Meetings can be one of the biggest time-wasters we can be involved with. They can be directionless, unfocused, long, and worst of all: pointless. There have been countless strategies put out there to combat the tedium of meetings, such as having “chairless” meetings, limiting meetings to 15 minutes, conducting meetings online and many others. But I haven’t found a single strategy or tool that improves the meeting concept better than MeetingBurner, and it just came out of beta today and is now available to the public.

MeetingBurner has released their fast, elegant, and free webinar platform to the public today, and I’ve had a chance to use the service while it was in its beta stage. During that time, MeetingBurner saw overwhelming demand, registering more than 20,000 small business users and hosting over 100,000 meeting attendees — including yours truly.

How MeetingBurner Came to Be

The company was founded by John and Paul Rydell, two brothers who were fed up watching the world waste billions of dollars a year in inefficient and ineffective online meetings. After spending a decade building a CRM business that supports more than 100,000 small business owners, the Rydells set out to build the world’s best online meeting platform with a vision to make it fast, simple, and efficient.

How MeetingBurner Works

MeetingBurner’s download-free interface lets participants join a meeting up to five times faster than existing solutions, and I’m a fan of not having to add any software to the mix to make things happen with a service. The platform used can scale to an incredibly vast size, as it is in built in the cloud with patent-pending technology to eventually allow for meetings of virtually any size. The company says they are looking to handle meetings of up to 1000 attendees, which is just unreal. By “leveraging the cloud” to support online meetings and conference calls, this allows MeetingBurner to offer a professional grade solution that is fast and reliable, and yet won’t break the bank for small businesses and freelancers.

The Benefits of MeetingBurner

During my test run of MeetingBurner, I came across a few of these features, and some of them hadn’t been available until today (like Autopilot, PayPal integration and the mobile platforms). These are just a few of the benefits of using MeetingBurner to conduct your meetings and webinars:

• Speed – Attendees click once to join a meeting, and it loads lightning fast.
• Simplicity – Anyone can join meetings without calling tech support.
• Integration – Phone bridges, Skype, and webinars in perfect harmony.
• Sharing – One click to share a recorded meeting on YouTube.
• Price – Free and fully featured with no distracting ads for attendees.
• Meeting Temperature – Instant data that lets you drastically improve your pitch, follow up with interested attendees, and turn your meetings into a powerful sales tool.
• Autopilot – Record a meeting on Sunday, but have it play on a Tuesday as if it’s live.
• PayPal Integration – Charge attendees directly from the registration screen.
• Mobile – Native Android functionality and iPhone/iPad apps to view meetings.

How to Register for MeetingBurner

MeetingBurner is fast and simple to get into — so much so that virtually anyone can use it, free of charge. It takes less than 10 seconds to sign up for an account and you can be hosting a webinar and sharing your screen with business colleagues, friends and family in seconds. You can register for a free MeetingBurner account at their website now.

While the free version is definitely worth considering, here are all of the version MeetingBurner is launching with today:

• MeetingBurner Free – Fast, beautiful, and always 100% free. Up to 15 participants in online meetings, integrated phone conference line, email support, and no ads to your users like other freemium solutions.
• MeetingBurner Pro– $39.95 a month. Everything in Free + up to 50 participants, full telephone support, meeting recording, enhanced security encryption, and more.
• MeetingBurner Premier – $99.95 a month. Everything in Pro + up to 1000 participants, telephone support, autopilot meetings, PayPal integration, meeting analytics, and more.

The pricing structure and accompanying features offered by MeetingBurner literally blow WebEx and GoToMeeting out of the water. In fact, even before announcing the pricing, MeetingBurner had already seen a huge influx of adopters from the very incumbents they’ll be competing with.

“More than 75% of our users indicated that they had switched to MeetingBurner from GoToMeeting or WebEx. More than 80% loved their experience enough to share MeetingBurner with somebody else, and 88% responded that they liked it so much that they would pay for it upon release,” says President John Rydell.

“We set out to build a BETTER webinar platform than the incumbents and give it away for free to completely disrupt the industry,” Rydell continued. “The feedback we received after our most recent release was enough to convince us we’re ready to open the doors, and compete head-to-head with the big boys.”

Why I Use MeetingBurner

I’m not big on meetings in general, but when I do have them I’d like them to be as easily digestible as possible. MeetingBurner is simple to use, is as frictionless as any other service of this magnitude that I’ve seen and has plenty of upside for me in other areas of my online work (i.e. running webinars, etc.). If you’re looking for a new way to hold meetings and conduct webinars, head over to MeetingBurner and give them a shot. You can also grab their iPhone app here, which brings you meetings and webinars on the go.

When it comes to online meetings and webinars, simply put — MeetingBurner is a game-changer.

Mike Vardy is a writer, speaker, and "productivityist". Read more of his writing and learn more about him at MikeVardy.com, and you can also follow him on Twitter.

At the end of the first week of every month, we’re going present the best of what Lifehack had to offer in the previous month. We know our readers are busy — not just with other aspects of their lives, but also reading articles elsewhere — so if you’ve missed out on some of what we brought to you last month, now’s your chance to catch up.

So, without further adieu, here is The Best of Lifehack from January 2012.

Searching for the Perfect Productivity Tool

One of the newest contributors to Lifehack, Jan Makulec, discusses why it’s not necessarily wrong (or right) to have found your perfect productivity tool…and searching for it isn’t necessarily the time suck that many say that it can be.

How I Use GoodReader

GoodReader is an incredibly versatile app, and Lifehack editor Chris Smith dives right in and suggests how you can get the most out of what for most is a very under-used app on their iPad or iPhone.

How to Become Clutter-Free for Greater Happiness and Productivity

Ciara Conlon is timely with this post on how to get rid of clutter so that you can improve your productivity and be happier as a result. January isn’t just a month for resolutions; it’s a month of “clearing the decks” too.

5 Management Practices That Kill Employee Productivity

Yet another new addition to the Lifehack contributor ranks, Marissa Brassfield writes about a few management practices that will do more harm than good to your team’s productivity.

How to Develop Mental Toughness

Mike Martel serves up a great piece that has a greater impact on your productivity (and confidence) than we’d all like to admit: mental toughness. He explains how mental toughness can be developed — and why it’s important to do so.

Productivity Made Simple: The Series

Karol Krol puts together a stellar series — especially appropriate for the beginning of the year — on how you can get into the GTD system with a simpler approach. The series is broken down into several parts:

1. Productivity Made Simple: Where to Start with GTD
2. Productivity Made Simple: Selecting What to Do Next with GTD
3. Productivity Made Simple: The 7 Main Elements of GTD
4. Productivity Made Simple: The Key to GTD – Your Daily Graph of Activity
5. Productivity Made Simple: How to Keep Your Projects from Killing You

If you’re still looking to become more productive this year, you can’t go wrong with this series — or with any of the articles in The Best of Lifehack: January 2012 edition.

(Photo credit: Golden leader of business team via Shutterstock)

Mike Vardy is a writer, speaker, and "productivityist". Read more of his writing and learn more about him at MikeVardy.com, and you can also follow him on Twitter.

I’m sure you’ve felt it: the horror at the end of a presentation (which, let’s face it, can be a bit of a trauma in its own right) when you ask the following:

“Any questions?”

There seems to be one of two ways things can go at that moment — and neither fills you with delight.

Firstly, there’s the Tumbleweed Option. Silence. Nothing — save perhaps for an embarrassed cough. Was your presentation really so bad that no one could understand it enough to think of a coherent question? Did you run over time so badly no one wants to hold up the next speaker, or – more importantly – get to the coffee break? Did you give such a perfect presentation that all possible questions were answered? (Spoiler alert: You didn’t.)

Option two is worse. The Killer Questions Option. At least with the Tumbleweed Option you’ve got the silver lining that you get to leave the stage sooner. With the Killer Questions Option you get to stay there and risk exposing your ignorance. For all its problems at least you can control the main body of your presentation — during questions everyone can hear you scream.

These are some of the most reliable ways of dealing with questions that I’ve researched. found or observed…

Know your subject

Yes, yes, everyone says this but I still see presenters who think they can research just enough about a topic to be able to deliver the presentation in question and no more. I’m sure there are valid reasons for doing this, but I can’t think of any offhand.

Take a break and go over your presentation with a fresh mind (or better yet, give it to a friend) and see what questions spring to mind. The advantage of using your friends is that they’ll have a clearer mind. I know its obvious but it’s a great way to figure out what you might be asked.

Buy the local newspaper and The Daily Mail (in the UK). Between them you should get a reasonable idea of what the burning issues are for the area you’re speaking in. You’ll be amazed at how often a member of the audience will find a way of asking a question which is relevant to both what you said and what their personal or local issue is. If you’re talking about exercise, someone will ask you about the proposed local swimming pool. If you’re talking about using social media, someone will ask you about the ‘horrible new proposed mast’ for the mobile phone network (and whether it’ll cause X, Y or Z in the neighbourhood).

Have a Question Bank

if you ever get asked a question you’ve not been asked before, note it down, decide on an answer and record that answer for next time. By the time you’ve given a presentation half a dozen times you’ll have covered most of the bases.

Draw yourself a mind map of the the presentation — or better yet — draw one on the whole topic area that you’re speaking about. You’ll have the big idea in the middle, secondary ideas going off as ‘tier one’ and smaller issues going off those as ‘tier two’ and so on. Most questions come from the outer fringes of the mind map, so look carefully at those and prepare your answers.

Most people care about their own lives, not the big issues — or at least how they intersect. For example, if you’re talking about the advantages of online training over face-to-face training, questions are less likely to be about the cognitive/recall issues of electronic learning (which is perhaps a tier one issue) as they are to be about whether your training will be accessible on their particular browser (as though they’re the only person in the world using that browser) despite the fact that you may have been very clear in your presentation that your material can be delivered on any browser.

