GTD

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  David Allen Company Podcast

• Podcast: David Allen - The Art of Work vs. the Work You Do

  13 Nov 2009 | 12:02 pm

  David answers the question, "Do I need a customized version of GTD for my organization?" What are best practices that apply to all? Click here to listen now or click here to download. (mp3, 4:47) Related Links: In-House GTD Seminars Public GTD Seminars

• Podcast: David Allen - Getting Started with GTD

  5 Nov 2009 | 10:26 am

  David Allen shares his tips for getting started with GTD. A great dose of guidance on what to do to get your Getting Things Done system off the ground. Click here to listen now or click here to download. (mp3, 4:53) Related Links: GTD Times blog Getting Started Series on Connect The GTD Book

• Podcast: David Allen - Making It All Work

  30 Oct 2009 | 4:46 pm

  In this podcast, recorded for "Inside Personal Growth," David shares the keys from his book Making It All Work: Winning at the Game of Work and Business of Life. Click here to listen now or click here to download. (mp3, 33:17) Related Links: Discuss on GTD Times Learn more about Making It All Work

• Podcast: David Allen - Best Practices of Organize

  12 Oct 2009 | 12:04 pm

  In this episode, the 3rd in this GTD best practices series by David Allen and his tech team, they take a look at the best practices of organize. Click here to listen now or click here to download. (mp3, 29:07) Related Links: Discuss on GTD Times Get started with GTD Check out more free podcasts

• Podcast: David Allen - Growing Up On GTD

  2 Oct 2009 | 10:13 am

  What would it be like to learn GTD as kid? How would that influence your work habits and productivity? David Allen chats with Garrison Harward, one of the youngest people we've ever coached, who essentially grew up on GTD. Click here to listen now or click here to download. (mp3, 10:49) Related Links: Discuss on GTD Times

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  David Allen Company Updates

• Member Exclusive: David Allen On Twitter

  21 Nov 2009 | 7:48 pm

  Sweet testimonial to the real power of GTD....http://bit.ly/7koB6l

• Member Exclusive: Be Positive

  21 Nov 2009 | 4:38 pm

  There are always flowers for those who want to see them. - Henri Matisse

• Member Exclusive: Make It Easy And It Will Get Done - PersonalBFO

  21 Nov 2009 | 5:42 am

  I had a personal BFO lately. : Make it easy and I will get done. If you use a to do list (mixture of actions and projects) : you will make it easy to think and you will think and be less attracted to do do. Most to do lists I made in my pre-gtd period where to think list instead of to do list...

• GTD Times: Giving more attention to your kids than your BlackBerry

  20 Nov 2009 | 1:31 pm

  We wanted to share this amazing letter from Kevin, who recently attended a GTD Mastering Workflow class with Danny Bader.  He describes what he did after the class, including a wonderful experience of connecting with his daughter.  For those of you feeling like you're in "always on" mode in your work and personal life, Kevin's story may be inspiring to you to see what's possible... Danny, It was great to see spend the day learning how to take the GTD process from 50% to 100%.  I was so energized by the training that I did not go to bed Friday night and let me tell you what has happened in…

• GTD Times: WSJ takes a look at GTD - the "reigning gorilla"

  18 Nov 2009 | 10:15 am

  The Wall Street Journal took a closer look at the phenomenon of Getting Things Done.  They also reviewed some time management approaches like Covey and The Pomodoro Technique.   While there are quite a few differences in each of the 3 (GTD is actually not time management and much different than what the other 2 approaches are intended to do), it's a good, quick read.  Here's a link to the article.

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  Did I Get Things Done?

• Productivity, Motivation, and Personal Development Links – 15th November 2009

  Andrew Mason

  15 Nov 2009 | 11:12 am

  I had a fantastic week last week in the English Lake District. We stayed in an idyllic cottage nested at the foot of the Langdale Pikes. Good clean air and fun with loads of mother nature to keep the kids entertained! I managed to read a few good books whilst I was away that I will review at least one of this week. Here are my collection of links for this week. My first link for this week is a cool new podcast from David Allen, the creator of the GTD System titled Getting Started with GTD. Some great tips from the man himself about how to get your GTD System off the grond! My second link is a…

• Productivity, Motivation, and Personal Development Links – 8th November 2009

  Andrew Mason

  8 Nov 2009 | 10:00 am

  It is Friday for me and this post is scheduled as I am rushing to finish off a work project and then I am leaving for a week in the English Lake district after a manic week at work. I am loaded up with some good books so hopefully will get them reviewed whilst I am away. Here are my collection of links for this week. My first link for this week is a link to the latest MacHeist bundle. $154 of free Mac Software including the writing productivity tool, WriteRoom for free, or a small donation. My second link is a link to a great post titled 100 Uses of Evernote. Love Evernote and there are some…

• Productivity, Motivation, and Personal Development Links – 1st November 2009

  Andrew Mason

  1 Nov 2009 | 10:35 am

  My week was as busy, but well planned as I predicted and it was only the calm before the storm as I have to do a considerable amount of high pressure work this week in only four days. I am away from Friday on holiday in the English Lake District with my family, my second home. I imagine I will be working some late nights so I am leaving you here to make a start already! Here are my collection of links for this week. My first link for this week is a post from thr Willpower blog that looks at the Mac Writing Application that I use, Scrivener and how tool such as these make wok into play. This…

• Productivity, Motivation, and Personal Development Links – 25th October 2009

  Andrew Mason

  25 Oct 2009 | 1:01 pm

  This coming week brings with it some work challenges that will result in long hours and a requirement to focus more than usual. We have the same challenge every October so I know how to get through it. Hopefully my home office will be completed this week, framing my last picture and then it is time for a writing update. Had a list of five household items to do today, and glad to say that I did them all so I am just about to sit down with a noce Pinot Grigio and enjoy some R&R time! Here are my collection of links for this week. My first link for this week is to an intriguing application…

• OmniFocus, GTD, and You – Free Whitepaper

  Andrew Mason

  22 Oct 2009 | 3:07 pm

  This white paper has been out a few days and I was meaning to blog about it sooner but only just got the chance due to my every increasing workload. So, here is the news regarding OmniFocus and GTD. OmniGroup, the team behind the Mac and iPhone Getting Things Done app, OmniFocus have released an awesome and free white paper titled OmniFocus, GTD, and You. This is a 20 page white paper that looks at GTD and the way that you can implement it in a software application such as OmniFocus. Obviously this is very biased towards OmniFocus but the white paper is also of use and contains great…

• 
  43 Folders

• NaNoWriMo: A Pep Talk and a Warning

  Merlin

  2 Nov 2009 | 9:20 am

  I honor any project to write something — especially to write a long piece of fiction. It’s something I’ve always wanted to do but, like most people, I have always been too scared to attempt it. So, kudos. But, here’s the thing: it’s hard to start writing, and it’s almost as hard to keep writing. Believe me, I know. And, there will be times every day when you get discouraged or you want to throw in the towel because you feel lost or depressed or useless or just plain tired. Empty. That’s the word. Empty. All I want to say is, keep at it.

• Makebelieve Help, Old Butchers, and Figuring Out Who You Are (For Now)

  Merlin

  22 Oct 2009 | 2:17 pm

  Makebelieve Help, Old Butchers, and Figuring Out Who You Are (For Now) - Vimeo [NSFW] Here’s a video I made about a video I made. Consequently, it’s also about writing a book, fake self-help, the long road to developing expertise, and the ups and downs of repeatedly asking the world to tell you who you are. The video is long. As usual. This is how it works. I’d had this fancy idea that I’d do a DFW-style dump of annotations about what I talk about over these 40 minutes, and I might add that later, but for now here’s all you need to know: Dish soap…

• Fake Rocks, Salami Commanders, and Just Enough to Start

  Merlin

  4 Aug 2009 | 6:36 am

  MaxFunCon: Merlin Mann on Doing Creative Work (via TSoYA) Here’s the audio from a short talk I presented a few weeks ago at Jesse Thorn’s awesome1 MaxFunCon in Lake Arrowhead, CA. The talk is subtitled, “With All Due Respect to the Seduction Community”2, and it contains my typically NSFW use of, well, words, I guess. It’s about how to get started—just started—with any project that really matters to you.   Listen above Embedded audio starts at 4:00 (where my talk begins) Download MP3 of this episode Subscribe to The Sound of Young America via…

• Mud Rooms, Red Letters, and Real Priorities

  Merlin

  28 Apr 2009 | 4:28 am

  Thanks to my funny, literary pal, Jason B. Jones, today, I’m visiting lovely, warm Connecticut to do some talks and whatnot at CCSU. I mention it because I’d started typing this little post mid-way through the long eastbound flight that delivered me here from three fun (but very long) days doing a comedy thing with You Look Nice Today and Jordan, Jesse, Go! over on that other, top-left, edge of our nation. So, I was tired. Really tired. The kind of tired where your wallet hurts your butt, and coffee tastes weird, and you try super-hard to sleep, but – well –…

• Free as in "Me"

  Merlin

  10 Apr 2009 | 6:29 am

  This unbelievably long article is related to (but not necessarily about) a discussion that I and several other people have been participating in online over the past few days. It’s about (and not about) the increasingly popular practice of re-publishing someone’s online work on another site without the attribution, formatting, and linking that many bloggers regard as standard, ethical, and fair. It’s admittedly a polemic (which is what people who think they’re clever call, “a rambling rant”), but what may seem to many to be a childish and ungrateful…

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  Productivity in Context

• Collaborative Networks Produce Better Ideas

  @Stephen

  5 Nov 2009 | 11:32 pm

  I’ll bet you already knew this: Spigit Blog - Collaborative Networks Produce Better Ideas A key aspect of what one might term ‘Innovation 2.0′ is the ability to share ideas among a community, and have that community help identify and refine top ideas. It turns out that a University of Chicago professor studied this dynamic in 2003, and found it to be true. Professor Ronald Burt wrote an academic paper, published in the American Journal of Sociology, entitled Structural Holes and Good Ideas (pdf). “Structural holes” are the gaps that exist within organizations…

• Dave Seah is Reading My Mind

  @Stephen

  4 Nov 2009 | 11:26 pm

  I have been thinking in a similar vein lately, and Dave has hit the nail on the head. Unfortunately, I contracted an intestinal virus two weeks ago that has been nagging me and keeping me from writing anything. If you don’t subscribe to Dave’s blog, you should. He is wicked smart. A Return to Spirited Blather However, I’ve been sitting on this for months and have come to the conclusion today that it’s more important to just start the conversation flowing again. And so, this post marks the first of that; I’ll sort out everything else out as the external need…

• Too Sick to Blog

  @Stephen

  3 Nov 2009 | 6:18 pm

  I have been sick with some dastardly virus for the past ten days, so I am just not up to blogging. However, today I felt well enough to do some reading, and here is a very useful post that I found, by Andy Eklund: Creative Streak: Solo Creativity, Part 1 As always, you should articulate the goal (what are you trying to solve?), and the need or problem (what’s preventing you from being successful?) Start with the tips below, but not necessarily in order. Write or draw your ideas on blank paper. (Be environmentally friendly and use old pages from your printer!) Don’t worry about how long…

• Book Review: Ignore Everybody by Hugh McLeod

  @Stephen

  12 Oct 2009 | 3:25 pm

  I started reading Hugh McLeod’s blog Gaping Void about three years ago, and was amazed (and a little bit shocked) at his ideas, candor, and language. Now he has turned a long essay on creativity into a book that you should read. Ignore Everybody and 39 Other Keys to Creativity is an awesome resource. Here are the first ten keys: 1. Ignore everybody. 2. The idea doesn’t have to be big. It just has to be yours. 3. Put the hours in. 4. If your biz plan depends on you sud­denly being “dis­co­ve­red” by some big shot, your plan will pro­bably fail. 5. You are res­pon­si­ble for…

• Work-Life Transition

  @Stephen

  6 Oct 2009 | 6:02 am

  Sorry for not posting in a while, I have taken on a new gig as a restaurant manager at Wolfe’s Tavern in Wolfeboro, NH. I have been in the hospitality industry for 15 years, and was not looking to go back to it, but they needed some help. The good news is that my GTD system has survived the transition and I am pretty confident that I will be able to get back on track with posting and finishing up my productivity e-book by the end of the month. Right now I am pretty busy training some new staff, getting expenses in line, and creating a community for the restaurant (follow us on Twitter…

• 
  GTD Times

• Giving more attention to your kids than your BlackBerry

  GTD Times Team

  20 Nov 2009 | 1:31 pm

  We wanted to share this amazing letter from Kevin, who recently attended a GTD Mastering Workflow class with Danny Bader.  He describes what he did after the class, including a wonderful experience of connecting with his daughter.  For those of you feeling like you’re in “always on” mode in your work and personal life, Kevin’s story may be inspiring to you to see what’s possible… Danny, It was great to see spend the day learning how to take the GTD process from 50% to 100%.  I was so energized by the training that I did not go to bed Friday night and let…

• WSJ takes a look at GTD – the “reigning gorilla”

  GTD Times Team

  18 Nov 2009 | 10:15 am

  The Wall Street Journal took a closer look at the phenomenon of Getting Things Done.  They also reviewed some time management approaches like Covey and The Pomodoro Technique.   While there are quite a few differences in each of the 3 (GTD is actually not time management and much different than what the other 2 approaches are intended to do), it’s a good, quick read.  Here’s a link to the article.

