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Personal Productivity
Spentable: Track Your Expenses Quickly and Easily [Giveaway]
Feb 27th
You buy a cup of coffee every morning, and you probably think it doesn’t amount to much. How much does it really add up to during the course of a month? Then you make a bunch of impulse buys. It really adds up and those coffees and impulse buys may have tipped you over the edge of your monthly budget…but it’s too late! You only notice the cost is significant afterwards!
It’s usually the reason we don’t have much money left towards the end of the month and when “tax season” is approaching we ask ourselves, “Where did my money go?“
Enter Spentable.
Let’s take a look to see how Spentable can help us to track expenses. It’s available on Android and iOS. The basic version is free and there is a pro version that provides many more features.
How to use Spentable to track your expenses
Spentable has some pre-created categories for your spending. The default categories are food, transport social and retail. To record what you have spent, simply select the category and type in the amount. This makes it simple to segregate your spending into different areas. It shows you how much you have spent and how much you have left in your monthly budget. Before you make a purchase, add it into the app and you can see if you will go over budget.
Customize and adjust your budget
Do you have extra categories that you want to add or want to adjust the amount of your monthly budget? Press the “cog” in the top right corner and from there you can create new categories and set the budget. You can even export the data to a file and send it by email to use elsewhere. (Note: These options are only available in the pro version.)
Track your history
To see an overview of your spending, press the button on the top left and it switches to a list view, detailing everything that you have spent. Made a mistake in one of your entries? You can delete it by swiping across the incorrect entry and you will be given a delete button to remove it. At the bottom, your total spending for that month is displayed. You can scroll through the months to look back at your spending habits.
Spentable is a convenient, in-your-pocket app that helps you to track your expenses and make purchasing decisions. Spentable helps you to see how your spending is distributed so that you can rebalance if necessary. And because it’s an app, it can always be in your pocket — making it easy to form a habit to track your spending.
Free offer for 30 Lifehack readers
We’re giving out free copies of the pro versions of Spentable for Android and iPhone to the first 30 people who register using the following form:
Click here to register for Spentable
And if you miss out on the pro version, give the free one a try. It very well could be the app that saves you time — and money.
Hoi Wan is a mobilist who blogs about smartphone trends and analytics. He is also an avid home cook and sports enthusiast. Hoi has lived and worked in the UK, Japan, Hong Kong and USA and holds a BA in Sport and Recreation and an MBA. You can see his profile on LinkedIn or follow him on Twitter.
The Need for Work/Life Balance
Feb 27th
Do you work over 40 hours a week and still feel like you can’t get everything done? We have all been there. You are sitting at your desk saying…
“If I just could work 3 more hours today, or 10 more hours this week I could get all this work done.”
Then you sit there hour after hour, day after day and the work is still there, but you are more stressed out because your productivity has gotten even worse. Why, you wonder, is this happening?
We all think the solution is to just work more hours. While this sometimes works in the short term, it can have dire consequences in the long run. The problem with such long hours of focused concentration is the burnout that we have all experienced at one time or another. Especially if you are a freelancer, you have to be extra conscious of how you spend your time and you can’t afford to make these mistakes. You don’t have the security of a regular job – if you are not putting in the time, you are not getting paid. However, at the same time you don’t want overwork yourself up to the point where you are burned out.
Balance of uptime and downtime
We all need to strike a balance between our work lives and our personal lives. It is far better to have eight hours of productive, focused work than 16 hours of unfocused staring at the screen. As much as we would like to think that we can work 24/7 if we just put our minds to it – we can’t. Balance in your life means you are well rested, you don’t feel the need for coffee or stimulants to keep you going and you are able to focus on your own. You will generally feel everything is doable and you don’t have any excessive stress.
When we talk about balance in our lives we are talking about the proportions of uptime and downtime in our daily routine. Uptime is anything that requires you to think. This is what we all do when we are “working.” These are traditionally “left brain” activities such as processing emails, taking notes and analyzing information.
Downtime is anything you consider “fun” and does not require a lot of conscious thought. However, this need for balance can be a subjective idea. One person’s downtime could be another’s work drudgery and vice versa.
Switch it up
It is important to actively schedule breaks into our work day. Make sure they are short periods of true mental disengagement. Professional athletes call this performing “dissociative activities.” They know they need to balance periods of extreme concentration with a completely different activity. If you could see the locker rooms of many pro athletes during breaks on practice days, you would see them playing video games or watching movies. Even though their bodies are still clad in their uniforms their brains are completely removed from the previous tasks and are completely focused on something else.
These activities may seem to us to be mindless and without real purpose. You may think playing a short computer game on your computer during work hours when you have a 10 minute break is not a good use of your time, but it is the changing of thought patterns that is exactly what your neural pathways need.
When we are trying to insert these types of activities into our daily personal lives we can do things in our off hours such as getting a massage, catching up with friends, shopping or learning a new skill. Using the right side of the brain in creative pursuits such as art can be tremendously relaxing for this very reason.
