30 TV Multitasking Tips

I could live without a television.

Oh, sure there are a few shows I still watch regularly, but more often I am not just staring at the tube.

I am often doing stuff on my laptop at the same time.

Here's a few ideas on how to juggle a busy life and still catch your favs from DLM:

30 Ways to Make TV Watching More Productive

Posted: 19 Aug 2011 03:21 PM PDT

Do you ever hear yourself saying "I just don't have time" yet find yourself plopped in front of the TV for the better part of every evening?

As our to-do lists grow so does our stress and anxiety over getting everything done. While we can't add any more time to our day (unfortunately) we can use the time we do have in a more productive manner. Let's face it watching TV isn't that interactive or demanding. Below are 30 simple little ways to make the most of your TV watching time.

Things you can do while watching TV:

• Fold laundry - Plop the basket beside you and fold while you watch.


• Iron - Drag the ironing board and iron out into the living room and turn that mundane task into something that's a little more bearable.


• Give or get a massage - Lay on the couch or get on the floor with your significant other and give a back rub or foot massage. At each commercial break switch it up just to keep it fair.


• Stretch - Get down on the floor and stretch your legs, your back, and your arms. You'll feel great and if you're an avid TV watcher I'm pretty confident your flexibility will improve in a matter of a few weeks.


• Write out a meal plan for the week - Brainstorm some meal ideas for the coming week. You can take it a step further and create a list of go-to meals or meals you can make ahead and freeze.


• Brainstorm for a new business, a holiday, or activities to do with the kids - Don't filter ideas just write them down as they come to mind. Sometimes the best ideas come to us when we're not focused on finding the best ideas.


• Write out your Birthday cards or Christmas cards - Don't wait until the last minute to get your cards done. For most of us it takes quite a bit of time, so doing even a few each evening can lighten the load.


• Put pictures in a picture album - I'm sure I'm not the only one with a tub full of pictures that I don't know what to do with. Grab the tub of photos and start putting them in photo albums. If you want to sort them first, use a few nights of TV watching to do just that.
  

Things you can do during commercials:

• Pack the dishwasher - It doesn't take long and even if there is a pile you can do it over multiple breaks. Don't have a dishwasher? No problem. Break one: Fill the sink with warm soapy water and let the dishes soak. Break two (maybe three): Wash the dishes. After that dry them and put them away. Done.


• 10 sit-ups 10 push-ups 10 squats - TV watching is a sedentary sport. Get on the ground and get active during the commercials. It doesn't have to be much just move.


• Take out the garbage - Grab a garbage bag and go throughout the house emptying the smaller bins into it. Take the full bags outside to the garage or back door for garbage day.


• Do a quick reset of the room you're in - Commercial breaks aren't long but it's amazing how much you can get done. Pick up shoes, toys, books, magazines, dishes etc. and put them where they belong.


• Address a letter, stamp it and put it in your bag for tomorrow - Mailing letters is one task that seems to continually slip my mind. Use the commercial break to put your letter or bill payment in an envelope address it and put it in your bag so you can mail it tomorrow.


• Drink a glass of water - If you're like most people you're not drinking as much water as you should be each day. Get a tall glass add ice and fill it with cold water.


• Floss your teeth - This takes very little time and is something most of us don't do often enough. It's a little action that can be great for your health.


• Dust the furniture in the room you're in - Grab a microfiber cloth, an old sock or damp rag and run it over all flat surfaces in the room. Get under the keyboard and the DVD player. Get the top of the TV, picture frames and the backs of your chairs.


• Clean a bathroom - Fill the sink with warm soapy water, spray the tub and toilet, let it soak until the next commercial and it'll clean up super easy.


• Make a sandwich for tomorrow - The key to a smooth sailing morning is to start the night before. Make a sandwich or put together a salad, dole out some yogurt and grab a piece of fruit throw it in your bag for tomorrow and you're set to just head out the door!


• Bathroom break - Enough said ...


• Send a quick email - 2.5 to 3 minutes is usually long enough to get an email put together, if not you could get a good first draft started at least.


• Read a few pages of your book or a blog post - Hit the mute button grab your book or fire up your feed-reader.


• Write your to-do list - Give a bit of thought to what you'll do tomorrow. Think about errands that need to be run, calls that need returning, gifts to be bought and what to have for dinner.


• Choose clothes to wear tomorrow - Run to your room and decide what to wear tomorrow. Choose clothes that fit you well and that you feel great in.


• Let the dogs out - Most dogs will jump at the chance to get outside even it's only for a few minutes. Do it.


• Purge a drawer or filing cabinet - Choose a drawer that's close to where you're sitting and pull everything out of it. Toss or recycle what you don't absolutely need and put items you no longer use, need or like in a pile to donate. Put the remaining items back in an organized manner.


• Make your bed - Even if it's half an hour before bed go and make it. It's awesome getting into a bed that's made the sheets pulled tight, comforter straightened and the pillows fluffed up a bit. Heaven.


• Make a quick phone call - Call your mom, your sister, your brother or friend and make or confirm plans for tomorrow.


• Get changed into work out clothes - If you've settled in for a night of TV odds are you won't be too excited about the thought of exercise. During the first commercial break get changed into your work out gear so by the end of the show you're good to go for a bit of a work out.


• Get a healthy snack - Grab a piece of fruit, trail mix or yogurt. Make healthy choices, keep your snack size to something smaller than your fist to keep you from over-eating and eating mindlessly.


• Press mute and just sit in silence - There are very few moments during our day when we can truly sit back and enjoy the silence. Press mute and just enjoy how quiet and still everything is around you.

There are a lot of ways to be productive with very small bursts of time. Sure, you can Tivo your way passed the commercials but you may just be fast forwarding by a quick opportunity to get something done!

Choose one or two items on this list to do each evening and you just may be surprised at how many little extras you can get done.