• Develop and Maintain Successful Business Relationships with GTD

  GTD Times Team

  17 Nov 2009 | 1:19 pm

  Readers of my site know that I am a big fan of David Allen’s “Getting Things Done” methodology, which the cool kids call “GTD” (see my 5 must read business books post). GTD for some is a life changer. I can tell you that I personally went from work drawers full of paper piles to an organized filing system and, every once in a while, a clear desk.  But GTD isn’t about organization. It’s about capturing your commitments in a trusted system and using your now free brain to make decisions about what you should be doing right this instant. When people ask…

• Quick capture on your BlackBerry

  GTD Times Team

  15 Nov 2009 | 11:38 am

  I’ve recently had the opportunity to play with an integrated software/capture service called MyCaption.  I want to use this post as a way to introduce BlackBerry® owners to the benefits of the software in your GTD® practice. Before we get started, I should identify the basic function of the software.  MyCaption allows the user to create and annotate Tasks, Appointments, Memos, Email, SMS messages, at the touch of a button.  The process is such that after the software captures the user’s vocal recording, that data is sent to the company’s servers, where it is delivered…

• When email becomes a two-headed monster

  GTD Times Team

  12 Nov 2009 | 2:57 pm

  Q: I think email is becoming a two-headed monster. It is vital but more and more people ignore them, don’t read fully etc. How can we move forward with accomplishing goals in this environment? Are there ideas you can offer regarding effective corporate communications and task handoffs? David Allen’s answer: Essentially email is no different than paper or verbal communications, with the same weaknesses if things are unfocused, unclear, and/or unnecessary. Because of its accessibility e-mail has just magnified those problems when those standards in communication are allowed. The key is…

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  Rock Your Day

• How To Train Yourself To Be In The Mood You Want

  Dave Navarro

  4 Nov 2009 | 10:26 am

  When you have major changes going on in your life, or you’re just frustrated about where you are, it’s easy to get trapped in a cycle of depression, bad moods and frustration.  I know, I’ve been there … and when I’m not careful, I still get there more than I want to. But lately I’ve had a particularly hard time, as I make some major (positive) changes in my life.  I hit these moments where I’m in a foul mood, or I’m just feeling paralyzed, and I’m just stuck.  Sometimes I just stew in that and stay there, but sometimes I actually get…

• This Is Your Chance. Don’t Settle For Not Taking It.

  Dave Navarro

  14 Sep 2009 | 8:51 am

  (This is a “Monday Morning Kick In The Ass” reprint from my Stop Settling newsletter.  I’m posting it because I’ve never received such a flood of “This is just what I needed” emails as I have for this one, and I want to expand its reach.) Please re-tweet at the end if you liked it. This Monday’s Kick: This Is Your Chance When we’re focused on a goal – especially a big honkin’ one, the finish line can seem awfully far away. And that distance can drain your desire to take action, because all you can see is how you’re Not There…

• Staying Motivated – Step 1: Uncovering Your Biggest Self-Doubts

  Dave Navarro

  2 Aug 2009 | 1:00 am

  << Previous | Table of Contents | Next >> (This is a post in the continuing 30 Hours a Day Project series.  To see all available articles, click the Table of Contents link above.) Now that we’ve covered the introduction, it’s time for Step 1 – we’re going to start uncovering all of the deep-down fears, uncertainties and self-doubts that have been holding you back from making progress at mastering your time.  While that may sound like a tall order, it’s actually a pretty simple process (the hardest part is really just showing up and doing it, but we’ll…

• Staying Motivated: Introduction

  Dave Navarro

  21 Jul 2009 | 3:40 am

  When You Finish This Module, You Will … Understand exactly what fears, uncertainties and doubts keep you from taking action Understand how to eliminate them, one by one Have a “doubt killer” tool you can use to kick-start your motivation whenever you need it Introduction Staying motivated to develop your time management muscles is crucial to increasing your productivity. It is the fundamental starting point for follow-through, and it has an instant impact on how much stuff you get done every day. But most people struggle with staying motivated to regularly invest time in developing the…

• Interview with Pamela Slim (Escape From Cubicle Nation)

  Dave Navarro

  17 Jul 2009 | 7:23 am

  It’s been too long since an interview, and the lovely and talented Pamela Slim has graciously given us some time during her book tour for Escape from Cubicle Nation.  If you don’t know her yet, now’s your chance, and if you do know her, give a shout out in the comments! – Dave Dave: Pam, I want to thank you for taking the time to give us an interview here. I wanted to get some time with you because I’m impressed with your willingness to take chances and push hard to design the life you want. Can you give my readers a quick bit about who you are and what you do?

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  Productivity501

• Messing with Other People’s Time Management

  Mark Shead

  19 Nov 2009 | 10:00 am

  I write a lot about how to be more productive, but what if that really isn’t your thing? What if you don’t like productivity? What if your goal in life is to ruin productivity for other people? In an effort to expand our readership to people striving for unproductivity, here are six things you can do to guarantee that your co-workers get as little done as possible. Productivity501 takes no responsibility for the results of actually implementing any of these ideas. Randomly put entries on their calendar like: “1:30 meeting with John White Important!” or “Call…

• International Travel Tips

  Mark Shead

  18 Nov 2009 | 10:00 am

  I’ve done a lot of traveling in the past, so I wanted to share some of things I’ve learned (many times the hard way) that make international travel easier. You should try to get as much information as possible about the country you are visiting, but this list of tips should give you some good starting points that are relevant for most any destination. A couple great sources for safety information on foreign countries are the CIA World Factbook and the US Travel Advisory site. Take Copies - Having a copy of your drivers license and the first page of your passport are very handy in…

• Tuesday’s Tip: Removing Superglue

  Mark Shead

  17 Nov 2009 | 10:00 am

  Have you ever gotten superglue all over your fingers and had to live with it for two weeks as it wore off? There is a simple way to take it off, but first, let me tell you a story. When my wife worked in the ER of a large county hospital in Dallas, she saw a lot of very strange cases. One of the most interesting was the guy who came in with his eyes closed. Evidently, his wife had accused him of looking at other women and they got into a fight. Somehow, he decided that he could prove that he wasn’t looking at other women by super-gluing his eyes closed. (I am not making this up.) After…

• 11 Steps in Becoming Educated for Your Dream Job

  Mark Shead

  16 Nov 2009 | 10:00 am

  I had quite a few comments about taking classes online in my post “17 Things You Should Stop Doing“.  When LifeHacker linked to the article, they had even more comments from their readers. Many of the comments were negative, saying that you shouldn’t take classes online. So, I wanted to take some time to talk about the best way for college to fit into your career. First, here is a little background about my education to give you an idea of where I’m coming from.  I have a bachelor’s and master’s degree in music composition (both taken at physical…

• Facebook

  Mark Shead

  12 Nov 2009 | 9:40 pm

  You can connect with Productivity501 on Facebook by becoming a fan of the Productivity501 Page. Please consider helping promote the site by becoming a fan. Thanks! Follow Productivity501 on Twitter.. ---Related Articles at Productivity501:FacebookFacebook Fan PageFacebookFacebook for KidsiPod Shuffle Facebook Giveaway

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  My Stuff for Getting Things Done

• Word verification for comments

  Tim

  15 Nov 2009 | 5:27 pm

  Lately, this blog has been inundated with spam comments. Given that, I’ve turned on word verification.  Hopefully that will help slow down any automated comment spam bots. I apologize for any inconvenience this causes for the regular readers and commenter's.

• My Weekly Review

  Tim

  12 Apr 2009 | 5:59 pm

  For 2+ years now, I have religiously performed a weekly review.  As with anything GTD, my processes have ebbed and flowed between simple and complex.  In searching through my blog, I recently realized that my weekly review has not really changed much since I wrote about it in early 2008.  I was pretty surprised.  Other than a few small tweaks, the basics of the weekly review process have continued to work well over time.  For me, that includes; Achieving Inbox Zero Following up on Projects Following up on Agendas Following up on People Deleting stuff I really don't…

• Xobni is out of Beta!

  Tim

  26 Mar 2009 | 6:18 pm

  Today, the folks at Xobni announced that version 1.7 of their Outlook add-in, known as xobni, is their first full fledged non-Beta release!  As with the earlier beta versions, xobni is still free! What is xobni?  Xobni (inbox spelled backwards) is a Microsoft Outlook add-in that indexes your e-mail, maintains your contacts (like nothing else you have ever seen!), maintains a library of attachments and let you manage your e-mails by threaded conversations.  I wrote about xobni a while back.  I have been using xobni for over a year now.  I cannot imagine Microsoft…

• Dual Monitor Config Gets Reset

  Tim

  25 Mar 2009 | 7:19 pm

  A while back I wrote about how to change the placement of your Dual-Monitor configuration in Windows. Windows defaults to you having a 2nd monitor on the right side of your primary display.  If you use the feature to extend your desktop to the new monitor, this can be a drag if your monitor is on the left side of your primary monitor. To fix this, simply check your display properties... <Click to Read More> A friend of mine recently noted that this works, but every time he undocks his laptop, then redocks his laptop, the configuration reverts back to the…

• Do you Woot?

