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Supercharge Your Mac with the StackSocial Mac Superbundle [Software Bundle]

Mike Vardy — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 18:55:28 +0000

StackSocial has been offering some pretty amazing deals, and their latest is no exception: The StackSocial Mac Superbundle. The amount of apps that they’re serving up that will aid you in getting work done faster and better is pretty astounding — there’s 10 amazing Mac apps worth $471 that they are offering for just $49. And while not all of them may seemingly fit into your work arsenal at first glance, you might find by diving in a little deeper that every app offered here certainly can improve your productivity in some form or another.

I’ve not had the chance to use every single one of these apps, but have put a few through the paces over my time as a Mac user. Here are some of the apps that I’ve used and how they’ve managed to level up my productivity on my Mac.

Parallels Desktop 7 for Mac

There have been times that I’ve needed to have a PC at my disposal when working at past employers, such as my stint using box office software for my city’s film festival. Our office was a Mac office, with only 2 Windows-based machines that were available to use for ticket selling. Luckily, I had Parallels Desktop for Mac installed on my MacBook Pro, and it proved to be a huge timesaver. I was able to run reports, check out statistics and ticket availability and get my work done without having to move to another machine or totally disrupt my workflow.

The best part about using this app was that I could flip back and forth between the work I had to do on the OS X side and the work I had to do that required Windows. The time saved on that alone paid for the software.

If you have to use a Windows machine for certain parts of your work — or perhaps even use a Windows environment for gaming so that you can take a break every once in a while, you can’t go wrong with Parallels Desktop 7 for Mac. This app normally sells for $80 on its own — so you’re already way ahead of the game by picking it up as part of the Mac Superbundle by StackSocial.

LittleSnapper

Realmac Software makes some really beautiful, essential and easy-to-use apps, and LittleSnapper is no exception. i’ve had to grab plenty of screenshots during my time as an online writer and editor, and LittleSnapper handles this job with effectiveness and ease.

And i’ve barely scratched the surface with this app over the years. Using it mainly for high-quality “screengrabs”, I’ve yet to take advantage of the other tools baked right into LittleSnapper, such as callouts and highlights. I’ve blurred out personal info for app reviews when testing apps, I’ve cropped screens to fit as imagery for various websites and I’ve kept them all organized into collections.

Well…that’s not entirely true. LittleSnapper automatically organized them all for me. That’s a tremendous timesaver unto itself — because there’s nothing quite like having something like that being automated for you.

LittleSnapper usually retails for $40, which is only $9 less than the entire StackSocial Mac Superbundle.

Chronicle 4

I’ve tried my share of money management apps, and only in the past few years has the Mac come into its own as a platform where you can really have some useful software to do so. Of all of the native apps I’ve tried, Chronicle isn’t only the easiest to use — I actually enjoy managing my money with it.

With iCal integration built right in, Chronicle does everything it can to keep you on top of your finances. The app offers debt reduction tracking, bill viewing and will allow many to make online payments right from within the app. And because I enjoy using Chronicle so much more than any of the past native Mac finance apps, I’m really keeping on top things when it comes to my money — often without even thinking about it.

Chronicle is $15 — a great price point for an app that is supposed to help you keep a handle on your finances — and it rounds out what is a very robust bundle offering by StackSocial.

What’s in the StackSocial Mac Superbundle

There’s a lot more to the StackSocial Mac Superbundle than the three apps I just mentioned. Here are all of the apps in the bundle, along with what you’d pay for them separately:

Parallels Desktop 7 for Mac – $80
LittleSnapper – $40
iStat Menus 3 – $16
Flux 3 – $120
iStopmotion Home 2 – $50
Fantashow – $50
Video Converter 2 – $46
SyncMate Expert 3 – $40
CuteClips 3 – $15
Chronicle 4 – $15

Check out the video below to get an overview of all 10 apps offered in the latest StackSocial bundle that will supercharge your Mac — and your productivity.

If you’re looking to level up your productivity on your Mac, go out and get the StackSocial Mac Superbundle today. You’ve got a ton to save ($49 for $471 worth of apps) and nothing to lose — other than time.

StackSocial Mac Superbundle – [StackSocial]

(Photo credit: Power Button from a Mac 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.

GTD Leaders: A Lifehack Exclusive Interview with David Allen and Mike Williams

Mike Vardy — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 20:14:13 +0000

Editor’s Note: Lifehack was granted an exclusive opportunity to speak with both David Allen, founder of the David Allen Company, and the company’s new CEO, Mike Williams. As the new year begins, this is a great opportunity to learn about GTD from the man who created it and the men who plan to move it forward from here on out. Enjoy.

Lifehack: We have David Allen of the David Allen Company here. What’s your role now David – are you founder, are you chief innovation officer, or…?

David Allen: I am chief evangelist and visionary – that’s probably my major role. I still have a good bit of operational responsibilities – particularly in terms of our program development, content, QA and so forth that I’ve still got my hands into. But Mike Williams is pretty much taking over most of all of the operational, strategic and resource allocation side of the game.

LH: And speaking of which, the new CEO of the David Allen Compan is here as well, Mike Williams.

Mike Williams: Thank you very much. It’s great to be here. I’m looking forward to the conversation.

LH: First off, we receive this press release indicating that Mike Williams was going to become the CEO of the David Allen Company, and I had never heard of the man before. David, what drew you to Mike in terms of bringing him on board as the CEO of the David Allen Company and what was the process to bring him into the fold?

DA: Well, that is a long story I’ll try to shorten it and not bore you to tears with all the history of this. But basically several years ago my wife Kathryn and I decided we were at a fork in the road where we said, “Look, do (we) just want to keep this individual and be sort of the source of this…and maybe build a community, a net community or a network community, not have an organization and try to roll this any bigger than just my own personal game?” And we decided that we didn’t. The press was great, the world was just was waking up, the book (Getting Things Done) was in 30 languages, and the world was not right here at our door.

David Allen (Photo via David Allen Company)

And you know, why hold this incredible methodology that seems to be transformative to everybody that doesn’t have a social work, gender or professional bias at all – and is a global thing– back? So we said, “Let’s do it,” and that started us down the path to try to figure out how do we operationalize this, how do we build a business to essentially distribute this educational model and have a business model at the same time so that it’s viable and can expand.

But – long story short – I decided I needed to find a way to structure the organization or to build a process so that it could be more self-managing and bring on the kind of people that would be interested in running this and taking this on – because I certainly wasn’t going to do it by myself. At one point I said, look who would be the ideal person for all of this and I just had Mike in my mind.

We’d met, he had been part of my network but I’d never had any kind of conversation – I mean, the guy was a senior guy at GE. So I didn’t know if this guy would ever have wanted to run this company. So I just raised a flag and waited to see what would happen. Mike and I had lunch last May back in Boston and I just sort of floated the idea, “Hey, would you ever consider…”

And that’s how it happened.

LH: Mike what drew you into the idea of becoming CEO of the David Allen Company? Is it a different slant in terms of, say, running GE, which still obviously involves a lot of time management and project management? What drew you to this whole new aspect of your life?

MW: I think it all starts back in 2004 when I got exposed to the GTD methodology. And if I can point to one book that has really changed and shaped my life for better, it’s this particular methodology. And the company I was working for at the time grew up and then got acquired by General Electric later on. So it has helped me both in the previous life, then transitioning to one of the largest companies in the world, and then also taking on new responsibilities within that large company.

But the aspirations with respect to a person’s career has a lot of different dimensions. I’ve been in the healthcare IT information technology space for over 23 years, largely focused on services side of things. And during that time I’ve worked in the organizational development department. I’ve run four different types of education businesses within GE, and been part of services teams that are really trying to transform healthcare.

At some point in time though, my thinking and what GE taught me really started to spark my entrepreneurial spirit. Before David even approached me I was doing my ideal scene imagining and I was thinking to myself that it would be fun to get back a smaller private company, ideally under a hundred people who were doing really cool work. You know, stuff that’s kind of changing their part of the world and would align to my value system.

So I kind of chalk it up to “be careful what you ask and what you wish for because somebody out there in the universe may call your bluff”. And that’s exactly what happened.

That day I showed up and had lunch with David and Kahtryn was…I don’t know what the colliding of two ideal scenes looks like but that’s probably the closest that I had ever been. Because here we have a private company – check – with under a hundred people – check – doing really cool work (…work that’s really helping people because that’s a big value alignment for me) – check – has a great product and a great brand – check. Then I also asked myself if I would I love doing this job every day. That was a “triple check” because I was such GTD enthusiast before. Just imagine getting to wake up every day and playing the space! It’s just wonderful.

So really the alignment of the opportunity plus all the wonderful things that I learned at GE in my career could be directly applicable to this new opportunity in this new game that I want to play for the next 20 to 30 years in my career…and have a lot of fun at it.

LH: David you and I have had this conversation before where we talked about how January – and correct me if I’m wrong – is more of a time of reflection and cleaning house as opposed to just starting brand new things. What’s the one thing that you’d recommend people do to prepare themselves for maybe a chance of alignment like you guys had for the coming year? We’ll start with you David.

DA: You know, I’m going to be a broken record, but if you’re really ready to take the next chapter the first thing you need to do is start to pay attention to what has your attention and basically externalize all of that and step back and take a look. You need a map, essentially. Get a map of where you are, what’s true, what’s pulling on you, what’s there and as best as you can objectify that.

