Archives for 2009

If you have a simple tax return, you can file for free at TurboTax and H&R Block. The IRS also has a list of places where you can file for free and free online forms that do basic calculations for you. You still have to pay to do the state return. … [Read more...] about Free Tax Preparation Software

Higher End Scanners

If you are looking for a higher end scanner than the ScanSnap, check out Fujitsu's fi-6000 series. They are network scanners designed for a small office and look like they offer many of the ScanSnap-type features without being tied to a single PC. … [Read more...] about Higher End Scanners

Measure and Notice your Progress

You can only improve what you notice and you can only notice what you measure. If you want to improve some area of your life or work, you have to be able to measure it. Without some way to gauge your progress, you won't know if you are making improvement or not. For example, when I was running the technical department at a large non-profit corporation, I started measuring our response time for help desk tickets. This was quantifiable data, and by looking at the trends over time, we were able to see if our response time was improving (going down) or getting worse (going up). Without measuring this, we would of had no objective way to measure our performance and we would have been … [Read more...] about Measure and Notice your Progress

Behaving in Court

Lawyer Andrew Flusche has some recommendations on how to behave in court based on what he sees people doing in Virginia Traffic Court. You would think people would know better than to show up while chewing gum, but evidently not. His advice is good for pretty much any situation where you need to make a good impression on someone in authority. … [Read more...] about Behaving in Court

Dealing with Gadgets

I have to admit, I'm a gadget lover. I like playing with phones, cameras, personal organizers and all kinds of electronic devices. I'm not quite as much an addict as I used to be, but I still like mobile electronics. Some of these gadgets can be really big time savers and a good investment. Other gadgets are great fun to use, but the time they save is offset by the time they cost. Then there are the gadgets that make you think you are being more productive, but actually make you waste time. Here are some of the things that I look for in a gadget to help make me more productive: Better Use of Downtime – Everyone spends time waiting for planes, waiting for appointments, driving in … [Read more...] about Dealing with Gadgets

Scientists and Magicians

By Mark Shead 5 Comments

In an interesting experiment, scientists showed individuals photos of two female faces and asked them to pick which one was more attractive. Then using a slight of hand trick learned from magicians, the scientist replaced the chosen photo with the one that was not chosen. So, the individual was handed the photo that they had decided was less attractive. Only 26% noticed the switch. The other 74% accepted the rejected picture as the one that they had chosen. Now possibly that could be explained by saying that they just weren't paying attention to the photo once it was handed to them, but the scientists went one step further. After handing over the photo, they asked the individual … [Read more...] about Scientists and Magicians

Using a Digital Signature?

By Mark Shead 12 Comments

I'm curious how many readers are using digital signatures. If you use a digital signature, please take a moment to leave a comment letting me know what you use and why you use it. … [Read more...] about Using a Digital Signature?

Brain Rules

I was sent a copy of Brain Rules: 12 Principles for Surviving and Thriving at Work, Home, and School to review and I must say it has been a very interesting read. The author, John Medina, is a developmental molecular biologist. He has written a surprisingly accessible book on how the brain works full of tips for getting the most out of your mind. The book is broken down into 12 rules. Here are a few: Exercise - One of the biggest contributors to a clear mind as we age is exercise. Our brains are only 2% of our body weight, but require 20% of our total energy. Exercise helps improve circulation and moves more oxygen to the brain. The book suggests that conducting meetings while … [Read more...] about Brain Rules

Not Because it is Easy

John Kennedy said we were going to go to the moon "Not because it is easy, but because it is hard." The Apollo 11 mission was a huge success and really brought the nation, and to some extent, the whole world together around a scientific adventure. Choosing to do something because it is difficult is a great way to grow. If you truly want to extend your capabilities, you have to do things that are hard. You have to do things where you might fail. If you only attempt to do the things you've done before, you might have some level of growth but nothing compared to what you are capable of. The problem comes when people fail. Most individuals don't know how to handle failure. It knocks … [Read more...] about Not Because it is Easy