  Tim

  24 Mar 2009 | 3:30 pm

  Have you checked out Woot.com?  Woot is an online store that sells items, one per day.  That's right, they only sell one, really cool item per day.  They typically offer an item with a techie twist.  The item descriptions come with consistently unusual and sometimes snarky descriptions, along with actual items spec's if you so desire. Check out the "what is woot" page for more details.  I have ordered from woot many times without a single problem.  In fact, it was a  pleasure.  Once you clearly understand the woot policies (read the FAQ), you…

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  Steve Pavlina's Personal Development Blog

• Intimacy Abundance and Label-Free Relationships

  Steve Pavlina

  17 Nov 2009 | 10:45 am

  In this article I’m going to share some recent personal lessons about creating intimacy abundance. So this is more of a sharing piece than an advice piece. Even so, I expect you’ll be able to gain some helpful insights that you can apply to your own relationships. Society conditions us to attach certain labels to our relationships and then to assign meanings to those labels. For example, being single has a different meaning than being someone’s boyfriend or girlfriend or husband or wife. At some point in the course of your relationships, you may be tempted to change the…

• How to Visualize Your New Reality

  Steve Pavlina

  9 Nov 2009 | 4:07 am

  This is a follow-up to my last video post on Creating Abundance. In this article I’ll share more detail on how to visualize your new reality so that you become a vibrational match for it. This is an area where people make some critical mistakes when trying to manifest their desires. Slide Into Your New Reality Did you ever see the TV show Sliders? In that show a group of four people would “slide” through a portal between dimensions, spending each episode in an alternate version of earth. For example, they might enter a reality where the Nazis won WWII. Or in another reality…

• Creating Abundance – Video

  Steve Pavlina

  5 Nov 2009 | 1:35 pm

  Yesterday morning I woke up with the idea of recording a video blog on the topic of creating abundance. A little later I checked our forums and saw a request for me to post something more comprehensive on the topic of abundance. Well, I thought… that’s a pretty blatant synchronicity! Is it possible to use the Law of Attraction to manifest true abundance in your life, including financial abundance, social abundance, and more? Absolutely, it is. In this 35-minute video (split into 4 individual clips for posting on YouTube), I explain why people so often fail in this area, and I…

• A Few Updates

  Steve Pavlina

  2 Nov 2009 | 10:42 am

  Here are some updates I want to share with you. Conscious Growth Workshop DVDs I received the initial DVD masters from the videographer — 8 DVDs total for the whole weekend. I’ll start watching them this week to see if any additional edits are needed to create the final product. After that I’ll need someone to design a cover/package for the DVDs and then get a bunch of them duplicated so we can start shipping them. For anyone who pre-ordered the DVDs at the workshop and paid via credit card, your card won’t be charged till the DVDs actually ship. It’s hard to say…

• Juicing and Physical Training

  Steve Pavlina

  1 Nov 2009 | 7:18 pm

  For most of the past year, I’ve been starting my day with a green smoothie for breakfast, but lately I’ve been getting back into juicing. I piled up a lot of experience in a short period of time when I did my 30-day juice feast a year ago. (I’d originally planned to go for a 92-day juice feast but decided to stop after 30 days.) Drinking fresh juice has many benefits. With the fiber removed, fresh juice digests very easily, so you don’t have to expend as much energy on digestion. This extra energy then becomes available for your body and mind. When I incorporate a lot…

• 
  Think Simple Now

• 7 Keys to Reading Faster

  Scott Young

  10 Nov 2009 | 2:08 pm

  Photo by Nathiya Prathnadi (see her camera tote and simple jewelry) By Scott Young Want to read faster? In this article, I’m going to share the lessons I learned that doubled my reading rate, allowed me to consume over 70 books in a year and made me a smarter reader. I’m also going to destroy some speed-reading myths, to show you it isn’t magic but a skill anyone can learn. How I Started Speed Reading My first introduction to the concept of speed reading was from a book, Breakthrough Rapid Reading. I’ve since moved away from a few of the concepts taught in the book,…

• The Ups and Downs of Life + Personal News

  Tina Su

  15 Oct 2009 | 2:19 pm

  Photo by Vadim Pacev By Tina Su Coming back from India, I was floating on a cloud of utter joy, blissfully unaware of the personal challenges and surprises that were about to hit me in the coming month. While I had fantasized over the telling of what has happened over the past month, it quickly became obvious that the toughest part of my job is the potential of disclosing too much about my personal life, thus invading the privacy of those closes to me. Despite the juiciness of the story, I’ve decided to leave most of the details private. I contemplated on why I wanted to write about it,…

• How to Learn Without Memorizing

  Scott Young

  7 Oct 2009 | 6:29 pm

  Photo by Edwin Stemp By Scott Young Rote memorization is an inefficient way to learn. Just retaining a single formula can mean pounding the same information into your skull dozens of times. If your computer hard drive had this accuracy, you’d probably throw it out. Unfortunately, you’re stuck with your brain. The good news is that you don’t need to learn by memorization. The vast majority of information is better stored in your head using a completely different system - learning through connecting ideas together. A few years ago, I noticed that smart people seemed to learn…

• Living Enlightenment – A Personal Report

  Tina Su

  10 Sep 2009 | 12:25 pm

  Photo by Vanessa Paxton By: Tina Su After 76 days of living in an ashram in a tiny village town East of Bangalore in India, I am home at last. I still have not found a proper one-liner that concisely answers the common question, “How was it?” A cliché “Good!” seemed appropriate to satisfy the questioner, but it is not the right answer. I’ve tried several answers and nothing seems to accurately conjure what I experienced. “I’ll write about it soon” quickly became my reply… and soon, I started to avoid people all together. In this article -…

• Time for a Retreat – Personal Update

  Tina Su

  13 Jun 2009 | 8:05 am

  By: Tina Su (Update 07/08/2009: I’ve decided to extend my stay for two more months, and will be in India until September.) For the next four weeks, I will be living in an ashram near Bangalore India. I will be attending a meditation and spiritual retreat called Inner Awakening that I have been anticipating for many months now. It’s an opportunity to learn directly from an enlightened guru in a serene environment, along with several hundred other spiritual seekers from around the world. I’ve decided not to bring my laptop or cell phone, and to fully emerse myself in the…

• 
  Zen Habits

• The Simple, Ridiculously Useful Guide to Earning a Living from Your Passion

  Leo

  16 Nov 2009 | 6:20 am

  Post written by Leo Babauta. Follow me on Twitter. So you’ve followed the Short But Powerful Guide to Finding Your Passion, and have chosen something you’re passionate about. Now you need to make it a career — but are perhaps a bit lost. I have to admit I was there, only a few years ago, and three years later I’ve successfully done it, even if I’m a bit battered from the attempt. It’s not easy — I’ll tell you that up front. If you hope to make a quick buck, or a fast million, you’ll need to find another guide. Probably one with lots of…

• How To Focus On What Truly Matters

  guest

  13 Nov 2009 | 1:32 pm

  Editor’s note: This is a guest post from Sid Savara of Analysis Driven Personal Development. In my life I’ve gone through periods of intense, driven productivity – months where everything fell into place, and my goals almost seemed to accomplish themselves. At the other extreme, there have been times in my life where I was completely overwhelmed, burdened by my different projects and responsibilities – and frustrated because so many of them not only challenged me, but didn’t matter to me. There were days when I asked myself how did I end up here? How did I end up…

• The Short but Powerful Guide to Finding Your Passion

  Leo

  11 Nov 2009 | 1:49 pm

  “The supreme accomplishment is to blur the line between work and play.” - Arnold Toynbee Post written by Leo Babauta. Follow me on Twitter. Following your passion can be a tough thing. But figuring out what that passion is can be even more elusive. I’m lucky — I’ve found my passion, and I’m living it. I can testify that it’s the most wonderful thing, to be able to make a living doing what you love. And so, in this little guide, I’d like to help you get started figuring out what you’d love doing. This turns out to be one of the most common…

• The Little Rules of Action

  Leo

  9 Nov 2009 | 6:49 am

  “The shortest answer is doing.” - Lord Herbert Post written by Leo Babauta. Follow me on Twitter. Too often we get stuck in inaction — the quagmire of doubt and perfectionism and distractions and planning that stops us from moving forward. And while I’m no proponent of a whirling buzz of activity, I also believe people get lost in the distractions of the world and lose sight of what’s important, and how to actually accomplish their Something Amazing. And so today I’d like to humbly present a few little rules of action — just some small reminders,…

• Low-Stress Ways To Move House and Declutter Your Life

  Leo

  6 Nov 2009 | 12:55 pm

  Editor’s note: This is a guest post from Annabel Candy of Get In the Hot Spot. Did you know that moving house can be one of the most stressful times in your life? It’s right up there with losing your job, divorce or the death of a loved one, as one of the biggest causes of stress. I’ve been there. In 2007 my husband and I sold our house along with most of our belongings and moved from New Zealand to Panama with our three young kids. We ended up spending 18 months in Central America and lived in Costa Rica for over a year during which time we moved house three times. Moving…

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  Unclutterer

• As seen on Lifehacker

  Erin Doland

  21 Nov 2009 | 5:15 am

  This past week, I encountered two fantastic articles on Lifehacker I wanted to share with you. First, the article and its corresponding image “Creatively Display Your Cables When Hiding’s Not an Option” made me gasp with delight: I want to do this someplace in my house right now. Small, adhesive Cable Clamps would be perfect and quick for this project. Second, “Google Navigation is a Total GPS Replacement–As Long as You’re Connected” is an extremely thorough review of Google Maps vs. a traditional GPS device. I have a Garmin Nuvi and love it with a…

• Ask Unclutterer: Not yet dirty clothes

  Erin Doland

  20 Nov 2009 | 7:30 am

  Reader Susan submitted the following to Ask Unclutterer: OK, this may be a strange question, but it’s one I have not seen addressed anywhere: Where do you put clothes you’ve worn for a short time that are NOT dirty enough to go into the laundry basket or to the dry cleaner’s? I am talking sweaters, blouses, pants, etc. — not underwear. For instance, I might put on a top & pants for a couple of hours to go to a luncheon, but when I get home I am not going to put those items in the wash (unless I spilled something on them, or they got sweaty due to hot weather,…

• Workspace of the Week: Side-by-side desks

  Erin Doland

  20 Nov 2009 | 4:30 am

  This week’s Workspace of the Week is Lady Reynolds’ his and her office: I like how this office uses the vertical space to keep paperwork and projects off the desk tops. And, the way the projects are displayed is a great solution for visual processors. I think the desks and chairs are from Ikea and the notes on the picture say that all of the clipboards were picked up from a thrift store. The magazine racks on the wall that were repurposed for files are also a great way to free up workspace. Thank you, Lady Reynolds, for your submission to our flickr pool. Want to have your own…

• A simple Thanksgiving solution

  Erin Doland

  19 Nov 2009 | 7:30 am

  Thanks to Asha at Parent Hacks, I have stumbled upon a simple living suggestion that I will use this Thanksgiving. Until yesterday, I had no idea that chalk wrote easily on matte-finish oilcloth. The concept is so basic, yet its implications have my head spinning. I’m no longer trying to think of ways to decorate my Thanksgiving table, entertain the kids during mealtime, or am worried about a centerpiece — I have my solution: Simply buy enough solid-color, matte-finish oilcloth to use as a tablecloth for your dining table. With either regular chalk or chalk pens, write guest names…

• Follow the Unclutterer Forums with RSS

  Brian Kieffer

  19 Nov 2009 | 4:30 am

  If you use an RSS reader to follow your favorite blogs, you can easily keep track of what’s going on in our new forums. Add the feed for latest topics or all the latest posts. You can even follow specific topics using the RSS link just below each topic’s title, or create an RSS feed of your own by adding topics as favorites. After you add Unclutterer’s forum feeds to your RSS reader, jump in and join one of the following new discussions: Clutter of Writing Things Down Where to Get Rid of Old Clothes Getting Past Anxiety/Fear Or start one of your own.