The need for balance varies from person to person and depends on your attention span. Find out how much balance you need. During the work day, experiment on small breaks at different times and find what works best for you. Most people need 15 minutes of rest every 90 minutes of work in a day, and at least one day a week, and one week a quarter off. When you discover the pattern of breaks and rest that allows you to remain focused and productive you will have reduced your stress level and you will have more consistency in your daily routines. This self-management tip is key for your personal success and I hope that you will incorporate this into your life.
(Photo credit: Scales with Work and Life via Shutterstock)
+Thanh Pham is an obsessed productivity geek, systems thinker, blogger, avid reader and a world traveler. He specializes in time management for organizations and personal productivity for executives. Read more about him over at Asian Efficiency.
How to Avoid Molehills & Start Climbing Mountains
Feb 27th
A friend of mine recently completed a large project in his job.
It took him 6 months to complete. When he finished it, he felt great.
However, he soon conveyed to me some regret.
Looking back he realized that this large endeavor did not further his business.
In fact, the feel-good project really did not do much of anything.
He had spent 6 months of effort working on what turned out to be a molehill.
Are you concentrating on climbing the mountains in life… or are you busy shoveling molehills?
Molehills Are Easy
When we look at what we are doing at work and home, it can be easy to get caught up in the small things.
The many little tasks that take up our time each day.
Some are necessary. Others not so much.
It can be easy to get pre-occupied with the molehills.
They can take over our time and lives.
Sometimes we attack the molehills because they are easier.
Other times, because they are more apparent and right in front of us.
However, you need to step back to get a bigger look at what matters.
Only then do you see the mountains.
I recently took a hard look at my TMN website activities and found many molehills. These were little things that were taking up my time, but really weren’t important.
My molehills…
- Wanting to update the graphics and layout on my site
- Playing with the latest software or gadget
- Endlessly tweaking back-end settings on my site
I may want to do these things.
Some of them are entertaining and fun. But, they aren’t important in the big picture.
The mountains I should be climbing are…
- Writing my book
- Starting my webinar/podcast series
- Publishing articles with top-tier sites to gain a larger audience
- Collaborating with my peers in the industry
These are the things that will show dramatic results over the long term.
It’s important to step over the molehills, and concentrate on the big things.
Mountains Are Big For a Reason
The irony is that mountains are often so big, that we fail to see them.
They fade into the landscape and we are left staring at the molehills.
Here are my tips on “How to Avoid the Molehills and Climb Mountains:”
- Take a Step Back – Often the best way to get a better perspective is to take a break and step back. You may think you were climbing a mountain, but in reality you were tending to a molehill on the side of the mountain.
- Get a Second Opinion – You may be so vested in the project at hand that you cannot be objective. Seek the opinion of a trusted friend. Someone outside the situation who can give you the true lay of the land from their vantage point.
- Pick the Path Less Travelled – The well-worn path is that way for a reason. Often, it is the easy route that others have taken. If you want to do big things, you need to choose your own path.
- Get Organized - Going on a mountain climbing expedition takes planning, organization, and strategy. One of your first priorities should be to get on top of your workload and obligations. If you don’t know your load, you won’t make it up the mountain.
- Think Bigger - To the person who has never seen a mountain, it can be easy to mistake the molehills for such. Make sure your goals and dreams are big enough.
- Don’t Settle -Many people spend their whole lives shoveling molehills because they settle for them. If you don’t push yourself, you will always end up with the small molehills. I promise, you are stronger than you think.
- Molehills Often Look Fun - The truth is that many molehills are fun. The latest project or shiny gadget can be tempting. Soon you are abandoning what is most important to play with the latest “hot topic.”
- Get Uncomfortable – Accomplishing big things is not easy. Climbing mountains is hard work. You will have to leave your comfort zone. After all, that is where the molehills are.
- Delegate the Molehills – One of the best ways to avoid the molehills is to have someone else deal with them. Delegate, outsource, or have a service deal with the molehills. This can be done at all levels. In the most literal sense, it is paying someone to mow the lawn so that you can do bigger things.
Climb the Mountains
What are you spending your time on?
Are you shoveling your way through molehills?
Doing things that really don’t matter in the long run.
Or are you attacking big, life-altering things?
Forget the molehills.
There are mountains out there!
Q: Do you spend too much of your time on the molehills in life? What are the mountains you should be climbing?
The Benefits of Taking Quick Getaways
Feb 27th
I just came back from a quick getaway and it was such a worthwhile experience. Today with increasing financial constraints, which limits many people from taking longer, farther vacations, the quick getaway is a fantastic option.
No need for many vacation days
The quick getaway does not require taking a week’s worth of vacation days. It can be done over a long weekend or even just a normal two-day weekend. My latest trip was just two nights away.
One can save up vacation days for those future longer trips further from home. Even a two-night trip can result in adequate recharging of the batteries. Such a break allows me to return with more productivity. I came back from this trip totally satisfied, refreshed and ready for normal life again.
