Lessons from Life and the Page

Sharing tidbits I've picked up along the way

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How to Really Get Things Done and Off Your Mind

Have you ever heard of Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity (GTD) book and system? Some people swear by it, but others think it’s too complicated. It’s actually quite simple, but for best results, it takes an investment of time to get started.

The idea is to compile every single thing in your life that requires some kind of action or reflection, from changing a light bulb to calling your mom to redesigning your website. Trying to remember everything you have to do, want to do and ought to do is a huge drain of energy. Your brain power would be better served focusing on a task or being creative. GTD lets you get all these random tasks out of your head and into one place (physical, digital or a mix of the two), where you can decide the next best action to take based on where you are and how much time and energy you have. You never have to worry that your forgot something, because it all goes into the system as soon as you think of it.

I have several organization systems set up, some of which work really well, but GTD took it to a whole other level. Now, everything is together, where I can see it and use it when I need it.

You can start by just noting the things rambling around in your brain. The next step could be processing your office: your computer, all papers lying around, etc. And the optimal step would be processing your whole house. You can do this room by room, whenever you have time.

Since I don’t do things by halves and I relish a challenge, I decided to use a few vacation days to go through my home office as well as every closet and drawer in the house. You know how closets are… There’s always stuff that should be thrown away, donated, better organized or requires some type of action (repair this, sow that, see if I can order a missing part, etc.). I wrote every action down. It was a LOT of work and took three full days (two for the house, one for the office), but once everything was organized and sorted, (I felt like a huge weight had been lifted off my shoulders. I hadn’t done all the tasks (only processed them, see below), but they were all in the system, where I couldn’t forget them and could get to them when time and energy allowed. And from then on, anything new went right into the system.

Crash course:

1) Get some paper and write down everything that’s rolling around in your head. Put it in action form (not “Mom”, but “Call mom to catch up” or “Call mom to ask for her chicken pot pie recipe”). Think about every area of your life (relationships, work, personal goals, house maintenance, errands, etc.), everything you want to do, should do or need to do. That’s step one.

2) Go through your computer and all papers hanging around your office. For top results, go through every drawer, closet, stack of papers, etc. You don’t have to do the tasks, just write down every thing that comes to mind about it (clean the closet, try on clothes to see what no longer fits, etc.). For piles of paper or magazines, sort into piles (to keep for reference, to look through when I have time, to recycle).

Important: Make a decision about each thing. Decide to throw away that broken racket or bring it to get fixed. Don’t put it back, thinking you will decide later. For the system to work, you have to process everything even if you don’t do it yet. Strangely, just making the decision will make you feel lighter.

Next, sort all the tasks

Calendar: Enter anything that has to be done on a certain day or has a deadline. I like to use reminders a few days before as well as the day of.

Projects (Everything that has more than one action, from organizing a dinner to redesigning your website)

To contact (Anyone you need to call, email, text, meet with, etc.)

Waiting on (Things you are waiting for: a friend to call back, to receive information from someone, etc.). It might seem insignificant, but having to remember that someone needs to get back to you also takes brain power.

Incubation (Stuff you haven’t made a final decision on, like a gift idea).

Someday/Maybe (Things you might like to do, but not right now. This could include books to read, renovations/improvements, travel destination, bucket lists, etc.)

Reference (Information that might be useful, but does not require any action).

Once everything has been processed, add any new things to the system and review it at least once a week (to see what your next actions should be, to reorganize priorities, etc.).

After I did this huge cleanup, I felt that, for once in my life, nothing was nagging at me. That’s a great feeling. I’ve done deep cleaning before, and that feels great as well, but this had an added component.

You can use pretty much any tool to keep track of your tasks. A notebook, index cards, a Word document, Evernote, Wunderlist, etc. I have been using Todoist to input all tasks. I  also have a physical in-tray. If I think of something, I either add it directly to Todoist if I am at the computer, or write it on a piece of notepaper and throw it in the tray. When I have a little time, I process everything in the tray. If it’s something I can do in 2 minutes, I just do it. Otherwise, I add it to the system.