• 
  Visionary Blogging

• The Best Business Website Offer Ever

  Easton Ellsworth

  7 Nov 2009 | 8:20 pm

  Want a vastly improved website/blog? One that will help you drive more traffic and more revenue to your business than ever before? If so, I have a very special offer for you. UPDATE: Sold out! But we still offer great services that can benefit your business or organization today. Visit Website Habitat and Business Habitat to learn more. Dawud Miracle and I have partnered to offer business website design services through WebsiteHabitat.com. Here’s a taste of what you can get through Website Habitat: A complete professional WordPress-powered website to help you market your business…

• How to Create Blog Content That Rewards Your Business Forever

  Easton Ellsworth

  21 Sep 2009 | 10:32 am

  Warning: You’re losing customers and fans right now because your blog content isn’t converting as well as it should. Here’s a comprehensive step-by-step guide on how to make, publish and market blog content that will convert more visitors into buyers and brand promoters. Why is the Blog Content Creation Process So Important? Great blog content – the words, pictures, sounds and videos that you present to your blog visitors – makes your business or organization more successful in at least the following ways: It impels your target audience to buy from you and to…

• How to Be Rude: An Anti-Guide to Blogging and Social Media

  Easton Ellsworth

  16 Sep 2009 | 7:20 am

  We’ve heard a lot about rudeness lately. Shall I mention names? Serena, Joe and Kanye spring instantly to mind. If a star tennis player, a prominent politican and a world-famous rap artist can do it, why shouldn’t you? Here’s how to be inconsiderate, uncouth and downright rude on your blog and in your social media efforts. Step 1: Stop Listening This is the exact opposite of one of my all-time favorite business blogging tips. What’s there to listen to anyway? It’s all mindless babble, right? Why bother following what people are saying about you and your…

• 16 Classic Resources to Improve Your Social Media Marketing

  Easton Ellsworth

  15 Sep 2009 | 11:00 am

  Hot on the heels of my last article, 50 Timeless Resources to Make Your Blog More Profitable, here’s a list of 16 classic resources that will help you improve your overall presence at various social networking/sharing websites. It’s a small list, but these are awesome resources. Overall Social Media Marketing Tips 25 Must Read Social Media Marketing Tips Social Media Marketing Training: 5 Tips for Breaking Through The Knowledge Barrier 7 Reasons Your Social Media Marketing Failed (and how to fix it!) 10 Tips for Social Media Marketers More Social Media Marketing Tips 50 Ways…

• 50 Timeless Resources to Make Your Blog More Profitable

  Easton Ellsworth

  11 Sep 2009 | 11:31 am

  These 50 evergreen resources will help you raise or make more money with your blog, no matter whether it’s a personal, business or non-profit blog. If you like this article, please share it: Share on Twitter Share on Facebook Share on StumbleUpon Share on Delicious Share with your Gramma Write on your forehead: http://bit.ly/blogprofit Improve Your Blog Content for More Blog Profit 1. 37 Viral Post Ideas You Can Use Today – Or tomorrow, or the next day, or on March 13, 2047. Remember, this is a list of timeless resources. 2. 10 Killer Post Ideas – Not to be confused with…

• 
  Notes On Productivity

• Thoughts on email archiving (Admins: Here’s how to keep your users from hating you or tell you Lotus Notes sucks)

  Eric Mack

  27 Oct 2009 | 11:09 pm

  First, a disclaimer: I do not use Lotus Notes Archiving. Instead, I use another method to invisibly move my finished work (emails, calendar, and tasks) to my archive. However, I serve many Lotus Notes users that use, want to use, or are forced to use Lotus Notes archiving. It is from these clients that I have learned a great deal about the relationship between archiving and lost productivity. This blog post is written for these people and it will consider the impact of poorly configured archiving and what you can do about it. I received an email from a customer today asking me a question…

• Playing with sidebar widgets in Lotus Notes 8.51. Cool!

  Eric Mack

  21 Oct 2009 | 10:09 pm

  With today's release of eProductivity 1.81 out the door, I took some time to play with the widgets in Notes 8.51. This is really neat. I was able to easily configure two widgets in Notes and I even have them now floating on my desktop as their own windows. How cool is that? Here's a preview of the Today view and the All by Context views: While I'm testing this with eProductivity, you can use these steps with any view in any database in Lotus Notes. I've documented the steps I used to accomplish this here.Originally posted on eProductivity

• Lotus Knows it’s in Fast Company

  Eric Mack

  19 Oct 2009 | 2:46 pm

  From the title of this blog, you know that Lotus Software is the cornerstone of my productivity toolkit. Notes is the first app I load in the morning and the last one I shut down. Lotus knows it's in fast company -  some of the best and brightest (not to mention, most productive) people on the planet use and love Lotus Software. Now, everyone "knows". Well done, Lotus Marketing. Rock your work with Lotus Software Originally posted on eProductivity

• From 2400 Baud & Alligator Clips to 30,000 ft. w/Lotus Notes

  Eric Mack

  19 Oct 2009 | 12:08 am

  I've been using Lotus Notes for a few years (Since R2) and over the past 16 years, Notes has become the core of my information, communication, collaboration, and action management systems. I started using Notes back in the days of 2400 Baud SmartModems. One of the reasons I used, recommended, and deployed Notes for my clients at the time was because it allowed people to work locally (off-line) and it hid the fact that the modem technolgy was slow and phone jacks were hard to find. (Remember, this was back in the days when you had to carry screw drivers and alligator clips with you to the…

• 10 Min to upgrade to Domino 8.5.1; 20+ hours to recover

  Eric Mack

  18 Oct 2009 | 10:00 pm

  Short story: 8.5.1 upgrade was fast and easy but Windows Update killed my server. The long version: Saturday afternoon, I decided to upgrade one of my development servers from 7.04 to 8.5.1 today. I am pleased to say that as far as I can tell the upgrade was easy and fast. Once I backed up my data, it only took me about 10 minutes to install 8.5.1 and let the server do its thing at startup. I then restarted  the Domino service  and all appeared fine. How's that for a seamless upgrade? Sweet! The last step was to reboot the server to confirm that the Domino service would restart…

• 
  Ian's Messy Desk

• How to Write a Eulogy

  Ian McKenzie

  20 Nov 2009 | 4:08 am

  I’m in Winnipeg today for my Father’s funeral. As the family has been remembering and planning a tribute, I have been struck at how difficult it is to summarize the life of a close family member into just a few minutes. We’ve prepare the remarks as a family and that makes things easier, from the perspective of the mechanics of the writing process. I first post this a couple of years ago, but here it is again, a simple template for giving a eulogy. Introduce yourself and your connection to the deceased. “For those of you who don’t know me, I’m Ian and Mavis was my…

• How to have a green Christmas

  Ian McKenzie

  18 Nov 2009 | 4:35 am

  I’m not talking about a Christmas without snow; though that’s what Christmas looks like in many parts of the World. I’m talking about being environmentally conscious during the holiday season. There are many ways to cut your environmental footprint this holiday season. Here are a few suggestions to get you started: Gifts Try flea markets, antique jewellery and thrift shops for gifts. Give local, organic hampers, locally-brewed beer or organic wine. Make preserves, baking, flavoured oils or chocolates. Treat people to entertainment or sporting events. Give gift certificates for dining…

• Advent Calendar Resources On-line

  Ian McKenzie

  17 Nov 2009 | 8:16 am

  November 29 in the start of the Advent season. December 1st is the day people starting popping the doors on Advent calendars and eating the little chocolates inside. The following on-line advent calendars won’t produce any confections, but you will be able to mark the passage of the next 25 days. Some of these calendars are based on the liturgical calendar. http://www.smile-a-day.com/advent-calendar.shtml http://www.smmp.com/Advent/Advent.htm http://www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/customs/Xmas/calendar/ http://www.cartoonchurch.com/advent/ (This calendar is from 2005, but the cartoons are…

• Review for Success

  Ian McKenzie

  16 Nov 2009 | 4:04 am

  When we come to the end of a project or activity, it is common to review the outcomes. It can be very easy to consider these outcomes from a negative perspective, what went wrong rather than what went right. Next time you need to review a project, try looking at its successful outcomes. At the very least, try balancing each negative consideration with a positive. Negative/neutral question Success-focused alternative What went wrong? What went right? What are our needs? What are our strengths? What did we learn? What did we learn to do better? What issues should we put on the agenda? What…

• How to Have a Simple and Stress-Free Holiday

  Ian McKenzie

  13 Nov 2009 | 4:35 am

  Happy, fun, merry—hopefully these words come to mind when you think of holiday festivities. For some, anxiety, dread and grief seem to pop up. When family and friends gather, it isn’t always picture perfect. Being prepared is the best way to manage relationships and keep the peace. Ease stress, share the load and learn to enjoy your family during the holidays with a little spirit and a lot of patience. Know what to expect. Does Aunt Martha always bug you about getting married? Will your brother once again brag about his high-paying job? Plan your response in advance to situations…

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  Your best just got better

• More thinking along the lines of pursuing the MITs (the Most Important Things)

  Jason W. Womack, MEd, MA

  15 Nov 2009 | 2:34 pm

  I saw this in a magazine recently, and KNEW I had to take a picture. I'll invite you to write this on the top of a piece of paper, and fill in the blanks over the next week: "I wake...

• Three ways...To enhance focus

  Jason W. Womack, MEd, MA

  11 Nov 2009 | 8:22 pm

  Quick, what were you doing...just before you clicked over here? So, in order to get from "there" to "here" you had to change your focus. I think a lot of people I get to work with think that the need...

• Put attention on the MIT's - the Most Important Things

  Jason W. Womack, MEd, MA

  9 Nov 2009 | 6:12 pm

  Have you ever finished a day, looked around, and realized you did not do some of the most important things on your mind? You kept on meaning to get to it, but there just was not enough time! Here’s an...

• Productivity MasterMind lunch - Ojai, CA

  Jason W. Womack, MEd, MA

  6 Nov 2009 | 6:39 pm

  What a group to show up at Papa Lennon's today (here in Ojai, CA). The purpose (as I proposed) was to initiate a Productivity MasterMind group here in town. I figure there's at LEAST one day a month when I'm...

• Project Manager Productivity Secrets - a presentation in Santa Barbara, CA

  Jason W. Womack, MEd, MA

  5 Nov 2009 | 6:49 pm

  The Project Management Institute (PMI) is an international professional organization focused on delivering business success using proven project management practices. Today I spoke for 42 minutes (but who's counting!) on the mistakes I have made over the years as a...

• 
  Stepcase Lifehack

• Rethink the Season of Giving

  Dustin Wax

  20 Nov 2009 | 5:00 am

  Next Thursday, soup kitchens, homeless shelters, and other charities across the US will be fully staffed with smiling-faced, happy volunteers eagerly doling out food and other assistance to those whose need is greatest. Families across the country will come together in the spirit of giving, and will return home beaming with pride and contentment, knowing deep in their hearts that they have made a difference. It’s the finest side of American culture, celebrating our own thankfulness by trying to give the less fortunate something to be thankful about.Next Friday, soup kitchens, homeless…

• 10 Best Productivity Books of 2009

  Dustin Wax

  18 Nov 2009 | 5:00 am

  Granted, the year’s not done yet, but publishers start to slow down new releases right about now, so it’s not likely we’ll see another contender for “best of 2009” until January. Plus, Christmas is coming up, and I wanted to give you plenty of time to read some of these books before you give copies to your friends and relatives.But really? It’s never the wrong time to recommend a list of great books.These are 10 books I read this year that made a powerful impression. I read a ton of non-fiction – not only do I read for my own pleasure but I’m a non-fiction reviewer for…

• Take a Vacation from Your Email!

  Dustin Wax

  16 Nov 2009 | 5:00 am

  Considering how useful – revolutionary, even – email is as a communication tool, it can also be an incredible drain on productivity. If you’re anything like me, you have discussion listservs, newsletters, Google alerts, Facebook updates, blog comments, advertisements, automated backups, reminders, and all manner of other stuff pouring into your inbox all the time – all in addition to emails from actual people actually trying to communicate with you.Of course you know to minimize these inputs, to limit updates to only the ones you most need, to evaluate every newsletter to make sure…

• Stationery Pr0n: Japanese Pens and More from JetPens.com

  Dustin Wax

  13 Nov 2009 | 9:00 am

  Geeks tend to love pens, notebooks, and office gadgets. Some of the most popular posts here at Lifehack have been about pens and other stationery. Let us loose in a Staples or Office Max and we’re like kids in a candy shop. We can’t pass a stationery shop without feeling at least a twinge of desire – and usually without dropping some of our hard-earned money inside. And of course, there’s our love affair with the Moleskine…Sure, it’s a pointless pursuit and probably a waste of time and money. Sure, there’s the danger of fiddling too much with the latest cool…

• Searching for a Shared Virtual Workspace?