Kindle Books on iPhone

Amazon has an app that will let you read your Kindle ebooks on an iPhone or iPod touch. This is actually a pretty big deal as it allows you to view the same book on multiple devices and keep your current page synced. … [Read more...] about Kindle Books on iPhone

Effective Web Browsing

Most people have a collection of sites that they like to check every few days. Unfortunately, checking a few sites can turn into several hours of pointless surfing without any real benefit. Here are some strategies that will let you maximize your productivity while using the web to stay up to date. Set aside time to visit your favorite sites. If you don't create space for it, you'll end up opening your browser everytime you are faced with a task that you want to procrastinate on. Avoid this by setting up a specific time. This can be in the morning before going to work, at lunch time, in the evening. It doesn't matter when it is, but set up a time and get into a schedule. Set a … [Read more...] about Effective Web Browsing

Turkeys and Skunks

Turkeys don't like skunks. Skunks like turkeys, but mainly because they can eat the baby chicks. So it isn't surprising that when a skunk comes around, a mother turkey will attack it to keep it away from her babies. Here is another fact about turkey mothers. They respond to their chicks saying "cheep cheep". If the chick says "cheep cheep" the mother will care for it. No "cheep cheep" and the mother will ignore it and sometimes even kill it. So if you are a baby chick, the "cheep cheep" is very important. In a slightly bizarre experiment, scientists rigged a stuffed skunk and sent it toward a mother turkey. Ask expected, the turkey attacked the stuffed skunk with her claws … [Read more...] about Turkeys and Skunks

Relenta Review

By Anna Carpenter 4 Comments

During the course of a day, many of us find ourselves using to-do lists and other means of getting thoughts and tasks out of our minds and into a trusted place of reference. For a business, keeping employees aware of tasks and duties in an organized fashion can be a challenge. From a customer service point of view, making sure that a customer is not overlooked is certainly very important. Since much of the communication in the business world is done through email, companies are finding that it is difficult to consolidate communications so that everyone is "in the loop." Relenta CEO Dmitri Eroshenko states that, "Relenta keeps everyone on the same page...literally." And the software does just … [Read more...] about Relenta Review

Don’t Repeat Yourself

In software engineering there is a principle known as DRY -- Don't Repeat Yourself. The idea is this: If you are going to solve a problem, do it only once. Don't solve the same problem again and again in different parts of your code. In software, this means that you take your solutions to these common problems and code them in a way so they can be used from wherever necessary. The DRY principle can also apply to your personal work habits as well. Over the course of a week, a good portion of our time can be taken up by unnecessary tasks or overly complicated processes. Proactively looking for areas where we are "repeating" ourselves can unearth these areas where we can … [Read more...] about Don’t Repeat Yourself

Your Own Business

In a previous post I mentioned that if you are the type of person who focuses on personal productivity, you probably shouldn't be working for someone else. I wanted to explain why. Many people focus on being highly productive, but no one seems to talk about how to actually benefit from being more productive. Sure you can make your boss really like you, but just because you are helping your employer be more efficient doesn't mean you are going to see any personal benefit--other than being well liked. How Businesses Make Money Businesses make money by selling items or services for more than it costs them to produce those items or services. The dry cleaner may charge you $2.00 per … [Read more...] about Your Own Business

5 Minute Outliner 2.0 Review

By Anna Carpenter Leave a Comment

Sometimes compatibility issues between technological devices leave us scratching our heads and disheartened at the loss of productivity that results. One such frequent frustrate-or is programs for mobile devices. Few truly helpful organizational programs are available for use with a wide range of cell phones or PDA's. However, the developers at 5 Minute Downloads have created software that allows a user to effectively visualize and organize ideas, create outlines for projects, import information from a personal computer, and to top it all off, stay compatible with other team members in the work place and with their mobile devices. The product in question is the 5 Minute Outliner, which … [Read more...] about 5 Minute Outliner 2.0 Review