The short getaways also teach you to pack efficiently as well as use some healthy habits during travels so that you become more prepared when the time comes to take longer vacations. Think of them as test trips before that big voyage you will take someday.
No need for expensive flights or hotels
Although it certainly is possible to fly to a destination for a quick getaway like I have in the past such as short trips to Florida for some scuba diving, many quick getaways can be done through driving within say six to eight hours each way. My recent trip was a pleasant six-hour drive from Toronto to Montreal where I met up with a few local friends. We then drove down to Vermont the next day which is just two hours away for a day of awesome snow skiing.
I stayed at a very reasonably priced hotel in Montreal and my CAA/AAA card got me a very nice discount. The chain of hotel I stayed at provides free breakfasts in the morning, which helped me, save on my meals.
Catching up with friends is socially satisfying
On this trip, I got to catch up with my Montreal friends whom I see maybe only once per year. This made the trip very rewarding from a social point of view as I think it is very important to reconnect with friends who live out of town.
Indeed, friends will always feel great that you have made the time and effort to travel out to see them in their home cities. These same friends can also help you keep updated with the latest happenings in their cities whether it is the latest events or shopping opportunities.
During my trip, I got together a few of my local friends and they have never met each other before. So my social get-together provided them new local social connections as well.
Expanding your horizons makes you more interesting
Upon returning home, the experiences you get during your quick getaways will make you a more interesting person in the eyes of the folks you work and socialize with back in your home territory. They often want to know how your trip was and in my case, my fellow snow skiers back home were very interested to hear what my report was of the place where I skied at in Vermont.
Instead of spending yet another weekend at home, I chose to go somewhere for a quick trip to not only socialize with a few out of town friends, but to also experience something or some place new. This was certainly the case as it was my first trip in the part of Vermont I went to. With just two days of regional travel, I expanded my own horizons.
So to get similar benefits that a standard long vacation would usually provide, one does not necessarily have to take entire weeks off at a time. Instead, short getaways can result in the same type of benefits and one can even possibly take more of them throughout the year without digging really deep into the finances.
Conclusion
Consider all the different places you can travel to within say an eight hour drive radius and make a few of these your future quick getaways. These types of trips are great for the soul and easy on the bank account.
Feel free to share in the comments section below some of the quick getaways you have taken or would like to take in the future.
(Photo credit: Landscape of snow and snow-covered pine trees via Shutterstock)
Clint Cora is a motivational speaker, author & Karate World Champion based near Toronto, Canada. Get his FREE 3-part Personal Development Video Series on how to expand your comfort zone and finally conquer even your most daunting goals in life.
2×4: An Interview With Gabe Weatherhead
Feb 26th
Run an interview series long enough and you start to see trends emerge. In the case of these 2×4 interviews, a clear, recurring theme has emerged. Those who tell me that they “aren’t all that creative” when I request the interview end up offering some of the best perspective of the series. Today’s interviewee, Gabe Weatherhead of Macdrifter, is no exception.
I first learned of Gabe’s work through fellow 2×4 participant David Sparks’ Mac Power Users podcast. He tends to focus in on an app and learns how to make the most out of it. It was his impressive efforts with Keyboard Maestro that caught David and his co-host Katie Floyd’s attention. When they wanted to do a full episode on Keyboard Maestro, they decided to bring him in to guide Mac users through the application. Gabe is not only knowledgable, but he excels at making things clear in a way that even the code-free amongst us can benefit.
I’d go on, but frankly, I’m just keeping you from some excellent answers to some rather straightforward questions. So without further ado, here’s one of my favorite entries to date in this series courtesy of Gabe Weatherhead from Macdrifter.
Creativity
Have you always considered yourself a creative person?
I think everyone is a creative person. It’s what defines us as human beings. We can’t escape it. Anyone that has found themselves stuck in a bathroom without tissue knows how creative they can be.
In all seriousness, it’s my opinion that, as we become adults, we become more effective at pushing down creativity in exchange for efficiency. Occasionally those two aspects are mutually exclusive but some of us lack the ability to know when. I think when I am enjoying my work I am more creative because I’m not looking for a quick resolution. I’m looking for a better resolution. I have a good sense of my limits and no problem telling people “no.” The shorter my task list, the more freedom I have to be creative.
What mediums and inspirations do you gravitate toward to realize your creative goals?
I am a scientist by training and view problems through that lens. The natural world provides an essentially infinite supply of inspirational solutions to problems.
When thinking about problems, I tend to anthropomorphize the inanimate. I’ve always done this. When I was a chemist, I related to chemical reactions as human interactions. For example, I think about how one molecular construct has a preference for another. Or how two molecules might be encouraged to react by the right catalyst. Now that I spend more time being a hack programmer, I think in the same way. I say things like “how would this application talk to this one?” or “who needs to talk to this method and what language are they speaking?” Personally, I think this is what enables me to deal with extremely abstract ideas.