Wrapping up

So there you have it – the some great ways of predicting and handling questions, based upon years as a presentation skills trainer, researcher and so on… of course (and this is based upon personal experience!) there’s always the option you don’t know the answer! :)

I know, I know…some of these are obvious. But they’re not so obvious that people do it! Others, such as the Daily Mail and the Mind Map, are techniques we’ve developed ourselves over the years and work for us.

And given that we’re professional presenters and trainers, we can’t afford to screw up…so they’re pretty thoroughly tested.

(Photo credit: Many raised fingers in class at university via Shutterstock)

Simon runs a soft skills training company called Aware Plus in the UK, but is probably best known for his work as a presentation skills trainer. He's also becoming known as a speaker on emotional robustness and personal resilience... he's also a fairly proficient fire-eater!

Most people who work in the business world today regularly interface with colleagues and clients all over the globe. In an economy without borders, enabled by instantaneous technology, they must actively collaborate with people in unfamiliar nations, speaking unfamiliar languages. The key question is – do up-and-coming twenty-first century leaders have the diplomatic skills and cultural savvy to be successful in this new climate? The answer in many cases is no.

In a recent study conducted by the Career Advisory Board established by DeVry University, hiring managers noted that global outlook was a skill that was considered most important but also most rare among current job candidates. However, improving global outlook and competence is not as simple as reading a book. Here are a few ways to hone yours.

1. Do a stint abroad

Get to know another culture intimately by observing variations in daily living and values. In communing with people who are different from you, you will acquire an additional perspective that’s extremely valuable and can be used in your future career. Although even short travel is beneficial, it’s better if you have the financial ability to stay a few months or a year.

A great site to look for and learn about the logistics of overseas job opportunities is Goinglobal.com. If you are currently employed with a large organization, inquire internally about the chance to do a stretch assignment offshore.

2. Read The Economist

More so than in other countries, American citizens lack an understanding of what’s occurring in the outside world. Become better informed and more culturally sensitive by subscribing to an international business publication such as The Economist, and by talking through global issues with your family members and friends.

3. Learn a new language

Although English is still the international language of business, that could change at any time, so it’s a wise investment to become proficient in an up-and-coming language like Chinese. Online or offline coursework is helpful, as is having a native speaker in your community with whom you can practice conversing.

4. Pick an interesting country and go deep

Before going overseas, or even instead of going overseas if travel is not possible, find a local contact who has previously resided in or worked with a country that intrigues you. Arrange an information interview to discuss that country’s culture and way of conducting business. Build the relationship over time with in-person lunches or coffee dates. Hopefully your contact will provide essential insights about global work and that nation in particular.

5. Consider working at a foreign company

This approach will allow you to increase your global awareness and competence without leaving U.S. soil because you will routinely interact with overseas contacts. Use directories such as the “Directory of Foreign Firms Operating in the United States” to create a target list of employers, and then leverage LinkedIn to identify openings and find individuals at those organizations with whom you can network.

In closing

As with any new skill, you have to start somewhere. Even if the effort seems small now, a continued focus on increasing your worldview will render you more marketable and employable in the future.

(Photo credit: Global Communication via Shutterstock)

Alexandra Levit is a career and workplace expert at the Intuit Quickbase Blog , a daily source for advice on how to be exceptional at your job. You can follow her on Twitter at @alevit.

Have you noticed how obsessed we all are with getting things right? Not only that, but doing the right thing quicker and better than ever before. Everywhere you turn, there are books, magazines and blogs dedicated to making sure we have the secrets of success so we don’t screw up. In the face of all this rampant perfectionism, it’s easy to overlook the importance of being OK without getting it wrong now and then.

I had a bad day yesterday. In fact, I would go so far as to say that my morning was one hot mess and that there is no one to blame but me. I handled a couple of issues SPECTACULARLY badly. By 10am, I had done some serious, but hopefully impermanent damage to some important relationships in my life, both personal and professional.

To Err is human

“Shut Up, Shut Up, Shut Up!”, the mature part of me was screaming, but unfortunately, this wasn’t the part of me that was driving the bus at the time. All in all, it was an epic fail on the “impulse control front.” For someone adept at navigating the grey complexities of ethics in both academic and professional life, it’s rather bizarre how obnoxiously black and white I can be when things get personal. Now that my blood pressure has gone back down to normal, I cringe as I reflect on my vehement and indignant behavior.

Being able to see that we (may) have made an error of judgment is a good thing. Not least because it keeps our ego in check and teaches us some humility.

The Customer is always right

In business, the old saying “the customer is always right” still holds true. Customer service, or lack thereof, can make or break a company. At the foundation of good customer service is the ability to apologize and to do it well. One often cited example of best practice is from 1982 when a Japanese Airlines plane crashed in Tokyo Bay. The president of the airline went promptly and personally met with and apologized to each family of the crash victims.

Not only is it the right thing to do, but in some cases, it actually pays to apologize. Take the world of medical malpractice, where the traditional consensus amongst attorneys defending doctors who were being sued used to be to advocate silence. However, some more recent research has challenged this way of thinking. One of the most famous cases is the VA Hospital in Lexington, Kentucky. The Lexington VA has a policy surrounding medical error which actually encourages communication of sympathy and admissions of fault. Not only that but the VA is proactive in disclosing errors and offers help on how to file a claim.

“This policy of extreme honesty, practiced since the late 1980s, has reportedly reduced lawsuits and settlement and defense costs. Only three cases have gone to trial in 17 years, with the average settlement being $16,000, compared with the national VA average of $98,000.”

Robert J Walling and Shawna S. Ackerman (2006) “Having to say your sorry: A More Efficient Medical Mal Practice Insurance Model.”

The disclaimer

While saying sorry might avoid a law suit in many circumstances, if you find yourself in a situation that has a chance of ending in legal proceedings, it is always advisable to consult an attorney because in some states, saying “I’m sorry” can be used as an admission of guilt in court.

How not to apologize

Of course, all apologies are not created equal and it’s said that in business, a bad apology can actually be detrimental in some circumstances. In a 2006 Inc. article, Allison Stein Wellner referred to research by Jennifer K. Robbennolt, a professor at the University of Illinois College of Law. In a study of apology letters written after a hypothetical accident, Wellner discovered that victims who received a partial apology (interpreted as “I’m sorry if you think I should apologize“) were actually less likely to accept a settlement offer than those who received no apology at all.

Another common pitfall is what Lauren Bloom, attorney, ethics expert and author of the Art of Apology ebook describes as the “if/any game.” She describes it as one of the apology errors that politicians frequently make when they say, “if my actions offended anybody, then I apologize.”

Elements of a good apology

There is quite a lot of helpful information to be had on the art and/or science of apologizing. Some of the key elements are sincerity, timing, taking full responsibility, acknowledging the hurt or damage caused, asking for forgiveness, future intentions and restitution. The website PerfectApology.com points to the letter and video by Jet Blue founder and Ceo David Neeleman as a perfect business apology. “We are sorry and embarrassed. But most of all, we are deeply sorry…(for) the worst operational week in JetBlue’s seven year history.”

Hard to say

If it’s tricky to say sorry in business, how much harder is it in our personal relationships? Owning our short-comings can be hard. An apology can feel like an admission of failure, an undesirable acknowledgment of our human frailty. There is often fear attached to a real or perceived threat that an admission of a mistake may be used against us in the future. We may be afraid that our apology will not be accepted, that it will be greeted with anger, that it will result in more conflict when we seek to avoid confrontation.

But, when all is said and done, I still believe that owning up to being wrong is the right thing to do. It equips us with the ability to see things from more than one perspective. It offers the opportunity to cultivate persistence and not to quit. It reminds us that life is not a performance or a test but a learning experience.

Conclusion

To err is human, as the saying goes, but to forgive is divine. I’m counting on the divine intervention necessary that I might be able to give myself and everyone else permission to screw up and to learn from our mistakes. For at the end of the day, sometimes it simply comes down to this, “Would you rather be right or be happy?”

Mirabai Galashan MTh. helps people make the most of every day of their lives. She is a hospice chaplain, healer and teacher who works with individuals, couples and groups, offering counseling, coaching and holistic healing. Mirabai has a masters in Spirituality and Health over 20 years' experience as a professional practitioner of complementary therapies. Learn more at http://mirabaigalashan.com.

There were some stunning facts released recently from both Twitter and Facebook:

Twitter is on track to hit 500 million accounts by February. At the same time, Facebook is looking at hitting 1 billion users in August.

On top of this, it seems as if every day there are plenty of success stories of how people found a job through Twitter, how they found new clients or speaking gigs via Facebook, or connected to new people to expand their network. So the benefits from using social networks professionally are extremely powerful. Yet building up your personal brand through Twitter and Facebook is often a hard and time consuming task.

So here are 6 tips on helping you build a stronger personal brand on Twitter and Facebook by saving time on posting and growing your network.

1. Post Tweets at a better time – from any website with Buffer

The key app I am using to make my day to day social media activities more painless is Buffer. It is a new way to tweet and post to Facebook at better times. You simply add tweets to your queue and they are “automagically” scheduled to be posted spaced out over the course of the day.

You can add updates from any website with the handy browser extensions (Chrome, Safari or Firefox). All you do is click the Buffer icon whenever you want to share an article, and click “add to Buffer”. In a recent study, Buffer has shown to improve clicks on your Tweets by 200% and get you (on average) double the number of retweets. All simply by filling up your Buffer and letting it do its work.

