You've got to appreciate some of the irony in that title. Lifehacker is part of the Gawker group of websites. Some hackers got into their system and downloaded their database and source code. They also ran some scripts agains the database and were able to find nearly 200,000 people who were using passwords that weren't very strong. I had an account on Lifehacker from years ago. Since I didn't consider it a huge security issue I used a simple five letter, single word password. Since it was easy to break this password, my username, password and email address was part of the roughly 200,000 released in decrypted form on the web. I panicked just a bit when I saw my password on the list. … [Read more...] about Lifehacker Password Hacked
Archives for 2010
Book Summaries Sale
Some time back I mentioned the free book summary from Soundview. It looks like they are running a sale where you can buy one subscription and get another subscription free to give as a gift. If you have a hard to buy for person on your shopping list AND you were thinking about getting a subscription for yourself, this could be a pretty good deal. Soundview Executive Book Summaries: Buy 1 Gift Subscription and Get 1 FREE! … [Read more...] about Book Summaries Sale
Online Degree Programs
Over the next ten years, I believe we are going to see an ever increasing shift toward online degree programs in areas where people have traditionally attended a physical university. There are a number of obvious reasons for this trend, but here are a few: Low cost to scale - A well designed online degree program may have a high fixed cost, but a low-cost to add an additional student. The cost to provide a degree program to 20 students vs. 40 students requires a much smaller percentage increase than doubling the number of student physically coming to class. Tighter focus on education - Online degree programs tend to be much more focused on the actual educational process with less of a … [Read more...] about Online Degree Programs
SpiderOak Storage and Backup Review
SpiderOak offers a service similar to Dropbox. However, where Dropbox seems to be concentrating on ease of use and simplicity, SpiderOak seems focused on creating powerful software with many different options. The downside is that SpiderOak isn't something you are probably going to have your grandma setup for herself. The upside is that it lets you do all kinds of things that aren't possible with DropBox. DropBox gives you a folder that you can sync across computers. This works well and provides a very simple mental paradigm. "I put something in the folder on Computer A and it shows up on that folder on Computer B. Spider Oak lets you backup arbitrary folders and lets you specify … [Read more...] about SpiderOak Storage and Backup Review
Executive MBA Programs
When I wrote Never Hire an MBA, I think some people thought I was recommending against any type of MBA degree. This isn't the case. If anything the arguments in that post would support the idea that an MBA is valuable. My main point was that employers need to make sure they don't get blinded by the MBA credentials and make sure they are hiring people with more than just a diploma. If you are an employee looking at an MBA, you have quite a few options. In this post I want to discuss executive MBA programs and how one of these programs might support your career goals. Executive MBA programs are designed for people with experience who are in the middle of successful careers and don't … [Read more...] about Executive MBA Programs
Self Directed IRAs
I've been learning a bit more about Individual Retirement Accounts and wanted to share a few things I've learned about how flexible IRAs actually are. Obviously talk to a qualified financial advisor before acting on anything you see here. If I got anything wrong, please let me know in the comments where everyone can read it. Most people think of IRAs as being something you can invest in stocks, bonds, mutual funds and that is about it. If you really look at the law, it is much more generic than that. In fact the actual tax law only lists a handful of things that IRA can not be invested in. Here is the list: Artwork Gems Antiques Coins Life Insurance … [Read more...] about Self Directed IRAs
Starting College
With school in full swing again it seemed like a good time to do a post geared toward helping people who are experiencing college for the first time. If you aren't in college, but know someone who is, please consider passing these tips on to them. Learn outside the classroom What you learn in the classroom will only be a very small part of your college education. It is easy to get so focused on the formal side of education that you miss out on learning from everything that is going on around you. College is a great place to learn how to interact with people from different backgrounds and cultures, deal with strange and difficult people, and negotiate. Too often, students overlook the … [Read more...] about Starting College
What is Holding You Back?
What is keeping you from reaching your full potential? Think of four or five things that are really holding you back. Better yet, write them down on that scrap of paper sitting on your desk. Did you write them down? Why not? Go ahead and do it. I'm not going anywhere. Did you write them down now? Ok good. Now, take a look at what you wrote down and divide them into two groups. Things you can control. Things you cannot control. In general I find that people who accomplish very little tend to see all of their obstacles in the second category, while people who achieve things see obstacles in the first category. In other word, successful people understand that they are the … [Read more...] about What is Holding You Back?
