The Stupid Things You Do With Your Smartphone (and How to Fix Them) As a new smartphone owner (I refuse to call my old Garmin a smart phone, it kinda maybe let me surf the web, no downloadable apps, and I couldn't even get java jars to work worth a damn on it...), I find that this is becoming my #1 pet peeve. I don't really give a damn about new email, 95% of the time, I'm reading it from my computer, not my phone. And only when I want to read it, not as soon as somebody sends me something. Evidently I'm too old school, I'm used to being able to read texts by just looking at my phone, and not this scroll the message in notifications and turn off the screen in one or two seconds that seems to happen. I understand that some people don't give a crap about texts, it's email they're worried about, or FB or Twitter, or LinkedIn or something else. As far as #6, that's been going on in my family before smart phones.
The 10 O’Clock Rule This is a nifty one, simple to implement and, in my experience, surprisingly effective. Set your watch to beep every night at 10 o’clock. When your watch goes off, get up that instant and prepare for morning. Whether you’re in the middle of watching a DVD, rushing to meet a work deadline, reading that one last blog entry, etc., get up and get rolling. Your Morning Prep Checklist In addition to brushing up, walking the dog, and otherwise getting ready for bed as usual, do as many morning tasks as you can ahead of time: Plan breakfast and make sure the fridge is stocked (if necessary, run out to the grocery store to stock up on milk, eggs, etc.) Once you’ve figured out which tasks can be done, write them down on an index card and keep it handy. Organize Your Space I inherited a lovely little stand for hanging out your outfit, wallet, and keys for the next day from my grandfather. This 10 o’clock routine might take anywhere between 30 minutes and an hour. Reap the Benefits Photo by jmv.
How to Train Your Brain to Stay Focused As an entrepreneur, you have a lot on your plate. Staying focused can be tough with a constant stream of employees, clients, emails, and phone calls demanding your attention. Amid the noise, understanding your brain’s limitations and working around them can improve your focus and increase your productivity. Our brains are finely attuned to distraction, so today's digital environment makes it especially hard to focus. Related: 8 Tips for Finding Focus and Nixing Distractions While multitasking is an important skill, it also has a downside. To make matters worse, distraction feels great. Related: The Truth About Multitasking: How Your Brain Processes Information Ultimately, the goal is not constant focus, but a short period of distraction-free time every day. Try these three tips to help you become more focused and productive: 1. In order to focus effectively, reverse the order. 2. Related: 4 Ways to Disconnect and Get More Done Without Unplugging Completely 3.
The Power Of Typography — Creating Exciting And Unusual Visual Hierarchies Advertisement Layout, for both print and screen, is one of the most important aspects of graphic design. Designs that extend across multiple pages or screens, whether containing large or small amounts of type, must be carefully controlled in a way that is enticing and is easy for all to access. Careful control of visual hierarchy is a key aspect of the design decisions we have to consider. In this article, we will look at how frequently type needs to be broken down into different levels, such as topic, importance and tone of voice. We will explore how this can be achieved visually by relying on several things: texture and tone, seeing the designer as reader, combining typefaces, using color, employing multiple types and, of course, using the grid. The Designer As Reader Letterforms make words, and words have meaning. Rebecca Foster’s1 poster for the Young Vic theatre in the UK demonstrates a dramatic use of language, with a clever double meaning. Texture And Tone Colorful Type Useful Links
How to Get Rid of People Who've Overstayed Their Welcome These all assume that the person who is overstaying is able to pick up on the cues. I had a former co-worker who was somewhere on the Aspergers/Autism spectrum and couldn't pick up on subtle cues. He would be standing in my office talking to me as I collected materials, shut down my computer, picked up things, stood up, and walked to my door and stood in the hallway — and he would still keep talking to me. I finally learned that I just had to be polite but direct: "I'm sorry, but right now I have to go to a meeting," or "I'm in the middle of something right now — can we talk a bit later?" I always felt as though I was being horrifically rude to him, but it was the best way to communicate with him — so you have to keep in mind whether the person is capable of understanding the cues you're giving them.
Create your own virtual writing retreat | Remembering English Sadly, lately my writing has taken a backseat to everything else. So last week, I decided that I would use the long holiday weekend for an unofficial writing retreat. “Unofficial” essentially means that I didn’t need to apply, travel, or formally do anything other than pledge to write — perfect for such a last-minute decision. When I mentioned this to my friend Wendy Call, an alumna of Hedgebrook, she too was up for the idea; she’d already been part of a more formal virtual retreat, Hedgebrook Writes (a brilliant idea). Writing time is precious and necessary, but let’s face it — we can’t always leave home; we can’t always plan ahead. It was a great weekend overall, and I learned a few things that will make my next one even better. - Just do it. - Gather your fellow writers together. - Clear the decks. - Create your space. - Stay offline. - Give yourself guidelines. - Afterward, assess the pros and cons, the highs and lows. - Schedule retreats often.