I highly recommend GTD, even if you only apply it to certain areas of your life. It really makes things easier. Tweak it so it works for you.

Good luck!

If you want to know more, here’s a good Lifehacker article. I also recommend reading the book itself.

  How to Really Get Things Done and Off Your Mind was originally published on Lessons from Life and the Page

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Protect Your Attention Span (It's Worth It)

It is often said that our attention spans have been getting shorter due to all the information at our fingertips, especially now with our cell phones always near at hand. We keep getting distracted by new notifications and new headlines, so we skim and skip instead of read in depth.

And the content is starting to adapt. I first saw tl;dr (too long, didn’t read) on Reddit, to summarize a post that was sort of longish, but I am seeing it crop up in various articles and blog posts online now. Even books are starting to be snippet-format, with short 2-3 page chapters before moving on to the next topic.

I thought I was somehow immune to this attention-shortening phenomenon, until recently, when I took a break from Reddit.

I stumbled on Reddit maybe a year ago and got hooked on the Ask Reddit thread pretty quickly. I liked the interesting questions and the (mostly) fascinating, funny, smart answers. Since there were always new questions and new replies to check out. I quickly became obsessed. I kept scrolling and scrolling, looking for the dopamine hit I would get from finding that next laugh, that next heartfelt story, that next smart play on words. If I started reading something that didn’t look promising, I quickly moved on. If you don’t know about Reddit, it’s pretty fragmented in itself. Short answers and even shorter responses. Hence the tl;dr. People don’t want to read anything that is too long.

I was on Reddit pretty much every spare minute of the day for a while: while brushing my teeth, while toweling off after a shower, while waiting for the dog to do his business, while waiting for a friend to show up. I read before bed, sometimes deep into the night, and then I would grab my phone if I woke up at any point. When that happened, I could easily read for two hours before attempting sleep again. I started waking up super groggy, with my head buzzing. And even then, if I had a few minutes, instead of napping, I would read in bed before getting up. It was getting way out of hand. In addition to seriously affecting the quality of my sleep and consequently my whole day, I had not read a full book in ages when I used to devour a few a month.

I snapped out of it this summer, in a house my family and I had rented for vacation. We discovered a closet full of books for guests to read and my eye quickly fell on a Stephen King book I hadn’t read yet. I LOVE Stephen King. I had four days to read this book if I wanted to finish before we left, so I got cracking. The phone got put aside. Even sleep got put aside as I read far into the night, completely absorbed. For the first time in a long time, I was completely immersed. In one story, one subject. Whole sentences and paragraphs and chapters, lots of them. It felt great. It was coherent. I was back.

I have been Reddit-free for three weeks and I don’t particularly miss it, which was surprising. I thought I would feel compelled to catch up. As could be expected, I am sleeping much better. I am waking alert and ready to take on the day. Since I am not reading every time I have a minute, my brain has some free space to work out problems, remember things and daydream. I have been reading books again. And best of all, my head has stopped buzzing and looking for that next hit. It really was an addiction. Hard to see while you’re deep in it, but very obvious when you get out.

Since I was doing so well, I decided to “allow” myself to go on Reddit on a Friday night before bed. Bad idea! I read into the wee hours of the morning, waking up tired and grumpy, and spent the rest of the weekend finding every excuse to check for the next thing. I guess it will be cold turkey for me!

The lesson? Be aware of how your attention span might be eroding and take steps to remedy it. Are you distracted by every notification? Shut them off so you can concentrate for given stretches of time. Find yourself skipping anything but the shortest articles? Challenge yourself to an in-depth one once in a while. Constantly checking your Facebook? Use a timer, if you must. You can still enjoy the Internet and the phone, just stay aware. Good luck!

  “We all understand the joys of our always-wired world — the connections, the validations, the laughs, the porn, the info. I don’t want to deny any of them here. But we are only beginning to get our minds around the costs, if we are even prepared to accept that there are costs. For the subtle snare of this new technology is that it lulls us into the belief that there are no downsides.”

Congrats to those who read this whole thing!