If you had to point to one thing, what specific posts or creations are you most proud of and why?
My daughter is my single greatest achievement. But I have other things I like too. Oddly, I don’t really take pride in my posts at Macdrifter.com. I like writing there and try to do a good job, but I don’t think I’m particularly good at writing. What I do take pride in is making things people find useful. I really enjoy comments and emails where people share how they are using a small piece of something I’ve done. I do have a list of highlight posts but they are a list of things I had fun writing, rather than a list of what I think is good. I guess I just don’t respect my opinion much.
Any suggestions for those who feel they may not be creative enough to unlock their inner artist?
Get over it. There’s no such thing. Some people have a better perception of shapes and colors or a steadier hand. That’s just biology. There are very few humans that are truly and uniquely inspired and that quality usually comes at a high price. As far as I know, only a serious brain injury can suddenly change our innate skills. I’ll skip that option.
I have three suggestions to have more fun doing better work.
I try to take the time to really appreciate things around me. At one point in my life, I enjoyed painting and sketching. Through that experience, I learned to stop and think about the shape and colors of things. I would wonder how I could reproduce a particular color or shadow effect. Now I try to do the same. When I read a Gruber article or a Horace analysis, I try to think about what makes it so good. What makes a superior sentence or argument?
It’s hard but I try to get to the nut first and then elaborate. Too often I will ramble (like now) before getting to my point. I’m more effective if I outline first and then go in and elaborate the thought or project. Afterward, I go back and cut unnecessary material.
Relax and enjoy the work. Just as there are few people that are uniquely skilled, there are also few jobs or problems that are actually critical. We’ve been screwing things up throughout history. There are very few bad choices that really matter on a grand scale. If I’m not enjoying the work, then I’m thinking about it too much or I’ve chosen the wrong work.
Productivity
Can you describe your current personal and professional responsibilities?
I’m a dad and a husband first and I’m a “Lead Systems Engineer” second. I have no idea what that title is supposed to mean. My daily job is to plan, design and implement software solutions for research scientists at a pharmaceutical company. I focus on things like chemistry applications and electronic laboratory notebooks. My job is a hybrid between project manager, scientist and software engineer. My day consists of Gantt charts, chemical structures and code (mostly Python/SQL/JavaScript/VBScript).
I have far too many hobbies to list but I brew and collect beer and enjoy Mac hacking. I prefer to teach myself something new before I will pay someone else to do it for me. That means I do a bit of everything. I cook, make cabinetry and wire networks. I’m not great at any of them, but it makes me appreciate a master at work.
How do you go about balancing the personal, professional and digital?
I try not to over-think it too much but my family always comes first. I have organized my schedule so I can come home early (I’m up by 4:30am). After work I get about an hour to practice code or work on a personal project before I pick up my daughter from school. My wife is in law school so I carry a bit more load at home. That means making dinner, giving baths and lots of dancing with a 3-year-old.
I forfeited what I would consider a successful career as a scientist to make sure my life was constructed around things that are important to me. That includes family, hobbies and principles. It’s liberating to know that I’ve already done some of the scariest things I will do in my life. Either that or I’m blissfully ignorant. I’ll take either.
What tools and techniques do you find yourself counting on to get through your workload?
Here comes the nerdery. I use Markdown. A lot. It keeps my work structured but without making it overly complex or fiddly. I write emails in Markdown and I take notes in Markdown. It’s Markdown all the way down.
That leaves me plenty of time to fiddle with other applications though. I benefit from OmniFocus and the Reminders app with Siri. I’m forced to work in a locked Windows environment (read: NO DROPBOX) all day so I bridge that world with MS Exchange integration with iOS and Simplenote. So basically, I still rely on OS X and iOS even though 90% of my work is done on Windows.
I also think tinkering has received a bad rap. It’s disparaged as being unproductive or procrastination in some circles. I think it leads to discovery. It has provided me with a comfort and familiarity with my tools. It’s ok to sit and sharpen an axe if you intend to use it. I spend plenty of time writing little scripts to use while I write. It’s made me more comfortable in my chosen tools. Learning some amount of scripting has been incredibly valuable to me. Anyone can learn to write Python or Ruby. Not Perl though. That’s for the criminally insane.
I offload as much as I can to my iPad. Instead of keeping my mail open on my work computer, I use my iPad. It reduces the Pavlovian email response and keeps me focused on work. I occasionally take notes on paper but I always transcribe to my iPad. I also use my iPad for task management throughout the day. The iPad is the logical conclusion of the PalmPilot and OmniFocus is the pinnacle of task management on iOS.
What is the best starting point for the unproductive amongst us, who are looking to get more organized?
I’m no expert. I’m also not comfortable saying what other people should do. For me, I find the things I enjoy and incorporate those into my work. I get more done when I enjoy the work. Sure, a nice pen doesn’t write more, but it will make me hold that pen more which precipitates more writing or sketching. The same goes for a well-designed app or webpage.