2. Use ifttt & Buffer to put Twitter to work for you

Another app that has facilitated my life greatly is called ifttt (“if this then that”). It allows you to connect any two web services together and combine their powers. Here are a few examples on what ifttt allows you to do:

• You star something in Google Reader –> It is added as a Tweet to your Buffer
• You take a picture with Instagram –> it is added to your Dropbox
• Save a bookmark to Delicious –> Add as a Facebook post to Buffer

Overall I found that ifttt just streamlines the process of using Twitter and social media in an incredible way. The best part? There are absolutely no boundaries of which types of “recipes” you can create. Be sure to check it out.

3. Add to Buffer right from Twitter.com

Another powerful way to make keeping in touch with your followers is to use Buffer’s functionality to schedule retweets right from Twitter.com. By installing the browser extension for Chrome, Firefox or Chrome, you will get a new little Buffer icon right inside Twitter.com

What I like to do then is browse my Twitter stream and whenever a Tweet is worthy of a retweet, I can hit the Buffer icon. That way I can spend a few minutes on Twitter and add 5 or so retweets to my Buffer, without ever flooding my stream.

4. Post Tweets at optimal times with SocialBro

This next tip involves the use of an awesome app I started to use a few weeks back called SocialBro. Amongst lots of great analytics insights, the app looks at your followers and finds out the best time to tweet for you.

Once you receive your report for best tweeting times, you can click the “configure in Buffer” button. It will set your top tweeting times as a schedule inside Buffer. From now on, all you have to do is add tweets to your Buffer and they are posted for you at these optimal times.

5. Add to Buffer form Flipboard, Zite and Pulse

The one feature I couldn’t live without when reading on Flipboard or Zite is the ability to email in Tweets and Facebook posts right from the articles you are reading. On your iPad, just tap the “email link” as shown below. You can then type in your secret Buffer email and send it off.

Once you find your secret Buffer email you just hit the email link whenever you find an interesting post. Buffer will automatically recognize which email address your updates are coming from. It will put the subject line as the title of the tweet. At the same time, it also grabs the link from the body of the email and shortens it for you.

So all you have to do is hit “send” and a new tweet lands in your Buffer. Handy right?

There are also mobile apps available for your Buffer account. It means you can add Facebook updates or tweet to your Buffer while on the go easily.

Both the Android app and iPhone app have the functionality of adding articles right from the browser to your Buffer. Whenever you are reading a post, just click the “share” menu in Android and you can add the tweet to your Buffer.

I have a 15 minute train ride every morning. That’s a fantastic chance to browse the latest articles and add everything I like to my Buffer. It keeps my stream steady and my followers posted with the latest stuff I have found helpful. And best of all — it never overwhelms them with too much content in too little time.

6. Track your clicks, retweets and reach of Tweets

One saying that I always bear in my mind is a quote I first heard from Tim Ferriss:

“You can’t improve what you can’t measure.”

So tracking how well you are performing on Twitter and Facebook is the only way to also get better with your tactics. Buffer comes with a handy analytics feature. Every tweet you send with the sharing platform will be tracked for you.

You will know how many clicks, retweets and reach you have received and — most importantly — who has retweeted, “favorited” and replied to your tweets. You can follow new folks that have retweeted you right from there or thank them for it.

With just one glance at your tweets you can see which ones are getting the most clicks. I have found this to be a great way to focus on improving your tweet copywriting, as you are constantly reminded what your followers are most interested in.

The Power of Growing Your Social Media Accounts.

Having a solid following on both Twitter and Facebook has proven to be extremely helpful for me. Whenever there is an issue that arises or help I might need, I can just send out a quick tweet or post to Facebook and there will be a ton of replies. Over the past 10 months, I have grown my audience on Twitter to around 5000 people, purely by providing interesting content through Buffer.

Do you think some of the above tips can help to make you more productive using Twitter and Facebook? What other methods are you using to grow your audience?

Leo Widrich is the co-founder of Buffer, a new way to Tweet and share Facebook posts more intelligently. He also blogs Twitter tips at http://blog.bufferapp.com. You can follow Leo on Twitter at @LeoWid.

Quite often when you are listening to a speaker, teacher or seminar leader, you are thinking to yourself that this person is either a really good presenter or a boring one. For some reasons you are not totally sure of, you have put that person in your mind in one of these two classifications.

Of course, if you are ever to be asked to do a presentation in front of people either at work or at a social event like a wedding, you definitely want to do your best so that you are not in turn, labeled as a boring presenter. As a trained speaker, I can let you in on a few secrets and tricks that will help you make it over to the good presenters group if this is one of your goals for the New Year.

Eye Contact With Your Audience

Too often poor presenters are looking straight ahead, straight down to the floor, at their notes, or at the screen if using PowerPoint slides for most of their presentations. This loss of eye contact makes it very hard for audiences to have any real connection with a speaker. As a presenter, you should make an effort to have eye contact with all members of the audience. This includes those sitting on the extreme left and right ends, as well as those in the back of the room. Make brief eye contact with different parts of your audience by turning your head towards their direction throughout your talk.

Have Some Vocal Variety

Boring speakers talk with a monotone drone in public. This puts audiences to sleep quickly, especially in darkened rooms. Instead, try to speak with a variety of tones in your voice and with different rhythms in the phrasing of your words. Make important words stand out and have pauses after key points to let audiences reflect on them for brief moments. Rushing through your talks without pauses will lose your audience.

Use Hand Gestures

Communication in front of people is not just about using your voice. Use appropriate hand gestures to further enhance certain phrases in your presentation. A combination of vocal and visual elements makes for a more effective talk. For example, if making a reference to something that is rising or going up, use your finger and point up towards the ceiling as you verbalize your point. As a general rule of thumb, the larger your audience, the bigger your gestures should be since small gestures may not be visible to people sitting in the back of large audiences.

Reduce Your Use of Crutch Words

Words like “um” or “ah” during a presentation or even in normal conversation, are known in the speaker world as crutch words. They are also sometimes known as “filler words” since they have no meaning and people tend to use them to fill in dead space in between phrases. Try to reduce your use of such words by speaking a bit slower. Although the odd filler word is not a major issue, excessive use of them during presentations can be quite irritating to the ears of the audience.

Use the Stage Effectively

If you are speaking from a stage or front of a room where there is enough space and you are not stuck behind a podium microphone, make good use of the available room. Audiences react better to speakers who move around the stage rather than those who just stand in one spot during entire talks. However, pacing back and forth endlessly is not effective either. Instead, move with purpose towards a certain part of the audience to connect more with them during certain parts of your talk. You can also use movement to enhance parts of your presentation.

These skills are the physical techniques that will help you become a better presenter in front of any audience. It is highly recommended that you rehearse any presentations that you have to make in public well in advance. Also, rehearse your talks with these physical techniques as if you have an imaginary audience in front of you rather than just reciting them verbally at your desk.

The physical techniques mentioned here along with good writing forms the secrets of great presenters.

(Photo credit: Microphone on Stage via Shutterstock)

Clint Cora is a motivational speaker, author & Karate World Champion based near Toronto, Canada. Get his FREE 3-part Personal Development Video Series on how to expand your comfort zone and finally conquer even your most daunting goals in life.

Wouldn’t you like to have mind control over people? Wouldn’t it be great to have them do what you want?

The idea of getting of a potential dating partner to take notice of you, getting your children to behave, having your boss promote you, getting people to help you succeed in whatever you want that all sounds great doesn’t it.

Well, let me tell you that it is possible to have people do what you want.

I am not talking about any sort of mind control. Back in my Special Forces days, we studied psychological operations. In the military, psych ops (as it is called) is used to influence a target audience’s emotions, motives and reasoning. Now this can do down any number of rabbit trails. What we found worked the best was not any sort or manipulation or trickery. It was basic human psychology.

Today I am going to tell you about what can help you in your life, make you more productive, help the people around you and get the results you are looking for. Are you ready to learn the secret of how to control people’s minds?

People will do what you want when you give them want they want.

Wow, doesn’t seem like much of a secret does it?

The question back to you is, why don’t you practice it? The important thing to remember about the secret is that when you don’t follow it, people will resist you, act against you, do the things you don’t want them to do. A lot of times we get it backwards. If my boss would give me a raise, I will work harder. If my spouse shows me more love, I will show them more love. You have to give them what they want first, then they will follow through with what you want.

Let’s make this even more simple. Instead of what they want, turn that into what they need. People say they want to be rich, they need to feel fulfilled. People say they want sympathy, they need empathy. People say they want power, they need respect. If you supply what someone truly needs, they will do anything you want.

Listening is the key

People would rather talk than listen. You can use that to your advantage and let other people talk and tell you what they want and need. People just like to talk. Freud pointed out that just the act of talking can provide healing. People tend t naturally do this in a supportive environment. By listening intently to what someone is saying you can hear what they want and need and supply it.

Scratch the itch

The key then is to identify what motivates someone and fill the desire. We did the same thing when I was in the Green Berets. One of the Special Forces’ missions is to train indigenous forces. A twelve man A-team would be inserted into country to work with 300 – 400 guerrilla soldiers. Twelve men cannot force 300 – 400 to do anything, especially if they have to live with them. We had to get them to do what we wanted them to by motivating them with their own needs. Only by understanding them, talking to them, and observing them could we know what was “their itch.”

Now here is the key. Once we had what motivated them, we didn’t use it as a bribe. We incorporated it into what we wanted. So by fulfilling their need, they fulfilled ours. They needed a well, we needed the roads improved to move supplies. Well to build a well you need to bring in supplies. We had them improve the roads in order to build the well. You can do the same. You want a discount on a price. The vendor wants to move a floor model. Find out their needs and fill it with one that benefits you.

It is not hard getting someone to do what we want. It is not about manipulation or some sort of military thought control. It is simply listening and observing to find out what they need and filling that need.

(Photo credit: Image of a Hypnotist via Shutterstock)

For 20 years, Michael Martel was a Green Beret in the US Army. He now works with people to put Special Forces like effectiveness into their lives and businesses.  Go to Achieve The Green Beret Way and learn about his book Get ER Done: The Green Beret Guide to Productivity and other tools for achieving outstanding results.