Protect Your Attention Span (It’s Worth It) was originally published on Lessons from Life and the Page

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The Importance of Taking a Real Vacation

I hadn’t taken a real vacation in a long time, one away from home, with a clean break from work and the computer. In the years I actually did take vacation, it was at home, where all the responsibilities still loomed. I got to relax, sure, but I also felt obligated to do stuff around the house I had been putting off, like scrapping and painting the windows. And that’s when I didn’t check my email and get sucked into “just doing this one little thing”.

This year, I finally took a real vacation, a plane flight away. I finished up all pending work, gave my clients the names of trusted colleagues in the event of a translation emergency and off I went, leaving behind all responsibilities, both work and personal.

While some of the traveling was exhausting, it was tiring in a completely different way than my usual day-to-day.  I did not have any deadlines or to-do lists. I didn’t have to check my email or keep up with anything. All I had to do was get up in the morning and decide, along with my traveling companions, what I felt like doing and seeing. It was glorious.

For once, my head felt quiet. I didn’t have to remember hundreds of things I had to do. Besides occasionally looking up some information online, I stayed away from the computer and rarely even turned on the TV. I had time to read an entire book over a few days, something I had not done in a very long time. I visited mountains and canyons and got to spend real quality time with my family, face to face, no distractions. I didn’t have to worry about all the little details day-to-day life, the errands that have to be run, the appointment that need to be scheduled, etc. Everything was in the now, basically. And not a single thing was urgent.

Taking a vacation away from home can be a little expensive, with travel and lodging and such (unless you stay with family or friends), but it’s really worth the mental break, even for a few days.

I will definitely be doing this again.

The Importance of Taking a Real Vacation was originally published on Lessons from Life and the Page

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Transgender People: Bridging the Divide

First, please forgive me if I accidentally offend anyone by saying something insensitive or using the wrong terminology.

While being transgender must not be easy: coming to that realization, making the transition if they so choose, being understood, accepted and respected, etc., there is one amazing thing about it. It’s helping men and women/males and females better understand one another.

Men and women (cis-gendered) have always thought differently and have had trouble getting why the other does or sees things a certain way. We think our way is the right way, naturally. With transgender people taking hormones and presenting as the other gender, a lot of realizations have come to light.

I’ve read articles about people making the male to female transition feeling much more emotional and realizing that it is not something they can control, that women were not using tears as manipulation (or most!). They also experienced suddenly not being taken as seriously at work and getting cat-called.

People making the female to male transition realized that it is not so easy to keep from eyeing the opposite sex, that it’s an imperative, not a choice. Some felt more clear-headed and aggressive. Some no longer agonized over choices, simply made one and moved on.

Both camps lost something and gained something in their new skin. Feeling safer walking home alone at night, but being perceived as a potential threat instead. Feeling more at home in their body, but being ogled wherever they went, as if their body was now public property.

Before these transitions, we could try to understand the other, but we could never actually be in their shoes. Now people are experiencing how the other half lives.

I find it fascinating that there are finally people who can say: there is a difference in how I was treated, in how I felt, saw and experienced things before and after. And most importantly: now I understand. It’s also interesting how much of a role hormones play in our lives.

I sincerely hope that the experiences these people have shared will help all of us better understand and respect one another’s differences and bring about changes that will benefit everyone.

Here’s an interesting article from the female to male perspective. And one from male to female

  Transgender People: Bridging the Divide was originally published on Lessons from Life and the Page

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Say Cheese: The Fear of Being Seen

The other day, I took part in a photo shoot with the members of my translator’s collective since we wanted professional photos for our new website. The atmosphere that reigned in the room, at least in the beginning, was varying degrees of discomfort. We didn’t know how to stand, we didn’t know where to look…

Read More Say Cheese: The Fear of Being Seen

Say Cheese: The Fear of Being Seen was originally published on Lessons from Life and the Page

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Four Financial Lessons I’ve Learned as a Freelancer

Have a safety net. This is so important if you’re a freelancer. I was without a safety net two times in my career and the stress was so not worth it. The first time, I took the freelance plunge too soon. After graduating, I was still working the part-time job I had all through college…

Read More Four Financial Lessons I’ve Learned as a Freelancer

Four Financial Lessons I’ve Learned as a Freelancer was originally published on Lessons from Life and the Page

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What’s Great about Self-Driving Cars

There are always some fears and concerns when a new technology emerges. For self-driving cars, it’s along the lines of “what if something goes wrong and the car crashes?” or “I like driving and I don’t want to give that up!” I imagine that a lot of testing will go into easing the first concern…

What’s Great about Self-Driving Cars was originally published on Lessons from Life and the Page

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Lessons Learned in Childhood

I’ve been doing some tapping on the need to be perfect, when I got some insight into where it might have started from.