The single best thing I have done to help keep me organized was to get married. The second best thing was to get a ScanSnap scanner and go paperless as much as possible. I try to avoid any paper and I prefer to buy eBooks whenever I can.
Finally, I don’t follow movements. I prefer to focus on what makes me happy. I don’t cut things out to achieve an ideal. I just spend more time with the things I like. I do the parts of GTD I like. I don’t clean my desk to be minimal. I don’t have inbox-zero. Movements and mantras are insidious and counterproductive to me.
Michael Schechter is a Mac geek who rambles about how technology impacts our productivity, our creativity and our lives. You can connect with him over on his blog Schechter or as @MSchechter on Twitter.
Why Getting Things Done is the Best Productivity System
Feb 25th
David Allen’s Getting Things Done book has been around for over ten years now and has totally changed the way that many knowledge workers work and play. The system has helped me and many editors and contributors here at Lifehack get their most important work done on a daily, monthly, weekly, and “lifely” basis.
See Also: GTD Leaders: A Lifehack Exclusive Interview with David Allen and Mike Williams
But, what if (this is a big what if) there was something better out there than GTD for increasing your productivity while decreasing your life’s overwhelm? What if there is something better and fits the way that the knowledge worker’s lifestyle works?
Well, you can stop worrying and looking. I’m here to tell you that the GTD is the best productivity system because it can be adapted to fit your lifestyle, has the over-arching models that you can use for a lifetime, and contains two secrets weapons of personal productivity.
Sometimes difficult to grok
One of the main reasons that people give up on GTD, especially at first, is that there seems to be a lot to it. “You mean I have to go out and buy a labeler, filing cabinet, sticky notes, some list making apps, and better pens?” No, not unless you want to. Mr. Allen’s book suggests getting some gear to get things started but you don’t have to do it, you can start GTDing with a crappy notebook and pen.
Another thing GTD suggests is taking a full two days to collect and process everything in your personal and professional life. I remember reading that and think, “how in the hell is that even possible? I’ve got too much stuff to do and I want to get it done now!” While giving yourself two full days to clean out and clean up your life would be awesome, you can get started by collecting and processing as you go.
The idea of next actions and projects can be foreign (although welcomed!) to someone that has used daily todo lists to accomplish things in the past. Some people get stuck and confused with having so many lists and things on those lists. Mostly this is due to lack of completing proper weekly reviews. Once one settles in with GTD, collects and organizes things into the right lists, and then reviews it consistently the confusion will go away.
GTD takes time and practice to understand and use. But, after some time it becomes second nature to the practitioner. This is only with the help from the models that Mr. Allen has created.
Mr. Allen created a model
Some people think that Mr. Allen “created” the ideas behind GTD. That’s not really true. What we can give him his credit for is identifying the things that busy professionals and humans do to get more done with the least amount of effort and stress. He then put these principals together and created a model for productivity.
Rather than doing what many productivity gurus did before him, Mr. Allen decided that approaching your work from a bottom up approach was the fastest way to make yourself more productive as quickly as possible. After “clearing your decks” with your next actions and identifying your projects, it was then easier to recognize your larger life goals and what your life meant. Then you modify your projects to meet those goals.
Mr. Allen gave us the Five Phases of Workflow (Collect, Process, Organize, Review, and Do), The Natural Planning Model for creating and moving forward on projects, The 2-minute rule, and many other things that we can utilize to Get Things Done.
These ideas were always there; Mr. Allen was smart and creative enough to put them all together in a nice package. The models of GTD help make it the best productivity system because one can always go back to the “basics” of the system to get back to a state of flow in their work and life.
Other alternatives
There are some alternatives out there to GTD like Master Your Workday Now (also the One Minute Todo List), GSD, Getting Results the Agile Way, ZTD, and many others. The thing is that almost all of these either take things from Mr. Allen’s model, or don’t encompass the bigger picture of work and life allowing many important things to fall through the cracks.
I’ve tried most of these other alternatives (albeit not for terribly long periods of time) and I always felt like something was missing. It was the complete system that GTD offers me that these alternatives didn’t cover. For instance, Getting Results the Agile Way is very interesting, but if you look into it more you will see that it is heavily based on GTD core principles. Agile Results then adds a top layer of making sure that you are geting results during your week, which really is a modified weekly review that Mr. Allen suggests in GTD.
So, it appears that the alternatives to GTD are just modified versions of Mr. Allen’s system, not completely different ideas on how to handle your work. Yes, they may work for some others, but we have to see that without GTD most of these systems wouldn’t exist in their current form making GTD a sort of pillar of productivity systems.
Spanning personal and professional
GTD doesn’t care whether your work is professional or personal. It is all work in the eyes of your system. Of course, you can segregate work tasks to home tasks and projects, but you don’t have to if you don’t want to. It all takes the same amount of “physical RAM” in your brain so it all can be treated as work, everything from “create the TPS reports” to “buy dog treats for the puppies”. It’s all considered work by GTD standards.