  Clemens Rettich

  12 Nov 2009 | 5:00 am

  In my coaching practice, I am increasingly looking for ways to work with my clients on shared documents and projects online. Pretty simple right? You’d think so. I went to the first two places that I knew offered some or all of these services: Google & Microsoft. Big disappointment.

• 
  Arif & Ali's Blog

• On Enlightenment

  arif

  18 Nov 2009 | 6:55 am

  “Before Enlightenment, Chop Wood, Carry Water. After Enlightenment, Chop Wood, Carry Water.” - Ancient Zen Wisdom, from Mastery by George Leonard. Similar Posts: The Secret to Enlightenment What is Vakil Housing doing to preserve the Environment? Pre-launch offer to book a Plot! Dubai’s World Beating Buildings A brilliant debate, discussing whether God Exists or not.

• Thank you God, but that’s not what I meant.

  arif

  11 Nov 2009 | 4:16 am

  Similar Posts: 25 of the infinite number of things that I am Grateful for. Thank you God, O Thank you! It’s not you baby, its what you think. A brilliant debate, discussing whether God Exists or not. 5 Podcasts that I try not to miss Six Wonderful Skills I’m glad I picked after School, which you can too.

• Hajj tips

  arif

  10 Nov 2009 | 9:33 pm

  A friend had asked me to email him some tips on Hajj for a presentation that he was preparing for Hajis-to-be. Thought I’d reproduce the email here as it may be beneficial to some. The first, last and most important tip is: Make the Most of the trip! Hajj is truly once in a lifetime opportunity. It’s the really blessed and the fortunate who get to go more than once. For the most, people visit just once. Hence ensure that you get the maximum experience that you can. So that means: Prior to Hajj- Make sure you do maximum preparation as possible. Read up on as many Ahkams as you can…

• Sufi Comics: I am the Creator

  Mohammed Ali

  4 Nov 2009 | 10:42 pm

  Click Image to Enlarge This is a discussion a person had with Imam Jafar As Sadiq. He was a polymath: an astronomer, alchemist, Imam, Islamic scholar, Islamic theologian, writer, philosopher, physician, physicist and scientist. He was also the teacher of the father of Chemistry, Jabir ibn Hayyan (Geber). Several such discussions with Imam Jafar, on the evidence for the existence of God have been recorded more notably Hadith Mufaddal and Hadith Halila. <a title="Sufi Comics - I am the Creator"…

• Shame…shame…puppy shame.

  arif

  4 Nov 2009 | 8:41 pm

  I don’t know about you, but I really feel I need to go around life with blinders on. Even if there was something worthwhile to watch on TV, I never know when a shameful scene would be pulverised into your face, leaving an concrete imprint in my mind haunting me forever. If it’s not the TV program that’s embarrassing enough the TV spots would shamelessly make up for it. Some of the billboards out there make me shudder. Even a nice clean sport like Cricket isn’t complete without semi-clad cheerleaders romping all over the screen. Bangalore Times seem to be in almost in…

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  moleskinerie

• A Year in Color...Moleskine colors

  Armand Frasco

  19 Nov 2009 | 7:56 pm

  Notebook enthusiasts are abuzz about the new Moleskine "Color-a-Month" planners - a set of daily planners with the comfort of a Volant. An individual Volant daily planner for each month of the year. The set for 12 months are packed in a gift box.LEARN MORE.I have a feeling that it's not going to be long before somebody binds all 12 in a colorful, hefty bundle;) Let's see.

• Moleskine Surprise Boxes

  Armand Frasco

  19 Nov 2009 | 8:02 am

  For your gift-giving in the coming holidays you may consider these attractive "Surprise Boxes" featured by Patrick Ng in his blog. He explains that "they are called surprise boxes for reason that the content is not exactly known to consumer. For example, in the Artistic set you get a pocket diary, classic large notebook and a large Cahier, but you won't know which style or color you will get..." If you're into unexpected (more or less) presents and within their shipping area, check out SCRIPTION.

• What Are Dreams ?

  Armand Frasco

  18 Nov 2009 | 5:42 pm

  A fascinating look on what happens once we close our eyes and drift into sleep. What are dreams and why do we have them? NOVA joins leading dream researchers as they embark on a variety of neurological and psychological experiments to investigate the world of sleep and dreams. Delving deep into the thoughts and brains of a variety of dreamers, scientists are asking important questions about the purpose of this mysterious realm we escape to at night. Do dreams allow us to get a good night's sleep? Do they improve memory? Do they allow us to be more creative? Can they solve our problems…

• Another Moleskine project from Art House Co-op

  Armand Frasco

  18 Nov 2009 | 12:02 pm

  Exciting update from Shane Zucker at the Art House Co-op:"(Our) latest Sketchbook Project ended up with 3,600 artists participating in it! ...We just launched a new project called The Fiction Project which focuses on telling a story through writing and art, with the Moleskine being the vessel. Each person will receive a randomly assigned theme and a ruled Moleskine Cahier journal to create a work of fiction in. In the end, each book will be included in the permanent collection of the Brooklyn Art Library..."Learn more

• Holder for M

  Armand Frasco

  17 Nov 2009 | 7:16 am

  Interesting product from "Holder for M" from Vintage Revival Productions. Here it is, described by Patrick Ng at his blog: " It is an ingenious two piece product made from a combination of leather and denim label material. One piece acts as a holder which allows you to insert your M into your jean's back pocket (8,800 yen), the other is a pen holder (4,500 yen). Both pieces are looped so that you can slide to the front and back cover of you M easily without permanent damage..." Learn more

• 
  I'm an Organizing Junkie

• Organizing a Fun & Simple Fondue Party

  Laura

  20 Nov 2009 | 10:32 am

  Last week I hosted a Ladies Fondue Party.  It was informal, simple and fun, fun, fun. Nothing says simple like inviting guests over to dinner and asking them to cook their own food….my kind of entertaining! :) My friend Sandy over at Reluctant Entertainer has been such an inspiration to me over the last couple of years.  [...]

• Kraft Foods Gift Basket Giveaway

  Laura

  19 Nov 2009 | 8:24 am

  Any other basket lovers out there?  How about food lovers?  The giveaway going on over at my review site includes both! GO HERE TO ENTER Social Bookmarking

• Holiday help and other great posts

  Laura

  18 Nov 2009 | 9:56 am

  It’s time for me to get link happy again with some excellent posts I’ve read over the past couple of weeks.  And while a few of them offer some excellent holiday help I’d like to also just pause for a quick moment to offer you a different bit of holiday encouragement as we lead into [...]

• Teaching Kids Responsibility

  Laura

  16 Nov 2009 | 7:21 pm

  I’ve talked in the past about how important I think it is to teach kids responsibility through regular household duties.  Two specific posts of mine are: Responsibility Chore Charts We are not our children’s slaves Today I’m welcoming guest poster, Katie from Kitchen Stewardship who is contributing to this discussion with a great idea for encouraging responsibility and [...]

• MPM ~ Nov 16th + Thanksgiving Table Decor

  Laura

  15 Nov 2009 | 7:59 pm

  Hello everyone!  I’ve got a fabulous new banner to bring in this Thanksgiving holiday season with for those living in the US.  As you know here in Canada we celebrated Thanksgiving last month but I wanted to honor all my friends on the other side of the border.  How this banner came to be has [...]

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  SheenOnline

• Clicker is Your Complete Guide for Internet Television

  Rahsheen

  20 Nov 2009 | 8:57 am

  You missed that recent episode of V or the first episode of CSI’s crossover week. You know they aren’t showing re-runs and you can’t believe you forgot to set the DVR. Maybe you can catch them online, but where? Clicker is a service that will help you answer that exact question: Where are the shows I want to see playing online? As massive amounts of programming move online, consumers are entering a world of infinite choices, all on-demand. Great! Finding the show you want to watch? Painful. Thousands of episodes from thousands of shows are housed on thousands of different…

• Leapfish Brings the Web New Life

  Rahsheen

  6 Nov 2009 | 8:25 pm

  LeapFish is an interesting search portal that creates it’s results by pulling together information from the major search engines. It also includes results from the social web and embeds all types of media directly on the results page. As you type your search, the results are pulled together using their “proprietary hyper-threading technology” in conjunction with the API’s of each service. Basically, LeapFish is a meta search engine. Today, LeapFish is kicking it into overdrive by adding something me and most of the web is pretty excited about: Realtime. They will combine this with…

• Getting Things Done with Doit.im

  Rahsheen

  6 Nov 2009 | 7:26 pm

  Doit.im is an Adobe AIR application that is closely tied to the original Getting Things Done techniques. The goal is to provide one simple interface that will help you hit the main GTD principles: Collect, Process, Organize, Review, Do. It’s a simple to use application with a clean interface and may be exactly what you’re looking for if other productivity solutions turned you off somehow. When you start Doit.im, you will be prompted to login. If you don’t already have an account, simply click “Sign Up” to create your account. This account is necessary in order for your data to sync…

• Do You Act Different When the Boss is Around?

  Rahsheen

  17 Oct 2009 | 6:54 pm

  I have had many different types of jobs in many different fields, but there is one thing that remained consistent from job to job. The manager always acted all brand new when his boss showed up. Suddenly, procedures we had been following at the managers request were “wrong” and the manager admonished us for doing things that way. Suddenly, the manager was deeply concerned about the fine details of the business. Suddenly, we weren’t moving fast enough, nothing was clean enough, we weren’t smiling hard enough or greeting customers enthusiastically enough. Every time I…

• 15 Things You Can Do Right Now to Help Stop Climate Change

  Rahsheen

  15 Oct 2009 | 7:18 am

  Stopping global climate change when it comes to the individual simply boils down to going green. Any actions you can take that help prevent greenhouse gas emissions, physical waste, and wasted energy will help. Going green is really not as annoying as you might think and you don’t have to take things overboard to make a difference. Here are 15 things you can do immediately to go a little green and help fight climate change: 1. Shave some points of your thermostat. Set your thermostat a few degrees colder in winter and a few degrees warmer in summer. You probably won’t notice the…

• 
  Effing The Dog

• PageLime Is Not A Productive Lemon

  I consider myself a bit of a visual artist.  Not oils or watercolors - mostly markers.  The smelly kind. Yesterday i went to draw some grass (of the garden variety) and found that my green/lime-scented marker had run dry.  It was bound to happen, eventually, but this was particularly bad timing.  ...

• Eventually Spirited Away

  Happy Monday! I say that now because it's almost come to a close.  I also say it because it was a rather happy day for me.  Indeed, it took an incredibly eventual amount of time to get that way, but I found by starting the process yesterday it made for a ...

• As Blog Action Day Eventually Ends…

  Today has been Blog Action Day...and the cause of "celebration" this year is climate change.  I put celebration in quotation marks because it's not really a celebration; it's a travesty.  The changing climate is happening in far too an "uneventual" manner.  The reason it's being talked about is due to ...

• Writing A Book Is Hard

  Yep, it sure is. But before I get into that, I’ve got a few quick announcements: 1. Due to circumstances well within my control, I’ve decided to extend the "This Brand Is Your Brand" contest until November 30th, 2009. Since the number of entries was over-underwhelming - which was expected as you ...

• EffTD Tool Of The Day – Twitter

  It’s been awhile (both for a post and for one of these fine tools to help you better “eventualize”), and I can really only blame myself…for continuing to take Eventualism to new heights.  Well, that - and Twitter. It’s become apparent that Twitter has taken over the world, 140 characters at ...

• 
  Matt's Idea Blog

• Resistance is Data

  matt

  16 Nov 2009 | 7:16 am

  In my daily planning guide Where the !@#% did my day go? I discuss task resistance, a root cause of procrastination and something most of us face one time or another. From the Think, Try, Learn perspective, resistance is data, with its attendant opportunity to improve. Start with some questions. Why are you resisting the task? What is it specifically that is repelling you? How long has this been the case? Then ask yourself how important it is to address this. The good news is that you know about it (the Awareness "A" of the three A's), the seed of taking action. This applies personally too.