I was a quiet child, eager to please, and pretty conscientious of others. I remember once in grade school, when in a rare bout of childish meanness, I said I didn’t want a certain person in our group. The teacher turned to me with this look of deep disappointment and said something like, “Anita, how could you? I expected better of you.” A wave of shame washed over me. And also a little anger. Other people were meaner than that all day long, but they weren’t expected to always be on their best behavior. Since I had always been so “good”, apparently I was held to a higher standard. Or so it felt to me.

Other memories resurfaced from that time, such as a teacher’s look of disappointment when I dropped an expensive piece of equipment, even though the class clown had done the same only moments before. Another reinforcement of the idea that others might make mistakes, but I shouldn’t.

This is how limiting beliefs are born. An incident happens and you take it to mean something (true or not). As similar incidents occur, reinforcing the belief. Most of the seeds are planted in childhood, when we likely don’t have the capacity to rationally assess a belief and discard it. Very young children can come to some pretty far-out conclusions, like believing they caused their parents’ divorce.

This makes me really want to be careful what I say around children. A flippant remark might have far-reaching consequences. A father I know occasionally teases his 7-year-old daughter, saying that if she keeps eating so much, she’ll get fat. I know he’s joking. He loves her to bits. And she’s skinny as a rail and growing, so that’s not likely to happen for a long time. But what is she internalizing? I know it’s impossible to watch every word out of our mouths. Sometimes we’re tired or irritated and just lash out. I know at least one of those teachers was just fed up and was expecting the “good” kids to help out in class while she dealt with the rowdier ones. But it might be worth thinking about. And maybe now that tapping is becoming better known, parents can teach their children to tap on uncomfortable feelings and situations before they can take root.

Lessons Learned in Childhood was originally published on Lessons from Life and the Page

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Taking Stock

I’m starting a new year-end tradition this year. Taking stock of what I’ve accomplished throughout the year and the things I’ve learned. We forget what we’ve achieved over the last twelve months and how far we’ve come if we don’t take the time to think about it and write it down. Did you give a presentation despite your fear of public speaking? Did you reconnect with an old friend? Did you take up exercise or land a new client? Reflecting on the past year can also help pinpoint areas for improvement. If you felt overwhelmed by email, you might want to create a microresolution to clean your inbox at the end of every day, etc. Finally, having a record will allow you to look back over the years and see all the little and big things you’ve accomplished and the progress you’ve made.

Too often, we focus on what we didn’t manage to do (lose the weight, keep the house clean, be on time) and commit to doing better in the new year. After taking stock, I realized that while I didn’t quite reach my goal of financial freedom, I did made a lot of progress in this area and am well on my way. There are lots of little steps involved in achieving a big goal. Celebrate them. Maybe you had a really difficult year and came through with grace. That’s worth acknowledging.

Wishing you a most excellent 2016!

Taking Stock was originally published on Lessons from Life and the Page

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Don’t Make New Year’s Resolutions, Make Microresolutions

It’s that time of year again…. Making resolutions and then breaking them in a short time when life gets in the way. There are many reasons why traditional resolutions don’t work: the goal is too vague, it relies on willpower, it’s too ambitious. But one thing that does work, by addressing all these issues and…

Don’t Make New Year’s Resolutions, Make Microresolutions was originally published on Lessons from Life and the Page

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Freelance Rollercoaster

Being a freelancer definitely has its ups and downs. Unless you have recurring projects that provide a certain stability, you will go through quiet periods, when you wonder if you will ever work again, and crazy periods when work is coming at you from all directions.

