic need and your performance will suffer if you decide to just "press on through." Let's say you normally operate at 70% to 90% of your potential, but when you get burned out, your capability drops to 20% to 30%. Simply trying to spend more time at your reduced effectiveness just doesn't make sense. You will be far better off to take some time off and come back at your normal 70% to 90%. You need breaks on different levels. You need daily breaks like taking time off for lunch, weekly breaks like taking time off on the … [Read more...] about Taking a Break

Interview: Technology Investments

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We interviewed a number of bloggers and asked: How do you decide if a new technology is worth investing in or whether it is a waste of time? (692) Here are their answers.  I was impressed with how many people have a framework or set of questions they use to decide if something is really valuable to them or not. If I'm not sure, I wait.  I'm not an early adopter and I'm pretty frugal with my money, too.  A product has to prove itself before I'll buy it. Trent Hamm from The Simple Dollar (rss) If a product doesn't have a collection of Amazon reviews, I figure it is probably too soon to know how well it works. I like to evaluate technology before I invest in it. For example, if … [Read more...] about Interview: Technology Investments

Liferea

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I've discovered a great feed reader for linux called Liferea (short for LInux FEed REAder).  One of the best things about it, is not only does it show the articles from the feed you are subscribed to, it also shows the comments.  Does anyone know of a web based reader that does this? … [Read more...] about Liferea

Doing Something New

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Scientists raised two groups of mice and then measured their intelligence.  The first group was kept in traditional mouse surroundings.  They had a cage, food, water wood chips and nothing else.  The other group was given a much more exciting environment.  They had balls, running wheels, colored blocks, mazes, tunnels, doors, hanging ropes, pictures, etc. The mice that were exposed to more variety developed a much higher IQ, than the ones that had a boring environment. Does this mean that we should all add slides, fire poles, and ball pits to our houses? Maybe.  But a less extreme and possibly more effective option is to simply make sure you do new things on a regular basis. Doing … [Read more...] about Doing Something New

How to Study

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We have previously looked at how to memorize verbatim text. If you haven't read that post, be sure to check it out. It gives a good overview of how your brain works. By understanding what is happening inside your head when a fact is converted to a memory and a memory is then converted into a strong memory, you can set yourself up for success in memorization. The previous article deals with verbatim memorization--where you want to be able to repeat something back word for word. This is useful for memorizing lines in a play, a famous speech, Scripture, or other things where you want to be able to recall them word for word. However, most of what we need to learn doesn't require verbatim … [Read more...] about How to Study

Favorite Pen

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For Christmas, my assistant bought me what has become my favorite pen.  It is a Pilot G2 pen with a metal barrel. It has just the right amount of weight and retains everything I like about the plastic G2 but with much better materials. I made one change to it, by swapping out the black ink with a blue cartridge from a normal plastic G2 pen. … [Read more...] about Favorite Pen

Simple Stuff Reduction Tips

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The more stuff you have, the more time you have to dedicate to managing and hunting for things. Here are several simple ways you can reduce the amount of stuff in your life to help make it easier to find things that are important. Keyring Cleanup - Get rid of any extra keys. If you are like most people, you probably have several keys that you can't even remember what they go to. Sometimes it helps to keep a separate keychain at home for those odd little keys that you don't want to lose, but don't need to carry with you. Card Shuffle - Go through your credit cards, ID cards, supermarket cards and get rid of the ones you won't use. I keep about 4 cards with me and the rest stay … [Read more...] about Simple Stuff Reduction Tips

Interview: Learning New Technology

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We interviewed a number of bloggers and asked: How do you learn a new piece of technology? (968) Here are their answers. I play with it!  If my mind doesn't start flooding with lots of ways it will save me a ton of time, I abandon it. If it's not intuitive to learn, forget it.  In today's world there is no excuse for any technology to be difficult to learn. Ariane Benefit from Neat & Simple Living (rss) Giving yourself plenty of time to just "play" is important.  You shouldn't buy a complicated new digital camera 30 minutes before you want to use it to capture a once in a lifetime event. I unpack, fire it up and start using it. I toss the manual in the corner and … [Read more...] about Interview: Learning New Technology

Great Games

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Over the Christmas holiday's someone suggested we play a game we use to play in college (Sardines).  My first reaction was "we are too old for that and "it will be boring". I realized that I was displaying the first symptoms of old age.  We went ahead and played the game and had a great time. So as a reminder to myself of the importance of having fun, we've compiled this list of fun group games. If you have any suggestions, please add them in the comments. 1. Sardines This is kind of like hide and go seek in reverse.  One person hides and everyone goes looking for them.  When the hider is found, the searcher hides with them.  As more and more searchers hide with the hider, it … [Read more...] about Great Games