Messy Organization
Not all organization effort is equal. Just because you organize something, doesn't mean it is going to make you any more productive. If you pay attention to the cost benefit of organization, you can keep from wasting time and focus on efforts that are actually beneficial. Lets talk about silverware as an example. Assume that after you run your silverware through the dishwasher you randomly place each piece somewhere in your house. You put some in the drawers in the bathrooms, others on top of books on the bookshelf, some above the fireplace, some in the refrigerator, etc. In other words your silverware storage is totally disorganized. Is that efficient? No of course not. Whenever you … [Read more...] about Messy Organization
Life Insurance
Shortly after my wife and I got married, I took out life insurance policy. When our second child arrived, I took out another policy just to make sure my family would be cared for if something were to happen to me. I started writing this post around that time and never got around to publishing it. When I heard the story below about two people I went to college with, it prompted me to dig this post out and go ahead and publish it. A few months ago, two brothers who I went to college with entered the hospital. The older brother had a liver problem and the younger brother was going to donate part of his liver. (Your liver is one of the only organs that will grow back.) I don't know exactly … [Read more...] about Life Insurance
Free Book Summary
I really enjoyed the book Talent is Overrated. It looks at how great achievers get and keep their high level of skill and talks about the need for specific intentional practice. If it sounds like a book you'd be interested in, you might checkout this free summary you can get in audio or written form. … [Read more...] about Free Book Summary
Craigslist Negotiating Secrets
Depending on your point of view, Craigslist is a cesspool of junk or a treasure trove of riches. CraigsList can offer some great deals if you know how to negotiate effectively. I've been compiling a list of best practices to help buyers get the best deal from Craigslist purchases. The bulk of this article is going to focus on a process for getting the best price on CraigsList items based on my experience. In the second section, I go through an actual email exchange to show how to offer substantially less than the asking price without insulting anyone. In the remaining sections of this post, I'm going to look at some other aspects of buying off CraigsList including a look at … [Read more...] about Craigslist Negotiating Secrets
Beware of False Praise
Every one likes to hear how awesome they are. I like it. You like it. One of the best things you can do to advance your career is to sincerely compliment the things you admire in the people around you. The key here is the word sincerely. However, you need to be very aware of praise that is being given to you with ulterior motives. Some people will try to flatter you just to get on your good side. Others will outright lie in hopes of getting you to make a mistake or look foolish. In 2003 there was a singing competition held in several major cities around the US. Contestants were selected, flown to Hollywood to take part in a competition. They were given vocal coaching, makeovers … [Read more...] about Beware of False Praise
Useful Links
Here are a few things I've run across that I thought might be worth sharing. If you find these types of things useful, you might want to subscribe to my personal blog at http://blog.markwshead.com. These are some of the types of things I usually post over there that may or may not eventually make it to Productivity501. Look for the red button on the right hand side to subscribe by email, or use an RSS reader. Charcoal Bob Charcoal Bob is a website designed to help you grill food. The main feature is a grilling calculator. You tell it everything you want to grill, what the temperature is outside, what type of grill you have, and when you want to eat and it will give you a minute by … [Read more...] about Useful Links
Be Brilliant
Are you average or above average? By definition, you are probably average although I like to assume that most readers of Productivity501 are above average. But for the moment, lets assume you are average. How can you become above average? Time is the great equalizer. Everyone has the same amount of time--whether you are average, below average or above average. The simple difference between people who are average and those who are above average is that above average people spend more time on the things that really matter. While this is simple to state, identifying the things that are really important and that really matter can be surprisingly. When Bill Gates dropped … [Read more...] about Be Brilliant
Money Myths
The older I get and the more people I meet, the more I come to realize that biggest thing that determines your level of financial freedom has to do with your beliefs about money. I'm not talking about the "if you think positive thoughts, you'll become rich" line of thinking. I'm talking about our expectations related to how we get money, what happens when we receive money, what are good ways to spend money, how you define wealth, etc. Here are some common myths about money: When I receive money, someone else loses it. From a total economic perspective, money represents productivity and productivity is not a zero sum game. A zero sum game is one where in order for me to win, someone … [Read more...] about Money Myths
Reader Questions
Here are some random question we've had from visitors to this site along with some attempts at answers: How does a paperless office work? A paperless office means different things to different people. Some people consider themselves paperless if they aren't storing any paper. Other people are trying to keep from producing or consuming paper. I once worked at a hospital that switched to a paperless system in order to save a couple million dollars in medical records storage space. They still produced and consumed paper, but the eliminated the storage part. Most people who want to move to a paperless office are going to try to find some way to scan in their existing documents so storage … [Read more...] about Reader Questions
Work From Home Tips