What I’ve learned:

During quiet periods, first take the time to fully rest and recharge. Don’t feel guilty about this! You’ve earned it. After a few days, start thinking about the things you would like to do, the things you’ve been putting off. It’s the perfect time to do some accounting, organization, maybe market your business if you want to add new clients. Work on a side project if you have one. Try not to get too worried if the quiet period starts to drag on. This is easier if you set aside funds to carry you through.

During busy periods, make time for the things you enjoy. It’s the little things that make life worth living. When you’re only focused on work, you deprive yourself in other areas. You don’t take the time to linger over breakfast, or take a walk or meet with a friend for coffee. Make the time. I’ve said that in earlier posts, but it’s not always easy. Make your own health and mental wellbeing a priority. Don’t get burned out.

When the busy period ends, celebrate! I cannot begin to describe the immense joy and sense of accomplishment that wells up when I send off that big project or finish all the projects I had on hand. How liberating it feels not to have something waiting. Non-freelancers sometimes can’t understand that it’s not as easy to leave work behind when your office is in your home and the projects are always beckoning. It takes discipline to get up and work every day when you’re your own boss, but sometimes it takes more discipline to let work be on the weekend when you could be getting ahead.

Freelancers like to complain about these ups and downs, the all-or-nothing, but it’s a great life. You set your own schedule. You can work in pyjamas if you want to. You can have absolute quiet if you need to concentrate. You can do laundry between projects. You don’t have a commute. And the list goes on. I wouldn’t trade it for the world.

Freelance Rollercoaster was originally published on Lessons from Life and the Page

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Give Your Brain a Break

I’m right in the midst of a very busy work period. Starting early, finishing late, working on weekends. It’s been hectic, first with one huge project and now a ton of smaller things to juggle, all vying for priority. One thing that I’ve learned that has been super helpful is this: know when to pack it in for the day and start fresh tomorrow.

It’s tempting at the end of the day to try to add in just one more thing, especially when you’re almost finished, are in a time crunch or want to get a head start on the next day. But when your head is buzzing with fatigue and everything feels difficult and frustrating, that’s your cue to take a break. Your brain can only take so much in a day. Get some rest. I’m always amazed when I get started the next day, how things that seemed so difficult are suddenly much easier, sometimes laughably so. I can get more done and the quality is better than if I had just kept pushing on the night before. That’s what finally convinced me. Why struggle when there’s a better way?

Just the other day, I was doing my accounting and kept coming up short. I got more and more frustrated as I tried to figure out what the problem was. Finally I left it. The next morning, I found the problem within minutes.

That being said, sometimes you get into a certain “zone” when things are flowing really well. The difference is that you will usually not feel tired and things will come easy. When that happens, I like to keep going for as long as it lasts.

Good luck!

Give Your Brain a Break was originally published on Lessons from Life and the Page

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When Life Gets Really Hectic

As a freelancer, work can get really crazy all of a sudden and last for weeks. You find yourself just trying to make it through the day. Your brain is constantly juggling priorities and calculating how many more hours or days until the deadline. And then something new comes in… All of a sudden, all your good habits are out the window. Exercise? Don’t have time. Eat right? Don’t have time. Go for a nice walk? Ha, don’t have time.

What I’ve learned:

I have to make time. No one will give it to me. And it is worth it to take a few minutes to prepare some healthy snacks, do some exercise, get some fresh air. 20 minutes won’t completely wreck my schedule if I plan everything well. Taking some extra time in the evening to finish up or getting up earlier is also a possibility.

If there are too many things going on, my mind usually makes a huge deal out of everything, anticipating problems, worrying, the whole nine yards. If I can just take a few deep breaths, calm down and make a plan, I usually find that things are not as scary as they seem. Everything has always worked out up to now. I’ve never missed a deadline. It’s all going to be OK.

Bonus: When your brain is calm and focused, things go more smoothly. Take the time to get in a good mindset. It will serve you well.

I don’t have to take on my client’s problems. If they need something super quick and it’s really important, I will try to accommodate them, of course. But not at the sake of my health and sanity. I don’t have to burn myself out if they are last-minute or forgot or are just plain in a rush. That being said, a nice thing to do when you really can’t help a regular or potential client is to refer them to a trusted colleague or direct them to another resource.