If you’re a writer, then becoming disciplined with your writing is one of your biggest challenges. It’s not something that you tackle once and then never have to worry about again. It’s an ongoing battle. and you have to have a ton of weapons at the ready in order to take it on each and every day.

That said, if you’re not a writer by trade and simply want to use writing as means to express yourself (online or off), then discipline is something you’ll need to have to keep it up. As someone who has trasitioned from writing as a hobby to a career, I’ve had my struggles with this in both realms. And I’ve conquered them over and over again because I’ve had the willpower and determination to make it through.

How have I done this?

While I’ve tried several tactics to combat a lack of discipline and find a way to get writing done, I’ve found that there are really 3 ways to get your writing done that can either work in tandem or independently. I’ve used all of these consistently throughout my time spent writing — both as a hobby and as a career — and the results have been the same: I get writing done.

1. The Write Time

When I first started to become more serious about my writing, I dismissed the notion of setting aside specific time for writing. I thought that if I wrote as the ideas came to me then I’d have a much better success rate in terms of creating great written work. I was way off base on that.

While it’s important to capture your ideas as they come to you – I’ve captured ideas using a variety of methods during my writing career – you can’t just pick up and write whenever. You need to block out time to write. It doesn’t matter if you do it early in the morning or in the wee hours of the evening – but you need to set out specific times to flesh out your ideas and get the writing done.

I’ve discussed my current writing schedule before, but as a writing hobbyist my schedule was set up as follows:

• Wake up/Daily Routine: 7 am to 8 am
• Work: 8:30 am to 5:30 pm (including commute)
• Dinner: 6 pm to 7 pm
• Time with kids before bed: 7 pm to 8 pm
• Time with wife before we did our own things: 8 pm to 9 pm
• Writing: 9:30 pm to 11:30 pm (never less than this amount of time, often more)
• Bed: No later than 1 am

On weekends, I’d spend one day doing absolutely no writing (we called this Family Day) and the other doing more than my 2 hours – often I’d get in about 4 hours on that day. As a result of putting a system like this in place, I built up a great portfolio of work that landed me more and more writing work that not only paid, but were in my areas of interest. And now I’m a full time writer. Making time for your words not only will instill self-discipline like nothing else, it can lead you to a writing career if that’s what you want.

There’s no right time of day to do this, but you’d better set aside a “write time of day” or you’ll have a much harder time getting the words out of you. I cannot stress this enough.

2. The Write Place

Scheduling your writing is crucial, but you need to have a place to go when that time arrives. Having a place to do your writing is like having a touchstone for your work; it’s a sacred place you go to where the words flow out of you. It doesn’t have to be serene, it doesn’t have to be in the home, it doesn’t have to be a huge setup. But it does have to be there.

I’ve tried a ton of different places, an entirely separate “pseudo-office” in the basement, a standing desk in our large walk-in closet and a larger area in the main part of the house. None of them were necessarily right for me, but I found that the further removed I was from the rest of the house the less friction I had in getting my writing done. My standing desk was ideal for podcasting or talking out my ideas, but not so much for the act of writing. The basement setup felt as if I’d been banished to dungeon to do my work, so I didn’t enjoy going down there. That had an impact on my writing.

Now I’ve got a very comfortable writing chair and a Levenger lap desk in the master bedroom that suits me best as my “write place” – and it works best for a number of reasons:

1. It has a door, giving me privacy when I need it.
2. It is bright, with a sliding door out to our back deck.
3. It doesn’t “feel” like an office, yet it acts like one during the day.
4. It is in the back of the house, furthest from the reaches of noise.
5. It’s easily accessible.

Create a place for you to do your writing. Work within the limits you have for now and then adjust as needed. But remember that adjusting your writing space isn’t actually getting the writing done, so don’t get caught up in the “where” over the “why” and “what” because they are the most important factors.

3. The Write Tools

This is where you can really get caught up in fiddling. Don’t fall victim to that.

Don’t experiment or tinker too much once you’ve got the right tools in place. Chances are you’ve already been writing using some sort of tools, so stick with those until you get in the habit of scheduling your time to write. Outside of that scheduled time, look for tools that will improve how you get the words out without barriers that keep you from that. Again, the “why” and “what” are far more important.

I use different tools for different forms of writing. On my MacBook Air, I use Byword for weblog writing, Scrivener for longer form writing. On my iPad, it’s Writing Kit. I use index cards to capture ideas, along with my iPhone and Evernote. All of these tools help me get my writing done more effectively and efficiently.

I can’t tell you what tools are right for you. But what I can say is that the real “write tool” is you. Writers have been writing well before computers, typewriters and even paper came to be, so keep that in mind when picking out tools that will help you become a better writer. Because no tool can do that.

Think of it this way: These tools are the drill bits. You’re the drill.

The Write Mind

All of these have a way of leading you to The Write Mind, and that’s where you need to be to put out the best words to paper or screen that you possibly can on an ongoing basis.

Do right by you and your writing with these 3 foolproof methods, and you’ll create better and better written work each and every time. Keep at it and calling on self-discipline will happen easier over time.

And there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that.

(Photo credit: Once Upon a Time via Shutterstock)

Mike Vardy is a writer, speaker, and "productivityist". Read more of his writing and learn more about him at MikeVardy.com, and you can also follow him on Twitter.

It has taken me over 15 years to get back to writing and start taking it seriously.

I have been reading and writing since I was barely out of diapers. And yet I never dared to think of myself as a writer. “God, no I can’t be one of those,” I thought. I allowed my fears of writing to rule my life, to make me not even admit to myself that I was doing the same job that writers do.

My fears took the form of excuses, but they still were fears in disguise. Fear of failure, fear of rejection, fear of being accused of
impersonating someone I was not. Do you relate to any of these?

Fear #1 – You are not good enough

All of my life, I thought I was a mediocre writer – that my work was not worthy of being made public.

For one, I wrote in a very ‘bloggish’ style. A conversational style that has been made popular by the likes of Golden’s Memoirs of a Geisha , Gilbert’s Eat, Pray, Love and David Nicholl’s One Day. Twenty years ago, I couldn’t find any books that would say to me “your style is valid too”; colloquial is good.

Writing in a personal, conversational style where it feels like you are having an intimate conversation with your reader is not only perfectly valid but highly sought after. The stronger your voice is and the more opinionated you are, the more interesting writer you will become.

I wish somebody had told me 10 years ago. I wish somebody had told me to stop comparing my writing with others.

What has been keeping you from calling yourself a writer?

Is it a different sort of style, love of genre or form? Whatever it is, embrace it and work it.

Writing is about voice, personality and delivery, not the placement of your em-dash. (Which I love to use by the way). People are looking for honesty, not perfect prose, which means you have all the creativity you need.

Banish perfection and hone your craft. Remember imperfect is interesting. Doubt is good – it helps you steer in revision.

Sit down, start writing and don’t think. That’s all you need to do to write. Don’t think – just write.

Fear #2 – You have nothing to say

Feed your brain. Read, observe, participate, live.

Record your ideas: a small writing pad and a small writing device are your best friend. You can lug them around and there is no excuse to be two feet away from one at any time. My best ideas come when I am doing the dishes or about to fall asleep. Both are not ideal. If I couldn’t touch some sort of notebook when I reached for it, I’d lose all sleep.

Get rid of distraction: turn off the Internet, your phone, and TV. Disappear for a while in your writing. And you will amazed and how much work you can accomplish.

You need what you need to know. You don’t need 50 personal and writing books to tell you that. They make you feel like you are not creative enough, organized enough, fit enough, clever enough. You are all those things. Have you lived a life? If so, that qualifies you to write.

There is only one thing you need to write – you need to have a life. Write about what you have lived through – tell your own stories.

Fear #3 – You don’t know where to begin

It’s very simple. All you need are a few things:

• A quiet place to sit.
• A paper and pencil or computer.
• Ability to be by yourself for a while.
• Willingness to explore yourself.

What you DON’T need:

• An expensive education or writing degree.
• Expensive stationary and office supplies etc.
• Expensive computers and software.
• Anything new.

Fear #4 – You don’t have support

Writing is a communal act – you don’t do it alone.

Don’t fret if your family gives you blank stares when you suddenly announce, “I want to write.” Don’t lose hope when your partner doesn’t break into a dance of joy upon hearing this good news.

Don’t be offended if your friends nod their heads politely, while keeping an eye on their kids chasing each other at the park, or trying to kill someone. It’s very unlikely that you will find support among your family and friends – unless you are incredibly lucky. Give them time, let the news sink in, for both your sakes. Remember they are new at this too; they will eventually come around.

Go on on an active hunt for like minded people.

Have you been following any writers’ blogs? Read the ones that offer courage and inspiration to keep you going as you hone your craft. They will keep you motivated. Even better, start a blog of your own if you haven’t already.

Go to the local library and find reading or writing groups. Join an online book group where all the “book obsessed” hang out. Attend live readings. If you are too shy to do these things, join anyway and lurk. Speak up when you have the courage. Don’t talk about your work for now – just listen.

All in all, remember these 3 rules:

1. Stop thinking.

2. Start writing.

3. Don’t think about it.

Be interesting and you will make your writing interesting. Write honestly and passionately and learn along the way. That’s how all the famous ones do it!

Which fear of writing is stopping you from writing? Do share in the comments below.

(Photo credit: An open old book by the candlelight via Shutterstock)

Marya is a communicator of ideas, exploring the human face of blogging. She offers quirky insights into personal development for bloggers - and writers. Catch more of her posts at Writing Happiness. For practical tips and inspiration, read Give Your Blog a Complete Makeoever - 18 Action Steps to the Path of Blogging Success. Follow her @WritingH.