Collegiate Time Management

By Anna Carpenter Leave a Comment

College is one of the most exciting and activity-filled times of a person's life. Making new friends, developing new skills, and shouldering many more responsibilities take up a lot of time, let alone the ever-present studying that needs to be done. Time management is so important for students that many Freshman Experience classes focus on the subject. Here are a few tips to help busy students make good use of their time. 1. Plan ahead Studying in college requires more preparation than one might think. With all of the other distractions that are available, it is important to plan out a study schedule and really stick with it. That way, you will already have your studying done when your … [Read more...] about Collegiate Time Management

Skydeck

I am really enjoying the Skydeck service on my Blackberry. It basically gives you an inbox for all your phone calls and gives you voice mail transcription that is quite a bit more accurate than Vonage. One of the best features is the way it adds contacts automatically. If I call a restuarant, Skydeck will notice, look the number up in a directory and add the information to my address book. So I can place a call and within a few minutes I have their name, number and address in my phone. … [Read more...] about Skydeck

Harvard and the Economy

You know there are significant economic problems when Harvard---an institution known for having the largest foundation endowment in the US world--starts looking for ways to cut back. I got an email from the president this morning outlining the ways they are trying to cut expenses. They plan to slow the construction on a science complex and possibly scale back their plans, offer early retirement options, look for ways to streamline operations, but still keep tuition increases in check. Most notable in the email was the closing paragraph--a reminder that we are defined by what is in our heads and hearts rather than our bank accounts: In a time of dramatic and often disquieting change, it … [Read more...] about Harvard and the Economy

Internet–Friend or Foe for Productivity?

By Mark Shead 7 Comments

The internet is a valuable tool that can let us do things faster than anything we imagined 20 years ago. But at the same time it can be a very big time waster. The internet is kind of like a dictionary with beautiful illustrated pictures. It is wonderful to look at, but it can take 10 times longer to actually do anything up because of all the amazing (and distracting) pictures: Lets see how do you spell "artichoke"....neat here is a nice little drawing of an airplane...wait what was I...oh yeah "artichoke" ok that will be a little further...what is that a picture of?....oh an anteater. I didn't realize their noses were so long. Ok now focus...."artichoke". Hm. How do they know what … [Read more...] about Internet–Friend or Foe for Productivity?

As a Child I was Conned

When I was in grade school, we talked about the future. We watched films about the huge technological advances that were just around the corner. I remember dreaming about the day we would have robots and devices to handle every mundane task in our lives. We would only spend our time on tasks that were either exceptionally important or remarkably enjoyable and fulfilling. Technology has made some very significant advances over the last 20 some years. We have miniature personal communication devices, powerful computers the size of a small book, video recorders that fit in your palm, a worldwide network that is virtually free to use, but I still feel like I was conned. Instead of … [Read more...] about As a Child I was Conned

Return it!

By Mark Shead 6 Comments

This weekend I tried to help my grandmother with her new cell phone. She purchased a phone, bluetooth headset, and another bluetooth device that lets you talk in your car handsfree and broadcasts the callers voice over an FM channel that you can tune to with your radio. I got the handsfree device setup and showed her how to use it, but my final recommendation was to take it back to the store. While it was great in theory, in actually use I know it was far more complicated to be useful to me--even though I knew how to work it. It is easy to get enamored with how something is supposed to make your life simpler to the point that you overlook how it makes things more complicated. … [Read more...] about Return it!

What will Last?

A trip to the local library resulted in me spending most of my time browsing for older books--particularly the ones that were published before 1930. A few days later, I was listening to a lecture on Shakespeare and was struck by the fact that much of his greatness comes from the fact that we have so many of his works fully intact. In modern society, how much of what we produce will still be around 50 or 100 years after we die? The change to magnetic media as the primary means of storing data condemns most of what we work on to a much shorter existence than the printed material of previous centuries. Websites that represent a significant amount of one's life work will disappear … [Read more...] about What will Last?

