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How to become more productive and happy at work

How to become more productive and happy at work

How to use the caret (^) to manage file versions @Darcy: I agree that it is the "neat" way of doing it, but it is too much of a hindrance when you are just updating some documentation, and not doing actual file management: you have to leave your application, go to the appropriate folder, perform your Subversion or CVS command, then go back to your app, instead of a quick n'dirty "save as". This would be even slower if you have to revert something (you can't Diff a *.doc file on the fly). Now if there was a way to include SVN/CVS in a common Save dialog box, as an option (where save = commit file immediately), that would really be a killer feature. Not sure it can be done though... By the way, the caret thing is just one of many "valid" symbols in a file name. ireallyshouldbeworkingnow,1.txt ireallyshouldbeworkingnow,2.txt Or better yet: ireallyshouldbeworkingnow,0707161729.txt ireallyshouldbeworkingnow,0707161730.txt ireallyshouldbeworkingnow,0707161731.txt And so on...

How to maintain a consistent workspace across multiple computers My flash-drive setup is a little different from most, I think. True, I use the USB drive to shuttle documents and applications between my laptop and desktop. However, I never actually work with the files on the USB. I have "PortableDocs" and "PortableApps" folders in the "My Documents" folder on each machine. These are mapped using subst to drive letters Q: and R:, respectively, on each machine. The advantages are: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Number 6 is even less of an issue than you might think, since I also have FolderShare syncing the "PortableDocs" folders on each machine. The biggest disadvantage is that it can get damned confusing if you forget to sync once.

Do you have a good job? Take the test Today’s job market favors employees. The attitude of most workers is that they should have a job that makes them happy. So it’s no surprise that at any given time 70 percent of the workforce is job hunting, according to the Wall St. Everyone is looking for the right position. Here is something it’s probably not: Prestigious. You might think you’re different – that you have a legitimate shot at fame. A good rule of thumb when choosing a job to make you happy is to pick one that is based on the following list of attributes. To test a job to see if it’s good, give the job points for each attribute it has: 1. 2. 3. It is worth noting that the primary cause of workplace burnout is not the amount of time spent working, but whether the work you did can make a difference. 4. So finding a job you like or turning a bad job in to a good job might actually be totally under your control; you can decide you are going to be likable and make friends, or not. Test results: 3 points, probably a good job

How to take notes that work Note-taking is one of those skills that rarely gets taught. Teachers and professors assume either that taking good notes comes naturally or that someone else must have already taught students how to take notes. Then we sit around and complain that our students don’t know how to take notes. I figure it’s about time to do something about that. Whether you’re a high school junior or a college senior or a grad student or a mid-level professional or the Attorney General of the United States, the ability to take effective, meaningful notes is a crucial skill. Not only do good notes help us recall facts and ideas we may have forgotten, the act of writing things down helps many of us to remember them better in the first place. What Do Notes Do? One of the reasons people have trouble taking effective notes is that they’re not really sure what notes are for. The purpose of note-taking is simple: to help you study better and more quickly. What to Write Down Second, what’s relevant?

How to find your information oasis The Internet Age allows you to get whatever information you want, as much as you want it. This, however, may do you more harm than good. The reason is simple: there is usually far too much noise in the information we consume. It becomes increasingly difficult to get the gems out of it, and it takes a lot of time and energy to deal with. An information oasis – where you can get only the gems of the information without the noise – is the dream land of Information Age. But how do you get there? News is probably the most noisy kind of information you could get. 2. Rather than reading news, I believe it’s a good idea to read another kind of information which has much less noise: history. Why is it important? 3. To find your information oasis, it’s important to reduce your information intake. 4. I love quotes because they are the kind of information that has the highest density of wisdom. 5. It is an important key to effective reading. 6. 7. 8.

Instant Boss Instant Boss will time your work/break cycles, reminding you when to work and when to take a break. The defaults are 10 minutes of work, 2 minutes of break, and this is repeated 5 times for a total of 1 hour. These values can be changed to suit your needs. Instant Boss will remember the values you used during your last session. Start by entering in the values you desire: The first box is for how long you want to work.The second box is for how long you want your breaks.The third box is for how many times you want to repeat this cycle. In the statusbar you can see where in your work cycle you are, followed by how long you have worked this session, followed by how long you have worked since you started using Instant Boss. Instant Boss will tell you when it is time to take a break. If you decide to take a break now, it will begin your break period.If you decide to work a little longer, it will count up and add this to your total work time.