As 2011 draws to a close, we reflect on the year gone by and look forward to the year ahead. So to help you make 2012 the best year yet, check out our recently-wrapped New Tools for the New Year series to get you started:

New Tools for the New Year: Communication
New Tools for the New Year: Lifestyle
New Tools for the New Year: Management
New Tools for the New Year: Money
New Tools for the New Year: Technology

On behalf of the editors and contributors at Lifehack — and its parent company Stepcase — I’d like to wish a safe, happy, prosperous and productive new year to all of our readers.

(Photo credit: Happy New Year via Shutterstock)

Mike Vardy is a writer, speaker, and "productivityist". Read more of his writing and learn more about him at MikeVardy.com, and you can also follow him on Twitter.

Let’s face it, no matter what your business is, or who you work for, the chances are that you’ve been on the receiving end of bad presentations. My working definition of a bad presentation here is one that costs more than it saves or makes for the organization involved. If it’s a business presentation, that’s obviously the company employing whoever the presentation involves – there’s always (almost always) someone who’s responsible.

Of course, it’s hard to work out how much a presentation will save or make for the organization in the long run: on the other hand, the costs are pretty easy to calculate. Firstly take the hourly rate of pay for everyone in the room and double it – because that’s what it costs the company. Now add the double-day-rate costs for each hour the presenter spent getting things ready. Finally, add the obvious costs for room rent, refreshments and any travel costs for everyone. It won’t be long before such presentations begin to cost thousands of dollars an hour. And that’s before you add in the costs of lowered productivity and damaged moralle.

And yet a cost-effective presentation isn’t difficult. You don’t have to be great – just good enough to justify your costs!

All a presenter has to do in a presentation is think of two things.

• What do I need to tell my audience?
• How do I need to tell them it?

Whatever else you do, or don’t do in your presentation should be measured up against those two simple criteria. The Devil is in the details, of course, and sometimes it’s hard to know how to answer those two questions – to be honest, most presenters don’t even bother to ask them so if you do, you’ve a good chance of being a cost-effective presenter.

Less is more

The more a presenter tells his or her audience, the less chance there is of them remembering any given thing they’re told. With that in mind, it’s not hard to get the idea that you should filter out everything – and I mean everything – that isn’t your absolute core message.

For every slide, for every paragraph, every image, ask yourself, one slide at a time, “Does this give my audience something they need to know?” If it does, fine. If it doesn’t, ditch it. Once you’ve done that filtering, give yourself a break that’s long enough to mean you come back to the material with a fresh mind-set – and do another filter.

Two hours doing something else is minimum. Two filters is usually enough because of the next point.

Too much is never enough

Only experts make presentations. By definition if you’re giving the presentation you know more about your presentation than anyone else. That almost always means you know more about the material, too, so don’t be put off by thinking other people know more than you do. That’s great. What it can mean, if you’re not careful, however, is that you begin to take things for granted that your audience needs to know.

They won’t know your jargon, they won’t know your workings and they won’t know any of your assumptions, that is unless you tell them.

Once you’ve done your filtering do your checking for assumptions. Just like you went through every slide and every paragraph and every image, go through them again and ask yourself what each is built on. If it’s not built on the previous paragraph or slide then at the very least it’s in the wrong place.

More likely, however, is the problem that you’ve taken something for granted, something that your audience probably won’t know about. You need to put that – whatever it is – into your presentation.

What’s next?

Not much, to be honest – there’s a whole load of tips and tricks for moving your presentations from ‘good enough’ to ‘good’ but from the point of view of your boss, ‘good enough’ is exactly that. And you can bet your bottom dollar that your boss measures ‘good enough’ as not costing more than it’s worth.

Simon runs a soft skills training company called Aware Plus in the UK, but is probably best known for his work as a presentation skills trainer. He's also becoming known as a speaker on emotional robustness and personal resilience... he's also a fairly proficient fire-eater!

Another year is coming to a close this weekend, and it’s been a banner one here at Lifehack.

As you’ll see below, one of our most popular posts of 2011 was our 100 Best Lifehacks of 2010 article, which flows nicely into this post which will outline the 100 Best Lifehack of 2011. Unlike last year’s list, there’s a few changes we put into place before delivering this list to our readers.

First off, the overall top 10 posts are determined by overall traffic during the past year, as well as engagement on social networks. The articles come from a wide variety of our website’s categories, whereas the remaining 90 articles are divided up into the primary categories that we write about at Lifehack: Communication, Lifestyle, Management, Money, Productivity and Technology.

Those 90 posts were decided on based on visits to each article, social media interaction, comments and then were finally curated by the Lifehack editorial team. Each category has 15 articles that made the cut for this year’s list as well.

You’ve got a lot of reading to do here, os let’s get started…

Top 10 Most Popular Posts in 2011

1. 60 Small Ways to Improve Your Life in the Next 100 Days
2. 7 Not So Obvious Habits To Maximize Your Productivity
3. The 100 Best Lifehacks of 2010: The Year in Review
4. The Best Productivity Apps For Your Shiny, New iPad
5. 10 Things To Stop Doing in Your Relationships
6. Five Reasons to Choose an Android Tablet Over an iPad
7. 7 Epic Strategies for Introverts (by Introverts) to Ignite Your Social Skills
8. 7 Reasons You Should Eat Eggs for Breakfast
9. 8 Ways To Get Smarter Every Week
10. Everything You Know About Weight Loss is Wrong

Communication

1. Why You & Your Business Need to be Involved in Social Media
2. How to Work Through Blog Burn Out
3. How to Deal with Criticism in One Single Step
4. 7 Ways to Build Your Network Without Using People
5. 5 Simple And Obvious Tips For Better Communication
6. Simplify Family Life With A Communication Station
7. How to Write Better and Faster
8. Start a Conversation with a Stranger without Sounding Desperate
9. Do You Unnecessarily Point Out Flaws?
10. Getting NaNoWriMo Done: How to Write a Novel in 30 Days
11. How to Hack Language Learning
12. How to Get a Book Contract in 6 Months (with a Blog)
13. Mind Hack: The Philosophy of One
14. 3 Ruthless Email Responses to Achieve Inbox Zero
15. Starting A Blog in 2012? Avoid These 7 New Blogger Blunders

Lifestyle

1. What a Karate Weapon Taught Me About Achieving Big Goals
2. 6 Easy Tips for Living with 100 Items or Less
3. 10 Ways Improve Your Memory & Boost Brainpower
4. Instant De-stress Tips: 7 Foods You Should be Eating Right Now
5. Why Fear is Your Friend
6. 10 Insanely Awesome Inspirational Manifestos
7. 7 Benefits of Exercise (and Why Weight Loss Isn’t One of Them)
8. Breaking Bad Habits in 28 Days
9. Eating Ancestrally: How To Start Eating and Living Like A Human
10. From Nag To Shag – The Ultimate Marriage Hack For Men
11. The Best Decision You Can Make for Your Business — That Has Nothing to do With Money
12. Enrich Your Life By Making it a Story to Tell
13. How to Get Your Husband (or Wife) to Help Out More
14. 7 Morning Hacks to Jumpstart Your Day
15. 10 Wise Lessons: What I Wish I Knew When I Was Younger

Management

1. Virtual Assistants: Worth It?
2. Today’s Career Challenge: Start Networking Like a Pro
3. 4 Famous Workaholics (And The Secrets of Their Success)
4. Improve Your Professional Credibility – Write a Book
5. How to Make a Plan That Will Help Your Business Thrive
6. How Logging Your Day Can Lead To Higher Effectiveness
7. 7 Simple Steps to Resolve Any Problem
8. The Art of Stress-Free Work
9. How to Get a Do-It-Yourself MBA
10. Beating the Meeting Monster
11. Sensors and Intuitives: How to Bridge the Communication Gap
12. 35 Reasons You Should Work With a Coach
13. Living With Your Deadlines
14. Ten Questions To Ask Yourself Before You Start Your Own Business
15. The Absolute WORST Day to Take a Vacation (It’s Not When You Think!)

Money

1. 7 Tips for Reducing Your Overhead Costs
2. Real Ways to Make Money Working from Home
3. 26 Personal Finance Tips from Famous People
4. Why I’ll NEVER Cut Up My Credit Cards
5. Take Control of Meal Times With A Meal Planner
6. 6 Luxurious Timesaving Services That Are Cheaper Than You Think
7. Unexpected Ways The Library Can Save You Money
8. Five Cost-Cutting Features of the Future Small Business You Can Embrace Today
9. How to Use Credit Cards While Staying Out of Debt
10. 8 Tips for Raising Moneysmart Kids
11. 100 Questions to Help You Write, Publish, and Sell Your Ebook
12. The Black Friday Bucket List: 25 Things to Do on Black Friday (Shopping Not Included)
13. Helping Japan: How to Make Sure Your Money Goes to the Right Place
14. How to Negotiate with Car Salesmen and Get the Best Deal
15. 3 Things You Can Do Now to Improve Your Finances in the New Year

Productivity

1. The Pomodoro Technique: Is It Right For You?
2. Productivity with Tablets: Paradox or Reality?
3. How to Stay Productive When You’re Sick
4. 7 Ways You Shouldn’t Be Using Your Calendar
5. The 5 Fundamental Rules Of Working From Home
6. 5 Things You Didn’t Know About Gen Y
7. How Steve Jobs Changed My Productivity
8. Manage Your Energy so You Can Manage Your Time
9. Get the Most Out of Your Week by Starting it on Sunday
10. How I Learned 5 Habits in 30 Days
11. How to Slow Down
12. How to Practice the Art of Detached Focus to Achieve Your Goals
13. 6 Effective Ways to Become Persistent
14. Simplify Your Productivity Tools To Get More Done
15. What Yoga Can Teach Us About Productivity

Technology

1. 5 Tips for Effective Digital Note Taking
2. 10 Android Apps to Help Save You Time & Money
3. 7 Tools to Help Keep Track of Habits and Goals
4. Kindle, Nook or iPad? How to Choose the Right eBook Reader for You
5. Stop Wasting Time – How to Search Like a Pro
6. Protecting Your Online Life With Secure Passwords
7. 5 Things You May Learn From Google+ Launch
8. 7 Tools For Writing On Your iPhone
9. Focus on Art, Not on Features: Simple Online Tools for Writers
10. To Automate or not to Automate Your Personal Productivity System
11. How to Stop Fiddling With Productivity Tools To Get More Done
12. Goodbye Google Reader! (Or the Best RSS Reader Alternatives)
13. Get Over Your Smartphone Addiction
14. Lifehack’s iOS 5 Tips and Tricks Guide
15. The Perfect Productivity Tool

Thanks to all of the Lifehack contributors, without whom this list would not have been possible. And thanks to you, our Lifehack readers. We hope that the articles that we offered up in 2011 — both those that made this list and those that did not — have helped you make waves in 2011. We’ve got more in store for you in the coming year, and we hope you’ll stick with us for the ride.