Written on 9/26/2010 by Sherri Kruger. Sherri writes at Zen Family Habits, a blog celebrating all things family. Sherri also writes on personal development at Serene Journey, a blog dedicated to sharing simple tips to enjoy life. Republished on 8/20/2011.

Photo Credit: SFB579

24.016438356 hour Days?

I recall reading about a movement to eliminate leap year.

Theoretically, all we need to do is add 6 hours to each year, which means each day would be 24.016438356 hours long.

There's a better way to add more time to your day (from DLM):

16 Great Tips That'll Add More Hours To Your Day

Posted: 25 Apr 2011 08:36 AM PDT

Everyday it seems that one of my friends is whining about how tied up he is in his work and household chores, and how he wished he had more than 24 hours to accomplish things. As if they were placed on Earth with some lesser amount of time than the rest of us. Don't get me wrong, I have time management issues too. However, I'd like to think that I'm the one in charge of the schedule, not the tasks.

The best way to overcome this situation (and the never-ending frustration) is by doing a careful analysis of your daily schedule and figuring out how to save time by doing the same things you do every day in a slightly different way.

The following points should help you get started. Oh, and please: don't do all of these tomorrow. Choose one or two that are simple to implement. Once you see some gains, revisit this article and grab two more and implement those. Time issues cannot be solved with a shotgun approach, you have to selectively and carefully target what needs to be tweaked.

Ok, so enough monologue. Here are some ideas to get you started.

Work From Home When You Can
Working from home sure saves time. Try and convince your boss to let your work from home for few days a month. And if she does agree, you should take a look at our posts on staying productive and beating the stress when working from home.

Make Use Of Your Commute
Can't get rid of the long commute? Boss won't let you work from home? Well, then make the most out of your commute. Reading a book, listening to a good podcast or catching up to the DLM feed in your RSS reader....there are just so many ways to utilize that time.

Spend Less Time Looking At Your Inbox
I have talked before about managing your email productively. If you are able to do that successfully, it could go a long way in adding time to your busy schedule.

Outsource Errands
We don't often realize that paying bills and running errands could suck up a good bit of time from our 24-hour days. May be you could outsource them to a local service, or find someone on a site like Mechanical Turk and have him do it for you. Maybe you go as far as finding a virtual assistant.

Use the Best Tools Of Your Trade
No matter what work you do, there are always tools available to make your job quicker and easier. The important thing is to know about them. For example, a list like this could come in really handy for web workers. So, tab into your inner autodidact and find the right tools of your trade.

Use Windows Productivity Tricks
Using a Windows PC? Implement these essential Windows productivity tricks to make your everyday computing a better experience.

Deal With RSS Feeds Productively
RSS Feeds could end up consuming a lot of time if they are not managed well. Our posts on avoiding RSS overload and getting good with Google Reader should help.

Use a Good Password Manager
A password manager can speed up the task of registering on sites and creating strong passwords. You should definitely start using one of these 8 amazing password managers.

Get a Good Startpage
A well crafted startpage can help you start off the day productively by letting you take care of multiple tasks from a single page. Try one of these 6 startpages and see how it pans out for you.

Be More Productive At Online Shopping
Shopping - even if it's online - could be one of the most unproductive exercises during a 24-hour period. And it's not usually avoidable either. We can't stop buying, can we? But we can be better (and faster) at it for sure.

Delegate Tasks Whenever You Can
Delegating tasks you are not good at (or you don't enjoy doing) can be a big time saver. Granted it's not easy but there's no harm in trying. Start with these four steps we talked about previously.

Make Use Of Your Offline Time
Are you one of those who can't figure out what to do if your internet is down? I don't blame you. We are just too hooked to the world wide web these days. But offline time can, and should be utilized. You can do a number of productive things during that time.

Don't Multitask
If you remember my productivity myths article, the very first myth I talked about was about the belief that multitasking works. I don't think it does. Save time by not doing it.

Declutter Your Home and Your Life
Decluttering your home and office can help you find things quickly when you need them. Eliminating unnecessary possessions also helps to clear your mind about what exactly you need and when you need them.

Get Things Done With Your Mobile Phone
It's hard to differentiate a computer from a mobile phone these days, at least in terms of functionalism if not the look and the hardware. Hence it'll be good to learn how to get the maximum out of your cellphone, and use it productively.

Use Twitter and Facebook productively
Last but not the least, we've got two social sites that could turn out to be the biggest time suckers - Twitter and Facebook. You might not be able to stop yourself from using them but you could certainly try and become an expert at using Twitter and be more productive on Facebook.

Cheers,

Abhijeet

Written on 4/25/2011 by Abhijeet Mukherjee. Abhijeet is a blogger and web publisher from India. He loves all things tech as long as it aids in productivity. He edits Guiding Tech, a blog that publishes useful guides, tutorials and tools. Check it out and subscribe to its feed if you like the site. You can also find him on Twitter.

Photo Credit: svofski

The Power of a List

My wife and I have a busy year going on right now.

Make that a VERY busy year.

Family is important to us, and right now it takes center stage.

My son Josh married on 10/10/10.

My daughter Rachael is getting married 5/28/11.

My step-daughter Abby is getting married 8/13/11.

But that's not all.

My youngest daughter Tiff and her husband Jon are expecting their first born this month, a few days before her sister gets married.

And Abby... well she graduates from Purdue this month too.

So our lives have been filled with wedding plans, showers, parties, and fortunately for me, most of what I had to do was play a supporting role.

But over the weekend Kathy and I noticed that we needed to create a To-Do list because with all of this activity along with work, our brains were ready to melt trying to remember what needed to be done when, etc.

DLM wrote about this recently too:

Using Your To-Do List as a Second Brain

Posted: 28 Apr 2011 08:19 AM PDT

Does this sound familiar? You’ve cleared your calendar for a day to spend time with friends and family. No work, just quality time.

But as you try to relax, an endless string of to-dos floods your mind. Soon, you’re no longer at the park with your family. Your body might still be there, but you are lost in thoughts about the email you need to send or the call you need to make.

