I need to setup appropriate reminders to categorize twenty “Uncategorized” posts a day until they’re all organized again, so I’m reinstalling the free version of Habit Streak on my Android phone.
Habit Streak helps you achieve your goals (or New Year’s Resolutions) in exercise, diet or other areas of your life. Each day you report on whether you succeeded yesterday, building up streaks of habits and ingraining the activities into your life.
I don’t like hand writing as much as typing simply because I’m a slow writer. The faster I write, the less legible my words become.
It’s incredibly easy to get going with a MacBook Air (Oct 2010), especially since it wakes up from sleep so quickly.
You can type the program name after pressing the Windows key.
Once you’re done writing, Control + S to save your document, then Alt + F4 to close the program.
Which programs do I use to write? The following are essentially free simple text editing programs, designed with minimal features so you can focus on writing. If you like any of them, please donate to the developers.
I save these small text files to a dedicated folder within Dropbox[1. Affiliate link to Dropbox. "For every friend who joins and installs Dropbox, we'll give you 500 MB and your friend 250MB of bonus space (up to a limit of 16 GB)!"] only for text files, with a specific prefix to help me find it later. (e.g. BP means blog post in “BP – Pronto writing in six steps.txt”.)
Why not use Microsoft Word, Apple iWork Pages, or OpenOffice.org Writer? If you’re only working with plain text, you don’t need the extra features and bloat.
If you don’t know the HTML tags for post formatting, copy your text[2. Select All for: (Windows) Ctrl+A; (Mac OS X) Command+A], paste it[3. Paste for: (Windows) Ctrl+V; (Mac OS X) Command+V] into your blog post, then format and/or add links accordingly.
It doesn’t matter who you are. You need a calendar. (More specifically, Google Calendar. It’s free, you know.)
Do you truly respect people and their time?
While working at a law firm for last five years, I learned that everyone uses a physical and/or digital calendar. That calendar is sacred. If it’s not on there, it doesn’t happen.
I get annoyed when something gets planned or bumped at the last minute. I’m not talking about randomly, but on a regular basis.
I’m not calling you an idiot for not having a calendar. I just think you’re foolish to keep your schedule in your head. Additionally, if people rely on your calendar to schedule things involving you, what other incentive do you need to create and maintain a calendar accessible to others?
It’s alright. They can just text/call me and I’ll let them know.
What if you’re off the grid for a few hours, or your cell phone battery is dead? Do you really want the back-and-forth exchange one person has to undertake with several people?
How about if someone is asking me on the spot?
Tell them you’ll check your calendar and get back to them. Or, keep a paper copy on hand with the next few weeks.
Can’t I just keep it on my basic cell phone calendar?
What if your cell phone breaks or it’s lost? Where’s the backup?
Alright wise guy, so how do you keep your calendar?
I love Google Calendar. Look at its features! I’m sharing my calendar for potential customers[1. I still don't know if it's better to call them clients.].
Convinced? Setup your own Google Calendar now!
Today, I threw away enough trash to fill two small trash cans[1. Like the ones you'll see in any office.]. Most of the trash was paper that had been on my desk or inside my inbox for months. Months.
I’m starting to feel a bit better about my desk, but there’s still a long way to go.
In regards to maintaining my file drawer, one of my major problems is the cluttered area around my desk. It’ll never clear itself up unless I attack the piles in pieces and set a deadline.
I also have a number of books that I won’t read again, and most of them aren’t in demand on eBay[2. I basically tried to sell them already for the cost of shipping.]. If they’re worth reading, I’ll probably register them on BookCrossing and leave them in a park.
I’m setting a deadline towards a clear work area: Friday, June 11, 2010.
How will I meet that goal? In chunks. Each day, I’ll discard at least one full trash can and scan 20 pages into PDF files[3. My other mental block: not having my scanner (Canon CanoScan 5600F) setup since I clean installed Windows 7.].
Why am I telling you this? I find that the visual clutter drains my energy. I’m waging battle and I’d like you to hold me accountable.
Good procrastination? I think so.
Want to join me?
See you on the other side!
When is the last time you threw away a stack of papers or unused gadgets? How about a weekly review? Do you do a weekly review? How do you keep things clear? Small chunks or when you get upset? (Read “Weekly Review: Key to GTD and achieving goals” and “How to do a Weekly Review in Under an Hour“)
I almost got charged the CVS passport photo fee ($7.99) when printing a 4″ x 6″ photo with two 2″ x 2″ photos on it.
With the help of my friend, James, I took my own passport photos. I showed James how to compose the photo, stood in front of an off-white wall, then James pressed the shutter button. After making a few necessary color and lighting adjustments in Lightroom, I exported the file as a JPEG. Lastly, ePassportPhoto.com helped crop a single JPEG to output five 2″ x 2″ headshots on a 4″ x 6″ print.
I went to my nearby CVS (0.5 mi away), knowing that they charge $0.29 for an instant 4″ x 6″ print. All they had to do was take my $0.29. The kiosk did the rest. When I got the the register, cute cashier said they might charge the passport photo fee of $7.99 because of the intention of my photo. She called the manager to the front, and he told her to charge me the $0.29.
Cody, who used to work at CVS, explained that the passport photo price applies only when they take the photos for the customer.
When I went to the Temple City U.S. Post Office, I had no problems. Barbara carefully cut two photos out for me, reviewed my application, made a few corrections, then took my payment.
I submitted all that on Monday, May 10th. I’m not going anywhere, so there’s no rush. They estimated five weeks, but hopefully it won’t take as long.
P.S. I forgot to link to this blog post, “The Stupid Passport Photo Ripoff.”
Update May 28th, 2010: I just received my U.S. Passport book. That’s a turnaround of 14 business days. (Nice.) According to the information slip in the envelope, my passport card will arrive will arrive separately. None of this matters because I’m not planning on going anywhere out of the country anytime soon. I just wanted to have a a passport on hand, just in case.
When I saw Rooze’s Desktop, I was pretty stoked about how much this could help in making sure I’m as productive as I can possibly be. I fired up Palm Desktop, took a screenshot, cropped the extraneous stuff, and set it as a wallpaper on my desktop as well. Sweet!
The only problem lies is the lack of Tasks displayed from Palm Desktop – they don’t show up on the monthly calendar. I could have tasks dated, but I wouldn’t know it unless I pulled out my PDA or opened Palm Desktop.
Putting folders for things to do on that day is good – text files would work as well. Jot a few quick notes down, save, and put into the day you want to review it. Since I’m into concerts, I could also put a link to the Ticketmaster page where I’d purchase the tickets into a few days before the event.
Oh yeah, it might be wise to install something that’ll restore your icons’ location if you change resolutions. Although I haven’t tried it yet, Icon Restore should do the trick. (Golf clap: Lifehacker)
Please fix it soon, fellas! (Update: 