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No Mouse Required: How to Create and Send an Email in Outlook Using Only Your Keyboard
I spend a whole lot of time in front of a computer. It was (and still is) my hobby, and subsequently became my profession. And being a GTDer, I’m constantly looking for ways to streamline my computing processes. After about 7 years of full-time computer use, I’ve discovered one of the greatest productivity killers in computing history: the mouse. That’s why I’ve introduced a new snazzy post category called “No Mouse Required”. Constantly moving your hands on and off the keyboard wastes all sorts of time, so I’m determined to eradicate (to the extent it’s possible) my personal use of the mouse. So, anytime you see a post under that moniker, you’ll know there’s a nugget of mouse-less bliss awaiting you.
Practical GTD: Changing Your System Sometimes Means Undermining Productivity
Came across this thread on the DavidCo discussion forum regarding the making of minor tweaks to your implementation, and it got me thinking a bit about how changes like these can actually hamper my productivity more than help it (in the short term, at least).
As I’ve said before, I’m an analog GTDer, by and large. While I do use “digital” tools occasionally to accomplish small tasks related to my system (emailing reminders, stuff to read online), my “core” system is all paper. I wish I could say that I’m still using the very first combination of tools I started with, but I’m not. My system has undergone several changes, most of them fairly fundamental, since I started. Here’s what I’ve discovered:
How to Win Cash and Prizes by Searching with Google (With No Funny Business)
This has been around for awhile now, but I figured it was worth mentioning in case anybody out there hadn’t heard of it yet. Blingo.com is a site put up by the Publishers Clearing House (the folks that deliver the huge checks to the homes of unsuspecting consumers) where you search for stuff, just like Google. In fact, they forward all of your search requests to Google and just display the results. The only difference is, you can win stuff (some of it pretty valuable). Cash, gift certificates to the likes of Amazon and iTunes are among the offerings.
It’d be remiss of me to not mention one of the coolest aspects of this site : the ‘friends’ feature. It works something like this:
- You sign up with blingo
- You invite a friend who also signs up
- Your friend wins something
- You win exactly the same thing (even if it’s $5000).
Now, the gold only travels up one “level”. In other words, it doesn’t work like a pyramid, you only win the stuff your friends win, not their friends, etc.
So, why not sign up with Blingo? There’s a Firefox plugin, or you can even set it as your home page (like I have). More info on that here.
Technorati Tags: blingo, google, free stuff, prizes, social
Announcing the Cranking Widgets Logo Contest - Win a Free Moleskine!
In an effort to keep things fresh around here, I’ve decided the vanilla (yet pretty heavily hacked) Wordpress theme I’m using could use some dressing up. And, not being any sort of graphic designer, I thought I’d call upon the community to help me out with a new logo! The rules are pretty straight-foward, feel free to email me at the address below if you have any questions.
Details:
- Contest will run until March 1, 2007
- All submissions must be between 400px-550px wide by 90px tall in either JPG or PNG format
- Submissions should be sent via email to me at this address
One winner will be decided by me and will receive:
- Any single Moleskine notebook/planner (your choice, excluding multi-packs) shipped to your door!
- Design credit in the page footer (including a link to whatever site you want) on any page where the logo appears.
- The undying envy of all those who know you.
Now, I’m being specifically silent as to the style of logo I’m after, mostly because I want to see what you fine folks can come up with. My only suggestion is that it fit with the overall color scheme and layout of the site as it is now.
I’ll be posting all entries to a separate page as I receive them, possibly with some reactions.
Oh, and the image must be fully licensed to me for any use I see fit. Good luck everyone!
Technorati Tags: moleskine, contest, graphics, gtd, blog
Digital GTD: Ajax-Enabled Mind-Mapping with Bubbl.us
Mind-mapping is one skill I’m still developing as a relatively new GTDer. I’ve tried a couple different apps, as well as plain old pen and paper. The latter works best for me (though, I’d be lying if I called any of my previous mind-mapping attempts wildly successful). But, if I were a digital GTDer, I can say bubbl.us is definitely worth a look. It’s about as web 2.0-ified as you can get, complete with rounded corners, pastel backgrounds and dripping with enough Ajax to choke a horse. But it’s definitely got the sexy thing happening 
Gave it a quick go around, and it’s really easy to use. The TAB and Enter keys are your primary action keys, and there doesn’t seem to be a whole lot of mouse required (something that makes me very happy, personally). I would think that being able to just type as fast as you can would be a terribly effective mind-mapping tool, rather than having to click on the “create new box” button, etc.