How to increase your productivity Editor’s Note: I’ve been a fan of Glenn Wolsey, a young up-and-coming blogger for quite some time. I’m still amazed he’s 15 years old! I’ve asked Glenn to contribute a guest post to this fine blog. And here he is with his five favorite productivity tips. Get even more juicy tips & tricks via our RSS feeds: Glennwolsey.com (RSS)LifeClever (RSS) 1. Not many people are going to work well without some structure. Start scheduling or setting daily milestones. 2. When you’re juggling half a dozen projects at once, you’re just asking for trouble by keeping a to-do list in your head. The solution is simple. 3. In addition to your newly developed to-do list, start setting goals and milestones. Goals are very important, not enough people set them. 4. This falls under focusing on a single task. You don’t have to close your email program, practice ignoring notifications. 5. Multi-tasking can be fun, and can be rewarding. Glenn Wolsey is a freelance content creator from New Zealand.

How to become productive (eccentric style) From the way it’s talked about on sites like this, you’d think productivity was a long-lost secret of the ages. Really, though, there’s quite literally nothing to productivity: for the most part, it’s just a matter of staying on task and working hard. The problems tend to arise more when self-motivation is required: when there are no deadlines, working consistently isn’t easy. This guide won’t make you productive: only you can really do that for yourself. Instead, find a dark marker and a piece of paper. Shorten your task lists. Right now, for instance, my list consists of three things: “Write post, Write post, Write prompt, Ask question.” Stay minimalist. When you’re working, try to do things not in your to-do pile as quickly and efficiently as possible. Time yourself. Use applications. Make a list of dreams. Or, exercise. If you have the time, get out of your workplace entirely, be it your home or your office. Don’t do everything yourself. Avoid swivel chairs.

How to add more hours to the day A twenty five hour day isn’t coming any time soon. As long as your feet stay planted on the ground here, twenty four is all you’re going to get. However, with a bit of skill you can squeeze out a couple more hours to add to your day. Here’s how: Step One: Remove Big Chunks The first step to reclaiming more time from your day is to get hold of the big chunks that aren’t being put to good use. Television – This is a good starting point if you need more time. Step Two: Reclaim Gap Time Anywhere from 2-5 hours of your day is probably spent in “gap time.” Books - Bring a book with you at all times and get a few minutes of reading in. Step Three: Triage The final step is to use the principle of triage to focus on what’s important and ignore what isn’t. E-mail - Consider an autoresponder for common messages. Final Tip: Prioritize Work The final question isn’t just of doing things faster, but of doing the right things.

How to practice rituals in order to crank up your productivity a Using Rituals to Crank Up Your Productivity and Happiness There are some people who are amazingly organized. They calmly complete their daily tasks in order, and at the end of the day they feel a sense of accomplishment and contentment. They relax in the evening with family, friends, and their hobbies and they turn in for a good night’s sleep right on time. These are people who have rituals. Whether they are conscious of them or not, that’s what is going on. Establishing rituals is fun. Here are 8 rituals and routines that you could add to your life with examples to help get your imagination sparked and motivated. Rituals 1. List out what you want your morning to be like and assign realistic time frames. By having this written down you’ll be more likely to keep on schedule. 2. Choose a time to do this every day. 3. I do this on Sunday evenings, but you can also do this on Monday mornings. 4. Routines 1. This is much like the Morning Ritual. Click here to download this template for free. 2.

Ten things your IT department won't tell you How to improve your home office productivity If you work from home, the central part of your work life is the home office. For some, that means the kitchen table, but most of us assign a specific room to be the base of operations and (try to) do our work from there each day. Given that we must take into consideration strategy before tactics, it stands to reason that we should make it a room we enjoy being in, and furthermore, a room that gets us in a productive mood, and by considering these things provide a strategic framework to the hacks we can apply in the office. What puts you in a productive mood? That’s a central question to defining your workspace. If you can’t identify the things that trigger a productive mood for you, then you’ll have a tough time improving your workspace on anything more than a cosmetic level. 1. If you need to chew away at some menial work, like changing the font tags in a 500-page website where the previous designer was kind enough not to use a CSS stylesheet, play something upbeat. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.

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