(Photo credit: 2011 on the beach of sunrise via Shutterstock)

Mike Vardy is a writer, speaker, and "productivityist". Read more of his writing and learn more about him at MikeVardy.com, and you can also follow him on Twitter.

Communication is an essential part of being productive in work and life. We talk about communication quite a bit here at Lifehack and think that you should be ready to communicate effectively and efficiently in the upcoming year. Here are a few new tools that you may need to add to your arsenal in 2012.

Skype

Skype isn’t a “new” tool by any means, but if you still aren’t using Skype to get things done during your workday as well as communicating with friends and family, we highly recommend installing it, getting a decent webcam, and using it in 2012. Most of my communication online is done through Skype by IM-ing, voice, or even video. It allows me to quickly have a conversation with someone or be able to see someone across the country in a matter of seconds.

Something that people don’t realize is that talking over Skype is a highly effective way to communicate complicated ideas or to make sure that your message isn’t taken the wrong way. Text messaging and IM is great for sending concrete information or just chatting, but if you want to get serious about your message, talking to someone voice-to-voice or face-to-face can’t be beat.

What else is awesome about Skype is that it can be used on any Android or iOS device. That means if you have a nice 3G or WiFi connection you can communicate with another Skype user from anywhere for free.

Twitter

In the last couple of years Twitter has increased in popularity so much that it’s hard to find any “brand” or celebrity that doesn’t have an account or doesn’t want you to use some hashtag. But, just because Twitter has changed from it’s original incantation, to allow users to send 140 character messages to a group of followers, doesn’t mean that you can’t use it for that.

Twitter is great for sending one off messages to friends and colleagues as well as fostering a “community” feel with “at-replies.” Lately, I’ve heard it refered to as a type of digital “water-cooler.” It is a little hard to reduce the noise of Twitter as well as keep track of conversations in an ordered fashion, but for back and forth conversations it does pretty well. One of the best ways to communicate with Twitter is by direct message. It’s fast, simple, and private. Mike and I both use it quite a bit to get stuff done here at Lifehack.

I’ve found to get the best use out of Twitter you need to use a seperate client to do it. Some of the best are:

• TweetDeck
• HootSuite
• CoTweet (Note: It’s what we use here at Lifehack)
• Tweetbot
• Twitterrific
• Twidroyd (now UberSocial)
• Seesmic

This allows you the control you want without the annoyingness of Twitter forcing things on you like recommendations of people you should follow or the inevitable inclusion of sponsored tweets and hashtags.

Path

I guess Path is more of a social networking type of application than a communication one, but it just feels a little different (and beautiful, to boot). Path is an app that allows you to follow and be followed by only 150 people (based on Professor Robin Dunbar’s research regarding the number of trusted relationships somone can maintain) making it more of an intimate type of sharing and communication application. With Path you can share your location, thoughts, what you are listening to, images and video, when you are asleep and when you awake.

I consider Path a communication app because as long as I update things that I am doing, places that I am going and my friends see it, they don’t really need to ask, “hey, where are you at?” You can let them know through Path. It may sound a little cold and inhuman to reduce some of this type of conversation in our lives, especially with our friends, but it really could end up saving a bunch of time for you, your co-workers, and friends.

The only serious downfall that I see about Path right now is that there is no user interface for being able to export your data. You can contact Path via the their support site, but to do this everyday or week (depending what you deem as acceptable for a backup schedule) will get annoying for you and them.

Email Tools

We can’t recommend email as a great communication tool for the new year, but what we can recommend are a few services that keep you out of the mound of email that you probably receive on a daily (or hourly) basis.

One of our favorites that we took a look at a few months ago is AwayFind which allows you to filter all of your incoming email and create alerts for the ones that you deem important. AwayFind’s interface is awesome and you can come up with some pretty unique rules for qualifying email. You can be notified via SMS, IM, or even the dedicated iPhone or Android app.

If you are a Gmail user, another tool you may want to check out is Boomerang for Gmail. Boomerang is an addon for Gmail that allows you send email at a later time or set up reminders of emails that need replied to by a certain time and aren’t. It’s another great way to keep up with your email while keeping you out of your inbox as much as possible.

Boomerang’s creators, Baydin Inc., also offer Boomerang as a plugin for Outlook as well as The Email Game, which challenges you to deal with as much of your overflowing inbox as you can in 15 minutes or less.

Conclusion

Communicating effectively is vital for being productive so it is important that you find the best tools to enable you to keep in touch while keeping you sane. Hopefully, with the use of these tools this new year you can get more done both efficiently and effectively while communicating with co-workers, friends, and family.

Are you thinking of starting a blog in 2012, or making significant changes to your old one?

One thing that you should always be 100% clear on is your purpose of writing. Is it to start a personal blog where you don’t really care if you have a total readership of 9 or is it to have a blog that you want to monetize at some point.

If you belong to the former camp, then do as you please, and skip this post. If not, read on.

1. Making Your Blog All About You

Your blog is not an online journal. Although it might feel like the perfect place to let everything out, be careful about what you write. Especially, when you have aims of making money from it.

Many people get offended at this advice. They indignantly retort that they are writing for their friends and family only. If that is your intent – and it is perfectly fine – go ahead but keep this in mind it would be fairly hard if not impossible to reach wider audiences with a personal blog.

The majority of the new bloggers gives up within first year of blogging. Lack of audience is the biggest factor. And they are not finding these audiences because they are not targeting them.

You target new audiences through marketing as well as your content. Not one or the other, both.

Write for your readers. Find out what can you write about that will interest them enough to come back. Remember, you might be the author but ultimately the blog exists because of your readers.

2. Writing About Every Topic Under the Sun

You have many interests and you are happy to write about them. Ask yourself, would your readers be happy to read just the same?

The only way to survive in the blogosphere is to pick a niche and write about that. If you are like most of us, you have lots of things that interest you and it can be hard to choose one.

For starters choose a broad niche such as personal development, writing, marketing, business, technology, fashion etc. As you get comfortable with writing, you could narrow it down further.

Make a list of 20 possible posts you could write on your blog. You would be dismayed to discover that you run of things earlier than you anticipated. On the other hand, a new topic with potential might surprise you. Go on, try it, you won’t know it until you do.

3. Confusing Your First Time Visitors

When somebody lands on your blog for the first time, it takes a few seconds for them to form an impression. And you need to do everything you can to make it a favourable one.

A first time visitor is looking for this information.

• What is your blog about?
• Who are you?
• What is it in it for them?

If they find the answers to these questions quickly, and if they fit your reader’s profile, there is no reason for them not stay and explore further.

If you indeed are right for them, but the information is hidden away and hard to find, you are doing yourself a big disservice. Choose your blog name carefully, put a great deal of thought into your tag-line, all of these things contribute towards positive branding.

4. Not Paying Due Attention to Your “About Me” Page

Your ‘About me’ page is the second most frequently visited page of your blog. (Your homepage is the first in case you are wondering)

As soon as the visitors start to develop a soft corner for your homepage, they will head straight towards your ‘About me’ page to find out more. Now its your job to satisfy their curiosity in a way that is highly relevant to them.

Talk about what your blog is about, who you are and what you can do for your readers. That’s the main information any reader wants to have. Once you have done that, you can elaborate on what is important to you and really personalize your page.

Include a back story if you think it will inspire your readers in some way. Don’t ramble about your early childhood.

5. Writing Like Your High School English Teacher

Your design will would help to get people through the door but what will make them stay put? Your content!

It doesn’t have to resemble a college essay in form. Work hard, write passionately, be yourself and don’t forget to learn from A list bloggers who deliver with style and panache!

Make your content screen friendly, break up large chunks of text, use headings, bullet points and bold to make it easy on the eyes.

Headlines: If you want your posts to be read and shared across social media channels, then you better be a pro at crafting headlines. Headlines that arouse curiosity, hints at solving reader problems and are so good that it is impossible to not check out the article.

Intro: Once the reader is there, they are skimming. Remember it is the web, attention spans are shorter and everybody is in a rush. Your lead should invite the reader straight into your post. Start with a story, a shocking statement or a question. Whatever you do, make sure you get to the point quickly or you will risk losing your precious reader.

Close: Have a clear call to action when you finish your post. What is it that you want your reader to do? Comment, share or buy? Make it explicit.

6. Not Embracing Social Media

Even if you build it, they still won’t come, unless you market and promote your blog – repeatedly. Go out there and get active on social media. If you think it’s too hard, start using one medium at a time. Start with twitter then move on to Facebook. Don’t overlook the importance of Linkedin and other networks if you are serious about monetizing your blog in future.