There are two aspects to that. One is sort of acknowledgment and a completion – sit down and at the end of the year (and ask) what have we accomplished? What’s true? How can we pat ourselves in the back? What are issues we’ve come up with? What’s the current reality state there? So there’s the current realities looking backward in terms of a historical sense just to get closure on that, and to get a little bit of a step outside of ourselves and see it. And then there is current reality, what’s pulling on us what’s attracting us, what’s pushing on us, what’s also true right now? Where is the creative dissonance and the current reality…essentially, that’s looking forward.

So those polarities actually come together with doing a real current reality externalization of that and get it out of the psyche as opposed to try and manage all those factors. I mean, we’re living such complex lives – there’s no way on earth we can keep all that internalized and really trust our judgment on that. So that’s part of the GTD methodology and a real core piece of it. It’s called “get this out of your head so it frees up the flow” as opposed to being a log jam.

LH: Mike, what are your thoughts on this?

MW: For me it’s about freeing up space and freeing up that space to let your mind wander a bit. Because the ability to look backwards and see what you accomplished, to reflect on what is kind of in the subconscious of your mind and then the other thing would be to have the courage to actually dream. It’s funny, I’ve worked with a lot of people and when you ask them to write down your ideal scenario it’s one of those muscles that hasn’t been exercised that much.

So one of the cool areas where I often find myself kind of drifting into this space naturally is just getting in your car and driving down the highway for about three hours, see what shows up in your mind, and just pay attention to what starts coming forward. That is often when I have interesting thoughts or the things that are tugging on me surface. But I think the reason for that is because I found a space to have that thinking space. So if you want to go into that deep reflective mode try to find that space where you can get that deep thinking space, have some tools there so you can collect what’s on your mind just as it shows up and then get it out of your mind, park it and then come back and look at it and see what it’s telling you.

LH: Further to that…David, is this a time of year where it’s easier for people to grab on to probably one of the tougher components of GTD for people to “get”: The Horizons of Focus? Is this the time of year when it is the best time – the most capable to grab on to those and look forward – as opposed to putting in time and just capturing and capturing? Is this a good time to look at that and really get clear on what we’re looking for down the road?

DA: Oh, sure. You know, any kind of icon that you can use or any sort of metaphorical sort of thing that we can use to back off and say, “Hey, you know…it’s time for a new game.” That’s why actually travel (works so much for this).

Travel is a handy illusion that we can sort of pretend that we can show up a new person in a new way, I mean to Mike’s point, driving – getting a little white line fever and just driving. Get somewhere new, give yourself the chance to get out of the old conditioning and “same old, same old.” So, obviously (this time of year is a) great time to do that. You could use Spring Cleaning, you can use Summer Solstice, you could use anything…anything like that which gives you an opportunity to say, “Let’s blow a whistle,” and just call a halt in the game and step back.

Anything that can help you lift a little bit – that’s just part of the GTD methodology is a regular reflection and review modality. And there a lot of different horizons to do that in but it’s you know, boy we all get down on the weeds and wrapped around the axle is tight as anything. And we need to go manage the forests instead of just hugging the trees. Not all the time, we all have to be down on the day to day operational stuff but boy that can get really old and tiring if you don’t lift back up. So obviously new year is a great opportunity to you know use that for that purpose.

LH: Mike, there is an interesting article by Cal Newport where he talked about the “post-productivity era” and he talked about how we were obsessed with the tools that need to be used to get productive as opposed to actually being productive. Do you think we are at a point where the tools are now going to be able to work synergistically more with the greater public in terms of getting things done? Do you tend to agree with that or do you think that’s it’s a healthy combination of both?

Mike Williams (Photo via Twitter)

MW: I think the productivity conversation probably belongs more in the thinking pattern behavior pattern area because when you look at GTD it’s really neutral to any particular tool. And some of the most sophisticated people are actually doing GTD on paper. But what’s changing within them is the thought pattern that they bring to all the stuff that’s entering their lives. So the analogy I love to use is that I kind of think of GTD as a Star Wars kind of thing. It’s an epic battle between you versus the stuff in your life – and you’ve got your lightsaber out and if you can carve out the stuff into tiny pieces then you own the stuff. But if you let stuff continue to grow, it will come in and it will overwhelm you.

It’s that discipline – that kind of Jedi discipline – of being able to carve the stuff, assign your relationship to it so you can control it versus it controlling you. That kind of stuff transcends any particular tool. What you need to do though is find a system that you trust to put these little pieces in so that you can bump into them where they make sense to you and where they create meaning to you. So it’s those little rituals, those habits, those behaviors that need to change. If you find a tool to align to those, fantastic, that’s an important part of the system.

So I would have to agree with the premise – let’s transcend the tool, let’s go to the thought patterns and then go back to the tools that provide the form and the system that work for you. And the thing I love about GTD is people can be on totally different tools and be very, very productive. And it’s not the tool, but it’s more of the thinking process.

LH: You brought up an interesting point, and I want to take this to David. Do you think people are heading back towards paper more and more because of the onslaught of information that comes our way? Do you think paper is “making a comeback”?

DA: Actually, it’s making a come forward. It’s different usage of it. Any of those things can get in your way and any of those things can work. To Mike’s point, even though we’ve been introduced to emotional intelligence and I think we’ve got to understand the value of that, we need to move into mental intelligence. People are using their psyche still to capture all kinds of stuff and to avoid decisions and it’s becoming this huge log jam, this huge constipation on the psyche and that absolutely cannot endure with the world that we’re in.

What we have to do is we have to be able to externalize that capture so that that’s not banging around the psyche and then also make decisions about that stuff that we have allowed come to our ten acres that we have captured. That whole process of capturing and then making decisions is really critical to get it out of the psyche – back to Mike’s point – so that it frees up intuitive intelligence to be able to use it for what it needs to be, as opposed to just truly log jam in terms of creative flow. So where we’re getting to is understanding the necessity for creative flow, the necessity to be able to manage all of these things with appropriate placeholders. So understanding how to deal with paper and Evernote or Outlook or whatever, all of those tools are that just become potentially very valuable placeholders for this.

But again, it’s back to the thought process that we once you do that, any of these things work. I also think there is a reason you start to see paper as a way to reflect a larger context and relationships between things than it is on the computer. It’s still hard to flip pages on the computer and see them in your face like they can on a paper planner. We’ll get there – and it’s going that direction – but I think it’s the moving forward with understanding a new way to use these tools and why these tools are so valuable.

That’s why GTD hit such a nerve in the tech community; it was because suddenly there was a way that was a non-tech means that actually turbocharged everybody’s cool gear and gave them a way to actually use what they were already using and really liked using. But now it gave them a way to use that in such a way that it just took off like crazy. So that’s true with paper as well as with the high tech stuff.

LH: Mike, what do you think of the term “lifehack”, “lifehacker” and all of the “lifehackery” stuff? Do you think we’re confusing common sense with lifehacks? Or do you think that it’s more of an anomaly when that happens?

MW: I absolutely love the term lifehack because what it expresses to me is the spirit of experimentation in the pursuit of what works for me in my life, what’s true. And I just love the idea of getting out there, putting things in play, experimenting, testing your hypothesis and seeing if it resonates with you. So lif hacking your way through life…I think that’s called life. I think it’s absolutely essential. It turns it into a very interesting and creative game when you do something like that.

LH: David, what about yourself?

DA: I totally agree. I think you know all of life is a hack. Like I woke up – I was born – asking myself, “How much easier can I do this?” All they did was just put a name of what I’ve always done as far as I can remember.

People have always said that (I’ve) always been organized; that’s sort of a misconception that GTD is really about organization. But I’ve always (tried to figure out) how much easier I can get from here to there. I’m always thinking that way. Somebody just put a name on it.

LH: I’ll share what my wish list item is for 2012. My wish list item for 2012 is a return of The GTD Summit. Mike, what about yourself?

MW: Boy, that’s a big question. So you know my wish in 2012 for GTD is the expansion of the community. The GTD Summit would be part of that, reaching out through our online presence through GTD Connect and also in 2012 we’re going to be expanding internationally. So all those things combined equals lives impacted and lives touched by our methodology, and you know we carry the premise that when somebody engages with us in this methodology that their life will be changed in a positive way. And if we change somebody’s life in positive way then that’s a very powerful place to play.

That would be a major intention that I’m carrying forward. As well, my family currently lives in Burlington Vermont and we’re moving to Ojai, California. So making a successful transition for my family is something that definitely has my attention for 2012.

LH: David, what about yourself?

DA: You know just lowering the barrier to entry globally for GTD, to get people to be attracted to it, to find out what it is and to allow for us to be able to build an elegant path and a recognition of this as a lifelong and lifetime thing to play with and to play in. I look at it now much like a martial art. Forty and fifty years ago very few people even know what they were. And they’ve spread around the world and it didn’t oversimplify it. It was a still a very sophisticated, very powerful thing to do and yet it took of virally around the world. And I see GTD being the same thing.

That’s what I would love to see. Finding great ways to get a lot more people engaged, and then building the highway out there for people to stay on board. Just keep taking this and being supportive and developing this and supporting each other as a global community.

LH: David and Mike, I’d like to thank both of you for taking time to speak with me for Stepcase Lifehack.

DA: Our pleasure.

MW: Yes, thank you so much – and thank you everybody at Lifehack too. You do great work.

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.

The 100 Best Lifehacks of 2011: The Year in Review

Mike Vardy — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 20:33:49 +0000

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…

Communication

Lifestyle

Management

Money

Productivity

Technology

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.

30 Days With: Siri

Chris Smith — Sun, 13 Nov 2011 14:15:57 +0000

Editor’s note: This is a featured post in our ongoing series “30 Days With” which outlines the use of a productivity tool, service, or product that we have used for the past 30 days. We want to provide our readers with an in depth view of tools and products that they are interested in and provide them our thoughts as well as ways to use these products faster and better. Enjoy.