Circuit City Deals

By Mark Shead 6 Comments

Circuit City is closing all of its stores and liquidating all of the inventory. Usually this means that they keep dropping the price until everything is sold. I visited a store on Friday and they said they were planning on wrapping everything up on Monday. This means that Monday will probably have some of the most discounted prices. When I was there the TVs were still overpriced: A floor display (missing remote, stand, instructions, etc.) Sony was going for $1100, but you could get it new for $1400. However, there were some reasonable deals on movies, cables, camera batteries and speakers. I was amazed at how little was left in the store. Oh and the water had been turned off so there … [Read more...] about Circuit City Deals

Five Simple Things I Like

By Mark Shead 11 Comments

When it comes to money, many people get into trouble because they haven't figured out what they really enjoy. I've seen people buying all kinds of things that others enjoy without taking anytime to think about what is important to them personally. Just because your neighbor enjoys playing the piano doesn't mean you will achieve the same happiness by dropping $8,000 on a nice instrument--especially if you don't know how to play. Sometimes it is the little things that really help make a difference in your happiness. I'm not trying to say that stuff=happiness, but it does make sense to at least think about the things you like. Here are five simple things I've discovered that I really … [Read more...] about Five Simple Things I Like

Sleep and Damaged Cognitive Performance

In a society where success is often associated with long hours of work, some things that were never considered by previous generations of Americans are now becoming very prominent. One of these is time management. While working longer hours and weekends is something that most of us consider relatively normal, scientists have taken a look at the effects of sleep on cognitive ability. In the New York Magazine article "Snooze or Lose," researchers have discovered something rather alarming about the sleep patterns of adults and children, alike. Dr. Avi Sadeh of Tel Aviv University conducted a study on the effects of sleep deprivation in grade schoolers. In short, what he found was that a … [Read more...] about Sleep and Damaged Cognitive Performance

Is Stupidity Killing America’s Productivity?

By Mark Shead 45 Comments

When a society makes it a huge priority to protect people from their own stupidity, it will eventually grind to a slow, bureaucratic halt. I have to show my ID to buy Sudafed, spray paint or glue because someone has decided I might use these items to do something stupid. However, I can buy bullets without an ID. I was talking to a policeman the other day and discovered I could be thrown in jail for the amount of decongestant I had in my house. Seriously! When it comes to the safety of society as a whole, I'm much more concerned about a couple lunatics running around with an unlimited supply of bullets than teenagers armed with nasal decongestant and super glue. Yes, I know that … [Read more...] about Is Stupidity Killing America’s Productivity?

Attention Spans and the Internet

By Anna Carpenter 9 Comments

In classrooms and homes all across the nation, teachers and parents are sometimes left wondering what happened to their children's attention spans. We often hear older generations commenting disparagingly about the way younger people always seem to be hard to entertain. Some just call this phenomenon being "spoiled," but is it just the children that are losing their patience? The Internet One of the chief factors in the change of attention span and reading habits that we are seeing is being attributed to the internet. Specifically, the internet is being targeted because it encourages "skim reading" instead of the more old fashioned "in-depth" kind of study that our civilization is … [Read more...] about Attention Spans and the Internet

Kindle 2

By Mark Shead 5 Comments

Amazon is showing the Kindle 2 right now. The two biggest advances are: 1. Syncing your current page across devices. So if you are reading on your phone and then pickup your Kindle you can start right where you left off. 2. Text to Speech. The book will read itself to you. So you can be reading your book and then have it read itself to you while you drive to the store. Those two features will make the device much closer to the dream device I previously described. … [Read more...] about Kindle 2

TripIt Review

By Anna Carpenter 3 Comments

Though vacations are intended to be a time for creating a stress-free environment and enjoying some time off, they can quickly turn into another stressful situation. Most people will know what I mean when they remember the map shuffling, wrong turns and itinerary confusion. In other words, mass chaos! Though it is probably not possible to eliminate the stress of traveling, there are some effective tools that can help vacationers organize their travel information into a single, decidedly un-confusing plan. One such tool is a product called TripIt. This helpful web-based tool allows the user to integrate all of their travel plans for a trip into a central document. The program takes the … [Read more...] about TripIt Review