I call this the must-remember-mind. There’s nothing inherently wrong with this state of consciousness. The must-remember-mind helps us nail deadlines and follow through on important tasks. But it also poses problems, both to our productivity at work and the quality of our life at home. Here are the two main dysfunctions of the must-remember-mind:

• It Scatters our Attention – When lost in these mental to-dos, we become less efficient. Rather than devoting sustained attention to our current task, our mental energy is lost in a cycle of worry about what we didn’t do or need to do.
  


• It Diminishes our Aliveness – The more we drop into the consciousness of the must-remember-mind, the more we distract ourselves from the experience of the present moment. If you’re walking through the woods and all you can think about is that email you forgot to write, you’re cut off from experiencing what’s here and now.

How do you break out of the must-remember-mind? How can you draw your attention away from endless mental to-dos to the experience of this moment?

The answer is – you need a second brain, a brain dedicated to holding on to all those emails, tasks, and calls you can’t stop thinking about.

Enter the to-do list. It’s a simple technology. But, if used properly, the to-do list works as an extension of consciousness. It allows us to outsource the worried thoughts of the must-remember-mind so that we can enjoy the experience of the present moment.

Here are three ways to maximize the benefits of this second brain:

1. Don’t go anywhere without a list
   Wherever you go, be sure you have some way of jotting down the thoughts of the must-remember-mind. You could go old school and slip a piece of paper into your pocket. Or you could go high tech and use the “Notes” app on your iPhone (I’m also a big fan of the “Voice Memo” feature).


2. Write out your to-dos as they arise
   You might not always be able to do this. You might be in the bathroom or swimming in the ocean when your next burning to-do comes to mind. But the sooner you off load your to-dos to your second brain, the sooner you can let go of the scattered thoughts of the must-remember-mind. So the next time a mental to-do arises, make a habit of jotting it down immediately. This 10-second detour can save you hours of worry.


3. Set aside a time for to-doing
   This final step is crucial. If you simply have a list but no set time to carry out the tasks on it, you’ll worry about when you’re ever going to get these things done. So I recommend blocking out an hour or two or three (whatever you need) each day dedicated to following through on your list. You’ll be more focused during these periods because you won’t waste any mental energy trying to figure out if you’re missing anything. You’ll also find that the list keeps you on task. Rather than getting lost on Facebook, your second brain will remind you of your next task.

If you master the to-do list, you will not only experience gains in productivity. You’ll also experience the present moment more deeply and fully.

When you’re with your child at the park or strolling through your neighborhood, you will no longer need to worry about that email you forgot to send. It’s on the list. Your second brain has you covered.

Written on 4/28/2011 by Nate Klemp. Nate earned his PhD at Princeton and is a professor at Pepperdine University. He founded LifeBeyondLogic.com, a website dedicated to exploring philosophy as an art of living. You can follow him on Twitter @LifeBeyondLogic and on Facebook. Download a free copy of his new ebook, Finding Reality: Thoreau’s Lessons for Life in the Digital Age.

Photo Credit: spierzchala

Me Time

12 days ago, I was taking some "Me Time" at my usual Sunday morning hangout.

I am blessed to be able to have a regular time where I only have to answer to myself.

Yes there is a never ending list of things I could do, and I list of things I must do, but it is important to balance those lists with time to stop, refresh, and recharge. Here's more from the DLM Blog:

How to Find Time For Yourself

Posted: 02 Apr 2011 07:42 AM PDT

Today our lives are busier than ever before. Our time is pressed by career, family, friends and sometimes even the things we took on as being “for me” become a chore that saps our precious time. I mean, while your iphone addiction may be considered 'a break', is it really relaxing and does it really do anything to recharge your batteries? Doubtful.

So how do we successfully take time out for ourselves? Where can we look for those little nuggets of time in a world of perpetual task lists? It sounds simple but we all know it's not. Here are some tips for addressing issues related to the time in our lives and some advice to help you find some time for yourself in your hectic schedule.

1. Complete a Time Audit
   It might sound silly but we often actually don’t know where our time goes. Over the course of a normal week, make an attempt to keep track of what you do with your time. Carry a small notebook and check your watch when you start different tasks at home and at work.
   
   What were the surprises? Do you spend an inordinate amount of time checking emails, responding to phone calls, completing tasks you thought were a minor part of your workload? Try to think about why these things take longer than you thought they would. Are you completely focused on them or, because they are minor tasks, are you doing something else at the same time? As we’ve been aware for a while now, multitasking is not always the best way to go.
   
   If tasks take longer in reality than you expected or allowed for, you will always feel as if you are behind schedule and ‘playing catch-up’. Knowing where your time goes is the first step to finding some time for yourself.
   
   HINT: Allow more than enough time for tasks, including driving to and from various places. Use your audit results and be realistic about the time you’ll need to complete tasks. If it suits the way you work, use your audit results to create a timetable or schedule for your day and don’t forget to include coffee breaks and downtime in your plan.
   


2. Complete a Priorities Audit
   This will work in conjunction with you time audit to help you determine whether you are spending your time on the things that are actually most important to you.
   
   • Start by brainstorming all the commitments you spend your time on (use your time audit to help you) including your spare time.
   • Check your list and see if there’s anything missing eg. it’s important that you visit your great aunt every month but your time audit wasn’t completed in the week that you have you visit.
   • Rank your commitments in order of importance.
   • Compare the ranking with your time audit – you have to be a little flexible here. For example, ‘work’ may rank down your list a little but take up a huge amount of time, you need to take into account the fact that without work many of the leisure time commitments are not possible. Of course, make sure to acknowledge and address whether the time commitment required by you job is worth it.
     
