Productivity with Purpose
Posts tagged lifestyle
Top Picks for Blackberry Apps to Increase Productivity
Sep 2nd
In part 2 in my series highlighting technology tools for productivity I have chosen some highly recommended Blackberry apps. Not a Blackberry user? Check out the related posts for information on tools for other devices. Tools are an indispensible part of your productivity strategy. Choosing the right tool for your needs can be a confusing and somewhat daunting task. The decision must be based on your needs, working style, and level of comfort with technology.
Is there is some particular device or tool you’d like to learn about? Please let me know and I’ll try to report on it.
My picks:
BeReader – Google Reader client that allows you to read your Google Reader feeds on your BlackBerry everywhere you go, even when you do not have network coverage. Easily access, update and manage all of your subscriptions in one place.
BillableGoal – automatically tracks the time and details of your phone calls and emails. It also allows you to create timers and enter time to capture events. All time entries can be exported for input into your traditional billing system. Great for tracking client time! Supported export formats: plain text, sort able HTML, QuickBooks
Evernote – Free, open source note program, but way more than just notes. Evernote allows you to capture thoughts using text notes, voice recordings, photos and web clippings. You can tag notes or separate them into different notebooks. All notes are fully searchable and sync with a companion desktop application is desired.
HootSuite – Coming soon to Blackberry! Hands down my favorite app for every day social media management. Monitor Twitter and Facebook accounts, send and schedule updates, view statistics, watch lists and track keyword searches.
mProductive – is the ultimate ToDo List app that brings your Calendar, Tasks and Memos all together in one place at last. This app makes it really easy to organize everything that’s important to you. Personal priorities, work commitments and follow-ups (Task lists, meetings, appointments, events, notes, memos and reference information) can all be quickly created, conveniently grouped and effectively managed. A must for GTD users.
My Caption Speech to Text – With its Voice-to-Text capability, you get higher productivity and convenience. It synchronizes your e-mails, calendar, SMS text, note, memo and task entries exactly as if you typed them yourself — to your Outlook, Google Apps or to Lotus Notes or BES BlackBerry® Enterprise Server.
Shopper – Shopper is ideal for groceries and just about anything else you need to buy. Organize your lists for multiple stores, track pricing, input coupons, and go!
Vaayoo SocialBox – Interactive suite of social networking, sharing and sync services including Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Flickr, Picassa etc. Easily share photos, videos and audibles from your mobile with your friends on multiple destinations that you can select: Web Communities on www.vaayoo.com, Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, YouTube, Picasa emails and phones. You can also receive photo and video updates from them instantly.
Important Questions to Gain Perspective and Stop Wasting Time
Aug 17th
Productivity without a purpose is just busyness disguised as importance.
When was the last time you took a step back and tried to put everything about your life and work into perspective? Most likely the answer is never. I don’t just mean big picture plans, I mean what you actually do every day, how you act, how you spend your time and energy, why you do the things you do. Just humor me for a few minutes and entertain the concept that what you think you need to do or what you should do may not actually be true. Most of our patterns or behaviors are learned or acquired from others and then we never question them again until either something terrible happens or someone causes us to examine them. A recent vacation and a complete change in surroundings started me thinking about my own patterns and probing their effectiveness and even their necessity. This is why taking a break, stepping back and getting outside your “box” that has become your life is so important to both your personal and professional development.
I am challenging you now to scrutinize every pattern of behavior or routine and ask yourself these questions:
- Why am I doing this? What is the purpose?
- How much time do I really need to spend on it?
- Is there a faster, easier or more enjoyable way to accomplish it?
- What would happen if I stopped doing it?
It feels disloyal in a way to question your own perspective and thoughts, because hey, we all think that we are right. We don’t really like to entertain the idea that we could be completely off-base and have been wasting our time and energy when we could be doing something much more valuable like developing ideas, connecting with people or maybe even having fun!
My own investigation revealed the following insights:
- Perhaps I do not need to spend an hour every day on my social media communications. I gained Twitter followers and had engagement even during my vacation period, with considerably less structured tweeting, but Facebook almost completely fell off the grid. My assignment: try switching up the amount of time and the schedule that I currently use to see if I can reduce the time commitment and make it more fun.
- Writing my blog posts ahead during assigned writing periods seems more productive, but isn’t the most fun way to write for me. How can I make my writing may be more effective, enjoyable and relevant? My assignment: Try setting aside the first hour of my work day and write about what is on my mind and current.
- My exercise routine gets boring and that makes it a chore some days and hard for me to stick to my plan. What if I really don’t need to be so rigid in my schedule? How can I make exercise more fun and still get the results I want? My assignment: Experiment with including different activities, i.e. biking, walking the dogs, yoga, a weighted ball; instead of my standard running and weightlifting routine.
Stay tuned for my next post on my “Shake it Up” experiment….
Absolute Minimums are a Must to Improve Productivity
Jul 23rd
If you consistently accomplish your absolute minimum in each of your critical core concentration areas each day you will make significant progress toward you goals over time.
Remember, slow and steady wins the race. You can always do more than the minimum and I hope you will, but even small amounts of advancement add up. Too often we get caught up in the mental trap of believing that if we can’t commit a substantial amount of time and energy then we might as well not bother to take action at all. That is a myth.
Take a look at what you have identified as your current critical areas of focus and determine what your absolute minimums are.
What is the least amount of time, effort or action you need to take to see progress?
Each person will have different answers and only you as an individual can reasonably define what they are. It is also helpful to note which focus area they address. To get you started, here is an example based on my current focus list, of the absolute minimums that I must do with consistency; both to achieve progress towards my goals and also to feel satisfied with my life and work:
- Exercise a minimum of 20 minutes daily – physical health
- Write one hour – career
- Email my husband daily summary & encouragement – family
- Work a minimum of 6 hours each day during the summer – career
- Social media (10 Twitter posts and 1 Facebook post daily, update LinkedIn status weekly) – career
- Connect with at least one child each day (one on one time, phone call or email/text communication) – family
- Take 30 minutes of alone time (crucial to my sanity) – mental health
- Check in with my Facebook community (especially group for spouses of deployed military members) – friends
Your list may be very different and it should be since your life situation is dissimilar to mine. This list will then become a structure for new habits you want to implement. The amount and complexity is up to you, but remember to keep it reasonable or you won’t be able to maintain your momentum.