21 Chrome Web apps for serious work | Applications The Chrome browser is rapidly gaining fans and developers are responding by creating apps that will help keep you productive in Google's browser. Add these 21 apps to a Chromebook, and you'll have great tools for working anywhere. Some of these apps, like Citrix Receiver, will run only on a Chromebook. Most, however, will run in the Chrome browser on any OS, and some are just links to a Web page. Google Chromebooks, by the way, keep gaining features that make them more appealing as thin clients in a business setting.
Don’t Wait for Layoffs or a Job Search to Update Your Resume Not sure weekly is necessary, unless you're in a really volatile environment. But I agree with the premise of the article, and review mine at least annually. (I've been with the same employer for 8.5 years.) Usually around annual review time. Length of employment means little when "restructuring" is forecast, I was given notice after 9 years (no severance) — my department was never considered critical. Updating a resume weekly isn't as productive as keeping track of week to week successes that can be used to propagate several target resumes: a record that can also be used during annual review time. Being "let-go" creates an awful feeling of being useless.
Afternoon Energy Boosters Feeling lazy after lunchtime? Follow these tips for beating the afternoon energy slump. Why do I need to register or sign in for WebMD to save? We will provide you with a dropdown of all your saved articles when you are registered and signed in. Does this sound familiar? What's Causing the Afternoon Slump? First, you should understand where that sudden crash probably came from. WebMD's sleep expert, Michael J. But don't blame it all on your body's internal clock -- your body makes you sleepy, but your own eating habits may make you fatigued -- for a double whammy leading to a massive energy crash. If you're feeling sluggish in the early afternoon, ask yourself these questions: Continue reading below... Did I eat breakfast? Your answers may point to the problem. Foods for an Energy Boost If you want to beat the midafternoon slump, start first thing in the morning with a good-quality breakfast.
Inventer avec Office Inventer avec Office Si Thomas Edison, les frères Wright, l'équipe d'Apollo 11 ou Thomas Jefferson avaient utilisé les produits Office pour respectivement inventer l'ampoule, voler, aller sur la lune ou écrire la déclaration d'indépendance, voici ce que ça aurait donné. On y croit ! [Source et photo] Vous avez aimé cet article ? Top 10 Ways to Upgrade Your Music-Listening Experience A few things from the article to address: For PC users, Mediamonkey is almost without rival for organizing your files. It tags album art and other metadata straight from Amazon. One click. Secondly, the suggestion of a USB DAC is spot-on. Fine - three things: Get some actual speakers. Also, there is no shame in using lossless or lossy. Habit Labs The Pen & Paper: the most underrated creativity and productivity tool I decided to write this entire article up using a pen and paper, with the intention of typing it up once I was done. I only got about four paragraphs in before my hand started to ache, and my paper was a mess of scrawls, crossed out sentences, quickly becoming more and more illegible as I went further down the page. The last time I wrote something of this length by hand was probably in university during an exam, and I can’t imagine how I did it then. But there is something to be said for the simplicity of the pen and paper. Whether it’s a mundane to-do list or the beginnings of a best-selling novel, using a pen and paper can be very satisfying, if not a little messy. I may not write up long one thousand word articles using a pen and paper, but there are many other situations where putting pen to paper is a more satisfying, more organised, and potentially a more creative experience. The Practicality of Pen and Paper Getting More Done I’ve tried a lot of different productivity methods.
7 Ways to Burn Out Before 30 10inShare52 Think professionals don’t hit job burnout until mid-to-late career? And that the typical professional with burnout already has a couple of kids and a massive mortgage before “the grind” finally gets them? Actually, burned-out careerists come in all ages and management levels. With the demands of the global economy, conference calls with co-workers around the globe, and the endless stream of emails, it’s even more likely you’ll hit job burnout early on in your career. The good news is that by understanding a few simple warning signs of job burnout, you can either avoid burnout entirely or reignite your career so you’ll achieve a higher level of satisfaction and performance. And by understanding the paths to burnout, you’ll reap benefits like: Ease – You’ll know which opportunities to follow and which to avoid when headhunters or other professional contacts get in touch Freedom – You’ll have freedom to live your career on your own terms versus someone else’s 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.