It’s all about the capture and the next action
I told you there were two secrets that make GTD the best productivity system around, remember? Those secrets are the act of capturing and the idea of the next action.
One of the biggest problems that GTD tries to solve is the idea of workers having too many “open loops” in their lives. Open loops are basically all of the things that we have committed ourselves to do but haven’t kept track of them in some way (other than in our fallible brains). Stress is induced when we have too many open loops at once and don’t have them captured into a system that we can trust they are in. Our minds start racing and it’s all down hill from there.
Enter, capture. Capturing allows the GTD practitioner to close the open loops in their life by writing them down and keeping them out of their mind. This is how one starts to get to the aspect of “mind like water” and starts to relieve the stress of all of the things they have kept in their mind for so long. Capturing is the key to keeping yourself sane.
Identifying the next action of any project is another secret of GTD. Seeing what the absolute next physical action is allows us to take the first step in completing a project of any size. The issue with many projects that are stalled or not yet completed is that they haven’t been thought through and the next physical action to get the project moving hasn’t been identified.
When I started to identify the next physical action I was surprised to see how quickly I could get a “stuck” project moving, no matter how little the next action really was. Things like, “call Bob to get the name of number of his accountant” is enough to spark a large project like “Form your LLC”.
Capturing and next actions are the secrets to why GTD is the best productivity system.
Conclusion
If you take in most aspects of GTD you will feel a sense of relief regarding your work and life that you haven’t felt before. GTD is the best productivity system because it spans such a wide range of use-cases and is simple and complex enough to support a personal system as well as can be used for some of your biggest projects at work.
GTD’s bottom-up approach to productivity helps you get the pressing things done in your life so you can have the energy to answer the question “what’s my life purpose?” It helps you review your progress weekly and allows you to plan effectively for the future. And with GTD’s capture and next action ideas, you can use it to instantly close open loops and move dead projects forward.
Even though the GTD has been around for a while now it still proves itself to be the best productivity system we as knowledge workers have access to.
(Photo credit: productivity or motivation reminder via Shutterstock)
How to Use Pinterest to Get Productive and Stay Motivated
Feb 24th
What is Pinterest?
For many people Pinterest is the new super-addictive time-sink. You can name and create “pin boards” of whatever you like. You can pin things you find interesting, creative, beautiful, things you want to try; pretty much anything. You can also follow people and repin the things they discover; it’s well designed to suck up your time and make you unproductive. But you can make pinterest into a useful productive and motivational tool.
Here are 4 ways to get productive with Pinterest:
Create boards for read later articles
Sometimes you don’t have time to read everything you discover. Use Pinterest to bookmark the articles. One cool thing about Pinterest is that the webpage from which you pinned the picture will be directly linked. For example, we have created several boards linking to articles of various topics (e.g. http://pinterest.com/lifehack/productivity). This makes it easier to go directly to an article you have saved for later.
Motivational boards
We’re not always productive and sometimes we need an occasional boost to get us up and running. Keep a board with motivating, inspirational pictures. And it’s a bonus if they link to articles that help you get into the right frame of mind to kickstart your motivation.
To-try lists
Have a new technique you want to try? New lifehack? New recipe? Pin it and keep it as reference for later. You can arrange your boards into different categories for the areas you want to improve (like Lifehack’s food hacks).
Collaboration & Communication
Pinterest allows you to have a shared board which is a great way to share ideas, link to useful articles for your team or other people to read. It becomes more than just pictures but a resourceful to pull from. You can comment on the articles on your own boards making it into a useful communication tool (like Lifehack’s communication hacks).
Do you have some ideas on how to use Pinterest to improve your productivity?
Hoi Wan is a mobilist who blogs about smartphone trends and analytics. He is also an avid home cook and sports enthusiast. Hoi has lived and worked in the UK, Japan, Hong Kong and USA and holds a BA in Sport and Recreation and an MBA. You can see his profile on LinkedIn or follow him on Twitter.
How to Hack Your Weekend
Feb 24th
We’re all tired once the workday ends on Friday. All we want to do is go home and get our weekend started, forgetting about what we need to do at teh office until we return on Monday.
But how often do we have a weekend where we are free to do what we want – and not what we need to do?
Think about it. You get home on a Friday night, sit down to have some dinner and then chill out for the rest of the evening. Then you get up the next day and there’s chores to do, errands to run and more of that kind of stuff that breaks up your weekend into smaller bits, never really getting a moment to revel in the time you have off.
I think it’s high time we star to hack our weekend. And here’s how you can do it.
1. Don’t Come Home Right Away on Friday
Make Friday really busy. Go grocery shopping before you come home from work – even if that means that on Fridays you either eat a late dinner or go out to eat. Get the stuff out of the way that you know needs to be taken care of (and has no set time when you have to do so) before you settle in at home for the night.