5 Exercise Tips for Busy People

By Anna Carpenter 5 Comments

A normal day for most busy people consists of a constant string of tasks: go to work, get the kids ready for school, unload the dishwasher, mow the lawn, etc. The problem is, there isn't any room in the day for exercise! At least, it seems so. Students in college, professors, businessmen and women, and others from all fields of work often confront this same dilemma. There are many pressures on how we spend our bit of free time. However, the quality of the exercise done often trumps the quantity of it. Here are some ways to get the most out of your few minutes of exercise time. 1. Take a walk If you have few options, taking a 10-15 minute walk over your lunch break is a nice way to … [Read more...] about 5 Exercise Tips for Busy People

Virtual Assistance Companies

By Anna Carpenter 9 Comments

In light of the recent rise in popularity of virtual assistants, we thought that our readers would find a listing of virtual assistance providers to be useful. Executive Secretarial Services This company provides expert virtual assistance in paralegal matters, freelance office management and secretarial services. Kim Hughes and Company Kim Hughes and Company gives expert advice and assistance in real estate. They specialize in assisting real estate professionals attain their goals. Loose Ends Loose Ends is a VA company that provides a wide variety of services, a few of which are graphic design services, project management services and blog support services. Business … [Read more...] about Virtual Assistance Companies

Working Offline with Gmail

There is a new experimental feature in Gmail that will let you read the reply to emails when you aren't online. It is done using Google Gears which is an add in for browsers that let the store data locally and run offline. Google previously brought this offline functionality to their RSS reader. … [Read more...] about Working Offline with Gmail

Excercise and Cognitive Performance

Most of us have gone for a walk to clear our heads at one time or another. Most often, we tend to take this form of exercise while working on very mind-intensive problems, such as studying or reading a hard-to-understand piece of material. According to some researchers, there may be a connection between exercise and clear thinking. According to this article, your daily run may not only keep you in good health physically, but may also help "clear the cobwebs" from your mind. One of the more widely publicized benefits of exercise is its positive effects on stress levels. As our society moves toward technical jobs rather than those involving physical labor, the number of people living a … [Read more...] about Excercise and Cognitive Performance

Making Habits of New Years Resolutions

By Anna Carpenter Leave a Comment

New Years resolutions are a very familiar concept to most of us. The tradition of these habit-changing goals originated in ancient times in Babylon, according to most academic sources. The Romans picked up and carried on this tradition and interestingly enough, one common resolution was to ask forgiveness from enemies of the prior year. In Medieval times, the date for the New Year was changed several times, but was eventually returned to January 1st. Cultural Differences According to this article by Brooke Williams, some cultures take their New Years resolutions quite seriously. The Chinese, for example, have made house cleaning an important customary event on the first day of … [Read more...] about Making Habits of New Years Resolutions

Webnotes Review

There are many jobs and tasks today that involve very extensive research and preparation. With the advent of the internet in recent times, the search for information for students, employees and those at the executive level is much simpler and more convenient than it was several decades ago. The internet has many advantages that we could discuss; however, it does have one shortcoming for those that are conducting extensive research. If the articles were on paper already, the researcher could easily jot down some notes directly on the paper, sharing his or her thoughts with colleagues and fellow students. It could be argued that the person could print the information from the web pages, … [Read more...] about Webnotes Review

HyperSpace

HyperSpace is small OS that lets you boot up a computer very quickly for basic tasks like web browsing and email. It doesn't replace windows, but provides a lightweight environment that boots in seconds with very low battery consumption. It looks like a great way to check your email when you only have 5 minutes and don't want to spend half of that time just getting your computer OS up and running. If you find yourself constantly running out of battery or waiting for your laptop to boot, this might be worth looking into. … [Read more...] about HyperSpace