This is the tale of a 2 hour a day commuter, 8 hour a day Fortune 500 company employee, and part time Lifehack editor living in the USA using Siri over the last 30 days. Enjoy.

It’s hard to believe that the iPhone 4S has already been out for a month. In this small amount of time we’ve seen iPhone 4S battery issues come and go, Siri outages, and data usage problems (that may not really be problems). But, just like every year, the iPhone proves to be one of the best selling smart phones of all time. It isn’t really surprising, is it?

It’s funny just how important Siri has become in my life in the last 30 days. Being an old Android user, I was privy to the idea of interacting with my phone by voice using Google’s Voice Actions. Google Voice Actions worked well but for some reason my use of them never stuck.

But Siri isn’t just about commanding your phone to do things. It’s about interacting with your phone in a way that Google Voice Actions (or any product for that matter) never brought to the mainstream. Not only does Siri provide the user with a way to interact with one’s device like never before, “she’s” also a tad snarky and has an attitude of “her” own.

This is the “special sauce” that Apple adds to their products. The way to make them more human.

Yes, voice interaction existed with phones before Siri came, and yes, Google did a hell of a job with making voice work with a smartphone. But, Apple is the company that brings “outlying” technologies to the mainstream by making them approachable by humans.

The Good

When I saw the demo of Siri during the iPhone 4S announcement I was super excited. Mostly because I am an Apple fanboy, but also because I am a geek and could see myself using voice to interact with my phone to get things done faster and better. But, deep down, I was scared that Siri wouldn’t be as good as it looked. I was afraid that the attractive man running next to the river effortlessly changing his meeting appointments with his voice through Apple headphones was fake. I mean, whose Apple headphones stay in their ears while running anyways?

But my biggest fear was that this “personal assistant” was going to be a digital interface that only worked if I learned the perfect voice syntax to interact with it.

This is delightfully not the case.

Out-of-the-box

I started doing the normal things first like sending text messages, scheduling appointments, reading text messages, sending emails, checking the weather, seeing how many calories were in a bagel; normal queries and actions to see how well Siri worked.

I would say 95% of the time, Siri was spot on. It transcribed my text messages and emails, added appointments correctly to my calendar (even repeating appointments), created new reminders that nagged me when I got home, played songs from my music library, etc. Siri was so good at first, that it threw me for a loop when she would mess things up like what text note to append something to or the name of the artist that I was giving her to play.

Because of how well Siri worked “out of the box”, I quickly changed my habits and workflows that I have had with my smartphones for the past 3 years.

Outsourcing with Siri

Here are the following things that I now outsource to Siri at least 90% of the time:

Appointment creation with the calendar
Quick reminders and time specific things that I need to remember (I use to put all of this in OmniFocus)
Calling people
Checking the weather

And here are the things that I outsource while driving or at home (not in front of co-workers)

Everything from above
Sending text and reading messages
Sending emails
Making notes
Sending tasks to my OmniFocus inbox (with the “hack” I detailed in our last Siri post)
Playing music
Searching things (as long as I don’t have to dive into Mobile Safari to get it done)

On productivity

Siri is a joy to use. When we talk about being and staying productive here at Lifehack, we all have this idea of staying in the flow of what we are currently working and concentrating on, allowing us to be in a productive state. Siri allows me to do that. Once the following three things happen, Siri will allow for people to stay in this state more of the time:

Apple opens the doors to Siri for developers (which may be a good or bad idea depending on how Apple and developers identify their roles)
“Normal” people accept the idea of people around them interacting with their devices, telling them what to do.
The Siri service covers more ground and is more selective in the ways that it requires a data connection.

We will be able to use a “digital assistant” that allows us to keep thoughts at bay while we work and use other apps that we need to use with little resistance. Siri can then become a major part of one’s workflow. This is what Apple has planned for Siri in the future and once it becomes more “acceptable” in public to talk to our devices, this type of use of Siri will be a reality.

The Bad

You’d think from reading above that Siri is a bed of roses and that Apple is the king of everything in the world. Well, that’s sort of true. But, I did have some issues with Siri, some of them have still yet to be resolved.

Server outages

The biggest complaint that I have regarding Siri is that even if you do the simplest of actions (like calling a contact) you have to make a data call to Apple’s servers. It makes sense to do this sort of call for intense queries that require some backend processing like that of transcription and dictation or for queries that require some sort of call over the network (Wolfram Alpha search), but for doing simple things that are native to the iPhone it seems unnecessary.

The idea of making a data call for every Siri query isn’t entirely noticeable until the Siri service is down, which over the past 30 days I have experienced 2 times. I’m not talking about down for one query and then back up, I’m talking about Siri being down for several hours at a time.

When I wanted to send a SMS to my wife on the way home from work the other day, I got the typical “I’m having trouble connecting to the network” message. Some consumers may think that this means that the network is down, not that the Siri network is down. This is a truly frustrating thing and for all the times that I had used the Google Voice Actions on Android, the only time I couldn’t access that service is when I couldn’t get a network connection to my data provider.

Apple needs to rethink the way that it uses (and requires) access to the a data network and the Siri network to utilize Siri.

Where am I?

Another bad thing about Siri is how it doesn’t completely support different places around the world. Lifehack’s editor, Mike Vardy, can’t use Siri for location based queries in Canada. Siri just doesn’t know where Canda is right now. This may be fixed sometime in 2012.

I’m not entirely sure how Siri is working in other parts of the world, but when it first launched, location data was seriously lacking. If Apple expects Siri to truly take over, how can it if it doesn’t know where the closest Pizzeria is?

Features lacking

Something else that seems obvious that Siri should do is have the ability to change settings on my iPhone. Things like “Siri, turn off WiFi” or “turn on airplane mode” simply don’t work (good thing about the airplane mode though, you couldn’t turn it off without your network connection!).

Some other oddities that Siri faces is that searching the web can be lacking and inconsistent. I like how you can get a locksmith or find local escort services easily through Yelp! but searching for something like “where was the Lord of the Rings filmed” sometimes brings back a Siri provided search result (that is the search result inside of the Siri app) while other times gives you the option to search the web. It seems that Apple is still trying to figure out how to make sure that the search results that Siri will present are correct and the best.

This is definitely a natural language and processing issue. Apple probably thinks that rather than incorrectly presenting the correct, best results, users should be suggested to search the web through Mobile Safari. This way they can make up their own mind which is the correct, best answer.

When Siri finds things and is certain of what she is presenting it amazes me. But, when I search for something that I think should just work rather than take me into Mobile Safari it starts to reduce the “amazingness” of Siri.

Once again; it’s beta right?

In conclusion

My 30 days with Siri has been excellent even with the slight snafus of Siri being down and general feature issues (both of which will get better over time). Like I said above, I now “outsource” a decent amount of what I do with my phone to Siri. And as the Siri service becomes stronger and more ubiquitous, you better believe that I will use it more and more.

I think that Siri is revolutionary yet has its flaws. When I can raise my phone to my face and simply say, “remind me to take out the trash before I leave home” and have my phone alert me when I’m leaving my house to take out the trash, it makes me feel like I’m living in a dream world. But when I do the same action and Siri says, “Christopher I cannot connect to the network”, I’m reminded that there is still work to be done.

Siri, is by far the best voice recognition and natural language software that I have ever used. No matter what happens, Siri will continue to get better and smarter allowing us to be more productive with our iOS devices.

Note: Apple has done such a good job of giving a Siri a persona that many times throughout this article I will refer to Siri as ‘her’ or ‘she’. Thanks for making me think my phone is a person, Apple.

Asana: A Modern Way to Improve Teamwork

Mike Vardy — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 02:00:15 +0000

Asana's Dustin Moskovitz and Justin Rosenstein, both of Facebook fame.

Working as part of a team and staying connected while doing so is a challenge, and there have been few (if any) easy and reasonably-priced software solutions that handle it well. Until today.

Asana has left beta and is now available to the general public. And it has a lot to offer.

This web application keeps teams in sync with what is essentially a shared task list. Here everyone can capture, organize, track, and communicate what they are working on, all with the bigger picture in mind. Skipping email conversations (which is a terrible way to have conversations anyway) and countless meetings to keep a team on track, Asana lets its users move more efficiently and effectively.

Oh, and Asana is free for teams consisting of 30 people or less. In addition, Asana can be used with as many of these teams as you want.

How Asana Works

By making the task the center of attention in Asana, the way teams look at productivity shifts. The tasks are basically smaller pieces of a much larger set of goals and get assigned to team members and tracked to completion within the web app. Asana allows users to:

Capture everything your team is planning and doing in one place. No more jumping from app to app. Everything is collected and lives in Asana.
Keep team members in the know. By seeing who is working on what and when, there is a distinction between what is and isn’t important as well as how much more work has to be done to reach the much larger goal.
Stay informed. You’ll get essential updates on progress without having to search through old email threads.

Why Choose Asana?

While we’ve yet to put it through the paces here at Stepcase Lifehack — we’ll be doing so over the next 30 days — Asana itself has suggested the following:

“It’s ridiculously fast. Thanks to in-house “Luna” technology, Asana is as responsive and lightweight as a text editor. Plus, by obsessively minimizing the number of clicks required to get things done, along with powerful keyboard shortcuts, Asana lets you manage your most important information with ease.”

“It’s versatile. Asana is one tool for many uses – from simple to-do lists, to complex projects, and more. It doesn’t force a single workflow, so you can mold it to your own processes and style.”