You’re giving yourself – and your weekend – a real headstart that way.
2. Make Friday Night Your Laundry Night
When you do get home, put some of the laundry in, preferably items that can sit overnight in the dryer just in case you either can’t – or don’t want to – get to them before bedtime.
If it’s early enough, start with the clothes that you know you’ll see through to completion, but make towels and bedding the stuff you do last. You can also let some of the permanent press clothes hang dry (make sure they’re only slightly damp, though) overnight and let nature do its thing while you sleep.
3. Set Aside Time for Nothingness
If you have errands to run or appointments to take care of on Saturday or Sunday, limit the blocks of time you’re willing to commit to those. That may mean that mornings on both days are when you take care of any of that stuff that works for you (or your family, if you have one).
Either way, schedule time blocks and stick to them for these kinds of things so that you can better revel in the nothingness your body and mind needs while you’re off work for a couple of days.
4. Map Out Chores During the Work Week
While Fridays are the days where you stay out to get certain things done, make the rest of your work week evenings the time when you get the chores around the house taken care of.
Sure, things like mowing the lawn and gardening may not be practical for these moments, but cleaning the bathroom, vacuuming and indoor chores are more than possible tasks that you can do before hitting the sack on weekdays – rather than sitting in front of the television like a sack instead.
5. Get Out of Town
One of the best ways you can hack your weekend is to actually get out of town during it. That way you’re not distracted by what you’re normally surrounded by, but can be in an environment that will allow you to better enjoy the weekend.
And it doesn’t have to be limited to summer activities, either. Any simple getaway can be handled with proper planning – land that planning can be done during those scheduled time blocks I mentioned earlier. Getting away while you can is a phenomenal way to prepare yourself for when you return to work on Monday.
Unless you start your work week on a Sunday, that is.
(Photo credit: Wood Chopper on the Stub via Shutterstock)
Mike Vardy is a writer, speaker, and "productivityist". Read more of his writing and learn more about him at MikeVardy.com, and you can also follow him on Twitter.
An Autodidact’s Schedule
Feb 24th
Post written by Leo Babauta.
While I’m not as big on goals as I used to be, I do get excited about learning new things.
A single blog post I read about making bread is enough to set me off into hours of research about bread-making techniques, a week of experiments in baking and kneading, a couple weeks trying to make my own wild yeast starter, and some fun moments with my family eating some fresh-baked bread (is there a better smell in the world, btw?).
Learning is one of my favorite pasttimes. It can take up my entire day if I let it. And while I’m a big advocate of focusing on one thing at a time, after a few weeks or a month of focusing on one thing, I tend to move on to another — without necessarily abandoning the last thing I was learning.
What I’m Learning
As an example, here’s a list of what I’m learning right now:
- Spanish. Still at the very beginning stage. Hola, Señor.
- Meditation. Have been doing this off and on for years, but I’ve been doing it for a few months now, every day.
- Coding. Absolute beginner. I’m taking Javascript courses from Code Academy.
- Breadmaking. Have made a few basic recipes with some success. Am now making my own wild yeast starter, and will try tougher recipes. Am also learning to cook pasta and pizza from scratch.
- Wine. Each month, Eva and I have been exploring a new kind of wine. Last month, we did Napa Valley cabs, and took a trip to Napa in January. In February, we have been exploring pinot noirs from Sonoma.
- War and Peace. I love to read. I love the Russians. I started Tolstoy’s War and Peace in December, but am only halfway through right now.
- Building muscle. I don’t normally focus on building muscle, but have started a 14-week hypertrophy program as an experiment. Just three full-body workouts a week, lots of rest, lots of calories, lots of protein.
- My business. Recently created the Zen Habits Premium Membership, am experimenting with ways to best teach things to people, including webinars, mini-courses, videos and more.
An Autodidact’s Schedule
So how do I fit all of that into a day? Well, honestly, I don’t always. Some days I’ll focus on one or two things, others I’ll do a little of each. I don’t like rigidness, and want the freedom and flexibility to let my interest and enthusiasm take me where it will.
That said, I’ve been working lately with a rough schedule. It’s not set in stone, but having a loose schedule helps me to keep everything going.
Here’s what it is right now (subject to change at any time):
- Morning: Meditate, read, write/create, workout/yoga/stretch.
- Afternoon: Language, code, read.
- Evening: Bake/cook, language, wine.
I tend to do anywhere from 5 minutes to an hour for each one, but if other things come up and I can get to some of them, that’s OK.
How I Learn
I learn not as a chore to check off my list, nor as a route to self-improvement, but because I’m excited about something. That’s the only way to learn, in my experience.
Some other things I’ve been learning in recent months:
- Tea.
- Beer.
- Neapolitan pizza.
- San Francisco, by exploring by foot.
- Fat loss.
- WordPress themes, CSS.
- Book publishing.
- Squats & deadlifts.