Study Tips

Many people will be going back to school this semester, and we thought that a list of study tips would be helpful to students as they start out a new set of classes. Study your notes after each class period, not just before tests. Start reviewing a week ahead of time if you can. That way you'll have a margin for error. Find a good, quiet place with few distractions to study in. Study in sections. For example: one hour of studying, 20 minute break, and so on... Study during the day if you can, rather than leaving it for the evening. Take a look at your classwork and determine early on which one needs the most time devoted to it. That way, you know which one you might need to … [Read more...] about Study Tips

Skydeck

Skydeck is a new service that integrates with your cell phone to give you a number of features. It syncs with your textmessages, transcribes your voicemail and lets you call people from your computer using your cell phone as your caller id number. You can then do stuff like search through all of your voice and text messages just like you'd search through your email. Plans are $10 to $30 and you have to have a Blackberry or Android phone. If you place a lot of outgoing phone calls, the ability to make them from your computer may make the service pay for itself. On of my favorite Skydeck features is the way it handles new phone numbers. When you dial a number on your phone, Skydeck will … [Read more...] about Skydeck

Lotus Symphony

IBM has released a free office suite called Lotus Symphony. It runs on Windows, OS X, and Linux and includes a wordprocessor, presentation software, and a spreadsheet. If you are looking for an alternative to Microsoft Office, it is worth checking out along with Google Apps, Open Office, and iWork (OS X only). We will do a review of it in the near future once we've had more of a chance to play with it. … [Read more...] about Lotus Symphony

SugarSync Review

By Anna Carpenter 3 Comments

Ever felt like you were tied down by carrying around too many gadgets? For those that use both Macs and PC's, transferring files across platforms can be time consuming or downright difficult, causing many to cart around two different machines to have access to both sets of files. However, the developers at SugarSync have come up with a better way of doing things. Staying connected There are a few programs out there that sync mobile devices with your computer. SugarSync not only does this, but also syncs files across the Mac and PC operating systems and automatically backs up those files to your own, personal SugarSync web site. This web site is secure, and allows the user to … [Read more...] about SugarSync Review

Career Renegade

Jonathan Fields sent me a copy of his brand new book to review called Career Renegade. I've skimmed it and am now working my way back through reading it. The book looks at how you can turn what you love into income. Jonathan knows what he is talking about. He used to be a NYC attorney before he quit and started a string of businesses doing things he enjoyed. The book is divided into four sections: 1. What Makes You Come Alive. This section encourages you to figure out what you actually enjoy doing. It also helps you get past the idea that you need to be at the top of a particular field in order to do what you enjoy. I was impressed by how practical Jonathan is. No matter how … [Read more...] about Career Renegade

Coffee and Hallucinating

A study has linked coffee to hallucinating. They think it is caused by the caffeine. Seven cups a day makes you three times more likely to hallucinate than the average person and as little as three cups may make you start hearing voices in your head. … [Read more...] about Coffee and Hallucinating

Password Resolutions for 2009

By Mark Shead 8 Comments

Our passwords give us access to a number of very valuable resources. They control access to our bank accounts, photos of our families, email correspondence, and all kinds of other information. As valuable as all this information is, it is amazing how little effort most people put into making sure they have good passwords. Here are six password resolutions for 2009 to help protect your data with more secure passwords. 1. Resolve to use different passwords on each website. There are a few ways to do this. The most secure is to use a completely different randomly generated password on each site. If you use a password management program like 1Passwd this isn't too difficult. Another … [Read more...] about Password Resolutions for 2009

Getting a Good Night’s Sleep

Though many people don't give a second thought about getting adequate rest, those that struggle with insomnia know that lack of sleep can have a very detrimental effect on one's productivity. According to this article from the National Sleep Foundation, "about half of Americans report sleep difficulty, at least occasionally." With this many people being affected, sleep deprivation may be the cause of some things we never would have associated with it before. Effects of Sleep Deprivation Many of us have walked into work and seen sleepy or irritable co-workers struggling to concentrate on their daily tasks. However, one of the things that we often miss is the loss of productivity … [Read more...] about Getting a Good Night’s Sleep

LiveScribe on OS X