7. Ignoring Other Bloggers

You should subscribe to as many blogs as you can. There are a few reasons for that. Not only will you learn a lot, you will never run out of material for future posts. On top of it, you will stay abreast of latest trends in your niche.

Most of all, you would start to develop relationships with fellow bloggers who can help you out and vice versa. You will form meaningful connections and even make a few friends. They will support you, link to you and keep you working towards your goal.

And that is priceless.

If you were to start a blog again, what would you do differently? Share with us in the comments below.

(Photo credit: Start Blog via Shutterstock)

Marya is a communicator of ideas, exploring the human face of blogging. She offers quirky insights into personal development for bloggers - and writers. Catch more of her posts at Writing Happiness. For practical tips and inspiration, read Give Your Blog a Complete Makeoever - 18 Action Steps to the Path of Blogging Success. Follow her @WritingH.

Andrea SuperBeam Headphones

As a person who makes Skype calls and podcasts regularly, there’s nothing like getting a quality pair of headphones to make the experience that much more enjoyable. I’ve tried my fair share of headphones — mostly earbuds in recent months — and still my trusty AKG headphones from my days as a college radio station employee.

So when Andrea Electronics offered me a pair of its new SuperBeam Phones (SB-405 model), I was intrigued and they sent me a pair to try out.

Once they arrived, my intrigue was soon met with disappointment.

I’m afraid I wasn’t overly impressed with them, although there are some positive points I’d like to shed some light on before diving into why they left me wanting.

What I Liked

The Andrea SuperBeam Phones are definitely lightweight. They don’t feel bulky and can be carried around either in the handsome case they come with or loosely in a backpack and they add very little heft and take up a small space.

Neatly packaged inside the case.

You can mute the phones directly on the headphone wire, as well as increase and decrease volume. pretty standard stuff, but handy nonetheless. The ability to plug in either through a traditional line-in/headphone jack or via USB (an adapter comes with the headphones) is useful, especially considering my MacBook Air does not have a microphone input other than through USB. That said, there is an extension you can buy for the SuperBeam phones (Andrea provided me with an adapter to test as well) that allows for the headphone and microphone signal to be used in one jack — ideal for use with mobile devices.

I did like the fact that the phones had a built-in USB sound card that enhanced the sound quality of the phones. The software is easy to install — and also required to take advantage of the built-in card — and definitely improved the overall performance of the phones from an audio standpoint. When using the SuperBeam to make calls and conduct interviews, I didn’t hear any background noise seeping in…and I work at home with two kids.

What I Didn’t Like

The enhanced performance with the sound card is a bonus, but having to download software to take advantage of it certainly isn’t. I understand the need to do so, but it’s something that will turn off plenty of users who either don’t want to go down that road or might be disappointed by the results.

The weight of the phones was what I liked, but they felt, well…cheaply made. The pieces that held the very small earphones to the headpiece felt as if they would break with the slightest abuse (and headphones do get tossed around from time to time, even my old AKG ones). The construction of the Andrea SuperBeam Phones didn’t feel hardy enough for my taste — I expect earbuds to be flimsy, but not headphones — and especially not at the price these are selling at.

Which brings me to pricing. These headphones retail for $149.95 USD, while the earbud version runs $20 less. These do not feel like $150 headphones, nor do I feel they perform as such. Perhaps if the construction of the phones had a less disposable feel to it, then the price would be a bit more reasonable. But even with the enhanced quality that the sound card enables, these are overpriced in my book.

Final Thoughts

I really wanted to like the Andrea SuperBeam headphones. The craftsmanship that they have put into the software and the built-in sound card is to be commended. I only wish they had put as much thought and craftsmanship into the exterior of the device as they did to the interior — and to the pricing as a result.

Full disclosure: The contributor received no monetary compensation from the product manufacturer/company in return for this review. Should you wish to submit a product/service for review consideration, please submit via this contact form.

Mike Vardy is a writer, speaker, and "productivityist". Read more of his writing and learn more about him at MikeVardy.com, and you can also follow him on Twitter.

You CAN avoid a Blue Christmas.

We’re well into the Christmas holiday season once again.

This is a time of the year when most people are busy rushing to the malls buying gifts, attending parties, gathering with friends and family, and being merry. Indeed for many, this season is the most wonderful and happiest time of the year.

However, not everyone will be celebrating this holiday season merrily.

There are some who feel lonely and unhappy during this time of the year. Their loneliness may come from loss of loved ones through death, separation by physical distance, or through breakups. Other reasons may be that person is anti-social or too busy to participate in this festive season.

If you feel lonely and unhappy during the holiday season, here are some tips on how to deal with loneliness — and how to make your Christmas holiday merrier.

1. Stop excluding yourself and go out.

If you are feeling lonely and down this Christmas holiday, instead of clinging to self-pity and seclusion (which will only worsen your loneliness), push yourself to go out and attend holiday parties and gatherings. I’m sure there are lots you can choose from, such as those held by your close friends and family, the community you live in, in school, or at work.

Attending Christmas holiday parties is a chance for you to meet different kinds of people. By being surrounded with lots of people — especially happy and positive people — you won’t feel as lonely as you do now.

2. Reach out to old friends and family.

You are given 365 days in a year, and you spend much of it minding your own life. As a result, you are so busy working that you neglect to find time to connect with family or friends. Now is the time to reach out to old friends or family you’ve neglected to give time and priority this year. Don’t be afraid to initiate.

As they say: if you want something, you just have to ask.

3. Volunteer to a cause or event.

During Christmas, there are many charitable events and causes formed by different organizations that serve to help and make this season merrier to less fortunate people such as the poor and sick. You can find one organization around you and take the initiative to join the cause.

The benefit of joining these kinds of events will give you a different sense of happiness when you are able to help and make someone else happy. Also, it’s an opportunity for you to realize that your situation isn’t as bad as you think it is. There are more people who are less fortunate and lonelier than you are. Get inspiration and strength from them.

4. Give gifts to people around you.

Gift-giving is one of the famous activities during Christmas holiday season. The act of giving is a symbol of remembering the people in your lives, as well as a way to share one’s blessings.

There’s a saying that goes:

“A sure way to be happy is to make someone else’s happy.”

Cure your loneliness by making another person happy. One way to do that is by giving gifts to those other than your friends and family.  Give gifts to people like your office maintenance personnel, guards, co-workers, bus or taxi drivers — all the people that may not affect your life significantly and yet somehow they all are part of your life.

You don’t need to give an expensive gift, something even as simple as a Christmas greeting card will be fine. I’m sure you will feel happy once you see the surprised (and happy) expression on their faces once you hand them their gifts.

5. Focus your thoughts on what you have — instead of what you don’t have.

Often the reason for our loneliness and unhappiness roots from our thoughts or mindset. We focus our thoughts on what we don’t have instead of what we have  – that’s why we always feel incomplete and unfulfilled.

During this joyous season, cure your loneliness by doing the opposite. Focus your thoughts on what you have instead of what you don’t have.  Be grateful for all the blessings and opportunities you’ve had this year. Once you start pinpointing the things you were grateful for and blessed with this year, I’m sure you will realize that your life isn’t as bad as you think it is.

I hope you were able to pick up valuable tools on how to deal with loneliness during holiday season. Use these to make this time of the year a merry and joyous event. If you have any others to add, please do so in the comments.

(Photo credit: Lonely Santa Girl with Presents via Shutterstock)

Lou is a professional accountant, personal development coach, public speaker and entrepreneur. She writes and coach on positive attitude, productivity, stress management, success, personal finance and balanced life. Find out more about her works at Live Life to Fullest

Kill "can't". You can do it.

When someone says, “I can’t do it” . . . I say to myself, “What do you mean you can’t do it?” Maybe you don’t want to do it, but saying you “can’t” do it is a completely different story.

With the right mindset, positive attitude, and a clear vision of what you want to accomplish, the only thing that is holding you back is yourself.

Can’t is a terrible word and it has to be taken out of your vocabulary.

By saying you can’t do something, you’re already doubting yourself, submitting to defeat, and you’re making that barrier around your life tighter.

So today, right now, we are going to remove this word for good.

From now on there is nothing we can’t do.

“Attitude is Tattoo”

Your attitude is everything; it’s your reason, your why and how, your facial expression, emotions, body language, and potentially the end result. How you approach an opportunity, and the result of it, is solely based on you – not your boss or your co-worker or friend.

If you enter a business meeting with a sour attitude, that negative energy can spread like wildfire. People can also feel it — maybe even taste it. This is not an impression you want to leave.

Now imagine you enter a business meeting with a positive attitude, that whatever happens in here is going to be your result, in your control, not someone else’s. Of course, we can’t always win, but even if the outcome is negative, your attitude and perception can turn it into a positive. The question is: can you do it?

Of course you can, because there is nothing in this world you can’t do.

It’s much better to be known for your positive attitude – your poise, your energy, the reason why things go so well because you are able to maintain such character. A negative attitude is easy. It’s easy to complain, it’s easy to be mad, and it’s even easier to do nothing to change it.

When I say your “attitude is tattoo”, it sounds permanent. Tattoos can be removed, but that’s not the point.
Your attitude is like a tattoo because you wear it. People can see it and sometimes, they will judge you on it. If you maintain a negative attitude, then it is permanent until you change it.

Change your attitude and I guarantee the results change as well.

Believe You Can Do It

Do you know why most people say “can’t” and doubt themselves before trying anything?

It’s our lack of self-confidence and fear on many different levels. The one thing we have to purge from ourselves is fear — fear of bad results, fear of change, fear of denial, fear of loss, the fear that makes us worry and lose sleep. Worrying is the same as going outside with an umbrella, waiting for rain to hit it. Stop worrying and move on.