1. Go to work When you work from home, your workspace may be just down the hall, but you still need to intentionally go to work when you are ready to start your day. Some people will walk around the block go to work in their home office and then walk around the block to "go home" at the end of the day. It may seem silly, but you will be much more productive by making a concrete breaking point between when you are at work and when you are off. You can still take advantage of a zero commute by breaking your day up and perhaps doing a few equivalent hours of work late in the evening or early in the morning--just be intentional about it. You don't want to get into a situation where your work … [Read more...] about Work From Home Tips
TIP: Where Do I Look For It?
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?
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
Fire (or keep) the Workaholics
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
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
Five Time-savers
Logging into and navigating voice mail. Of course, you have to check your voice mail; but there are some things you can do to keep it from interrupting your day. Personally, I find that navigating voicemail menus is a huge waste of time. I have set my voice mail system to send me an email with the message attached as a .wav file whenever someone leaves me a message. This centralizes all my messages to the same place (my email box) and doesn't require that I navigate using the phone keypad. Reading emails. Here are several tips for streamlining your email reading: Make all your emails come to one place. If you have to log into several different accounts to read email you … [Read more...] about Five Time-savers
Paperless Office Stories
We recently interviewed a group of businesspeople about their experiences with going "paperless." For some people, things went very well. For others...interesting mishaps ensued. However, each response would be helpful information to anyone that is looking into setting up a paperless office. We have been working toward a paperless office for some time, we try to do all contract exchanges and paperwork electronically, and generally this works very well. However, one requirement in our business space is that we have to have a copy of an ID document for each guests who rents accommodation from us (Europe wide law, applies too to hotels). We used to take a copy of an ID document at time … [Read more...] about Paperless Office Stories
Übernote Review
Within the past few years, developers have flooded the web with task management/note taking applications. Most of them are free (for entry-level versions) and most have the same basic idea behind them. However, each one is tailored to a certain niche. Evernote, for example, is a great catch-all device. Its full featured interface is great for large tasks and project management. Ubernote is in a different category in that it is more similar to Springpad, but Springpad is newer, and the interface is much more polished. Potential users should note that Ubernote is an older product, and the user interface reflects that fact. It is free, though. From what I understand, at the time when … [Read more...] about Übernote Review
Borrow from your IRA
Usually I write about stuff that I recommend doing. In this post, I want to look at something that is possible, but not recommended under most circumstances. With hard economic times, there are a lot of people trying to find ways to borrow from their retirement funds. Many 401k accounts allow this, but what if your money is in an IRA? You'll probably want to ask: "Can I borrow from my IRA?" Well, can you borrow from your IRA? Or perhaps, can you borrow against your IRA's value? Technically, no. But there is a short-term loophole that you can use if you have no other option. In this post, we are going to explore the loophole. Individual Retirement Accounts An individual retirement … [Read more...] about Borrow from your IRA
Continual Self-Development
One of the biggest reasons people don't reach their full potential is because they don't really understand continual improvement. Skills and capabilities aren't things that you achieve and then coast on for the rest of your life. You can't exercise for three months and then decide you are set for the rest of the year. Pretty much everything you want to improve will require at least a small amount of effort on a regular, ongoing basis. Exercise and health If you want to stay healthy, you must continually eat, sleep and exercise. Bursts of healthy eating for a week followed by a month of eating junk isn't going to really help you. You must build healthy habits into your lifestyle where … [Read more...] about Continual Self-Development
Springpad Review
Bookmarks, sticky notes, grocery lists, tasks . . . I feel like I just cluttered up that sentence. (Or sentence fragment, if you want to be technical). The web has become such a powerful tool that often its abilities outrun our ability to organize the massive amounts of information that we collect from it. If you're like me, you use your browser's system to create folders under "Bookmarks." However, this really isn't the most efficient way to categorize information that you want to reference with any kind of dexterity. Recently, there have been several companies that have produced organizational tools for the web. Evernote, Yojimbo and Chandler all have some of the same purposes … [Read more...] about Springpad Review
Circles, Amex, Passwords and Public Relations
I got an interesting call last week. The vice president in charge of public relations from Circles gave me a call. Circles is the company that provides concierge services for American Express. A number of their current and former employees have commented here at Productivity501 and one revealed what Circles considered to be proprietary confidential password from their client, American Express. The VP of PR asked that I remove the password. Me: I vaguely remember a comment that had some type of access code in it, but it just looked like a telephone number. Is that what we are talking about? Circles Public Relations: It has the same number of digits as a telephone number, but it is … [Read more...] about Circles, Amex, Passwords and Public Relations
Are You Becoming An Idiot?