“It’s for the individual, too. Asana is the place to organize your own task list. In doing so, you automatically communicate what you’re prioritizing and everything you’ve done. By being the tool that individuals are using day in and day out, the team as a whole can trust it as the source of truth. We think Asana becomes the best group productivity tool by also being the best personal productivity tool.”

But don’t just take the company’s word for it. The video below offers the thoughts of some of the early beta testers:

Asana may be a new player on a crowded landscape, but with co-founders including Facebook co-founder Dustin Moskovitz and early Facebook employee Justin Rosenstein firmly behind it, this very well could be the web app that teams looking to improve their overall productivity have been searching for.

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.

3 Reasons Why Shame is Your Friend

Dave Kaiser — Wed, 13 Jul 2011 13:00:15 +0000

Previously we discussed how Fear is your friend, because can guide you towards what’s important for you, motivate you to take action to improve your odds, and you give you a rush. We also discussed how Sadness can be your friend, because Sadness shows you what you care about, Sadness helps you to appreciate what you have, and Sadness requires you to be authentic. Today we are going to talk about how Shame is your friend. This one is a bit trickier than the first two, but it’s no less powerful.

1. Shame Indicates Your Vulnerabilities

First, Shame shows you what you believe about yourself, and what your vulnerabilities are. We all have our weak spots, and, when you think about it, wouldn’t you rather be aware of them than not? So, you may ask, how does this work? Great question, I’m glad you asked. As Eleanor Roosevelt famously said, “no one can make you feel inferior without your consent.” When you feel shame, you are subconsciously consenting to what was said about you. Hmmm, sounds complicated you say. Fair enough, here’s an example. If someone were to call me stupid, it would roll right off my back. No part of me feels stupid. I have a PhD from the University of Chicago, and they don’t just hand those out for free. I have full faith in my intellectual abilities. Now, when someone calls me ugly, I feel a flush of shame, because when I was a kid, I felt ugly, and part of me still feels that way sometimes, so that indicates that I am still carrying around that belief about myself, buried in my subconscious. When someone insults you and you get upset, part of you believes the insult might be true, that’s insight into what you believe about yourself, and it indicates what you might want to work on as personal growth.

2. Shame Deflates Your Ego

Second, Shame deflates your ego. When you have done something that hurts yourself or others, you feel ashamed. When someone calls you on it, you feel even more ashamed. Both of those things are good, by the way. We all do things that violate our values (and that feeling of Shame can show you what those are, by the way!), and Shame is the emotion we feel in response to our values being hurt, just as physical pain is your body’s response to being hurt. Shame gets us out of our self-conscious ego that drives us to make selfish or foolish choices, and back into our values and our community.

3. The Back-Handed Compliment

Lastly, Shame is actually a back-handed compliment. You can only feel shame if you have a conscience and it’s working! Maybe you do something stupid or cruel, and you feel ashamed. That’s great! That means you are a decent human being with a conscience. A psychopath won’t feel shame, but you do, so you are a good person! The fact that you feel bad about yourself is actually cause to feel good about yourself! Shame also highlights what your values are, because you only feel it when you violate your values. Also, when you feel Shame, part of you knows you can do better. No one feels ashamed that they can’t fly or breathe underwater, because these are impossible! You may feel ashamed that you don’t make more money, but that means that you already believe you could be making more money! Another back-handed compliment! So, while Shame may be quite painful in the moment, if you reflect on it and deconstruct it, you can actually find a lot to be proud of (I know, weird, right?)

So, Shame shows you what you believe about yourself and what your vulnerabilities are, it deflates your ego, and it is actually a backhanded compliment! Not bad, that friend has a lot of wisdom and good advice for you, even thought it may seem hard to swallow at first.

Got Goals? 4 Tips from Real People That Achieved Real Goals

Joseph Satto — Tue, 05 Jul 2011 16:20:17 +0000

As an alternative to posting the hackneyed advice of self-proclaimed life coaches and storytellers (e.g. Tony Robbins, Tim Ferriss, etc…), I thought I’d collect and share advice from real people in the mySomeday community that achieved real goals. In the past, they admitted to having issues with finishing what they started. ”So, what was different this time?”, I asked. Although they all agreed that building a detailed step-by-step Plan was essential, each had a unique aspect to that Plan that kept them motivated. Here are their tips.

1. Break It Down

Maia was determined to get out of credit card debt but was daunted and occasionally paralyzed by the enormity of the goal. She decided to break down the path into clear, achievable steps and discovered that checking off smaller to-dos generated real momentum. These small flashes of progress kept her head in the game and allowed her to continue to believe that the goal would someday be reality. Maia is convinced that taking the time to break down the path into incremental steps made the difference for her.

2. Picture It

Globehound turned 40 and decided it was time to go back to the future and get back in shape. To stay motivated, he strategically placed unflattering pictures of himself in various places next to images of people he’d like to emulate. This ‘in your face’ approach worked wonders. Whenever he felt lazy or was eyeing that bag of Doritos, he’d take a quick look at the pictures and the urge was squashed. Now that he’s back in shape, he posted before and after pictures of himself as a constant reminder of a place he does not wish to return. Globehound was adamant, this visual anchor located in a prominent place had a profound impact on his ability to stick to his plan.

3. Broadcast It

Christine wanted to change careers. She knew it for a long time but it wasn’t until she shared this goal with friends and family that she started to make real strides. Knowing that others were watching and rooting for her proved to be just the motivation she needed to continue to check off steps in her plan. She used the ‘Share’ option on the Someday page and broadcast her intentions to her Facebook Wall. It profoundly affected the accountability factor by adding social pressure and expectations to the mix and Christine says it was just what she needed to make the move from consulting to fashion.

4. Make It About Something Bigger Than You

A4S4L4 had run a half-marathon before but she was feeling a bit unmotivated this time around. Someone suggested that she make someone else the beneficiary of her efforts. She built a plan to run a half-marathon and included a charitable partner. Knowing that her efforts would do good beyond personal satisfaction gave her a real sense of necessity. If she was in a rut, she would visit the charity’s website and suddenly her laziness felt insignificant. She claimed that adding this one element shifted her entire perspective and gave her massive amounts of motivation.

Got any stories or motivational tips? Please share. We’re always looking to incorporate new elements into our site to increase the motivation and accountability factors.

Twelve Steps to Get Things Done

Craig Harper — Tue, 25 Jan 2011 03:16:02 +0000

No Frills Personal Development

It’s become apparent that not everyone connects with, relates to or gains value from the traditional personal development language or paradigm. Or words like paradigm (for that matter). Many of my readers have shared with me that their partner (sister, brother, mother, father, boss) needs to hear these (types of) messages but they seem to have an aversion to anything that smells like ‘motivational speaker’. To be honest, I don’t blame them. Some motivational speakers are a little smelly.

So, here it is team: my no frills, twelve-step, personal development philosophy for people who hate self-help stuff and cheesy motivational types. In order to avoid boredom, confusion and distraction, I’ve kept it simple and succinct.

Step 1. Don’t talk big. Big-talkers are notorious under do-ers, under-achievers and under-performers. They’re also pains in the arse.

Step 2. Don’t wait for things to ‘work out’. Idiots wait for things to work out. Rather than hoping things will happen, make them happen.

Step 3. Lose the bad attitude. Attitude is a choice. Better attitude equals better decisions, behaviours and outcomes.

Step 4. Don’t eat crap. Being unhealthy on a physical level means you won’t function optimally on any level: mentally, emotionally, professionally or socially. Eat crap and you’ll look, feel and function like crap!

Step 5. Actually care about others. Being a self-centered idiot ain’t a recipe for success.

Step 6. Don’t make life harder than it needs to be. Life’s challenging enough without you complicating the simple. Suck it up, Princess.

Step 7. Do things early in the day. Being productive early puts you in a better place (mentally, emotionally and creatively) for the rest of the day.

Step 8. Let go of your ill-conceived beliefs. It’s time to lose those self-limiting, disempowering beliefs. They’ve run your life for long enough. You’re good enough, talented enough and, yes, you deserve happiness.

Step 9. Bad things happen and life’s not fair – deal with it. More often than not success or failure will be determined by the way you react to the situations, circumstances and events (good and bad, foreseen or not) of your world. Better reactions equal better results.

Step 10. Don’t focus on (or obsess about) things you can’t change. Wasting your time, talent and emotional energy on things that are beyond your control is a recipe for frustration, misery and stagnation. Invest your energy in the things you can control.

Step 11. Don’t avoid things you fear. Putting your head in the sand just shows the world your arse. And none of us want that. Lasting change begins with awareness and acknowledgement. Step up and do what’s necessary.

Step 12. Don’t over-think things. Analysis paralysis is a painful, pointless and unnecessary condition. To think is good. To obsess is bad. Stop obsessing.

There you have it, Grasshoppers: politically incorrect self-help. In fact, let’s not call it self-help, let’s call it… some free practical advice. Of course, some will be offended and bothered by this type of language and message but fortunately for me, I’ve learned to take criticism pretty well.

You may want to attach (nail, staple, rivet, sew, glue) these twelve steps to the forehead of someone special. And then run.

You’re welcome. =)

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.