Anyway, though you guys might like to check this guy out - Happy Mapping!
Source: Lifehacker
Technorati Tags: gtd, getting things done, ajax, productivity, mind-mapping, web2.0, software
6 Ways to Limit Interruptions at Work (That You Can Use Right Now)
Given the type of work that I do, I spend a great deal of time not talking to anybody and just thinking and typing. I do my best work when I can guarantee (which I usually can’t) several solid hours of total solitude. Nobody walking up to my desk asking me questions, no pop-ups telling me I have new email, no ringing phone. Just me and my computer working in blissful harmony.
Unfortunately, this is rarely possible. Tech support has questions, my boss needs status on a project and Jeff wants to know where we’re going for lunch. It’s less than idea, but it’s reality. The good news is, you can easily cut down on the number of times Bob from Accounting taps you on the shoulder about something or other. Here’s the list of time-tested strategies I’ve come up with to get people who walk up to your desk to take one look at you, then turn around and leave:
Context-Switching Hooks: Tape it to Your…
One of the biggest problems I’ve had with GTD to date has been with reminders geared toward switching contexts. Like, if I know I need to bring something home from the office when I leave, or when I need to stop by location X when on my lunch hour. Things like this generally appear clearly on my next action or other context-sensitive lists, but it’s setting up my current context so that when I leave it, I’ll know what needs to be done (as well as what needs to be taken with me).
I’ve got an idea (which admittedly borrows from one of The David’s suggestions) for how to deal with this; one that I haven’t fully implemented yet and was looking for some feedback on…
Heightened Creativity through… Jazz?
Glen over at LifeDev posted this article dealing with Jazz bringing you up a couple notches as far as the old thinker goes. Personally, I enjoy a moderate amount of Jazz, but I find I do my best work when listening to really aggressive genres (hardcore, metal, etc.). I’m not sure the neurologists of the world would agree with me, but I find that music that is upbeat and gets my toes tapping is the most effective way to get me really cranking at work. Electronic music and some tribal, Bollywood-ish type music comes to mind, as well.
What about you guys? Anybody have any special recipes for getting the juices flowing? I’m always interested to hear what types of music people enjoy while working!
Technorati Tags: music, productivity, life hacks
Quick Pro Tip: Easy Online Photo Editing With Snipshot
One tool that I’ve found immensely useful in creating the content for this here blog is Snipshot.com, an online photo editor. It’s what the rest of us use (or should) when Photoshop is just a bit too much.
If all you need is a quick resize, crop, rotate - snipshot wins. Save your images locally in a variety of formats or directly to Flickr or WebShots. It’s also got some enhancement features that I haven’t had occasion to use yet, but they’ve gotten rave reviews from sites much more popular than this one, so I imagine they’re worth a look! 
Anyway, please check it out, I seriously use this site almost daily - and like a good Web 2.0 startup, they have an exposed API you can use to add their functionality to your site!
Technorati Tags: images, web2.0, snipshot, flickr, photo editing
Feel Like You’re Not Getting Anything Done? Small Victories Can Help…
I don’t know about you, but many of the items on my project list are pretty monstrous. The kind of thing I look at during my weekly review and feel just a little ill. This is especially true of my projects at work, many of which will take several weeks to complete. It can really take the wind out of your sails when you spend a full day working on something and make very little progress.
Because of this looming cloud that tends to develop over my head, I’ve sought refuge in the hands of the small victory. Whenever I’m feeling particularly unproductive, I find something easy on my lists; something I can hammer out in a few minutes, and glory in the swift, deliberate stroke of my pen as I strike it off. A couple of those and I’m ready and raring to attack the problem project with the vigor of a thousand tigers. Well, maybe more like 250…
David Allen actually mentioned something like this during his interview with Merlin Mann when he talked about how you could tell he was putting off a big project by how great his house looked. I feel the same way, except I don’t view it so much as an escape as I do a mental preparation for “the big one”
Anybody else have any strategies for dealing with a real pain-in-the-ass project?
Technorati Tags: gtd, stress, productivity