Pop quiz! Are you becoming an idiot? Wouldn't you hate to wake up one day and suddenly realize,"Oh my! Over the past 10 years, I've become an idiot!" It would be better to know now and take corrective action before you reach the point of no return. This is a ten question quiz to determine whether or not you are becoming an idiot. Have you read at least two non-fiction books during the last 12 months? Do you spend more than 2 hours a week channel surfing? Have you taken any formal college training in the last five years? Has it been more than 5 years since you did a long division problem by hand? Have you been to at least one cultural event in the last year? (Museum, opera, … [Read more...] about Are You Becoming An Idiot?
If I Get Fired…
On a recent Sunday afternoon I was sitting on a bench at the local park watching my daughter on the playground equipment. I overheard an interesting conversation among another family. The adults were commenting on what their 8-year-old boy wanted to be when he grew up. Mother: "Of course he wants to be a fireman when he grows up." Boy: "Or a policeman!" Father: "Well, which one do you want to be?" Boy: "Well, I'll be a policeman if I get fired from being a fireman." Mother: "Well that is sure aiming high!" What I found fascinating about this was that the 8-year-old boy understands something about the modern job market that many adults have a hard time grasping. Your job isn't … [Read more...] about If I Get Fired…
Productive Airplane Rides
Today I heard an interesting statistic: One hour of work on an airplane is equal to three hours of work in the office. Wow! Sounds incredible, doesn't it? If that is true, then basically, you'd get just as much done if you spent three hours every day on a plane and take the rest of the time off. Offices of highly paid workers would be better off if they would stop leasing expensive floorspace and just get everyone airline tickets every day. Okay, so maybe it doesn't scale to something you can do every day of the week, but if you've ever worked on a long plane ride, this statistic doesn't sound completely unreasonable. Planes offer the following: A bunch of people you probably … [Read more...] about Productive Airplane Rides
10 Paperless Office Myths
The paperless office is no longer being held back by technical challenges. Everything you need to "go paperless" exists. The current barriers are cultural and process issues more than anything technical. In this article, we are going to look at ten of the common myths about going paperless. 1. Technology isn't ready for a paperless office The components of a paperless office are readily available and fairly inexpensive. The technology is readily available not only to scan in your existing paper, but to eliminate the creation of new paper through better workflow tools. While the technology for going paperless is readily available, the rate of adoption for these tools and this system is … [Read more...] about 10 Paperless Office Myths
Severance and FICA Taxes
Current tax law says you and your employer must pay a tax of 15.3% of your total wages (subject to certain limits) because of the Federal Insurance Contribution Act (FICA). This is what pays for social security and medicare. This tax is only due on earned income and it is split between you and your employer. A recent tax court ruled that severance payments are not earned income and are thus not subject to FICA tax. If this applies to you, your former employer will need to file to get the taxes back, but it might be worth checking with anyone who paid you severance since 2006. … [Read more...] about Severance and FICA Taxes