• Lessons for Work and Living from Julia Child and the Movie "Julie & Julia"

  matt

  13 Nov 2009 | 8:44 am

  At the risk of being pedestrian, I wanted to share share insights inspired by the movie Julie & Julia, mostly of Julie Child's work (links below). The movie's been written about ad nauseam, but not from the Think, Try, Learn or productive perspective. So here goes! (As an aside, there's a local angle for me: Her alma mater is Smith College - enrolled at birth! - and she was honored by a local farmer's Corn Maze, of all things.) Of the movie proper, it not only passed the Finish Test (a rarity for me), but was non-violent, moving, funny, and inspiring. We enjoyed it as a family, and Meryl…

• Incremental vs. Batch Processing: Examples, Dos, and Don'ts

  matt

  12 Nov 2009 | 4:56 pm

  I'm thinking about when we should do things in small bits during the day/week, and when we should "save them up" to process as a batch. Following are some thoughts. Email: Email management is the canonical "batch is best" time management example. We need to differentiate processing (emptying), monitoring (triage), and checking (read, don't act, and leave in inbox - waste). I suggest using monitoring for incremental (but don't go nuts), and processing for batch (use the minimum # times that you can get away with, given your job). Custom workflows: Switching my financial workflow (incremental…

• Blast from the Past: Academic, GTD Tidbits, Change, Hats, Math, and Bitstreams

  matt

  11 Nov 2009 | 8:08 am

  I invite you to enjoy these past posts from the IdeaMatt archive (the last blast is here). -- matt For my new academic readers: Matthew Cornell answers to your academic productivity questions via My Academic Productivity Post Is Up and GTD And Faculty Productivity: Notes From A Small Pilot Project With 2009 coming to an end soon: Track Completed GTD Projects (plus Some "greatest Hits" For 2005) In the gratitude experiment department: Use Gmail's "star" To Highlight Your Good News (I continue to use this three years later) Thinking of (or forced to) make a change in career? Genius, Purpose,…

• Indecisiveness is a bi-product of thinking [IdeaMatt Reader Series]

  matt

  10 Nov 2009 | 9:20 am

  (I get some insightful emails from readers - you're such a smart bunch. I thought I'd share this one from Michael Nicolls which is in response to When You Don't Want To Decide. I've not edited it. Related: Three Indecisiveness Phrases, And When (not) To Use Them. Keep 'em coming! -- matt) Indecisiveness is a bi-product of thinking. It is a way of dancing around and playing with your resistences (e.g. expensive, unpleasant, and time-consuming) and desires (feel better) to a subject rather than fully experiencing yourself as discomfort, fear, anxiety, happiness or whatever. The circumstance is…

• 
  LessonInLife.Com

• How To Say NO To Abusers At Work

  banji

  3 Nov 2009 | 9:20 pm

  Summary – How to say NO to abusers Very recently I have received an email asking a very interesting question. First of all, I would like to thank the sender, Pankaj, who had taken the time and sent me the email. It is always a pleasure getting to know my reader. The following is the email Pankaj sent me. “I want to know how exactly to say NO to people. My work is almost always overloaded, but even so, when other people come to me asking for help with his work, I can never say no. I always try to help others but in this way I am always taken negative.” Well Pankaj, this is…

• Basic Trick To Success You May Not Know

  banji

  19 Oct 2009 | 3:54 am

  Summary – Success definition I talked to one of my colleague this morning. To make things easier, let’s call him Peter. Peter is an acting manager to an estate here but he’s going to retire next year. I actually asked him whether he will apply for extension and maybe then he will be confirmed as a manager. He simply answered “No, I don’t need the “Manager” title to become successful. I am already successful by my own definition.” That simple sentence had left me speechless (For a few seconds of course). I then continued to ask him what he meant…

• Pay Yourself First Without The Money

  banji

  12 Oct 2009 | 3:18 am

  If you are into financial management, I bet all my money that you have heard of the concept “Pay Yourself First”. Rest assured this post is not about finance. Basically, the idea is to allocate a portion of your paycheck to be saved elsewhere before you even settle your pay-or-die bills. The concept is created simply because saving if not forced, is an impossible thing to do. I know it is kind of harsh, but it is the truth. You can see the proof from my bank account (which of course I will not disclose here). Forget about my bank account. Just look at yours. Did you manage to save…

• 10 Simple Ways To Backup Your Life

  banji

  28 Jul 2009 | 8:01 am

  Summary – Sometimes redundancy is a bliss It was the year 2001. I was doing my internship at the time with a petrochemical company. I remember this year very fondly because this is the year I make one of the biggest mistake in my life. Please bear with me as I explain some details about the mistakes. You see, being a student, my computer was my life. I had files about everything saved in my PC. This includes notes, assignments, projects, personal pictures, diaries etc. In short, the last 5 years of my life were well documented in that PC. One fine day, I mistakenly formatted the PC and…

• How To Use Emotion & Solve Problem Effectively

  banji

  21 Jul 2009 | 4:20 am

  Summary – Use emotion The following story is one of the many interesting stories published on the net. The Story Once there was a school with quite a unique problem. The girls at the school were beginning to use lipstick and like everyone else who just started a thing, there were lipstick prints all over the mirrors of the school bathroom. This however was a problem to the janitor since he would have to clean the mirror every single day. One day he reported the problem to the school principal and she immediately called up all the students to the bathroom (of course in groups). She then…

• 
  Dragos Roua - Brilliantly Better

• 33 Questions For An Interview With Yourself

  dragos

  18 Nov 2009 | 12:20 am

  Today I’m going to interview somebody really special on my blog. And that would be you. Exactly, you, the one who’s looking at the screen right now. You are a very important person and it’s an honor for me to interview you. I prepared a list of 33 questions and I’m really looking forward to hear your answers. Yes, this is an interview. With you. Why? Because you’re important, that’s why. 1. What Do You Do For A Living? You may not know what you’re really doing for a living. You may think you have a job, but you’re actually just selling your time. And that comes down to selling…

• The Tyler Durden Guide of Writing Tyler Durden Enhanced Blog Posts To Attract Traffic

  dragos

  15 Nov 2009 | 10:28 am

  I saw Fight Club years after it was launched. I did the same with Matrix and another few blockbusters. I’m not into hype. I like to see a popular movie after it loses the “fashionable” thing. I don’t know why I do this, it’s just a fact. Anyway, Fight Club was a fantastic experience. Few movies had the power to change my life the way Fight Club did. 10 years fast forward and I find Tyler Durden in the most surprising place I ever thought I’ll find him: the blogosphere. It seems like every niche has a blog post which features Tyler Durden somehow. If you’re looking for finances,…

• Goals and Mechanical Rabbits

  dragos

  12 Nov 2009 | 3:20 am

  When I turned 39, a few days ago, I wrote a list about 39 things I learned through experience. A few of them got picked up by my readers and broadcasted on Twitter. Being bitesized really helped this process, I don’t think any of those items were bigger than 140 characters. One of the most retweeted was number 8: “Goals are good, but no better than the mechanical rabbit at a dog race. At the end of the race, they’re useless.” Since that seemed to touch a lot of people, I thought it would be a good idea to write a full post about it. Which I am doing as right now. The Promise of Goals…

• 39 Things

  dragos

  9 Nov 2009 | 10:58 pm

  Today I’m turning 39. And I thought it would be a good moment to post a list about 39 things I learned so far in my life. Or things that seems important to me now. Or just things. Regrets are like plastic surgery: they can’t really improve anything and they’re expensive as hell. Money is good, but you’re way much better than your bank account. Hate is useless. No matter at what end of it are you. Love survives. Somehow. You can be fooled by the wrap sometimes, but everything you receive from life is in fact a gift. You’re as good as you want to be. Friends are in your heart,…

• 7 Reasons To Enjoy Life More

  dragos

  8 Nov 2009 | 11:51 pm

  Too often we forget why we’re here. Caught in an endless, empty race without a real prize, we run each day trying to fulfill our own expectations, other people’s expectations, or just simply blindly following rules we don’t understand. We forgot what is the real reason of our existence: to enjoy it. To breathe life every second and thrill with it. Here’s a list of 7 simple reasons to enjoy life even in the fastest, emptiest, dullest and mindless race we chose to run. Beginnings Every little thing we start is a creation. A miracle by itself. Think for a second: before we activate…

• 
  Popular Science - DIY

• Great Gifts For Electronics Geeks For Less Than $20

  Mike Haney

  18 Nov 2009 | 12:54 pm

  Fill your favorite nerd's stocking with Make's holiday gift guide Make magazine has just put up its $20 and under holiday gift guide, chock full of starter electronics kits like a barebones Arduino and tools for your favorite tinkerer. Or if you're the only one who solders in your circle, pick up a few kits now and give away the finished product. I've built a number of kits from Make and they're a great way to learn and hone your DIY electronics skills, with super-clear instructions. After the jump, I add my five additions to their list, with an eye toward encouraging the young hijinks-prone…

• Gallery: Confessions of an Electronics Junk Collector

  Vin Marshall

  18 Nov 2009 | 7:40 am

  Some of it I really do plan to use. Some of it I can't even identify. Hi. My name is Vin and I'm an addict. I can't stop buying electronic junk. I know it's only filling up bins in my shop and taking money I could be pouring into more productive hobbies, like drinking and shooting guns. But what if the completion of some future project, some really crucial bit of hijinks, hinges entirely on my having a switch designed to discharge massive capacitors? Then what, huh? Am I supposed to just assume my local Radio Shack will have my back? Not likely. I was doing better, I really was, and then I…

• Guess This Part Revealed: The Tank Bung

  Vin Marshall

  18 Nov 2009 | 4:22 am

  Fun with pressure vessels This is a weld-on tank bung; a means of attaching pipe threads to a vessel. It is intended to be welded onto the wall of a tank or pressure vessel, providing solid pipe threads in a material typically too thin to be tapped for pipe threads. On some occasions I've used them for that purpose. On others, I've found that they make a great component in pneumatic cannons. More on this obscure part after the jump. There are several ways to put NPT (National Pipe Thread, which is a tapered, sealing thread used in plumbing; it is the US standard for pipe threads) in a drum,…

• Guess This Part, Win a Tool

  Vin Marshall

  16 Nov 2009 | 1:30 pm

  Since we inaugurated Guess This Tool, you've all proven way too hard to stump, so for this week's contest, we're mixing it up a bit and giving you a mystery part rather than a tool. Again, the first to tell us in the comments what it is we're looking at here with the highest level of precision will win a Stanley FatMax 24-inch Level. Good luck! UPDATE: It seems as if our use of the word "part" was misleading here. Think part as in "part used in the making of stuff" as opposed to part as in "part of a machine." Also, in reference to @GTO's comment, the hole in the center and the threads go all…

• Amazing Aerial Photos from a Homemade Gas-Powered Paraglider

  Paul Adams

  13 Nov 2009 | 12:17 pm

  National Geographic has published a beautiful gallery of aerial photos of the Sahara, shot by George Steinmetz. Steinmetz shoots his pictures while soaring above the Earth on a gasoline-powered paraglider he built himself. The motorized flyer packs into a compact package that can fit easily into an SUV or an airline's luggage compartment, and reassemble quickly. The ten-liter gas tank keeps Steinmetz aloft for 2 to 3 hours. Visit Georgesteinmetz.com for more remarkable photography and details about the man and his craft. [National Geographic, via The Awl]

• 
  Get Organized Wizard

• Bust Your Procrastination Demons [Mission #25]

  Michele Connolly

  22 Nov 2009 | 1:43 am

  Procrastination is a pain. Not only does it stop you from getting things done, it also drains your energy and leaves you feeling bad about yourself.So this week we’re going to launch an attack on our procrastination demons – those things we keep procrastinating over. I guarantee this mission will leave you feeling rather pleased with yourself.Remember: you only need 30 minutes for the basic mission. Extended Options are below. If you’re new, you might like to start here: 52 Organizing Missions.Get Organized Mission #25: Procrastination Demon BustingStep 1: Make a list of your…

• Do You Use Information as Procrastination?