10 Things To Stop Doing in Your Relationships

celestine — Tue, 11 Jan 2011 19:12:19 +0000

Want to build positive relationships? Then make sure not to commit the following 10 things that disrupt relationships:

Giving hurtful comments. Are you hurting others by your lack of tact? You might think that you’re being helpful, but your intentions might have hurt the other party instead. Put yourself in others’ shoes first. If it’s not a comment you appreciate hearing yourself, then perhaps it’s not something others will appreciate either.
Giving solutions when the person is really looking for a listening ear. Probably an understatement: A lot of times what people want is a listening ear. Deep down, people have solutions to the problems they are facing – they are just looking for someone to share their frustrations with because they have had a long and hard day. I had a friend who would always butt in with suggestions whenever I shared my frustrations. Our conversations became stifling – in the end I stopped talking about them altogether because I wasn’t getting the refuge I wanted. Be more conscious of what the other party is looking for, and adjust accordingly to fit that.
Being judgmental; Thinking you are above others. No one likes to be judged or labeled. If you are constantly judging others for what they do/say, it might be good to reflect that upon yourself. Putting someone off doesn’t make someone a better person; it just makes him/her appear insecure. Humility is a timeless virtue that’s appreciated by everyone.
Being defensive to criticism. How well do you respond to criticism? Do you become defensive and wall yourself up? Or do you graciously take it into stride and use the criticism constructively for growth? Learn to deal with critical people – it might be the most important skill you can ever acquire.
Telling people what to do. Most of us don’t like it when people try to boss us around. Learning to energize people and get them on board a common vision is more empowering than trying to order people around.
Being aloof; Not being responsive. I have experienced situations where acquaintances do not respond to correspondences, possibly because they do not see them as important. Subsequently I form a very bad impression of them, and deprioritize their requests when they seek my help later on.
Thinking you know it all. The more I learn, the more I realize what I don’t know. There is a wealth of knowledge out there for us to learn. Thinking you know everything, rejecting new methods and vehemently insisting on your ways prevents you from connecting with others. Be open to trying new things.
Being a complainer. It’s okay to complain every once in a while, but doing it all too often puts off people. Complaining too much makes you an energy vortex – it becomes draining to be around you. People like to be around positive people, not energy vampires. If you are one, it’s not too late to change – start by focusing on positive things around you and work from there.
Not following up on things you agreed on. One of my pet peeves is when people don’t follow up on things they agree on (be it appointments, favors, etc). I think it makes them unreliable and leaves a very bad taste in my mouth. These are the same people that I make a note not to work with in the future.
Not listening. Are you present in your conversations with others? Or is your mind on something else? When conversing with someone, learn to not only listen, but listen actively. Seek out the underlying message behind what someone is saying.

Here are some classic posts on dealing with people which you should check out:

Let’s work hard to build more meaningful relationships in 2011!

Image © Shutterstock

I'm Celes and I write at The Personal Excellence Blog on how to achieve our highest potential and live our best life. Get my free ebook 101 Things To Do Before You Die by joining my free newsletter (unsubscribe whenever you want). Get my RSS feed and add me on Twitter @celestinechua.

The 100 Best Lifehacks of 2010: The Year in Review

celestine — Sun, 02 Jan 2011 19:26:16 +0000

Happy New Year everyone! It’s the first week of 2011 and many of us are getting ready to kick off the brand new year with a big bang. As we start off 2011 with our new resolutions and goals, let us now look back at the best posts at Lifehack in the past year.

In this review post, I have gathered 100 of the best LifeHack articles in 2010. These articles have been selected based on your votes and how much YOU have talked about them in social media (Facebook and Twitter). I have categorized these 100 articles into 11 main categories of Overall Personal Growth, Maximizing Productivity & GTD, Lifestyle & Habits, Inspiration & Motivation, Goal Achievement & Success, Emotional Mastery, People Skills & Relationships, Communications & Writing, Business & Career, Creativity & Inspiration, Family and Miscellaneous.

Do not attempt to read this whole post at once! Instead, bookmark this mega list post and come back time and again to read the articles relevant to you at that point in time. I’ve ranked the posts within each category in order of popularity, with the most popular post being #1. I’ve also included the (1) author name and (2) total number of retweets and Facebook likes/shares beside the article, so you can gauge how well-received the article was among the LifeHack readers.

Let me start off with the top 10 most popular life hack posts out of the 100s of posts published in 2010. Each of them is a gem in itself. Be sure to check each of them out!

Following which, I’ll present the 100 top articles presented in the 11 catetgories. Enjoy! And remember to share this to others via the retweet and Facebook buttons above! :)

Overall Personal Growth

42 Practical Ways To Improve Yourself (by Celestine Chua, 2176)
Why Being A Perfectionist May Not Be So Perfect (by Celestine Chua, 367)
The Quickest Way to Create a New Mindset (by Craig Harper, 263)
The Law of Attraction is a Dangerous Delusion (by Paul Sloane, 249)
7 Ways to Make Life Changing Decisions (by Hulbert Lee, 236)
5 Steps To Move Out Of Stagnancy In Life (by Celestine Chua, 150)
What Do You Need To Let Go Of? (by Craig Harper, 132)
How To Save Thousands on Personal Development (by Craig Harper, 114)
Can You Transform Without Getting Uncomfortable? (by Craig Harper, 99)
Do Your Beliefs Empower You or Limit You? (by Craig Harper, 97)
9 Ways To Tell If You Are A Self-Help Junkie (And What To Do About It) (by Celestine Chua, 90)

Maximizing Productivity and GTD

The Not-Do List: 9 Things You Need To Stop Doing (by Celestine Chua, 940)
11 Practical Ways To Stop Procrastination (by Celestine Chua, 823)
13 Strategies To Jumpstart Your Productivity (by Celestine Chua, 700)
Twitter Hack: 5 Ways To Up Your Visible IQ (by Seth Simonds, 505)
20 Quick Tips For Better Time Management (by Celestine Chua, 497)
How To Tweet in Just 5 Minutes a Week (by Seth Simonds, 229)
A New Productivity for the Smartphone Era (by Francis Wade, 222)
5 Types of Emails You Should be Automatically Filtering (by Sid Sivara, 170)
12 Useful Ways To Get Out Of Ruts (by Celestine Chua, 164)
Are You Becoming a “Productive” Moron? (by Francis Wade, 163)
Staying Organized: 8 Tips for Daily Sanity (by Debbie Bowie, 160)
Productivity Pr0n: 5 Unusually Useful Notepads (by Dustin Wax, 151)
How I’m Getting a Smartphone, While Avoiding Crazy Habits (by Francis Wade, 144)
7 Ways To Stay Grounded by Staying Organized (by Debbie Bowie, 127)
Fight Bad Cellphone Habits For Better Time Management (by Francis Wade, 124)
Are You a Productive Person? Look at the Number of People Waiting (by Francis Wade, 121)

Lifestyle and Habits

7 Caffeine-Free Ways to Increase Alertness (by Seth Simonds, 369)
6 Steps To Remove TV From Your Life (by Celestine Chua, 357)
5 Tips For Becoming An Early Riser (by Seth Simonds, 290)
Do You Have A Morning Ritual? (by Seth Simonds, 279)
7 Effective Ways To De-Junk Your Life (by Seth Simonds, 254)
6 Proven Ways To Make New Habits Stick(by Celestine Chua, 242)
9 Tips For Better Sleep (by Seth Simonds, 213)
Sleep Hack: A Simple Strategy For Better Rest In Less Time (by Seth Simonds, 187)

Inspiration & Motivation

5 Simple ways to live a life you love (by Seth Simonds, 692)
20 Inspirational Quotes To Brighten Your Day (by Celestine Chua, 573)
7 Ways To Demonstrate True Strength (by Seth Simonds, 407)
8 Life Lessons You Should Learn Today (by Mike Brown, 275)
What Advice Would You Give To Your 18 Year Old Self? (by Seth Simonds, 157)

Goal Achievement & Success

11 Reasons Why You Aren’t Getting Results (by Celestine Chua, 368)
11 Simple Ways To Avoid Burnout (by Seth Simonds, 348)
Brilliant Thinkers Relish Ambiguity (by Paul Sloane, 340)
Top 10 Resolutions To Set For The New Year (by Celestine Chua, 304)
How To Be In The Right Place At The Right Time More Often (by Seth Simonds, 239)
How To Start and Run a Mastermind Group (by Sid Sivara, 208)
10 Tips to Create a High Performance Environment (by Debbie Bowie, 161)
Change Your Focus For Better Results (by Craig Harper, 155)
How To Walk On Water (by Seth Simonds, 130)
How to Do What You’ve Always Wanted (by Steve Errey, 130)
Education Should be More than Academic Basics (by Craig Harper, 115)

Emotional Mastery

63 Ways to Build Self-Confidence (by Steve Errey, 754)
7 Simple Ways To Be Happier (by Seth Simonds, 509)
7 Quick ways to turn a bad day around (by Seth Simonds, 449)
11 Reasons to be Cheerful (by Paul Sloane, 430)
5 Simple Ways To Spread Positivity (by Seth Simonds, 272)
How Much Stuff Do You Need To Feel Happy? (by Seth Simonds, 254)
5 Ways to Stop Second Guessing Yourself (by Steve Errey, 169)
5 Ways to Brighten A Cloudy Day (by Seth Simonds, 110)

People Skills & Relationships

9 Helpful Tips To Deal With Negative People (by Celestine, 760)
9 Ways To Manage People Who Bother You (by Celestine Chua, 554)
5 Simple Ways To Be A Better Listener (by Seth Simonds, 357)
Top 10 Ways to Lead More Effectively with Humor (by Mike Brown, 236)
5 Steps To Conquer Any Networking Event (by Seth Simonds, 183)
5 Keys To A Better Love Life (by Seth Simonds, 178)
5 Keys to Building Networks Over Time (by Alexandra Levit, 122)