Here’s how I usually approach learning:
- Read. It will usually start through reading — I read a lot each day, and it’s pretty varied. If I get excited about something, I might read about it all day, or for a week or two. Mostly through blogs and other websites, but sometimes through books.
- Do. The best way to learn isn’t by reading, though — it’s through actual doing. The mistake some people make is they just read about something, but it’s when you actually use the knowledge that it becomes real, that you find other problems that you have to solve, that you learn all the things that go along with main idea. If I don’t put something into practice, I don’t really care about learning about it.
- Socialize. The best learning is social. When I bake bread, it’s for my family. When I learn Spanish or coding, it’s with my son. When I meditate, it’s with my Zen Habits members. Sometimes I learn alone (Tolstoy, the gym), but it’s more fun to learn with someone else, even if they’re only online.
- Practice. Just doing something for a week never really teaches me something. I have to do it repeatedly for weeks or month or years. Writing, for example, is something I’ve done practically every day for two decades. I’ve learned more about that than almost anything else.
- Love. Everything I learn is learned with love. It’s a way to experience my love for life, the wondrous gift we’ve been given. It’s a way to practice my love for myself, or my love for others. If learning is infused with love, it becomes a practice you won’t want to stop.
Warning: You Have Entered the Burnout Zone
Feb 24th
Living and working in a state of burnout has become the norm in our society. Sadly it’s so common that we fail to recognize the signs. We barely even notice anything is wrong. Stress and exhaustion are now a way of life. Yet, we are making a serious mistake than can have severe consequences.
What does it mean to be “burned out?”
Burnout is a state of overwhelming exhaustion; mental, emotional and physical. It can be caused by work pressures, lifestyle factors, even certain personality traits. It’s more than everyday stress. Burnout is characterized by overpowering, unrelenting stress over a long period. The mind and body are so beaten down that simple daily functioning seems like an overwhelming burden.
Being burned out has a tremendous impact on both your physical health and mental well-being. As the extreme stress continues, the result is often life altering illness, depression, and a pervasive sense of extreme failure. Essentially, there is nothing left to give and the body starts shutting down.
Beware the warning signs of burnout
The first step is being aware of the warning signs that signal burnout. We frequently dismiss or rationalize them away. We are just dedicated to our jobs, honoring our commitments, or being a good parent, child, or friend. Those are merely our justifications so that we can go on doing what we’ve been doing.
We need to pay attention to the signs.
Mental signs:
• A pervasive sense of failure and self-doubt
• Feeling helpless, incompetent and defeated
• Loss of motivation and interest in your job, hobbies or family
• A very negative, irritable and impatient attitude
• Lack of a sense of satisfaction and any feelings of accomplishment
• Feeling detachment and distant from the rest of the world
• Experiencing a vicious cycle of overwhelm while the world is crashing around you
• Frequent distraction and an inability to focus or be engaged in a conversation.
• A feeling of pushing yourself harder with no results
• A pattern of memory loss, forgetting where you put things or what you are doing
Physical signs:
• Extreme exhaustion and lack of energy, feeling completely drained
• Loss of appetite, interest in intimacy or insomnia
• An increase in sickness or a general feeling of unexplained illness
• Frequent headaches, back and neck pain, muscle and joint aches
Behavioral signs:
• Calling in sick for work, being late, even quitting or getting fired from your job
• Increase in conflicts both in the workplace and at home
• A general lack of self-care, skipping meals, poor eating habits, sometimes even a change in personal hygiene
• Self-imposed isolation and diminished quality of relationships
• Extreme procrastination and lack of responsibility
• Abusing alcohol, drugs, or food as a way to cope with life
What can you do?
• When you see the warning signs; pay attention. Realize that is necessary to make some changes, possibly drastic ones, depending on the causes and severity of burnout. If you don’t take steps to recover, the damage will only continue to get worse and it will be harder to avoid burnout.
• Allow more time for rest and relaxation. This may be anything from an extended vacation to a commitment to at least one day of rest each week, to negotiating less work hours.
• Adopt a more balanced lifestyle. Spend more time with people you love. Allow more time to have fun, express your creative side, and engage in activities you enjoy.
• Protect your boundaries. Say no to demands on your time by others, decrease outside commitments, and regularly disconnect from technology; phone computer, etc. The world will survive without you.
• Make it a priority to get more sleep, eat a healthier diet, and engage in regular exercise.
• Time alone is a must. Whether it’s journaling, meditation, reading, taking a walk or simply sitting quietly for a short period of time each day, you need to slow the mind and calm the body.
Conclusion
Learning how to manage stress is critical when you’re on the path to burnout. It is much easier to avoid burnout, than to recover from it.
(Photo credit: Low-key portrait of desperate office manager via Shutterstock)
Royale Scuderi is a writer, life and business coach who empowers individuals and businesses to achieve higher productivity, growth, business success and work - life balance. She offers wisdom, insight and ideas to help you get the most out of your life at Productive Life Concepts.