RSSAugust 15th, 2007
Highlights for 8/15
Google Custom Search - Business Edition
We integrated the newly-released business search from google today for a client and it’s absolutely great! It allows you to have your own private-label search and index up to 5,000 pages for only $100/year ($500/year for up to 50k pages).
Google simply gives you an XML output of the results, and they can be customized/styled to fit your site perfectly. Kudos to the team there for finally making this happen.
Feeling Tired?
Here’s a productivity tip that can help anyone: if you spend most of your day in an office chair and always feel exhausted, then get up!! Exercise is not only essential for a healthy lifestyle, but it’s also essential for a productive workflow.
I recently started a diet/workout suggested by Tim Ferriss (mentioned here) and feel as fresh and psyched about work as ever. It’s only 3.5 hours per week for me, so make time for it.
I Wish I Had this Idea
Ever see something so cool that you instantly wish you had thought of it first? That was my very reaction when discovering Jott. Amazing little app, works like a charm.
8 Tips for a Stronger Call to Action
These tips from email labs can be applied to email marketing or website copy. Either way, it’s fantastic advice and a good read for those that are not born marketers.
Ever Want to Set Browser-Specific Styles?
In comes the CSS Browser Selector script! This was discussed a while back when 37signals wanted a way to set browser-specific styles. It became a life-saver for me recently when I needed to set a style for Safari. This little piece of javascript allows developers to easily set styles for a ton of browsers, and even set styles for when the user does not have javascript enabled. It’s now part of my toolbox and it worth learning about.
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August 8th, 2007
Become 100% More Productive with iGTD
Those of us that work long hours in order to accomplish their to-do list each day are always looking for ways to save just 5 more minutes. One methodology that had a profound impact on my workflow a couple of years ago was the book, Getting things Done by David Allen. Disciples of David just call it GTD for short, and it’s become quite a phenomenon. There are now seminars, blogs and now even software dedicated to putting the GTD methodology into practice.
As of late, one piece of desktop software called iGTD was released by a guy named Bartek Bargiel. It’s the most useful application I have, without a doubt. I have found it to be quick, easy to use and it is constantly being updated with new features. Best of all, it is currently offered for FREE (you can donate), although a commercial “Pro” version is in the works. If you don’t have a Mac to install the software, shame on you, time to get one.
Today I wanted to share 3 features of iGTD that help speed up my workflow and de-clutter:
Add Tasks Quickly from Anywhere
The time when I am most often coming up with new tasks and/or updates is when I check email. iGTD knows this, and helps me add items from Mail with one keystroke. When reading a message that requires action on your part, simply press F5. iGTD will open, add a new task with the subject line of the email as the default title, then will put the text of the email in the “task notes” so you don’t have to refer back. Simply press one key and iGTD does the rest.
Not only can you add items from Mail, but you can add items at any time with one keystroke. Simply press F7 (this key can be customized in preferences) to bring up the “Quick Add” window. You can add your task, then get on with what you were doing without missing a beat. iGTD currently integrates with more than 25 applications on your Mac, so you can make use of it in a number of additional ways as well.
Dates
iGTD supports most any kind of date you wish to associate with a task. I personally use due dates a great deal when setting my schedule. You can also set a start date to a task, so that it does not show up as an active “to-do” until that date. Most importantly, you can setup recurring tasks. Let’s say you want to pay bills on the 1st of every month, you can set iGTD up to recur that task each month. When you finish the task, simply check it off until it appears next month.
Flagging
One crucial thing to maintaining a productive workflow is planning. Each night before finishing with work, I go through EVERY project and make my to-do list for the next day. iGTD allows me to mark the tasks I want to accomplish by “flagging” them. The next morning I can instantly start my day by going down the list of flagged items without having to think twice.
The beauty of this application is that different people probably have 100 different uses for it. This is just how it’s changed my workflow, and I look forward to learning more about the features to come in this great app. Download it today and get started!
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