3. Plan a Break
   Plan breaks in your daily schedule but also in your leisure time. We sometime fill our weekends with as much socializing or home duties as possible because our hectic working lives leaves little time during the week to chat with a friend, catch up for a coffee or get the clothes washed. When we pack our lives so fully, we leave no down time and we tend to feel as if we are rushing from one thing to another – from work to drinks with friends to a dinner out to a family birthday…
   
   Regularly (perhaps once a month or two) block out a weekend in your diary or calendar. Give it a title like “My Time” or “VIP Weekend”. Don’t accept invitations on these weekends. And don’t wait for a free weekend to present itself because last minute invitations can easily swallow up your time or, if you do actually get the weekend to yourself, you’re not ready for it. In your scheduled time off from your life, plan something that you want to do. Spend the weekend catching up on some reading, watching some DVDs, wandering around a market, gardening, playing in the park with your kids… whatever it is that you will enjoy and will make you feel as if you have used your time in a decadent manner. You’ll feel more refreshed and ready for your working week if you’ve actually treated yourself and allowed yourself the time you need to start feeling human again.

In summary, know your time usage; know your priorities; and plan time for yourself. You’ll be more productive in the long run and, besides, you’re worth it!

Written on 4/2/2011 by Deb Wain. Deb is a freelancer writer, poet, short story author and marriage celebrant. You can read more of her work or find out more about Deb’s weddings.

Photo Credit: Public Domain

Time

from the DLM Blog:

Why Punctuality Matters - and How to Be On Time

Posted: 04 Mar 2011 09:22 AM PST

Do you often find yourself running late? Perhaps it's been a life-long problem – at college, you were always sloping into class five minutes after the professor had begun. It might not have mattered too much then ... but in the working world, punctuality is crucial.

If you're habitually late for meetings, if you miss deadlines, if you're often late for work, then you're going to be killing your chances of promotion – and even putting yourself in line for dismissal.

You might be an intelligent, creative person with a ton of skills and experience. And in some countries, where time-keeping isn't seen as very significant, your lateness wouldn't matter at all. But if you live in the West (or work with a number of Western clients), it's really important. Because if you're always late, you're giving people the impression that:

• You're disorganized and careless – you can't get yourself together to set off on time.
• You're self-centered – you're keeping people waiting for you.
• You're a liar. You said, "I'll email you by Wednesday" – and you didn't get in touch until Friday, not even to explain the delay.
• You're stupid (or, at best, far too optimistic). If "traffic was bad" is your excuse every morning, people will wonder why the heck you can't just plan for it.

Now, these things might all seem very harsh and unfair. Chances are, they're not true of you at all. You probably have good intentions, but end up being late because you have poor time-management habits. But your bosses and clients are inevitably going to judge you on appearances. If the first impression they have is that you can't even show up on time, will they really trust you with an important project?

So, punctuality matters. A lot. And once you realize that, it's an easy thing to get right.

Being On Time (Always)

There are plenty of little tricks that you can use to show up on time. Try these six for starters:

• Aim to arrive ten minutes early.
  Take a book or some work with you, so that you've got something to do before the meeting (or whatever) begins. It's much better to be early and relaxed than late and stressed!


• Allow for delays.
  If you're traveling in rush hour, you know that traffic's going to be bad. If you're taking the kids to grandma's, you know it will take a while to get them all into the car. Don't be hopelessly optimistic; just give yourself an extra half hour.


• Cut yourself some slack.
  When you're agreeing to a deadline or giving an estimate, build in a bit of slack. You might be fully confident that you can complete that report in two days, but what if something unexpected crops up? Ask for three days (and, if you can, make yourself look good by finishing a day early.)


• Be more organized.
  How often have you been late because you forgot your keys and had to hunt the house for them? Or because you had to turn back and get that vital document which you left sitting on the coffee table? Keep your keys, phone and wallet in a consistent place. Get your meeting materials together the day before.


• Don't get distracted at the last minute.
  Have you ever checked your emails right before heading to a meeting, "just in case"? It's far too easy to get distracted and leave it too late to get there on time.


• Set an alarm to remind you when to stop working.
  If you have a meeting at 11am and it's a half-hour drive to get there, set an alarm or reminder for 10.15 so that you've got time to stop work, grab your stuff and get there with a few minutes to spare.

You'll probably have some of your own favorite ways to be on time – some people swear by putting their watch forwards 10 minutes, for instance. Even if you're habitually late, I'll bet that you can be prompt when you need to. How do you do it? Share your tips in the comments...

Written on 3/4/2011 by Ali Luke. Ali writes a blog, Aliventures, about leading a productive and purposeful life (get the RSS feed here). As well as blogging, she writes fiction, and is studying for an MA in Creative Writing.

Photo Credit: manwithface

I was going to post this earlier...

But... well, you know.

from the DLM Blog:

6 Useful Steps To Tackle Procrastination

Posted: 09 Nov 2010 07:19 AM PST

Is there something you're procrastinating in your life now? For example,

• Finishing your work
• Getting a new job you're passionate about
• Looking for your soul mate
  
• Losing weight
• Starting a business

Procrastination is one of the biggest time wasters in life. When we procrastinate, we waste away valuable free time and put off important tasks we should be doing until it’s too late. When that happens, we panic and wish we started earlier. I know a few chronic procrastinators, and unfortunately they spend their lives in the cycle of delaying, putting off important tasks, procrastinating, avoiding work, and doing work only when it's inevitable. It's unfortunate because they are disgruntled with their lives and they often self-victimize about their situations, when they have put themselves there in the first place.

It doesn't have to be that way at all. You can take conscious action over procrastination to create the life that you want. Here, I will share 6 useful steps to tackle the procrastination bug:

1. Set goals that you want
   If you're not springing into action, there is probably a lack of desire towards the goal. Rather than push yourself through with the process, let's start off with the very basic. Do you want this goal? If your answer is "no", that means this isn't a goal to pursue in the first place. If that's the case, pressing on isn't a solution. Ditch those goals, get back to the drawing board and start forming new goals. Identify the goals that really inspire you.