Communications & Writing

11 Paradoxes of Being a Better Public Speaker (by Mike Brown, 326)
9 Expert Tips For Better Writing (by Seth Simonds, 240)
10 Ways Blogging Can Improve Your Life (by Annabel Candy, 232)
9 Ways To Handle Interruptions Like A Pro (by Seth Simonds, 211)
8 Qualities of Powerful Writing (by Dustin Wax, 182)
31 Proven Ways To Get More Comments On Your Blog (by Seth Simonds, 167)
Develop Your Greatest Skill – Language (by Paul Sloane, 106)
How to Tell a Funny Joke (by Hulbert Lee, 96)

Business & Career

7 Things you should stop doing at work (by Seth Simonds, 845)
8 Ways To Bring Your Creative Passions to Work (by Mike Brown, 238)
9 Strategies to Make Selling Your Ideas More Successful (by Mike Brown, 192)
How to Be Successful When You Can’t Plan Ahead (by Mike Brown, 190)
Wise Money – 5 Tips From Billionaire Investor Warren Buffett (by Seth Simonds, 171)
5 Things You Should Know About Personal Finance (by Ibrahim Husain, 137)
8 Ways to Recharge a Tired Old Job (by Mike Brown, 121)
How to Shine in a Job Interview (by Steve Errey, 110)
It’s Time to Manage Your Online Personal Brand (by Dan Schawbel, 107)

Creativity & Inspiration

9 Great Ways to Be Exceptionally Boring (by Paul Sloane, 387)
How to Feel Inspired When You’ve Lost Motivation (by Hulbert Lee, 308)
12 Tips for Being Good Feng Shui (by Debbie Bowie, 256)
Stop Trying To Be Creative (by Seth Simonds, 182)
How to Kill a Radical Idea (by Paul Sloane, 132)

Family

The Secret to Helping Your Child Excel in School and in Life (by Erin Kurt, 183)
11 Way to Instill a Love of Reading in Your Child (by Erin Kurt, 182)
Parenting: 6 Myths You Should Know About (by Erin Kurt, 165)
8 Reasons Why Children Misbehave (With Solutions!) (by Erin Kurt, 158)
How “Fun” Can Be Your Best Discipline Technique(by Erin Kurt, 119)
4 Ways to Spend Time with Your Kids When You Have No Time (by Erin Kurt, 115)

Miscellaneous

Kitchen Hack: One-Minute Bread (by Seth Simonds, 2126)
Newbie Fashion Tips for Grown-Up Men (by Dustin Wax, 924)
11 Sinfully Easy Sangria Recipes (by Seth Simonds, 257)
Kitchen Hack: 7-Minute Chocolate Covered Strawberries (by Sarah Joy Albrecht, 112)
4 Tips for Getting Started and Self-Publishing a Book (by Debbie Bowie, 100)

Last but not least, here’s a special thank you to Leon Ho (founder of Lifehack.org) and all the writers at Lifehack who have contributed the articles above and more. LifeHack would not be where it is today without all of you. Thank you so much everyone! :)

Image ©

11 Things to avoid in 2011

Seth Simonds — Sun, 02 Jan 2011 05:31:10 +0000

While millions head to the gym for the next two weeks, there’s cause to consider some things to avoid in the coming year. Here are 11 things you might do well to avoid in the coming year and beyond!

1. Withholding forgiveness

If the person who wronged you really cares about you they’ll have beaten themselves up sufficiently before asking for your forgiveness. Don’t risk the health of your relationship by withholding forgiveness. That’s a vengeance that tastes good on the way down and breaks your heart on the way back up.

2. Using your job as an excuse

Far too often the phrase, “I’m doing this for my family!” is given as an excuse for neglect. If you are actually indispensable your employer will, perhaps begrudgingly, give you the time you need to get your relationship with family and friends back on track. You’ll be glad you did and so will your employer!

3. Eating for all the wrong reasons

Don’t eat because you’re tired, bored, thirsty, or anxious this year! You might consider those four different things to avoid but they all lead to the reason you probably resolved to hit the gym more often this year. Consider the notion of eating with purpose and see where it takes you in 2011.

4. Assuming that you always know the entire story

You don’t. Ask more questions. Listen. Ask more questions. Give yourself an out and don’t back others into corners when you give your final answer.

5. Self-loathing

Most aren’t aware of just how much they beat themselves up over things. Note this: You set an example for others as to how you should be treated and appreciated. Respect and take care of yourself and most will follow your example. This is one of those wildly simple yet agonizingly difficult things to accomplish. Try to get a solid start this year!

6. Blaming anything on gender

For example: I was in an argument recently (imagine that!) and my partner in the argument forcefully uttered the remark, “typical male!” in response to something I said that was admittedly unkind (imagine that!). This created a predicament in which my subsequent apology would be not just for my comment but also for my gender. I can’t change my gender (really, not an option) so I’d be apologizing for being myself. Crazy, right? She doesn’t do that because she’s a woman. She does it because she’s an imperfect human. He doesn’t do that because he’s a man. He does it because he’s an imperfect human. Things are simpler when we approach conflict with as few stereotypes as possible.

Such an approach will change things. I promise you.

7. Needless exhaustion

Try to be better about skipping the late-night TV or web browsing when you have work early in the morning. You’ll be more useful at work, more fun as a friend, and it’ll be easier to hit the gym or whatever your new year’s resolution was!

8. Neglecting your mind

You’ve talked about taking a class, joining a book club, working on more challenging projects, and taking time to read more or even start a blog. You’re officially done waiting. Congratulations!

9. Putting off your dreams

Look at your big dreams and identify what makes them so appealing. Is it the free time, the nice things, the great relationships, or being in the best shape of your life? Identify something you can do this year that will allow you to enjoy some of that dream without all the extras. Save up some cash and splurge on that amazing purchase or take some unpaid time off. Treasure the time you have and don’t wait until you’re loaded to start savoring the world around you.

10. Not asking for help

You’d be stunned if you knew just how many people are ready and willing to help you if only you’d clearly define your need and directly ask for help. Don’t ask for help like the friend who begs people to help him move but has nothing put in boxes when they show up. Ask for help like the friend who has done everything in his power to achieve and needs only that final push from a buddy to reach success. We want to be a part of your success!

11. Taking so many moments for granted

Time is limited my friend. Seize the moment. Try to freeze it and own it, squeeze it and hold it. (Eminem) We’ve not been promised another year. Only this moment right before our eyes, between our hands, and in the breaths of those we love.

Here’s to an amazing 2011, friends! Stay blessed!

Image: Today is a good day

Greetings, loved ones! I'm the founding editor of Real Zest and spend far too much time asking questions on Twitter. Say hello and stay blessed!

Top 10 Resolutions To Set For The New Year

celestine — Wed, 22 Dec 2010 16:59:34 +0000

Resolution, n – A commitment that an individual makes that brings positive benefits to his/her life

In just a week’s time, we’ll be stepping into 2011. Are you ready to rock 2011 ahead?

I love the new year, because it’s the time when we start everything on a fresh note. It’s when we set new resolutions, positive intentions of what we want to accomplish for the year. In today’s post, I’m going to share top 10 resolutions to set for the new year. These 10 resolutions cover important areas, and when accomplished, will bring about great benefits to your life.

Spend more time with family. How many of us often prioritize work over family? Our family is the closest kin we have in the world, so spend more time with them. Let go of work for just an hour a day, and swap that with some quality family time instead. Check with your family members how they are doing at work, in school, and in their relationships.
Get Fit / Exercise more. Do you know that over 60% of Americans are overweight or obese? A healthy body is the key to a healthy life. Very few of us exercise as frequently as we would like. When things get busy at work, our gym sessions are usually the first to go. Unfortunately, that also means an increasing waistline and wider hips as the years go by. I’m planning a 21-day healthy living challenge on my blog with the start of 2011, where I’ll be exercising regularly and eating healthily (resolution #3) for 21 days straight. Since it takes 21 days to make or break a habit, these 21 days will help to set the positive habits in place for the year and beyond.
Eat healthily. The modern lifestyle has become one that’s filled with fast food and junk food. Time to take these out and eat some healthy food. Recently I’ve taken a huge liking for salad bars. They’re amazingly filling, and extremely refreshing change.
Connect with friends. Make it a point to meet up with friends regularly. Remember at the end of the day, our relationships are what give us the biggest fulfillment in life. Go take your phone book and call up your good friends from the past. Or simply use Facebook and search for them. Arrange to meet-up and catch up over a cup of coffee. I recently met my good friend over dinner and it was great meeting her after a long time. We made the commitment to meet up at least once every month so we wouldn’t lose touch.
Learn something new. Learning never stops. Life is our school, and there are things to learn everywhere we go. Go learn a new language, take a new course, read new books, learn a sport, and more. Check out these 42 helpful tips on how to improve yourself.
Meet new people. A new year is a great time to forge new friendships, while maintaining old ones of course. We can never have too many friends. Get out there and meet new people! Venture out of your social groups. Meet people whose work inspire you. Network with the top people in your field. Get to know your friends’ friends.
Meditate. If there’s only one habit you’re going to pick to cultivate, I’ll recommend you pick meditation. Meditation calms your mind and quietens your soul. It’s where you connect with your subconsciousness and unleash that idea genius in you. I’ve gotten some very interesting ideas from my meditations. If you’re new to meditation, it’s very easy to get started. Read: How To Meditate in 5 Simple Steps.
Do more kind deeds. I think there’s never an end to how much we can help others. The more we give, the happier we’ll be. I’ve dedicated my life to helping others grow, and every day I get more satisfaction from my work than the day before.
Get rid of clutter. New year is the perfect time to declutter your environment. Do a spring cleaning of your home, your wardrobe, your bedroom, your storeroom and your work desk. You’ll find that removing clutter has a therapeutic effect: As you clear the clutter, you’re inviting new things to enter your life.
Stop procrastinating. How much time have you wasted in your life procrastinating? Honestly, life’s too short to be procrastinating it away. Start 2011 on a high note – it’s time to cut off all the bad procrastination habits and do everything you’ve been putting off. If you need some help, check out: 11 Practical Ways To Stop Procrastination

Which of the resolutions above are you going to set for 2011? Share with everyone in the comments below!

