Practical Simplicity: The Media Diet
I have so much information thrown at me every day, yet I feel like I learn little. I had gone on a media fast a few years ago, but honestly, things have crept back up there. I started to check the news frequently, parse dozens of blogs and websites, read all sorts of magazines, just because I was afraid I would miss something. I was deep in information overload.
If Money Can fix It, It’s Not Really A Problem
Everyone complicates their lives, myself included. And when we do that, we lose sight of what really is important. I'm going to share a true story right now. I have changed the names, though.
Skyrocket Productivity With A Simple Program: Breevy
Wednesdays are simplicity days at SimpleProductivity blog. One of the best things you can do for personal productivity is to automate repetitive tasks. If you can do something in one keystroke that before would take you 10, you have just given yourself a 90% boost in efficiency. Text replacing programs, like Breevy, are the way to make that happen. I am often asked to review software as a part of this blog. Most software is somewhat useful, but few programs actually make me change the way I do things. One of the exceptions to this was a little program called Breevy. I reviewed it back in 2010, at Software Review: Breevy Auto Text Replacer and More!. At the time I was asked to review it, I was using ShortKeys, which was bulky and quirky. But Breevy blew me away. It is now three years later, and Breevy…
Simplify Time Calculations With Calcloc
As a consultant, how I bill my time is important. And in order to bill properly, I have know calculate properly. Calculating time can be a pain in the neck. 60 minutes, plus all the increments therein...nothing goes nicely to base 10. In the past I have just resorted to working in quarter hour increments. But even that can get tricky, adding increments up on the calculator. That's where Calcloc steps in to fill the breach. Calcloc is a calculator that can handle native time calculations.
Simplifying The Task List
Even though I write this blog and make it a point to find the best ways to be productive, occasionally I get buried. Right now I am buried under a mountain of projects and tasks. I simply look at my task list and want to run away and join the circus. There is a method to getting back out from under the mountain. All it takes is a bit of time and a very large shovel. So here is the shovel for you to use as well, should you need it.
Streamlining Inputs: Paper
Paper breeds more paper. It is only by regular processing that we can hope to keep the paper monster from breeding all over our homes. But faced with piles of paper, it is very tempting just to shove the piles in a hidden space and hope they go away. They never do (trust me on this, I have tried). Streamlining the way we handle paper can make it much smoother and faster to deal with. This will in turn lead to fewer backlogs, which will lead to less misplaced information. Here are my tips for streamlining paper input:
Do They NEED Me? Or Just WANT Me?
Most people I know have bulging schedules. Between work, hobbies, volunteer commitments and family obligations, there are few days when most of us don't have something to do. And yet people keep asking. It may be small things, or large projects. New activities pop up every day. It's time to take your schedule back. If you don't take conscious control, someone else will.
Getting Out From The Magazine Slushpile
Slush piles are the piles of manuscripts that appear on editor's desks. I realized the other week that with the addition of my daughter's subscriptions, our common room is beginning to have a very large slush pile in the corner. Since this is my daughter's first venture into regular magazines, I am teaching her how to get out from under the pile of magazines. These tips also apply to catalogs and newspapers, so read on if you are buried in paper!