  Michele Connolly

  21 Nov 2009 | 5:13 am

  What are your goals? Do you spend lots of time reading or learning about weight loss, starting a business, or getting your finances sorted, but never make any progress?Information as ProcrastinationCould you be using information as a form of procrastination – a way to trick yourself into thinking you’re doing something productive?Some people spend their time and energy on an unending quest to read more, ponder more, discuss more. But they never get around to taking the actions that would move them closer to achieving their goals.Focus on Motivation, tooGetting the information you need…

• Detox Your Fridge Before The Holidays

  Michele Connolly

  20 Nov 2009 | 5:54 pm

  Time to give your fridge a mini detox?Spend 5 minutes removing expired condiments, sprouting fruit and vegetables, and other noxious former foodstuffs from your fridge.Give the shelves a quick wipe down.Low on any refrigerated items? Pop them on your list.Now doesn’t that feel fresher? This was a popular Today’s Tip last week on my Facebook Professional Page. Please come and be a fan!Related posts:Get Organized Mission #6: Detox Your CarGetting Organized Quick Tip: How To Unpack Groceries For Freshness5 Home Organization Strategies for Busy People

• Create a Chore Chart [Organizing Mission #24]

  Michele Connolly

  16 Nov 2009 | 6:23 am

  One of the secrets to personal organization is to do a little every day. Unless you actually enjoy cleaning, filing and organizing (I sure don’t!), it’s more enjoyable and effective to focus on daily or weekly chores than massive, exhausting sprees.So this week we’ll create a chore chart for your weekly or daily home organizing tasks.Remember: you only need 30 minutes for the basic mission. Extended Options are below. If you’re new, you might like to start here: 52 Organizing Missions.  Get Organized Mission #24: Create a Chore ChartStep 1: Choose Daily or WeeklyIf you’re…

• 52 Organizing Missions Update – A Cool Tool & Awesome Prizes!

  Michele Connolly

  10 Nov 2009 | 4:16 am

  Hi there Mission-mates!I’d like to:Let you know about a cool new tool to help with 52 Organizing MissionsTell you about an opportunity to win awesome prizesAsk you what you think.1. NEW: Set The Get-Organized TimerIf you’re looking for a little extra motivation to get you moving, I’ve got just the thing: a 30-minute countdown.Here’s how it works. When you’ve read your organizing mission for the week and you’re ready to begin, simply click this link -> Start The 30-Minute Timer.Make sure you’re ready to go – the countdown will start as soon as you click.2. NEW: Send Before…

• 
  Pitching In and Catching On

• Getting Started with GTD - podcast

  #19

  14 Nov 2009 | 11:32 am

  Great new podcast from the David Allen company on how to get going with GTD. Give it a listen: http://www.gtdtimes.com/2009/11/09/getting-started-with-gtd/ ShareThis

• Everything You Ever Really Needed to Know about Personal Finance on One Page

  #19

  8 May 2009 | 9:13 am

  …or 49 pages. Came across this excellent guide written by Trent Hamm at his website simpledollar.com.  If you like what you see in this guide, it represents just a small portion of this great stuff he has on there. What it all comes down to is: 1) Spend less than you earn 2) Live Frugal 3) Earn More 4) Manage Your Money 5) Control Your Own Destiny ShareThis

• Lifehack: 10 YouTube URL Tricks You Should Know About

  #19

  7 May 2009 | 9:36 pm

  Whether you are a blogger or someone who forwards YouTube videos to all your friends on your distribution list the following website gives some great tips on how to make YouTube more useful for you. By adding the following extentions listed in the link to YouTube URL’s you can do such things as have a video start at a specific spot in a video, disable the related video feature, autoloop or autoplay an embedded video.  Great hacks to know LINK: 10 YouTube URL Tricks You Should Know About ShareThis

• Productivity possible with Facebook, Twitter and other social apps?

  #19

  10 Mar 2009 | 6:33 pm

  In todays online edition of Business Week David Allen writes a guest column entitled: “Time Management in the Age of Social Media.”  As a person who frequents both twitter and facebook I ask myself if these social networking sites are productive or black holes of time.  David Allen writes: “The most obvious issue about social media: Is this a useful way to spend your time, or is it a sinkhole of attractive distraction? It could very easily be one of those one minute, and the other the next! It all depends on why you’re doing it, and this must be evaluated moment to…

• Free Resume Print Hack

  #19

  9 Mar 2009 | 7:33 pm

  FYI for the increasingly larger portion of the population that is looking for work.  Tomorrow (March 10, 2009) the FedEx Office / Kinkos stores are going to be offering up to 25 free copies of your resume when you bring in a paper or CD copy of it. See the full story at lifehacker.com. ShareThis

• 
  Notes On Productivity

• Thoughts on email archiving (Admins: Here’s how to keep your users from hating you or tell you Lotus Notes sucks)

  Eric Mack

  27 Oct 2009 | 11:09 pm

  First, a disclaimer: I do not use Lotus Notes Archiving. Instead, I use another method to invisibly move my finished work (emails, calendar, and tasks) to my archive. However, I serve many Lotus Notes users that use, want to use, or are forced to use Lotus Notes archiving. It is from these clients that I have learned a great deal about the relationship between archiving and lost productivity. This blog post is written for these people and it will consider the impact of poorly configured archiving and what you can do about it. I received an email from a customer today asking me a question…

• Playing with sidebar widgets in Lotus Notes 8.51. Cool!

  Eric Mack

  21 Oct 2009 | 10:09 pm

  With today's release of eProductivity 1.81 out the door, I took some time to play with the widgets in Notes 8.51. This is really neat. I was able to easily configure two widgets in Notes and I even have them now floating on my desktop as their own windows. How cool is that? Here's a preview of the Today view and the All by Context views: While I'm testing this with eProductivity, you can use these steps with any view in any database in Lotus Notes. I've documented the steps I used to accomplish this here.Originally posted on eProductivity

• Lotus Knows it’s in Fast Company

  Eric Mack

  19 Oct 2009 | 2:46 pm

  From the title of this blog, you know that Lotus Software is the cornerstone of my productivity toolkit. Notes is the first app I load in the morning and the last one I shut down. Lotus knows it's in fast company -  some of the best and brightest (not to mention, most productive) people on the planet use and love Lotus Software. Now, everyone "knows". Well done, Lotus Marketing. Rock your work with Lotus Software Originally posted on eProductivity

• From 2400 Baud & Alligator Clips to 30,000 ft. w/Lotus Notes

  Eric Mack

  19 Oct 2009 | 12:08 am

  I've been using Lotus Notes for a few years (Since R2) and over the past 16 years, Notes has become the core of my information, communication, collaboration, and action management systems. I started using Notes back in the days of 2400 Baud SmartModems. One of the reasons I used, recommended, and deployed Notes for my clients at the time was because it allowed people to work locally (off-line) and it hid the fact that the modem technolgy was slow and phone jacks were hard to find. (Remember, this was back in the days when you had to carry screw drivers and alligator clips with you to the…

• 10 Min to upgrade to Domino 8.5.1; 20+ hours to recover

  Eric Mack

  18 Oct 2009 | 10:00 pm

  Short story: 8.5.1 upgrade was fast and easy but Windows Update killed my server. The long version: Saturday afternoon, I decided to upgrade one of my development servers from 7.04 to 8.5.1 today. I am pleased to say that as far as I can tell the upgrade was easy and fast. Once I backed up my data, it only took me about 10 minutes to install 8.5.1 and let the server do its thing at startup. I then restarted  the Domino service  and all appeared fine. How's that for a seamless upgrade? Sweet! The last step was to reboot the server to confirm that the Domino service would restart…

• 
  The Time Management Blog

• No Time to Read This? Read This....

  18 Nov 2009 | 11:08 am

  The Wall Street Journal's Sue Shellenbarger recently tested three popular time management systems: Getting Things Done, The Pomodoro Technique and FranklinCovey's Focus. In her article, No Time to Read This? Read This, Sue talks about the good and bad in each system; unfortunately, she missed out on one of the best, Tony Robbins RPM System, which excels due to it's top-down design and focus on creating meaningful results. Even with missing of one of the best systems, her article gives a good overview of GTD and the other systems and is definitely worth a read.

• Tony Robbins RPM: Categories of Improvement

  18 Nov 2009 | 6:14 am

  Tony Robbins RPM system helps you live your life in balance, spending time in and improving the most important areas of your life, personally and professionally. Sound impossible? Keep reading…

• Tony Robbins RPM: The Power of Chunking

  18 Nov 2009 | 6:13 am

  Tony Robbins RPM system leverages the power of chunking. Would you rather feel overwhelmed by your never ending to do list of 40..50…100 tasks, or does focusing on 8-10 results sound better?

• Tony Robbins RPM System

  18 Nov 2009 | 6:13 am

  Would you like to know how Tony Robbins, the world’s peak performance expert plans not only his day, but his life? The answer is in Tony’s Rapid Planning Method.

• What Achievers Know About Time Management

  16 Sep 2009 | 6:25 am

  I came across a short article titled What Every Super Achiever Knows About Time Management That You Don't. The point of the article completely reinforces the results and purpose of the Tony Robbins RPM system: 1. Achievers focus on their outcomes and results they're committed to achieving, not their to-do lists 2. To do list provide a great excuse to avoid the difficult tasks 3. As pointed out by the article, "Achievers don't manage their time, they create, manage and maximize their opportunities" 4. Balance in your life is critical Which is the whole point of the Top Down RPM System: manage…

• 
  Wrike - the most practical project management software

• Vote for Project Management 2.0!

  Daria

  19 Nov 2009 | 12:00 am

   We’re thrilled to let you know that the Project Management 2.0 blog written by Wrike’s CEO and founder, Andrew Filev, made it to the project management short list of the ComputerWeekly.com IT Blog Awards! The Project Management 2.0 blog is a marketing-free space, where its author shares his views on how the present project management space is transformed by the influence of Web 2.0 technologies, like blogs, wikis, social networks and collaboration apps, as well as practices like collective intelligence. It’s great to see that ideas expressed in the blog were…

• Language Settings in Wrike: Switch from English to Spanish and Vice Versa Easily!