It’s really important to be organized and disciplined. If a lot of information is coming in from all directions, take a second to write things down. Enter dates on your calendar. Keep a file for each client. Make sure you keep track of billing so you don’t forget anything.

When you’re racing a deadline, it feels like everything else gets thrown out the window. Your only focus is your desk (or whatever your work station looks like). If you can, ask your partner to take over some of your usual chores during that time, like cooking supper, doing laundry or running errands, so you can fully concentrate on the task at hand. Try not to take your stress out on them and thank them once the rush is over!

Freelance translator Corinne McKay has a great video about How to be a better freelancing parent, spouse or partner. Check it out here.

Good luck!

When Life Gets Really Hectic was originally published on Lessons from Life and the Page

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Good News: Technology Helping People

It’s easy to focus on the problems of the world, especially if you watch the news. There are still serious problems that need to be addressed, of course, but we should not forget all the amazing advances being made and all the people they help.

3D Printing

3D printing (creating a three-dimensional object from a digital file) is being used in many fields, including medicine. Doctors are now able to print models of tumors that serve to develop drugs, better understand how cancers grow and spread, and help them prepare for surgery. The University of Toronto, with the help of MaRS Innovations, uses burn victims’ own skin cells to print skin grafts for better healing. Researchers are looking into printing organs to test drugs and, down the road, use in transplants. Imagine if all the people waiting for a transplant could have access to this! No more organs sold on the black market. And if the organ incorporates the person’s own cells, it will also be less likely to be rejected. Best of all, 3D printing is being used in facial reconstructions. I say best because it gives people hope and an opportunity to live a more normal, more comfortable life. The best thing about 3D in this area is that the molds are custom-made to fit the person exactly and don’t involve using their own skin and bone for the reconstruction, saving them additional pain and healing time.

3D printing is also helping animals! A bald eagle whose beak was partially shot off by a hunter, leaving it unable to eat, received a prosthetic beak. A duck with a deformed foot was given a new one made of silicone. Dogs and horses and elephants are getting prosthetic legs and 3D paws/feet/hooves.

Prosthetics

We’ve come a long way from the wooden pegs of old and the plastic legs that were rigid and uncomfortable. Robotic prosthetics act like a real limb, with fluid control, microprocessor monitors, muscle sensors and more. They provide better, more natural movement. Athletes are even using carbon fibre prosthetics to compete in the Olympics. Some think that the prosthethics give athletes an unfair advantage over the other competitors, which I think is amazing, advancement-wise. Robotic or 3D prosthetics are obviously not the same as having a skin-and-bone limb, but if I ever had to lose an arm or leg, I’m glad the technology is there and keeps getting better.

On another note, Sophie de Oliveira Barata, head of the Alternative Limb Project, is turning prosthetics into true works of art. Clients work with her to get the exact effect they want, from futuristic to quirky and eye-catching. I think it’s a great idea, in the same vein as getting beautiful tattoos to cover mastectomy or other scars. She also makes realistic-looking limbs that are incredibly life-like.

Exoskeletons

Finally, the pièce de resistance has to be exoskeletons, a wearable robotic suit designed to help paralyzed people stand and walk. They give some measure of freedom and independence back, sometimes after many years of being stuck in a wheelchair, which is huge. Additional benefits to walking with these devices is that it gets the muscles moving, the blood circulating and the digestive system working  better. It’s worth watching a video to see how they work.

This was obviously only a very brief overview. 3D has tons of other medical applications and there are many more medical advances out there, including amazing new ways for people to see and hear.

I don’t know about you, but learning how these advances help people gets me really excited!

Good News: Technology Helping People was originally published on Lessons from Life and the Page

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In the News: Blooming Flower Lamps

I just had to share this! In Jerusalem, HQ Architects installed these beautiful poppy lights that “bloom” when someone walks under them. What a great way to brighten up a public area.

Read the article here and see how they work.