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12 Free holiday gifts they’ll never forget

Mike Brown — Mon, 20 Dec 2010 09:03:32 +0000

It’s the holiday season – the time of year we imagine as full of so many possibilities for joy and gift giving. All too often, though, the holidays aren’t a wonderful experience. When families come together, or there’s no family and friends to be with, the holidays can become a time of anxiety and dread. It’s easy, if you’re envisioning a less than desirable experience ahead of you, to sink into sadness at the prospect of dealing with a difficult situation that’s out of your control.

One alternative any of us can pursue, whether the holidays fill us full of excitement or angst, is to focus on being a joyful, generous giver!

Don’t worry though; what follows isn’t a prescription for spending more money!

Instead, none of these twelve holiday gift ideas cost any money at all. All they cost is the commitment and the effort to do something special that will be remembered years longer than a cheapo gift grabbed from a holiday present ideas end cap at a big box retailer.

This holiday, how about…..?

Encouraging someone to embrace greater aspirations than they are pursuing.
Protecting someone’s well-being by helping them, however you can.
Complimenting another for a talent they don’t even realize they possess.
Complementing a friend by sharing your talents to offset one of their weaknesses.
Erasing a debt someone owes you.
Repairing a relationship which has been strained for too long.
Becoming a peaceful, calming influence in an emotionally charged situation.
Discovering what’s really important in the life of someone close to you.
Tackling a chore or to-do that someone important to you is struggling to accomplish.
Refreshing the energy you have to share with others by unplugging from your self-imposed responsibilities this holiday season.
Reading something positive and motivating you wouldn’t typically read in your daily routine.
Listing all the blessings you’ve received this year and sharing them with others.

You certainly don’t have to do all of these, but trying even one or two will make the holidays more fulfilling for yourself and everyone around you!

Mike Brown leads The Brainzooming Group, helping organizations succeed more rapidly by expanding their strategic options and efficiently implementing innovative plans. He authors the Brainzooming™ blog, shares innovation ideas on Twitter, and wrote the ebook “Taking the NO Out of InNOvation.” He's also a frequent keynote presenter.

GiftGaff relaunches social gift registry in time for holiday sanity

Lifehack Editors — Sat, 11 Dec 2010 22:38:49 +0000

Why should we only use registries for weddings and baby showers? What about all the other holidays with presents flying ’round that always seem to end with Uncle Bobby getting 15 blue ties with little goldfish on them? GiftGaff has relaunched its holiday registry for everything from Christmas to made-up birthdays.

GiftGaff is simple:

Add the new Macbook Air to your “Wishful Techie” wishlist, snoop on Jordie’s wishlist to see what not to wear, then raise your hand to buy Rosa the book she placed on her wishlist without her finding out who the present is from ahead of time.

No repeat presents. No stupid presents. No embarrassment because you didn’t even snoop on your relatives’ Facebook pages to see what they might like before going shopping. Just great gifts, organized.

Launched in 1997, after founder Erica Coffin’s grandmother received 7 copies of the same best seller for Christmas, Giftgaff.com not only tracks who has purchased gifts for whom, preventing duplicate giving, but also keeps purchased gifts a secret from the recipient, preserving the surprise.

You can also create multiple wishlists with different audiences, so in addition to their own holiday or birthday wishlist, moms can create Christmas and birthday lists for babies, or for any other occasion – weddings, retirement parties, or even office Secret Santas.

A pun on the Scottish word giff-gaff meaning “mutual giving, receiving”, GiftGaff.com is the first gifting tool to encourage users to create their own private wishlist communities, so that only the friends and family you choose share your wishlist(s). Because you know and trust the source, family and friends can to suggest gifts for each other.

Check out GiftGaff (it’s Free) and let us know if you like it as well!

5 Things to beg your boss for this week

Seth Simonds — Mon, 06 Dec 2010 00:40:03 +0000

Unless you’re one of the nomads who has broken free of every attachment to the office but an internet connection, this short talk from 37 Signals’ Jason Fried will resonate with you.

It’s great for managers to hear that they should minimize meetings, hire people they really trust to do great work, and work to empower instead of frustrate.

But what can you do as an employee to make a difference at your workplace? Request one of the following to start.

1. Extended lunches – You’re probably eating lunch at your desk these days so this will be a game-changer. Ask for a 2 hour lunch and make it a working lunch. Get out, stretch your legs, and settle into a quiet place for a solid hour of uninterrupted work time. You’ll kick yourself for not asking sooner!

2. Meeting agendas – If a meeting doesn’t have an agenda, you can argue that you won’t be able to prepare properly and won’t be able to bring your best contribution. In reality, agenda-less meetings tend to be a huge waste of time and using the “I want to give my best” argument is your quickest ticket back to productivity.

3. To be excused – If the portions of a conversation relevant to you have been covered in a meeting, excuse yourself. Being in-demand is a huge asset and so long as you’re gracious and apologetic, you’ll get away with murder so long as you’re outproducing the people who stay for entire meetings.

Note: Perhaps that’s the key to anything like this? If you’re making the requests but not following up with a boost in productivity, you’re just spoiling things for others. On the flipside, if you put the work in and set a precedent for a more flexible view of scheduling based on your results, that’s good for everybody.

4. For more work – If you’re getting more work done because of the changes you’ve made in your process, ask for more work. You’re ringing the cash register now!

5. For objective feedback – While being free of meetings and running around outside the office might improve your short-term productivity, make sure it doesn’t affect the long-term quality of your work. Especially for creative types, it’s important to get quality interaction with different perspectives and process-driven types who force you to think in new ways and try new things.

If you’re not getting face time at the office and chit-chatting at meetings, you’ll need to put the time in other places to stay on the same page with coworkers. Make sure your manager knows you care about making that happen and that you want her help and feedback on how you’re doing.

What else could you ask your boss for that I haven’t listed?

Greetings, loved ones! I'm the founding editor of Real Zest and spend far too much time asking questions on Twitter. Say hello and stay blessed!

7 Things to remember this holiday season

Seth Simonds — Fri, 03 Dec 2010 03:40:28 +0000

1. Eating healthy matters today (don’t wait until January 1 to start believing your mirror).

2. You need time for yourself (make sure you’re getting some time to close the year as you’d like).

3. Honesty can be the best present of all (if it’s delivered for the right reasons).

4. Joy comes from within (don’t expect others to work toward your yuletide happiness).

5. Memories have a shelf life (keep working to make great new memories for your loved ones to treasure).

6. Not everybody celebrates holidays as you’d prefer (especially when religion comes into play, it’s good to remember we all have different takes and that’s okay).

7. Unprovoked generosity is terrific fun (give it a try, you’ll get a kick out of random kindness without all the planning we usually load up with).

What do you often forget that you hope to remember this holiday season?

Greetings, loved ones! I'm the founding editor of Real Zest and spend far too much time asking questions on Twitter. Say hello and stay blessed!

5 Simple ways to live a life you love

Seth Simonds — Tue, 23 Nov 2010 01:57:30 +0000

The quickest way to living a life you love is through learning to love the life you live.

You’re waiting for something to change in your life before you can be happy. You might think if only you had a different partner (or one at all), a better job, or kids that did their homework then surely you’d be happy. Surely then you’d wake each morning with the glow of one living a life worth loving. Enough! Here are 5 ways to get started:

1. Be present – You must be aware of your current existence and that you have control over your perspective. Whether you’re willing away early morning grouchiness or seeing a messy house as a chance to teach teamwork, your choice of perspective will make all the difference between just living and loving.

2. Practice gratefulness – Every day, no excuses. Pretend to be grateful if you must. It’s one of those things that catches up to you quickly as life reciprocates your emotional generosity. Seeing the good in your life will allow you to keep your heart fed while you work to change the more unsavory parts. Try it. Live it. You’ll love it.

3. Pursue balance - As a person given to extremes this has always been a tough one for me. I’ll go from taking great care of myself and communicating well to abandonment and silence as I let work consume me. The pursuit of balance requires constant adjustment as your life shifts but every time I really try for the middle I end up happier about my life. And that’s truly the point.

4. Nurture friendships – You know the people who for some reason or other welcome you into their lives? Treasure them. Make time to spend with them. It is those relationships that you’ll look back on with satisfaction when you get old and begin to wonder what your life was worth. Many of us spend far too much time thinking about how some material possession will improve our lives. An iMac would be nice. A good friend is worth just about everything though!

5. Embrace simplicity – You don’t need to have all your gold-plated ducks in a row in order to love the life you’re living. You don’t need lots of stuff and relationships so driven by drama that you often wish just to be left alone in silence. Instead you might try for a simpler approach and enjoy things because they are useful and not because they are expensive. You might join a friend just to talk and not worry about all the expensive trappings we so often heap on get-together’s. Try for simplicity and if complexity sneaks up on you, so be it. In learning to love the basics you’ll find a wondrous appreciation for the nicer things that come along.