  Valerie

  17 Nov 2009 | 12:00 am

  Many of you know that Wrike recently became available in Spanish. Initially, the language of your Wrike interface depended on the domain where you signed up: at www.wrike.com (English) or at www.wrike.es (Spanish). Now we have added the ability to change the language of your Wrike workspace easily. First, the language option is now available on every page of Wrike’s Web site (see the top right corner of the Web page). Additionally, you can customize the language of your Wrike workspace and the language of e-mail notifications that you receive from Wrike by using the “My…

• Digging into the Value of Collaboration 2.0 with SDForum

  Daria

  27 Oct 2009 | 12:00 am

  What impact does online collaboration make on our everyday lives? We’ll be among those searching for the answer to this question during the upcoming Collaboration 2.0 Conference organized by the SDForum in Santa Clara, Calif. Wrike will be presented at the event, which will be held on October 30 and will gather the industry experts, as well as companies interested in innovating their collaboration practices. Our project management software will be showcased as one of the cutting-edge solutions that streamline collaboration in a corporate environment. SDForum, the organization behind the…

• Latest Twitter News about Wrike

  Daria

  15 Oct 2009 | 12:00 am

  Here are a few selected tweets from us, our friends, followers and even people outside of our network to give you a sense of the Twitter community's buzz about Wrike. wrike Netbook giveaway went to Jürgen Oschadleus - here at PMI NA Congress all the way from Australia. Congrats! #pminac  http://twitpic.com/leb2s varjuluceno Check out Wrike - helps bad project managers become good ones http://www.wrike.com/ bradruben @andrewsthoughts Can users of @Wrike win the Netbook! And can we do it remotely! We love your product! at #pminac andrewsthoughts RT @wrike Come to our booth for the…

• And the Free Netbook from Wrike Goes to…

  Daria

  14 Oct 2009 | 12:00 am

  Jürgen Oschadleus, MBA, PMP, an international speaker, trainer and consultant on project leadership and communications! He became the winner of the free netbook drawing that was previously announced in our blog. The final phase of the giveaway took place yesterday at the PMI Congress North America 2009. We were thrilled about the vibrant attention of the audience to our drawing. Over 300 people registered for the giveaway, but only one of them turned out to be the lucky winner. Jürgen came all the way from Australia to give a speech on the role of communications and leadership in…

• 
  Complete Organizing Solutions

• Card Catalog Turned Into Kitchen Storage

  Tanna Clark

  20 Nov 2009 | 3:00 am

  Now that I completely boasted about all the fabulous drawer space in my kitchen I have an awesome idea for those of you that may be  lacking in the drawer department. At a recent client’s house I couldn’t help but notice the fabulous card catalog sitting so lovely in her kitchen. She said she stored her flatware in the drawers because she only has one drawer in her kitchen. A few drawers were used as her “junk drawer” as well to hold batteries and such. Now all she needs are a few cute labels to top it off. I would give up my drawers any day because I just love this…

• Organized Kitchen Drawers

  Tanna Clark

  19 Nov 2009 | 3:00 am

  After we tackled my bathroom vanity drawer and the utensil drawer in the kitchen I kindly gave my husband the look that said, “Ok, when do we do the rest of the drawers?” He is the cook and he really just wanted the mess of a utensil drawer organized. The organizer that I am just assumed we do all the drawers so everything is aesthetically pleasing. Again, using the same process as the vanity drawer and using pine like the utensil drawer Hubby got to work cutting out dividers to organize our remaining drawers. Here is the before shot. We actually had two drawers of flatware…

• Thanksgiving Traditions

  Tanna Clark

  18 Nov 2009 | 6:00 am

  After everyone is finished with the Thanksgiving meal at our house, half of the men retreat to watch the football game/take a nap. The rest of us sit around playing board games and chasing children around. Playing games after any big meal has been a tradition for my husband’s family for quite some time. It is fun to see the younger generations now wanting to get their own games out and join in on the fun. I always thought it would be a great idea to start a tradition in which we write down things we are thankful for to read off at Thanksgiving. Check out this great tutorial from Little…

• Do Organizers Ever Need To Organize Themselves?

  Tanna Clark

  18 Nov 2009 | 3:00 am

  Let’s give a big welcome to this weeks Inside Tips From The Pro’s guest contributor, Jodi Granok! Make sure you join in every Wednesday right here for another peek into a professional organizer’s home… The answer, for me, is “YES!” Today, my husband and I got up early, went out to breakfast, and then each of us went to our respective closets and did some weeding. I like to think that my closet is pretty streamlined for the most part – and I was right. I am wearing most of the items in my closet regularly, which goes against the trend. The famous…

• 
  There, I Fixed It

• Doubles As Defense In Case Of Zombies

  Ms. Fix-It

  21 Nov 2009 | 9:00 am

  Submitted by: dunno source via Submit a Kludge!

• Nothing Says Minty Fresh Like Beer

  Ms. Fix-It

  21 Nov 2009 | 5:00 am

  Submitted by: ikeadan via Submit a Kludge!

• 161 Is The Number Of Lives That Can Has Claimed

  Ms. Fix-It

  20 Nov 2009 | 12:00 pm

  Submitted by: Matt Johnson. This is my mate Mikey fixing the outside light at our student house. via Submit a Kludge!

• Please Wash Hands Before Using Toilet

  Ms. Fix-It

  20 Nov 2009 | 9:00 am

  Submitted by: cheddamelz via Submit a Kludge!

• Emo Teen Now Cannot Claim “Sun Allergy” As An Excuse To Skip Chores

  Ms. Fix-It

  20 Nov 2009 | 5:00 am

  Submitted by: clapeza via Submit a Kludge!

• 
  How to of the Day

• How to Detect Toilet Leaks with Food Coloring

  22 Nov 2009 | 12:00 am

  Toilet leaks may be easy to repair, but detecting them is a great challenge, especially when they are completely silent. It's nerve racking to view a water bill and see the amount double or triple what you normally pay for. Here is a very quick and easy method to detect a toilet leak.

• How to Travel in Buryatia: Russia's Buddhist Center

  21 Nov 2009 | 12:00 pm

  The map and the flag of Buryatia Have you ever heard of the Republic of Buryatia? It's in Russia, but even many Russians are puzzled when they are asked about Buryatia. It is a national republic in Siberia and it's also the part of the Mongolian world. Buryatia is near Lake Baikal (the deepest lake in the world) and the Buryat nation is very similar to the Mongolians. The Buryats are a Buddhist minority in the Russian Federation. Apart from the Buryats there are more than 100 nationalities in Buryatia. Buryatia is famous for the beautiful nature of the unique Lake Baikal and the diversity of…

• How to Make a Sweet Indian Treat: 7 Cup Burfi

  21 Nov 2009 | 12:00 am

  7 Cup Burfi The name of this sweet treat comes from the fact that 7 cups are used to make it. This is a very popular Indian sweet usually made on special occasions, but you could make it on weekends or for dessert of whenever you want.

• How to Fix a Snag in a Sweater

  20 Nov 2009 | 12:00 pm

  A pulled thread can ruin the look of your knitwear, but don't despair, help is at hand. Here are easy-to-follow instructions for rescuing the situation.

• How to Hack Your Wii Remote Into a Windows Mouse

  20 Nov 2009 | 12:00 am

  The Wii Remote was designed exclusively for the Nintendo Wii. Using a bluetooth adapter with BlueSoleil software, however, you can connect your Wii Remote to a computer running Windows. A third party program called GlovePie allows the Wii Remote to input information to your computer. This article will show you how to set it all up.

• 
  Organize IT

• Go Public! Share Your Goals With The World

  James

  19 Nov 2009 | 1:00 am

  This is a guest post by Jo Walters of 250 Things While I’m 25. On my 25th birthday I decided to spend the whole of the next year coming up with, and doing, 250 random things. I wanted to have some interesting stories to tell, to try new things and force myself to get off my sofa once in a while, so I came up with my silly challenge… Over the next few weeks I created a list which grew as I sent it to friends and family (some of whom were all to eager to suggest some bizarre and potentially embarrassing things!) and I started trying to keep track of everything I was supposed to do…

• Think You’re Lucky? Think Again

  James

  16 Nov 2009 | 1:00 am

  View original image I try to avoid thinking about luck, and just generally try not to use the word nowadays. To me, it applies some sort of deity granting fortune and fame to one person and misfortune and ill health to another based on some mystical roll of the dice. In other words, it removes all personal responsibility. If something bad happens to you, well, you’re were just unlucky – nothing to learn, no lessons to be taken from the experience. And if you were lucky with something, that detracts from whatever you had done to achieve it. Was Barack Obama lucky to become…

• Organize IT Recap: Scary Research On Multitasking, Inbox Zero Is Overrated And The Getting Things Done President

  James

  12 Nov 2009 | 1:00 am

  My regular recap of interesting finds from the last few weeks. Inbox Zero. On Twitter I see this term used all the time. For some reason, a lot of people seem to think it equates to the same thing as GTD. Sure, having an empty inbox is important if you want to stay on top of things, but it’s only one of many components in our life. It’s with this in mind, that I particularly enjoyed reading this post over at Productive Flourishing covering several criticisms of Inbox Zero. For those who like to clear out all their emails on a regular basis, what’s your thoughts? How did this…

• Productivity Down! An Emergency Response Guide

  James

  9 Nov 2009 | 1:00 am

  View original image Emergency! You’ve fallen off the productivity wagon. You’re tired, you’re feeling down, you’re procrastinating, you might even be a little hungover, and you feel like chucking that to-do list in the bin. We’ve all been there, and more often than not when you’ve lost your momentum it’s doubly hard to get it back again. That’s why I’ve created this guide for just such emergencies. It covers five suggestions that I personally use. The key focus is to get that momentum back and get the wagon rolling again and that’s…

• Productivity Tips #15: Focus On That Which Matters Most

  James

  5 Nov 2009 | 12:00 am

  I think I’ve realized why it’s so easy to succumb to the whole getting things done, do stuff for the sake of it attitude. We all want to achieve Big Things in life. We want to feel like it’s all worth it and that at the end of the day we’ve achieved something with our time. But what happens if you don’t have that in your life? Rather than looking for that sense of achievement through quality, we try and achieve it through quantity – replacing a handful of big achievement with lots of small, often irrelevant things. This doing things for the sake of it…

• 
  Your Organizing Coach

• Containment

  Claire Tompkins

  20 Nov 2009 | 5:17 pm

  I love it when simple changes make a big difference. Example: a pile of fruit on your dining table is just a random pile of fruit. Put the fruit in a bowl or basket and, voila!, you've got a centerpiece.My client was bugged by some items out on his coffee table, but didn't really want to put them elsewhere because he used them all the time. The remote control(s), the TV Guide, the stereo controller and a note pad were fairly neatly arranged on the table, but they looked, well, unorganized.We discovered an attractive wicker tray in the pantry and stationed it at one end of the coffee table.

• Greatest Hits

  Claire Tompkins

  12 Nov 2009 | 5:21 pm

  Sentimental clutter is hard to get rid of. The watch, the birthday card and the piano all bring back memories of people we loved and good times we had. Throwing those things away seems like an affront, a cold detachment from our feelings. However, if you kept (or are keeping) every nostalgia-inducing item, you'll run out of room for anything else.Try this. Get all that stuff together either physically or on a list. Categorize it by type (letters and cards, furniture, jewelry, dishware, etc.). In each category, pick the best one or two. By best I mean the most meaningful, most beautiful, most…

• Multitasking vs. Creativity

  Claire Tompkins

  10 Nov 2009 | 11:03 am

  Here's another, unsung reason that multitasking is not so great: it stifles creativity. I've been reading Marc Lesser's book, Less: Accomplishing More by Doing Less. He focuses a lot on what "doing" is. Much "doing" is what he calls busyness. It's extra effort we put in because we feel it's required, or we're just not comfortable not doing, or we crave activity of some kind. Often we multitask by listening to tapes while driving, or talking on the phone while taking a walk. It feels good to get those two tasks out of the way by doing them at the same time. Yet when we're driving or washing…

• The Seven Deadly Organizing Sins: Wrath

  Claire Tompkins

  5 Nov 2009 | 12:37 pm

  This is Sin #5 on the list, which also includes lust, gluttony, greed and sloth. Wrath, or anger, is sinful because it's destructive. It can harm others and it can harm you as well. Here's a scenario: Overwhelmed Olivia decides to beat clutter once and for all. She buys an organizing book and sets aside a weekend. By Sunday night, she's only on the third cabinet and she feels frustrated. Then she gets mad; mad at the book, which she throws behind the bed, and mad at herself for not being able to get this project done. Her anger really comes from trying to achieve a goal with an impossible…

• Why I Procrastinate

  Claire Tompkins

  29 Oct 2009 | 1:53 pm

  Why do I procrastinate? Yes, I do it too! I distinguish between taking personal time and actual procrastination (which is an essential skill for solopreneurs), but procrastination does happen. When I'm procrastinating it's usually because I think I won't do a good job or I think I'll outright fail at something. So, it's fear, mostly. When I'm trying to think of something to write on this blog, I reject lots of ideas because they seem too obvious or I don't think I have anything interesting to say about them.I don't like to fail or to be wrong. No one does. I have to take myself by the hand…