2. Understand why you want the goal
   Understanding why you want the goal will help you get clear of your inner motivations. Whether your goal is weight loss, to change a job, to find your life partner, ask yourself: Why do you want this goal? Write down as many answers as possible, until you feel a strong drive and motivation. The objective is to connect you with your inner desire for the goal. This 'Why' is the fuel that'll drive you towards your goal. If you don't have a good 'Why', you'll eventually face a lack of interest and give up halfway. With a strong 'Why', it'll drive you to accomplish anything you want to, and overcome whatever is ahead.


3. Develop a clear plan with specific deadlines
   A clear plan with specific deadlines is crucial. If you don't have that, you won't know the effects day-to-day procrastination has your end outcome. In your mind, there is a foggy idea of what you need to do and when you need to do it. Since there isn’t a clear idea of what needs to be done by when, your impression is that even if you procrastinate for a little while, nothing gets impacted. So you let yourself relax, thinking you can get to it later on.
   
   However, every time you procrastinate, something is implicated. You just don’t know because you don’t have a clear plan outlined. Develop a plan to achieve your goal. Your plan should include the steps you need to take and specific deadlines for each task. This way, you know you have to finish each task by a certain date.


4. Break your work into little steps
   I remember when I was working on my 1st ebook, The Personal Excellence Book, a few months ago, I would procrastinate on it day after day. It would be months before I realized that I was never ever going to get to it unless I did something different. I realized I was putting it off because I saw it as a huge task and it was mentally overwhelming. So then, I broke down the project into phases such as researching, deciding on the topic, creating the outline, drafting the content, writing the chapters, and so on. Suddenly, the whole thing seemed very manageable. From there, I just focused on the immediate phase and get it done to my best ability, without thinking about the other phases. When it's done, I moved on to the next. My ebook was launched just a few months ago with pre-sales being maxed out in the first couple of hours.
   
   Part of the reason why we procrastinate is because subconsciously, we find the work too overwhelming for us. Break it down into little parts, then focus on one part at the time. It'll be so simple that it's easy to start!


5. Drop the perfectionist mindset
   As contradicting as it may be, a perfectionist mindset leads to procrastination. Have you ever thought put off your work because you feel like it's too much work? That's the perfectionist side of you thinking - in your mind, you see the work to be done in a certain way, to a certain level. However, if you think about it, that sort of mindset doesn't serve you. For what it's worth, doing just a wee bit of something is better than not doing at all. Just start off small. Even if it's a lousy draft, it gets things started. It's from that 1st draft that you build on to the next draft.
   
   When I write my articles, I always split the work over several days. My objective when I first write it is not to get everything right, but just to get the key ideas down and have a brief outline. It doesn't even have to look a certain way - editing comes in the later stages. I find that this system of writing makes me a lot more productive than trying to finish 1 whole blog post in 1 sitting.


6. Create accountability
   The more accountable you are to your goal, the more better. Tell all your friends, colleagues, acquaintances and family about your projects. Now whenever you see them, they are bound to ask you about your status on those projects. This creates an even stronger motivation to stick to your plans and achieve your goals. For example, sometimes I announce my projects on The Personal Excellence Blog, Twitter and Facebook, and my readers will ask me about them on an ongoing basis. It's a great way to keep myself accountable to my plans.

Share your experiences
Is there something you're procrastinating in life? How can you tackle your procrastination via the 6 steps above? Please share with all of us in the comments area.

Written on 11/09/2010 by Celestine Chua. Celestine writes at The Personal Excellence Blog, where she shares her best advice on how to achieve personal excellence and live your best life. Get her RSS feed directly and add her on Twitter @celestinechua.

Photo Credit: SuperFantastic

Tech Tuesday Tip

For the non-techie, this weeks idea:

Subject is E-mail.

We used to depend on the Mailman.

Then fax machines and overnight delivery services like Fed Ex.

Email used to be manageable until we got bombarded with Spam.

My spam is manageable due to using Google's G-Mail to filter out the crap. Currently I get an average of 11 spam messages an hour 24/7.

Then smartphones including Blackberry's came along so you can't escape being connected.

But you can manage it.

And one way is to manage expectations.

Check out this idea from a blog I read:

Be Like Mike: Managing Your Email Inbox

Posted: 21 Oct 2010 03:30 AM PDT

Yesterday, my partner Michael Drew (the entrepreneurial genius behind Promote-A-Book and several other successful adventures) emailed me a congratulations for something that had gone well.

When I emailed him a quick reply of thanks, this immediately came back.

Mike's Auto-Responder Establishing Expectations

Genius. It immediately sets up my expectations without sounding off-putting. Well played, Michael.

I’m a big fan of closing up email when working, but this takes it to another level. Notice how he gives alternatives should someone consider the need to reach Mike an emergency?

Please consider this stolen, Michael. And thanks.

TV and...

What do you do while watching?

Me... I often have my laptop and I'm reading emails, or writing blog updates, or doing work stuff.

From the DLM Blog:

30 Ways to Make TV Watching More Productive

Posted: 26 Sep 2010 07:22 AM PDT

Do you ever hear yourself saying "I just don't have time" yet find yourself plopped in front of the TV for the better part of every evening?

As our to-do lists grow so does our stress and anxiety over getting everything done. While we can't add any more time to our day (unfortunately) we can use the time we do have in a more productive manner. Let's face it watching TV isn't that interactive or demanding. Below are 30 simple little ways to make the most of your TV watching time.

Things you can do while watching TV:

• Fold laundry - Plop the basket beside you and fold while you watch.


• Iron - Drag the ironing board and iron out into the living room and turn that mundane task into something that's a little more bearable.


• Give or get a massage - Lay on the couch or get on the floor with your significant other and give a back rub or foot massage. At each commercial break switch it up just to keep it fair.


• Stretch - Get down on the floor and stretch your legs, your back, and your arms. You'll feel great and if you're an avid TV watcher I'm pretty confident your flexibility will improve in a matter of a few weeks.