Source: Bored Panda

In the News: Blooming Flower Lamps was originally published on Lessons from Life and the Page

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Productivity - Focus and Organization

One way to stay focused when working is to use the Pomodoro technique. It involves concentrating on a single task for 25 minutes at a time and then taking a 5 minute break. After four Pomodoros, you get a 15 minute break. During those 25 minutes, you only work on what is in front of you. No surfing the web, no checking e-mail, no nothing. In fact, make sure notifications are out of sight. If any thoughts pop into your head about errands to run or people to call, write them down on a sheet of paper and forget them. You can organize that later. Instead of relying on a clock or regular timer, you can use the Tomato Timer online or download Tomighty, among other options. I’ve had really good results with this technique. Instead of being scattered and going off in all directions, once the timer is on, I’m focused. No distractions. I get a lot more done this way and it’s of better quality. I don’t always do 4 Pomodoros in a row and don’t always work on the same task from one Pomodoro to the next, but it still works.

When you want to be productive, being organized is also important. Besides my daily to-do list, I use three main apps: Evernote, Wunderlist and Pocket. Wunderlist is great for all types of lists: your grocery list, lists of bills to pay with reminders, lists of projects and their next steps, lists of things you might want to get to someday, etc. Evernote is for all the interesting things I find on the Web or information I want to remember. Microsoft One Note also does a good job with that. Finally, Pocket is great when you come across an article you would like to read, but don’t have time for in the moment. Just save it in Pocket and get to it later, maybe on your phone while waiting in line. All of these apps, except for OneNote, sync across all your devices. If you like sticky notes, you might also want to check out Google Keep.

Of course, there are so many productivity apps out there that it’s a little overwhelming. I’m still searching for the holy grail of apps that will be the perfect blend of visual and textual. One thing I did discover that is pretty intriguing is Mind Mapping. It’s basically a visual representation of your ideas. Instead of writing out the steps of a project in a linear way, you put down the project name or main idea in the middle of a page and then branch out the different steps and substeps. It’s much easier seeing the whole project at a glance than if it were just a list on a page. You can then make a list of the different steps and assign them, if applicable. You can draw your mind map free-hand on a sheet of paper, but there are also apps for a cleaner look. I’ve been trying out XMind, which offers a free version.

Good luck!

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Productivity - Setting Priorities

I’ve read a lot of books and articles on how to increase my productivity, which seems to be a very popular subject these days. Here’s what has worked well for me.

First, I found it very helpful to set a list of 3 priorities for the day. Try to do these first thing in the morning when you are fresh. You can cluster less important, less focus-intensive tasks for the afternoon. What do you put on your priority list? Well, what is important in your life? Career, finances, health and fitness, family, relationships? What would you make a priority if you had more time?

Now, think about what actions you can take to improve these areas. If you have specific goals, break them down into small, manageable steps. If you want to grow your business, figure out what you need to do (call 3 clients, e-mail that contact, write that proposal). If you want to write a book, break that down into steps (write an outline, write 500 words a day, research a certain topic). Breaking down bigger projects has made a huge difference in my life. I used to dread large translation jobs because even if I had a month to do them, I would try to finish as quickly as possible in case other things came in. When I realized that all I needed to do was translate so many words per day, it was not as huge a task as I had thought. I could do more if I had time, but as long as I completed a certain number of words each day, I was on track. And it helped me better plan the rest of my time.

Now that you’ve written down the small actions you can take, put three of these on your list of priorities for the day. Things like exercising or keeping in touch with a friend might not seem as important or urgent as your work, but if they improve your life, they are definitely worth the time. The next day, pick up where you left off by adding the next steps.

I’ve found that when I get up earlier and take time to work on my priorities in the morning, before checking my e-mail, I feel great. No matter what craziness the day brings, I know I completed the important things. Remember, once you start checking e-mail, you’re just reacting to other people’s demands. Take time for you, even if it’s just 20 minutes.

Finally, at the end of the week (or even at the end of the day), celebrate what you accomplished. List everything you got done, no matter how small. You’ll be amazed! And best of all, you’ll be well on your way to improving all areas of your life.. Be sure to note any lessons you learned or things you would do differently.

Good luck!