Confidence is fragile: it builds up slowly, but can shatter like glass. Project your confidence and energy into believing in yourself. This is a very important and groundbreaking step — one that is usually the hardest to take. Start telling yourself you can do something, anything, and you will do it the best to your ability. Remove doubt, remove fear, and stick with positive energy.

Embrace Failure

Do not fear failure. Do not run away from it. Face it, learn from it, grow, and take action. Just remember: you will never know success if you have never failed.

Your confidence will bolster after embracing these facts. You will be immune to demoralizing results, and instead you will find ways to fix it, improve upon it, and make it better than before. You will learn to never say “can’t,” and will realize how many more opportunities you can create by removing that one word.

Don’t let one simple and ugly word plague your confidence. You’re better and stronger than that.

It’s easy to read this and nod your head…

But to actually start the process of change is very challenging.

Why is that?

Fear? Time? Don’t know how — or where — to start?

It’s hard because what we’re doing is unlearning what we know. We are used to doing things a certain way, and chances are we’ve been doing them for years.

So here are some ways that I avoid using the word “can’t”, and actually take the steps to put forth the change that I wish to see. I hope you can incorporate these methods into your life.

• Write down what you want to change. Write it on post-its, notecards, whatever makes you comfortable — something you will always see. I usually write mine on post-its and put them all over the wall behind my monitor so I always see them.
• Tell a friend and talk about it. Discussing your goals, what you want to change, is very effective when you say it out loud and tell another person other than yourself. It’s almost like saying, hey, I bet I can do it — watch me. When you fulfill that goal and tell your friend, it feels rewarding and will motivate you to do it again in a different aspect. Who knows, maybe your friend adopts the same mindset as you.
• Stop yourself from saying the forbidden word. Sometime I can’t control myself in public when I’m with friends, so I have to be careful with the words I use so i don’t embarrass or insult anyone. Treat the word “can’t” as the worst word you can possibly use. Stop yourself from saying it, mid-sentence if you must, and turn your whole perspective around — you can do it, you will do it, and nothing is impossible!
• Repetition, repetition, repetition. You think this change will be overnight? No way. This is a practice. Something you’re going to be doing for the rest of your life from now until forever. As I said earlier, you are unlearning what you know. You know how easy it is to say you can’t do something, so by unlearning this easy practice, you’re self-disciplining yourself to live without boundaries. Practice this everyday, a little at a time, and before you know it, the word can’t will not be part of your language.
• When I catch myself saying I can’t do something or I don’t know something, looking up information on that action or subject, doing research, educating yourself, relieves that uncertainty. Sometimes we think we can’t do something because the whole idea of it seems too large. We skip the small steps in our head and only focus on the end. Before you say you can’t do something, rewind and slow down a little bit. Focus on what the first step is, then the next. Take it a step at a time, and before you know it you will have done something you previously thought you couldn’t do.

You know what you must do. The first step is right now. Once you begin this habit, and really start noticing some change, you’ll realize the door to opportunity is everywhere.

The funny thing is: those doors have always been there. The evil word that we no longer use put a veil over our eyes because that’s how powerful that word is.

Do you have any other methods or mindsets that have worked for you? Please share them with us below.

(Photo credit: Impossible via Shutterstock)

Paul Jun is a writer and a student majoring in Journalism and Public Relations. He focuses on sharing insightful stories and tips to help master your personal development, writing, and blogging. Read more of his writing at Junhax, or follow him on Twitter as @junhax.

What they don't know...

So, what are your thoughts on honesty?

Do you fib? Often? Do you have honesty rules? If so, where did those rules come from?

Experience? Parents? Church? Your inner voice?

Do you think that sometimes dishonesty is the right thing? The best option in some situations? Could there be a time when dishonesty is the best policy?

Oh, the questions…

We all know that honesty can be painful — and unpopular. It can also be liberating — and rewarding. We know it will end some relationships — and repair others. Sometimes, it shuts doors — and sometimes, it opens them.

Some people want to hear the truth. Some don’t.

Some say they do…but really they don’t.

Lying About Lying

Like it or not, want it or not, lying is an ever-present reality of the world we live in.

Kids do it — and so do grown-ups. Governments do it to protect you and me. Apparently.

(Or maybe they do it to protect themselves.)

Who else does it?

• Businesses
• Wives
• Husbands
• Bosses
• Staff
• Managers
• Leaders

Even those who stand in front of their congregations on the weekend do it.

Not surprisingly, we usually lie about our lying too. And when we do get busted, we inform the Honesty Police that our moral misdemeanor was in fact a ‘white lie’; a well-meaning deception. And, as we all know, white lies are okay.

Degrees of Honesty

Some people talk about the notion of ‘complete’ honesty, but is there any other kind? Surely, if it’s not complete honesty, then it’s dishonesty…right?

“If it ain’t true, then it’s a lie.” Isn’t it? There’s no such thing as ‘telling a bit of a lie’ is there? A ‘half-truth’ (a term we use often) is simply a euphemism for dishonesty, isn’t it? And I guess ‘bending the truth’ sounds more honorable than ‘lying my arse off’. And finally, let’s not forget the very manly art of exaggeration; one of the more socially acceptable forms of lying.

Wow, it’s hard to be honest about our dishonesty isn’t it?

After all, nobody wants to wear the ‘liar’ label. We tend to get a little self-righteous and defensive when it comes to our ‘bending of the truth’ don’t we? Someone recently said to me, “Oh, yes Craig — but there’s lying and there’s lying.” The implication being that there’s acceptable and unacceptable lying.

Interesting.

Selfless and selfish lying, perhaps? Okay, who decides which is which?

The same person told me that she only lies when “she has to” and that “sometimes lying is the kind thing to do”. Can’t say that I totally disagree with her.

So many great questions. But are there any universal answers?

Am Not! You Are!

When questioned, most of us say we’re honest people. It’s what we do. It’s our default setting.

But it’s not true; most of us lie regularly.

Of course, we might lie for ‘noble’ reasons. Like to avoid hurting someone’s feelings. Or to avoid sharing some personal information. Or to avoid a pointless argument or a potentially volatile situation. But surely that kind of dishonesty is okay.

Wouldn’t honesty be an illogical choice in some situations? Which would make the occasional fib totally acceptable when there’s a good reason. Wouldn’t it? Having said that, who decides what a ‘good’ reason is?

Hmm…more questions.

One study revealed that the average person lies three times in a typical ten minute conversation. Notice I didn’t say “the average pathological liar lies three times”. No…I said “the average person”. Clearly, you and I are not average.

I lie much more.

So, what are your thoughts on honesty? Come on…be honest.

(Photo credit: Businessman Crossing Fingers via Shutterstock)

Craig Harper (B.Ex.Sci.) is a qualified exercise scientist, author, columnist, radio presenter, television host, motivational speaker and university lecturer. For the past 25 years he has been a leading presenter, educator, motivator and commentator in the areas of personal and professional development. You can visit Craig's blog at Motivational Speaker. FREE eBook – So… You’ve Decided to Get in Shape (Again) Craig's FREE eBook takes 20 – 30 minutes to read, and addresses the REAL getting-in-shape issues based on his 25 years of experience. To get Craig’s FREE eBook click here, weight loss books.

At dinner with a friend last weekend, we lamented our husband’s incessant use of smartphones while “spending time” with our children. It turns out we are not alone. Smartphones are not just for work. They are for everything, all the time.

A Documented Phenomenon

According to a recent study by the UK-based Ofcoms, smartphone addiction is reaching epidemic proportions.  When asked about the use of their smartphone devices, 37 percent of adult participants admitted they were highly addicted to their devices.

Over half of adult respondents claimed they have used their smartphones will socializing with others, nearly a quarter have used them during mealtimes, and over a fifth used them while in the bathroom.

Another study originally published in the Journal of Personal and Ubiquitous Computing concurred that smartphones are taking over some people’s lives. The researchers identified what they call a “checking habit” – when you repetitively look at your device for 30 seconds or less and access a single application. Apparently, this is a habitual response to boredom, and/or the need for constant distraction. It is easy to see how an out-of-control checking habit could result in negative consequences ranging from a traffic accident to a strained relationship with a family member.

And How Does That Make You Feel?

David Greenfield, Ph.D. is a psychologist and the author of Virtual Addiction: Help for Netheads, Cyberfreaks, and Those Who Love Them (non-affiliate link).  In Susan Davis’ article for WebMD,Greenfield is quoted as saying that computer technologies can be addictive because they’re psychoactive, alter mood, and often trigger enjoyable feelings. E-mail in particular gives us satisfaction due to variable ratio reinforcement, meaning that we never know when we’ll get a great e-mail, so we keep checking over and over again.

So how do you avoid becoming a slave to your smartphone without throwing the baby out with the bathwater?  Here, some tips:

• Don’t buy the Lexus of phones: There is no need to purchase the most feature-rich, complex device on the market just because it’s available. Select a phone that meets your needs and ignore the bells and whistles that will only serve to confuse you.
•  Don’t go app crazy: The more apps, the slower your phone works, and the faster it runs out of battery. Constantly buzzing and beeping apps can also be distracting. The truth is, most people only use between 5-10 apps regularly. So stop the downloading madness.
•  Leave the phone in another room: If you constantly have the urge to check your smartphone, leave it in another room so that you aren’t tempted to pick it up. This is especially useful if you have set aside time to do something away from your phone, like finish a report or play a game with your family.
•  If you’re talking to someone, don’t answer it: Unless you are expecting an urgent call, do not allow your phone to interrupt an in-person conversation.  Sneaking peeks at your phone or typing away on it while someone is trying to command your attention will negatively impact your relationships and productivity.

Alexandra Levit is a career and workplace expert at the Intuit Quickbase Blog , a daily source for advice on how to be exceptional at your job. You can follow her on Twitter at @alevit.