• Write out a meal plan for the week - Brainstorm some meal ideas for the coming week. You can take it a step further and create a list of go-to meals or meals you can make ahead and freeze.


• Brainstorm for a new business, a holiday, or activities to do with the kids - Don't filter ideas just write them down as they come to mind. Sometimes the best ideas come to us when we're not focused on finding the best ideas.


• Write out your Birthday cards or Christmas cards - Don't wait until the last minute to get your cards done. For most of us it takes quite a bit of time, so doing even a few each evening can lighten the load.


• Put pictures in a picture album - I'm sure I'm not the only one with a tub full of pictures that I don't know what to do with. Grab the tub of photos and start putting them in photo albums. If you want to sort them first, use a few nights of TV watching to do just that.
  

Things you can do during commercials:

• Pack the dishwasher - It doesn't take long and even if there is a pile you can do it over multiple breaks. Don't have a dishwasher? No problem. Break one: Fill the sink with warm soapy water and let the dishes soak. Break two (maybe three): Wash the dishes. After that dry them and put them away. Done.


• 10 sit-ups 10 push-ups 10 squats - TV watching is a sedentary sport. Get on the ground and get active during the commercials. It doesn't have to be much just move.


• Take out the garbage - Grab a garbage bag and go throughout the house emptying the smaller bins into it. Take the full bags outside to the garage or back door for garbage day.


• Do a quick reset of the room you're in - Commercial breaks aren't long but it's amazing how much you can get done. Pick up shoes, toys, books, magazines, dishes etc. and put them where they belong.


• Address a letter, stamp it and put it in your bag for tomorrow - Mailing letters is one task that seems to continually slip my mind. Use the commercial break to put your letter or bill payment in an envelope address it and put it in your bag so you can mail it tomorrow.


• Drink a glass of water - If you're like most people you're not drinking as much water as you should be each day. Get a tall glass add ice and fill it with cold water.


• Floss your teeth - This takes very little time and is something most of us don't do often enough. It's a little action that can be great for your health.


• Dust the furniture in the room you're in - Grab a microfiber cloth, an old sock or damp rag and run it over all flat surfaces in the room. Get under the keyboard and the DVD player. Get the top of the TV, picture frames and the backs of your chairs.


• Clean a bathroom - Fill the sink with warm soapy water, spray the tub and toilet, let it soak until the next commercial and it'll clean up super easy.


• Make a sandwich for tomorrow - The key to a smooth sailing morning is to start the night before. Make a sandwich or put together a salad, dole out some yogurt and grab a piece of fruit throw it in your bag for tomorrow and you're set to just head out the door!


• Bathroom break - Enough said ...


• Send a quick email - 2.5 to 3 minutes is usually long enough to get an email put together, if not you could get a good first draft started at least.


• Read a few pages of your book or a blog post - Hit the mute button grab your book or fire up your feed-reader.


• Write your to-do list - Give a bit of thought to what you'll do tomorrow. Think about errands that need to be run, calls that need returning, gifts to be bought and what to have for dinner.


• Choose clothes to wear tomorrow - Run to your room and decide what to wear tomorrow. Choose clothes that fit you well and that you feel great in.


• Let the dogs out - Most dogs will jump at the chance to get outside even it's only for a few minutes. Do it.


• Purge a drawer or filing cabinet - Choose a drawer that's close to where you're sitting and pull everything out of it. Toss or recycle what you don't absolutely need and put items you no longer use, need or like in a pile to donate. Put the remaining items back in an organized manner.


• Make your bed - Even if it's half an hour before bed go and make it. It's awesome getting into a bed that's made the sheets pulled tight, comforter straightened and the pillows fluffed up a bit. Heaven.


• Make a quick phone call - Call your mom, your sister, your brother or friend and make or confirm plans for tomorrow.


• Get changed into work out clothes - If you've settled in for a night of TV odds are you won't be too excited about the thought of exercise. During the first commercial break get changed into your work out gear so by the end of the show you're good to go for a bit of a work out.


• Get a healthy snack - Grab a piece of fruit, trail mix or yogurt. Make healthy choices, keep your snack size to something smaller than your fist to keep you from over-eating and eating mindlessly.


• Press mute and just sit in silence - There are very few moments during our day when we can truly sit back and enjoy the silence. Press mute and just enjoy how quiet and still everything is around you.

There are a lot of ways to be productive with very small bursts of time. Sure, you can Tivo your way passed the commercials but you may just be fast forwarding by a quick opportunity to get something done!

Choose one or two items on this list to do each evening and you just may be surprised at how many little extras you can get done.

Written on 9/26/2010 by Sherri Kruger. Sherri writes at Zen Family Habits, a blog celebrating all things family. Sherri also writes on personal development at Serene Journey, a blog dedicated to sharing simple tips to enjoy life

Photo Credit: SFB579

The New World Order

This used to be a term used for a conspiracy theory leading to a unified, one world government.

However I'm applying it to a new way of doing things that didn't exist in my parents lifetime.

Seth Godin posted this on his blog:

A post-industrial A to Z digital battledore

New times demand new words, because the old words don't help us see the world differently.

Along the way, I've invented a few, and it occurs to me that sometimes I use them as if you know what I'm talking about. Here, with plenty of links, are 26 of my favorite neologisms (the longest post of the year, probably):

A is for Artist: An artist is someone who brings humanity to a problem, who changes someone else for the better, who does work that can't be written down in a manual. Art is not about oil painting, it's about bringing creativity and insight to work, instead of choosing to be a compliant cog. (from Linchpin).

B is for Bootstrapper: A bootstrapper is someone who starts a business with no money and funds growth through growth. The internet has made bootstrapping much easier than ever, because the costs of creating and marketing remarkable things are cheaper than ever. It's really important not to act like you're well-funded if you're intent on bootstrapping (and vice versa). You can read the Bootstrapper's Bible for free.

