The Cranking Widgets Blog

How to Not Screw Up Your New Job

Photo Courtesy of uafcde

It’s one of the best feelings in the world, heading in for your first day at a new job. Everything feels fresh and new, you feel like you’re starting with a clean slate and that you’re really going to ace this one. You’re just so positive about everything, especially if [...]

Trick Out Your iPhone with These Smart Playlists

As I mentioned previously, i received an iPhone for this past Christmas. While I really love it, having to go from a 60gb iPod which held all of my music to having only 8gb of space took some getting used to. I started out by hand-picking various albums and tracks and changing the [...]

6 Websites That Will Certainly Make You Smarter

Photo by Vit6

Ah, the Internet. It’s one of those things that regularly inspires awe in me, even though I spend several hours a day interacting with it (both professionally and recreationally).
But with such an immense amount of information, it’s difficult to separate the wheat from the chaff, so to speak. While [...]

How to Work Effectively for 24 Consecutive Hours

Photo by afsilva

In my line of work, having to stay at the office through the night in order to meet a deadline is a reality (albeit an occasional one for most of us). Well, my number has come up a couple times in recent weeks. A work project fell behind and required a [...]

The Magic of the Dumb Guy Principle

Photo by jimoconnell

We all face challenges. I’m not talking about having to make a touch decision or anything like that – I’m talking about challenging tasks. Things like changing a diaper for the first few days of having a new baby, or learning how to change the motor oil in your car by [...]

Superstar Interview: Lifehacker’s Gina Trapani Talks Beer and Productivity

When somebody first start digging around for GTD and productivity-related websites, it won’t take long before they arrive at Lifehacker.com. A fine mixture of links to quality articles and products, as well as full-length features, how-tos and all sorts of other goodies. Like it or not, it’s hard to deny that LH is [...]

Bloggers: Want to Tap into the Pool of 58 Million Facebook Users?

I wanted to start by saying that I hope everybody had a fantastic holiday season and new year! I’ve got a bunch of stuff in the hopper for this little blog for the coming year, so be sure to stay tuned to find out what’s ahead
Social networking sites are popping up everywhere. [...]

Your GTD System Isn’t the Problem

Since starting my current job about 7 months ago, I’ve garnered something of a reputation for being “the organized guy”. A couple of the higher-ranking people there had attempted to embrace GTD (with varying degrees of success) and were ecstatic to have somebody on-board who could attempt to convert the rank and file. [...]

How to Talk to a Toddler

I’ll be honest – before I became a parent, I had a hell of a time interacting with small children. Kids who were still in the midst of learning to talk, but had learned a few words and used them frequently (and, not surprisingly, sometimes incorrectly). Tell me if this situation sounds familiar…
You [...]

How to Drink Like a High Roller in Vegas Without Going Broke

Being born and raised in southern California has its benefits. I can be at some of the most beautiful beaches in the country in less than an hour by car. I can also (during winter) spend a couple of hours on the road and be in just the right spot for some pretty [...]