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- 8 Ninja Uses for Binder Clips
- Reasons to Get a Tattoo (and Reasons Not To)
- Getting Things Done with 37signals’ Backpack - Why I’m Switching Back
- 11 Tips for Better Tech Support
- Cranking Widgets Theme Updated!
- Keep Your Notes in Order with the Daily Scratchpad
- The Single Most Useful Contact on Your iPhone
- Happy Monday: Odds, Ends and other Minutiae
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8 Ninja Uses for Binder Clips
I would be willing to wager that most people, during their first office supply shopping trip after having read Getting Things Done, pick up some binder clips. This is probably because they happened across the Hipster PDA at some point during their GTD travels and thought, “man, that looks like something I could really get into - and for like $5, tops…”. Hell, you could build Hipster PDAs for a small village for like $20, who wouldn’t be tempted by such a small admission price? I know I wasn’t - I’ve got a whole tub of probably 30-40 binder clips of varying sizes that has been very busy gathering dust for many months now.
If you find yourself in this boat, have no fear, for I have compiled some seriously hacky uses for all those binder clips. They may not all have mass appeal, but they are examples of how to take your productivity gear to places it was never intended 
Getting Things Done with 37signals’ Backpack - Why I’m Switching Back
As some of my twitter friends noticed this week, I’ve made the switch back to Backpack as my primary GTD tool. Some found this surprising, given how heavily I’ve pimped Remember the Milk. This post will outline why I left RTM and why Backpack makes so much more sense (for me, anyway).
Let me get one thing out of the way - this post (and my aforementioned switch) is in now way an indictment on RTM as a service. They have an outstanding product and the sheer number of users they have will attest to that. Having said that, here is the main limitation I found with RTM as a digital tool for Getting Things Done:
Top 1 Thing To Keep Your Toddler Away From
Your laptop computer.
This is a picture of my Macbook after my 2.5 year old son got his hands on it:
The iPhone as a GTD Swiss Army Chainsaw
I have to be honest - this past Christmas, the item at the top of my wish list was the completely drool-worthy Amazon Kindle. I had watched the video intro a dozen times and was completely smitten. And while I had been secretly longing for an iPhone since they were released, I simpley never thought of it as a plausible reality due to my current cell phone contract, the new T-Mobile Sidekick I had just bought, etc. But, thanks to my terrifically perceptive wife, a shiny iPhone found its way under our tree. I seriously haven’t been the same since.
Obviously, I’m a little late to the game when it comes to this little piece of technological magic. It’s been out for well over 6 months now, has been hacked, jail-broken and otherwise futzed-with to seemingly endless degrees. But, it was new to me and I was in heaven. And, as with most Apple products, it did exactly what I expected it to, and did so (almost) flawlessly. Without rehashing what thousands of people have already said, let’s just say that it’s the single coolest piece of techno-gear I’ve ever owned.
Sidekick iD: Cell Phone Accelerated, But Somebody Forgot the Wiper Fluid
For the last year or so, I’ve been carrying around a Motorola RAZR as my primary mobile communication module (what mere mortals might call a “phone”). Honestly, it got the job done, but I was never in love with it. The form factor was awesome if you just kept in your pocket the whole time and never had to perform a two-handed operation while talking on it. The camera was pretty much a hunk of crap - and don’t even get me started on the “video camera” (I say it that way because I’ve made better movies out of stacks of cocktail napkins and some crayons).
A few weeks back, it started to fritz out on me. The signal would dip to unacceptable levels (even in areas where the signal used to be great), or sometimes drop off completely - especially at my office. It would stay in this disconnected state until I restarted it, which I was doing about 5-10 times per day, on average. It sucked.
14 Numbers Your Cell Phone Can’t Live Without
Not so long ago, cell phones were reserved for society’s wealthy and privileged. Yes, carrying around that small suitcase only for the pleasure of spending $.50/minute to call your stock broker or nail salon - that’s what separated the haves from the have-nots.
Thankfully, those days have ended. Everybody and their freakin’ mother has a cell phone these days - and why wouldn’t they? They’re ridiculously cheap to acquire and use (relative to just a few years ago) and even the freebie models come with more features than a stock install of Windows 95™.
Need a Labeler? Read This…
This is a Sponsored Post
It doesn’t take long for any GTD neophyte to realize that an essential tool in their productivity toolbox is a good labeler. While it may seem superfluous to the uninitiated, it’s one of those things that adds that extra bit of polish to your productivity system, as well as feeds the little fiend inside of you who loves a little productivity pr0n.
My new friends over at cableorganizer.com have an excellent selection of quality label printers to fit any need (and just about any budget). Sitting beside me on my desk is a lovely Dymo RhinoPRO 5000 label printer, courtesy of CableOrganizer. It’s one of those tools that screams durability - the kind I’d feel comfortable having on my belt looking at an unlabeled cluster of network or telephone cables. The unit arrived quickly and in perfect condition, ready for my strict evaluation - so you know the folks at CableOrganizer know how to get the job done.
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Prepare to Be Very Jealous of My Killer GTD Setup
Disclaimer: Buckle up, this is a long one!
When Jennifer of Lifemuncher tagged me with this little meme, I have to admit, I was a touch apprehensive. Not because I’ve fallen off of the GTD wagon or anything (which I sort of did a few weeks back), but because I have changed my GTD implementation about as often as I’ve changed my socks in recent weeks. But, being the community-minded nerd that I am, I decided to oblige in spite of myself.
So, to follow the prescribed order of things, we’ll start with my current set of tools (and their particular GTD application, just for clarity’s sake):
Productivity Infused with Style: Behance Action Products
(Disclosure: Behance is a sponsor of Cranking Widgets - but that doesn’t mean I am obligated to give anything but my honest opinion regarding their products. The following review is comprised of my untrammeled thoughts and reactions - nothing more, nothing less)
The first thing I noticed about the sample product I received from Behance was the almost Apple-like attention to detail. Everything came in high-quality plastic packaging (no shrink-wrapping for these folks) and simply looked great. Even the stationary looks awesome. It’s the kind of thing that makes you excited to be more productive (much like Moleskine products, especially for me). You can tell that a good deal of hard work and thought went into the design of products like this, and you feel like you’d almost be insulting them if you didn’t use their powers for good.
How to Make a GTD System for About $20
I’ve had several requests come my way for some tips on how to implement GTD on the super cheap. After all, not everybody can afford a super-fancy PDA or even a spiffy Moleskine notebook - especially college students. So, after doing a little research, I’ve figured out a way to make your very own GTD setup for around $20 (USD). Remember - my goal here was to find the absolute cheapest items (and even some DIY solutions), so I’ll be cutting a few corners.
First, there are a few things I’m going to assume you already have (or have access to). If you don’t have these things, well, you may have to adjust the bottom line a skosh:
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