C is for Choice: I didn't coin the term the Long Tail, but I wish I had. It describes a simple law: given the choice, people will take the choice. That means that digital commerce enables niches. Aggregating and enabling the long tail accounts for the success of eBay, iTunes, Amazon, Craigslist, Google and even match.com.

D is for Darwin: Things evolve. But evolution is speeding up (and yes, evolving). While it used to take a hundred thousand years for significant changes to happen to our physical culture, the nature of information and a connected society means that 'everything' might change in just a few months. Ideas that spread, win and organizations that learn from their mistakes lead the rest of us. (from Survival is Not Enough)

E is for Edgecraft: Brainstorming doesn't work so well, because most people are bad at it. They're bad at it because their lizard brain takes over moments before a big idea is uttered. "Oh no!" it says, "I better not say that because if I do, then I'll have to do it." And so brainstorming quickly becomes clever stalling and timewasting. Far better is to practice edgegraft. Someone announces a direction ("we'll be really convenient, we'll offer our menu by fax,") and then the next person goes closer to that edge, topping it, ("we'll offer it by email!") and so on, each topping the other in any particular direction. (from the book Free Prize Inside)

F is for the Free Prize: People often don't buy the obvious or measured solution to their problem, they buy the extra, the bonus, the feeling and the story. The free prize is the layout of Google--the search results are the same, but the way the search feels is why you choose to search there. If engineers thought more about the free prize, we'd need fewer marketers.

G is for Go go go™: I just trademarked this one, but you have my permission to use it all you like. Go go go is the mantra of someone who has committed to defeating their anxiety and ignoring their lizard brain. Not a good strategy for airline pilots, but for the rest of us, a little Go go go might be just the ticket.

H is for broken: Isn't it just like a marketer to compromise when he should have organized better in the first place? There's a lot in our consumer society that's broken, but try to avoid getting obsessed with it. Far better to ship your own stuff that's not broken instead.

I is for Ideavirus: A decade ago a wrote a book that was free. It still is. It argues that ideas that spread win, and you can architect and arrange and manipulate your ideas to make them more likely to spread. Note that I'm not saying you can add gimmicks and spam and networking to spread your idea. I'm saying the idea itself is more or less likely to spread based on how you design it.

J is for just looking: When there's plenty of choice and everything is a click away, I'm very unlikely to take action, certainly unlikely to actually buy something from you. I'll do it tomorrow. Or the day after. Which means the only way you create action is to produce an emergency. Why now? Why not later...

K is for kindle: No, not the ebook reader. Kindle as in patiently starting a fire. The TV era demanded blockbuster launches of blockbuster products aimed at the masses. The internet responds better to bonfires that are kindled over time, to ideas that spread because the idea itself is the engine, not the hype or the promotion. First, ten.

L is for Lizard Brain: This is a huge impediment to getting what you want, finding your calling and satisfying your customers. The lizard brain is near your brain stem, including your amygdala. It's the part of your brain responsible for anger, revenge, fear, anxiety and reproduction. It's the original brain, the one that wild animals possess. Steve Pressfield has named the voice of the lizard: it's the resistance. The resistance rationalizes, hides and sabotages your best work.

M is for Meatball Sundae: This is the unfortunate combination of traditional products and services (designed for low price and good quality) with the high-growth nature of the idea-driven internet. When your boss tells you to build a viral campaign about some lame product gathering dust in the warehouse, she's asking you to build a meatball sundae and you should flee.

N is for NOBS: Otherwise known as the new order business school. My rant about this points out that for most people, a traditional MBA is a waste of both time and money. The two biggest benefits--the selection process of getting in, and the social process of networking--could be accomplished, in a Swiftian fashion, without any classes at all.

O is for Orangutan: I could have used the word 'monkey', but I already had an M listing, plus I love the way you spell Orangutan. Anyway, the primate is the best way to think about how people interact with websites. They're like monkeys in a psychology experiment, looking for the banana. Where's the banana, they ask? Of course, I don't know the monkey word for banana, so I'm paraphrasing. If your website offers a banana, people are going to click on it. If they don't, they'll leave. My argument for banana design is in The Big Red Fez.

P is for Permission: Anticipated, personal and relevant messages will always outperform spam. Obvious, but true. So then why do you persist in spamming people? Billboards, TV ads, phone calls--they all are defeated soundly by delivering your offers with permission. In fact, the biggest asset a company can build online is this privilege, the list of people who would miss you if you didn't show up. Here's the original interview (12 years ago!) in Fast Company.

Q is for Quitting: Sticking things out is overrated, particularly if you stick out the wrong things. In fact, I think you'd be much better off quitting most of what you do so you have the resources to get through the hard slog I call the Dip... The challenge, then is to not quit in the Dip, but instead to quit everything else so you have the focus to get through the slog of what matters.

R is for Remarkable: A purple cow is remarkable, because it's worth talking about. Not because you, the marketer said it was, but because I the consumer did. And in a world without effective, scalable advertising, remarkable products and services are the single best way to succeed. Here's a long essay from seven years ago.

S is for Sneezer: What do we call someone who spreads an idea the way some people spread a virus? Seek them out, cater to them, organize them.

T is for Tribe: Human beings evolved to be attracted to tribes. Groups of like-minded people who share a culture, a connection and perhaps a goal. And each of these tribes seeks leadership. The opportunity for marketers today isn't to sell more average stuff to more average people. The opportunity is to find and connect and lead tribes of people, taking them somewhere they want to go.

U is for Ululate: Not because it's relevant, just because it's the single best word in the English language. Can I sneak an extra C? The cliff business.

V is for Very good: No one cares about very good. I can get very good from just about anyone, and certainly cheaper than I can get it from you. We don't have a competence shortage, not any more. No, I'm only going to pay extra for the personal, the magical, the artistic and the work of the linchpin.