Adobe ConnectNow

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In business or school settings, communication over the internet has brought about many efficient ways to communicate with others not in our immediate vicinity. Although the most productive communication is done in person (in most situations), tools such as email, instant messaging, and now Adobe ConnectNow can make life much easier. ConnectNow features an all-in-one integration of many computer-related communications tools. It allows for the use of webcams, microphones, and file sharing, as well. After the user signs up for an account, the program automatically creates a URL that you can invite participants to type in. They then can chat, share video and other information with … [Read more...] about Adobe ConnectNow

4 Reasons You Should Use a Credit Card

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When you pay off the balance each month, most credit cards don't charge you anything. This can be one of the best ways to manage your finances. Below are four reasons you should consider using a credit card. 1. Avoiding Fraud Debit cards and checks are some of the worst ways to pay for anything. Sticking with credit cards or cash can save you a lot of money. Pretty much anything you do involves risk. When you carry around $50 in your pocket, there is a risk that you might lose it or get robbed. When you give a credit card to a waitress, there is a risk that she might steal the number. When you write a check at the grocery store, there is a risk that someone might take your … [Read more...] about 4 Reasons You Should Use a Credit Card

New Fujitsu Scanner

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If you've been following my paperless office experiment,  you  might be interested in Fujitsu's new ScanSnap model.  The S1500M for Mac and S1500 for Windows looks to replace the 500 line.  Most of the specs are similar, but the 1500s have some more advanced paper handling and sensing to prevent double feeds. … [Read more...] about New Fujitsu Scanner

Personal Productivity from Management Theory – Ouchi

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This is the fourth of a four part series examining management theories and how they can help us understand our own personal productivity. William Ouchi was born in 1943 and raised in Honolulu.  He earned his Ph.D from the University of Chicago and is currently on faculty at the University of California. Ouchi studied the different work cultures of America and Japan.  In America, he found the "Cowboy" culture, where people are rewarded for their individual efforts and employees are acting out of what is good for themselves in the short term. Americans tend to value people who are mavericks and accomplish stuff even if they work against the "system" to do so.  In America, it is common … [Read more...] about Personal Productivity from Management Theory – Ouchi

Adobe Create PDF/Share Review

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Adobe has produced many useful and efficient tools throughout the past years. At www.acrobat.com, Adobe has grouped several different tools that aid productivity. One of these programs is Adobe Create PDF. In this article by Abby Randal, the author lists 10 Advantages of PDF Files. They are compact, universally compatible, and can be created from any source document or application. Adobe Create PDF allows the user to upload a limit of 5 different files to convert to PDF format. How it works Adobe Create PDF is very simple to use. All the user needs to do is click the "Browse" button to upload a file from their own computer to be converted. It is that … [Read more...] about Adobe Create PDF/Share Review

Personal Productivity from Management Theory – McGregor

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This is the third in a four part series examining the relationship between management theories and personal productivity. Douglas McGregor lived from 1906 to 1964 and was a professor at MIT.  Four years before his death, he published his theory on management, which is known as theory X and theory Y. Theory X is that employees are lazy and don't want to work.  Under this theory, managers must create very structured environments in order for work to get done.  They don't trust the employees and often see themselves in competition with them.  This leads to managers who run their business as a dictatorship. Theory Y is a different way for managers to look at their employees.  It is … [Read more...] about Personal Productivity from Management Theory – McGregor

Personal Development: How important is college?

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The role of a college education has changed over the years. To get an idea of how people view the importance of college I asked a number of bloggers:  How important is a college education? (4039) While independent learning and personal growth through books, seminars, and networking can significantly bring you closer to your professional career goal, a college education is important for the following reasons. The exposure to a wide variety of subjects expands your understanding of the world. As an effect, it will help you communicate with individuals from other professional fields down the road, while understanding the interrelationships their work may have on yours. The … [Read more...] about Personal Development: How important is college?

Personal Productivity from Management Theory – Maslow

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This is the second of a four part series examining how management theory can be applied to help improve one's personal productivity. Abraham Maslow lived from 1908 to 1970.  He started studying Law in New York, but soon transferred to University of Wisconsin where he switched to psychology and earned a Ph.D by 1934. Maslow developed a theory known as the hierarchy of human needs.  This hierarchy is usually represented as a pyramid.  On the bottom are needs such as food and shelter--the basic needs of the human body.  At the top of the pyramid are the categories of esteem with self actualization (reaching your potential) at the top.  Here is a representation of the … [Read more...] about Personal Productivity from Management Theory – Maslow

Digital Letterhead

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PDF For Laywers has a nice discussion about the benefits of using a digitized letter head.  Basically he recommends creating a letter head that is part of your word processor template so you can print your letter and letter head together (to paper or to a PDF). Some good thoughts and worth a read for people experimenting with paperless offices. … [Read more...] about Digital Letterhead