What have you found helps bring you back to the moment you’re in and really start to enjoy the life you’re living right now?

image: adam foster

Greetings, loved ones! I'm the founding editor of Real Zest and spend far too much time asking questions on Twitter. Say hello and stay blessed!

7 Things you should stop doing at work

Seth Simonds — Fri, 19 Nov 2010 02:10:51 +0000

1. Being too busy for breaks (you’re better at everything when you’re rested).

2. Replying to email instantly (if they’re really waiting, they’ll call you).

3. Getting caught up in politics (it’s rarely worth it and never fun).

4. Pretending you’re saving lives (if you actually are, no need to pretend).

5. Refusing to give yourself uninterrupted time for work (they don’t need you that much).

6. Complaining about how little money you make (the people you’re complaining to can’t change it).

7. Forgetting to laugh and have fun (this can take work some days but is always worth it).

Bonus round: Stop eating lunch at your desk. You really deserve a walk, conversation with a friend, or a quiet hour away from your desk.

Greetings, loved ones! I'm the founding editor of Real Zest and spend far too much time asking questions on Twitter. Say hello and stay blessed!

7 Quick ways to turn a bad day around

Seth Simonds — Wed, 17 Nov 2010 04:58:45 +0000

Have you had a bad day recently? This is me raising my hand alongside you. My most recent “bad day,” like most days, wasn’t wholly bad. It just had some bad parts that I allowed to spread across my entire day and sour the entire mix.

That doesn’t need to happen! While I’ve yet to reach the point where I avoid bad days entirely, here are some things I’ve found help turn what could be a bad day into something better.

1. Make a list of things you’re grateful for

This one is so simple! If you’re having a rotten day, grab a piece of paper and start listing things you’d be grateful for if you were in a grateful mood. As expected, you’ll soon find that the growing list of things to be grateful for in your life dwarfs whatever is ruining your day and you can move on with your life. Read more about the qualities of grateful people here.

2. Clear out your inbox

If you don’t work at a job that requires you to spend time around the corporate email monster, this might not resonate with you as much. But if you do, know that your perspective can be changed dramatically just by selecting all your emails and placing them into an archive folder. If it needs to be done today, move that email back into your inbox and knock the task off. Setting aside the conversations that can wait in favor of earning a productive finish to your day will always prove worthwhile.

3. Phone a good friend

Call a friend who won’t allow you to gripe about your problems for more than a few minutes before turning the conversation to something far more interesting than what’s making you sad. Talking to somebody you trust who cares enough to guide you toward positive thinking has tremendous value. It’s basic, sure. But so are most things that work really well yet are so often forgotten early on.

4. Help out a stranger

Doing something for others has the dual benefit of making the world a better place while at the same time taking your focus off your own problems as you work to solve another’s. If you’re having what’s shaping up to be a bad day you may find it very helpful to go out of your way to help somebody you don’t know at all or might not know very well. I always do!

5. Drop something from your schedule

If you’re overwhelmed by a day gone awry one very quick solution is to drop something of lesser importance from your schedule and take some time for yourself. This is terribly simple and quite easy to do but the part of your brain that tries to convince you your work won’t survive without you will get in the way. Don’t listen to it!

6. Take some time just for you

Most of us don’t schedule time alone and away from others. Whether its so we can listen to music, go for a walk, a run, or grab a cup of tea in a quiet corner, taking the time you may have freed up by clearing your schedule (see above) and investing it back into yourself will render dividends galore.

7. Start laughing

Laughter, even if you really have to work at it to begin with, truly is the best medicine to cure any ailment that threatens to wreck your day. You can find jokes online, watch silly youtube videos, hang out with a hysterical friend, or whatever gets you giggling. The big point here is that if you are aware of what makes you laugh you’re in a great position to set yourself up to laugh even when your day tries to get you down. We can learn a lot from kids about having fun and being goofballs. That sort of childlike whimsy, if carried into your day, will help you cut off the bad days before they get out of control and help maximize the days each week you look back on and say, wow, that was a great day!

If you’d like to chime in with additional tips or a link to something that really makes you laugh, I’d love to read your thoughts!

Stay blessed.

Image: PhotoRita

Greetings, loved ones! I'm the founding editor of Real Zest and spend far too much time asking questions on Twitter. Say hello and stay blessed!

9 Strategies to Make Selling Your Ideas More Successful

Mike Brown — Mon, 15 Nov 2010 14:40:25 +0000

A frequent question from people in all career phases is what a person can do to better sell a new idea, whether to a customer or inside an organization. As much as it would be nice to have a standard formula that always works, success really depends on the particulars of your situation.

There are, however, a number of common strategies you can consider. Your best course of action is to be adept at using a variety of approaches to make your ideas more powerful and compelling. These nine strategies are a strong start to include in your idea-selling toolkit:

1. Get the Facts in Place behind Your Idea

Make sure you build fact-based, logical support as the underpinning for your idea. If the facts aren’t readily available, look for new or nontraditional information sources. Assemble the information you need to develop a fact-based case for why your idea will deliver results the organization needs.

2. Link Emotions to the Facts Supporting Your Idea

Think about the world’s great stories. Very few are made up solely of facts. They all are strongly rooted in characters and emotions. Develop the most compelling storyline which makes sense with your idea and creates emotional connections to it among potential supporters.

3. Depict Your Idea

Based on whatever is appropriate, create an early mock up of what you’re trying to accomplish. It could be a picture, a storyboard, a video, or an actual prototype, among other things. Help others buy-in to your idea by making it easy to interact with an early version of the end result you’re attempting to deliver.

4. Create a Clear Implementation Roadmap

If there aren’t obvious steps for how an idea can become reality, it may be dead on arrival in an organization. Break down the “how-to’s” behind your idea so key stakeholders can clearly see the effort and investment necessary to bring an idea to fruition.

5. Make Your Idea Easier to Support

Do the groundwork to make choosing your idea easy for decision makers by removing as many obstacles as possible. Think about whether it makes sense to break your idea up into easier to digest (i.e., support, fund, implement) pieces. Maybe you can better sell your idea by going the Goldilocks route, with “too much” and “too little” versions surrounding the option you want. Push for the BIG idea, but be happy to settle for the “just right” option in between.

6. Quietly Build Your Support One-by-One

Rather than waiting for a big meeting to introduce your idea and see how things go, build your support person-by-person ahead of time. Talk to individuals in advance, share where you’re headed, and solicit both input and support. If someone is supportive individually but becomes antagonistic or noncommittal in a later “big meeting,” you can always tactfully refresh their memory about an earlier favorable position.

7. Be Ready for the Right Moment

Some ideas will be ahead of their time when you’re working on them. Keep going. Perform all the preparation, get your assumptions and ideas challenged by others, and make refinements. Then read the organizational or market tea leaves as best you can so you’re ready to introduce the idea when it’s really the right time.

8. Secure Visible Third-Party Validation for Your Idea

It always helps to have an influential spokesperson backing your idea. Inside an organization, your third-party validation may not be from a TV star; it’s likely to come from senior leaders willing to expend their political capital to support good things for the organization. Identify who the key influencers are and start building their interest and support for your idea.

9. Pick a Different Salesperson

It could be someone else can run with your idea more effectively than you. If you think that’s the case, consider recruiting THAT person to be the salesperson. Or maybe even give the idea away to someone who can nurture and develop it better than you can. If you’re really interested in bettering the organization first and foremost, seeing the idea pushed forward and implemented by someone else should be more important than retaining ownership of a great idea which never sees the light of day.

Summary

These strategies are a starting point. Adapt, combine, or pull them apart so they’ll work most effectively in your organization to take full advantage of successful new ideas.

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The 100 Best Lifehacks of 2011: The Year in Review

Top 10 Most Popular Posts in 2011

Communication

Lifestyle

Management

Money

Productivity

Technology

30 Days With: Siri

The Good

Out-of-the-box

Outsourcing with Siri

On productivity

The Bad

Server outages

Where am I?

Features lacking

In conclusion

Asana: A Modern Way to Improve Teamwork

How Asana Works

Why Choose Asana?

3 Reasons Why Shame is Your Friend

Got Goals? 4 Tips from Real People That Achieved Real Goals

Twelve Steps to Get Things Done

10 Things To Stop Doing in Your Relationships

The 100 Best Lifehacks of 2010: The Year in Review

Top 10 Most Popular Posts in 2010:

Overall Personal Growth

Maximizing Productivity and GTD

Lifestyle and Habits

Inspiration & Motivation

Goal Achievement & Success

Emotional Mastery

People Skills & Relationships

Communications & Writing

Business & Career

Creativity & Inspiration

Family

Miscellaneous

11 Things to avoid in 2011

1. Withholding forgiveness

2. Using your job as an excuse

3. Eating for all the wrong reasons

4. Assuming that you always know the entire story

5. Self-loathing

6. Blaming anything on gender

7. Needless exhaustion

8. Neglecting your mind

9. Putting off your dreams

10. Not asking for help

11. Taking so many moments for granted

Image: Today is a good day

Top 10 Resolutions To Set For The New Year

12 Free holiday gifts they’ll never forget

GiftGaff relaunches social gift registry in time for holiday sanity

5 Things to beg your boss for this week

7 Things to remember this holiday season

5 Simple ways to live a life you love

image: adam foster

7 Things you should stop doing at work

7 Quick ways to turn a bad day around

1. Make a list of things you’re grateful for

2. Clear out your inbox

3. Phone a good friend

4. Help out a stranger

5. Drop something from your schedule

6. Take some time just for you

7. Start laughing

Image: PhotoRita

9 Strategies to Make Selling Your Ideas More Successful