W is for Worldview: I first encountered this term via George Lakoff. Your worldview is the set of expectations and biases you bring to a situation before any new data appears. Some people hear a politician say something and hate it, while others are thrilled by it. Is it the thing that was said or the person who said it? Some people hear that Apple is about to launch a new product and they get out their wallets, others flee--before they even know what it is. If you don't understand the worldview of the people you're selling to, you will fail.

X is for Xebec: I hate it when A-to-Z listmakers cheap out on the X. Hey, a xebec is a three-masted schooner. And they're obsolete. Just like CDs, newspapers and a whole host of interesting but dated business models. Sorry. Imagine someone saying: "He's a nice guy, but that company he works for is a xebec."

Y is for You. You the artist. You the one who makes a difference. You the one who stands for something and now has the leverage (and access to the market) to actually ship. Go go go.™

Z is for Zoometry: Originally a term from zoology (pronounced zo-ology, in case you were curious), zoometry is the science of instigating and learning from change. This is the revolution of our time, the biggest one in history, and it's not just about silly videos on Youtube. One by one, industry by industry, the world is being remade again and again, and the agents of change are the winners.

Balance

I find myself doing several things at once. Well, not really.

I find myself working on several things at the same time, but time is relative. I might be working on a commercial for a client, looking for something online and drinking my morning caffeine.

Studies show that certain types of multi-tasking can be less productive than single tasking but in this current workplace, there is usually more than one thing going on.

Take a look at this from the DLM Blog last week:

Choose to Spend Time on High Impact Activities

Posted: 12 Jun 2010 08:50 AM PDT

As somebody with ADHD and an attention span of about 2 hours, I’m forced to continually understand my own productivity habits. As I study those habits, I realize more and more why the people of the world waste so much time.

In my Jack Bauer Guide to getting Shi#$# Done, I wrote extensively about the power of implementing time constraints. But, that’s just the beginning. How you choose to spend your time and what actions you chose to focus on will ultimately determine the impact of you have.

Sniper Rifles and Machine Guns
If you ever watch anybody in any tv show or movie, the sniper always seemed to accomplish his or her goal in one shot, while the people shooting machine guns seem to get caught up in a whole world of nonsense that results in nothing but a big mess. In many ways, our own attempts to be productive are similar. The worst thing I think we do is that we try to do too many things. I’ve become a strong believer in the idea of quality over quantity and when it comes to the actions you take, I think many of the same principles apply. I may not work 14 hours a day (not even close), but I make sure during the time I’m working I focus on only the activities that will have a high impact.

High Impact Activities

• Writing: In the context of blogging, the highest impact activity that you can spend your time on is writing. If you are an early stage blogger you should be writing and submitting as many guest posts as possible since that will have more impact than publishing posts on your new blog which nobody is currently reading. Even if you have been around for a while writing is one of the activities that will have the highest impact.


• Brainstorming/Mind Mapping: Some of you might question this one, but done the right way brainstorming and mind mapping can be extremely high impact. An hour brainstorming or mind mapping session could give you a month’s worth of content and in an upcoming post I’ll actually share my mind map of new blog post ideas with you.


• Reading: I believe that reading can be an extremely high impact activity depending on what you are reading. I’ve recently been spending time going through Dave Navarro’s Launch Coach library and reading his mini-courses and actually going through the worksheets is something that can have a very strong impact almost immediately. It’s highly likely that you often come up with an idea for a post while reading another person’s blog and if you use something like Evernote and keep reminders of blog post ideas you can significantly increase the impact of your reading.


• Networking and One True Friend: Networking events are an interesting place to test the productivity principles I’m talking about here. There are many people who will go to a networking event with the goal of talking to as many people as possible and getting as many business cards as possible. In my mind that’s a complete waste of time because you don’t give any value to the people you are meeting. I usually aim for one true friend or one genuine connection. I never concern myself with how this person can help me because it’s really not important. Genuinely connecting with them will ultimately have a much stronger impact in the long term.


• Insights vs. Hours: Last week sometime a good friend of mine was here and during our bike ride we were discussing the way I’ve setup my life. In this strange hybrid blend of entrepreneurship and a “real job”, one of the things I realized is that I get paid for insights more than hours. This is largely the reason I don’t even bother with hourly projects anymore because it’s not an efficient use of time. One insight that makes a big difference is worth way more than countless hours spent on pointless nonsense that doesn’t have an impact.

Low Impact Activities

• Email: I’m at the point now where I’m beginning to think I could get away with checking email once a day. Email is one of the biggest time sucks. In many ways those of who have to check email constantly seem to have created a false sense of urgency. I’ve had a habit of checking my email the second I get out of the water on the days when I’ve been out for a long time, and there’s never once been any sort of crisis that requires my immediate attention. The truth is if I checked email once a day, then I think I would be all good.


• Facebook/Twitter: As a social media marketer and blogger I do think that Facebook and Twitter play an important role in everything I do. I even wrote about how to use them when I talked about the ways you to build relationships with bloggers online. But, if you don’t use them strategically, they can be a real time suck. It’s really easy to get distracted by something that is completely irrelevant to what you are doing especially when people share links that grab our attention almost immediately. If we batched our time on these sites I think we’d be in much better shape and get much more done.


• To Do Lists: I create to do lists but I try to keep them small. Have you ever spent so much time creating your to-do list that you didn’t have time to actually do anything on the list? Seems ridiculous doesn’t it? Talk about a low impact activity. If you are into to-do lists, I would say limit your activity to the 5 things that will have the biggest impact today.

Imagine if you spent half the amount of time working that you currently do and worked on the things that had twice the impact. You would not only work less, you would get more done, and you would be working on the things that actually make a difference. Give a try and let me know what happens.

Written on 6/12/2010 by Srinivas Rao. Srinivas is an avid surfer/personal development blogger at The Skool of Life. He's also the co-founder and host of BlogcastFM, a podcast for bloggers.

Photo Credit: Simone Artibani