Ultimate Tip to Reach GTD Nirvana
This post is part of Ben Yoskovitz’s latest group writing project: The Ultimate Guide to Productivity.
DO
Yep, that’s the way to reach GTD nirvana. Do the actions on your lists. Don’t fuss with moving them around. Don’t try a new system every week. Just do it!
The main point behind GTD is that you should be able to crank widgets when it’s time. You can breeze through your lists, tackling actions right and left. But that means you’ve got to sit down and DO!
I know it’s harder than it sounds. That’s why I’ve written about it before. To help even more, I’ve done some link mining for you.
Workflow ideas
Revolving workflow strategies
Geek to live: Control your workday
Open Sourcing My TechCrunch Work Flow
Procrastination killers
One simple way to reduce procrastination
Kick procrastination’s ass: Run a dash
Procrastination hack: “(10+2)*5�
Laser beam focus
Reclaiming your ability to focus
18 ways to stay focused at work
An empty mind does a better job of thinking
If you’d like to contribute to Ben’s project, head on over to this blog, read the post, and you can join the cool kids!
Update – May 15, 7:00p – I jumped into this project without being tagged. I just got tagged by my fellow GTD’er at The Cranking Widgets Blog. Thanks, Brett!
[tags]gtd, ultimate guide to productivity, ben yoskovitz[/tags]
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Month in Review – April
I can’t believe how much the blog has grown in April. Traffic went up 26% to 8,250 visits. We saw a new daily traffic record on the 19th with 531 visits. I’m excited!
Now I just have to keep building better content and getting more readers like you. It will be hard to keep the growth going, but I’ll do my best – with your help. 🙂
Popular posts
1. People really liked my post on getting back into AdSense. Thanks to you guys for Digging and Stumbling it!
2. A post from November had a resurgence, because I put a link to it in a comment over at Lifehacker. Check out these handy Google shortcuts.
3. Finally, another business card post did well in April: Distinguish Your Business Card. Legal Andrew is becoming quite the source for business card info.
Subscribe for easy reading
To make sure you don’t miss a post, there are several easy ways to subscribe to Legal Andrew:
Contact me
If you need anything or just want to chat, feel free to contact me. You can post a comment to any post here on the blog, or you can drop me a line. Also, feel free to IM me. The About page shows which networks I’m on.
[tags]month in review, lifehacker, business cards, adsense, google shortcuts[/tags]
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Blog Silence, for Those Slain at Virginia Tech
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I Shave the Old Fashioned Way – Classic Shaving 101
You can’t be a professional without a good shave, right? Even if you wear a mustache or beard, it must be well-kept. This especially applies to lawyers. Whether we’re in a conference or a courtroom, a scruffy face doesn’t command much respect.
Personally, I got sick of using the disposable Bic-style razors. I wanted something that didn’t hack my face to pieces. And I wanted to save money. So I went on the hunt for a better way to shave.
Electric razor
I used my dad’s electric razor a bit when I was younger, but it didn’t work that great. He even had the fancy Norelco kind, but it just didn’t shave very closely.
Plus I was turned off by the huge price tags on the nicer models. $80 or more is a lot of money for something that doesn’t work too well.
And then there’s maintenance. Replacing blades, changing screens, cleaning, charging. That’s a lot of work. There had to be a better solution.
Old fashioned shaving
Have you ever gone to a old-style barber shop? Did the barber shave your neck with a straight razor? It’s a bit intimidating at first, but it gives a nice shave. And it’s neat!
I looked into old fashioned shaving a bit, and I decided this was something to try. Men used it for centuries, right? It can’t be that bad. We’ve only gotten away from it in recent history. And our “improvements” aren’t that great. With all my fancy techno gadgets, a classic razor might be a nice contrast.
My old fashioned shaving kit
I didn’t go all the way and get a straight razor. That’s a bit scary still. I opted for the Merkur “Classic” safety razor. It’s imported from Germany, stainless steel, and only cost $25.99. Not bad for a tool that will likely last my whole life.
Blades for this razor are simple. They’re double-edged, stainless steel, and sharp. No more of this Super Mach Turbo Quad VII junk. Just a single blade. And you can get a 10-pack for $4.59. That’s 45 cents a piece, much cheaper than decent disposable units.
That’s all I bought at first. It was a small investment, to try this system out. I’ve enjoyed classic shaving for a few weeks, so I decided to up the ante. I’ve abandoned my Super Aloe Creamy Shaving Gel and purchased a pure badger shaving brush. This cost more than the razor itself ($39.99), but the difference in shave is astounding. I went cheap on the soap, and bought a $4.99 cake, to get a feel for what I like.
The classic shaving technique
A good shave is part tools and part technique. The above kit will get you part way there. You can even get fancier brushes, creams, and soaps. But none of that will matter if you hack away at your face like you’re used to.
Here’s what I do. You might find something else that works better.
- Thoroughly wet face with hot water.
- Hold brush under faucet, letting it absorb as much hot water as possible.
- Swirl brush on top of soap, working up a nice lather.
- Gently dab brush onto face and neck, working bristles around stubble. Do this for a couple minutes, to work the moisturizes and water into skin.
- Perform one gentle pass with razor, going from top to bottom (with the grain). Do NOT push down. Let razor’s weight do the work.
- Re-apply soap with brush, preferably right after shaving each major area.
- Perform a second gentle pass with razor, going bottom to top (against the grain). Do NOT push down.
- Rinse face, thoroughly rinse brush, rinse razor.
Was that hard? I think not. In fact, it’s kind-of fun. Plus, it takes you back to the olden days. What better way to feel like a real man!
Did I mention that you’ll get the best shave of your life? Maybe not right away, but once you get the technique down, you’ll be impressed with what a single blade can do.
[tags]shave, classic shaving, old fashioned shaving, razor[/tags]
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Focus on Exams or Deadlines – Eliminate Distractions
Do you have a looming deadline or exam? Are you reading this post, instead of preparing yourself?
Here’s the solution: Close your web browser. Do your work.
Well, it might not be that easy. Fortunately, I’ve written before on this subject. Here are a few articles you might find useful:
- Curb Your Blogging Addiction
- Utilize Your Resources
- Debunk Studying Myths
- Develop Your Exam Study Schedule
- Use Intention Manifestation for Success on Exams
Since I’m procrastinating myself, here are some other ideas to consider:
- Close your email. Seriously, you don’t need to check it every 5 minutes.
- Ignore your RSS feeds. I don’t think the answer to an exam question will pop up in there.
- Take a blogging break. Your blog won’t disappear if you don’t post for a couple days.
- Close other programs. Does IM really help you study?
Now, I really must study for finals. Graduation is near, but I still have to pass. 😉
[tags]exams, school, study, deadline[/tags]
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Get Your Own Unique, Custom Business Cards
I love business cards. Not the standard, black and white ones (like mine). I like unique, cool, custom business cards.
Phil, “the relationship geek,” is making it great with cool business cards. He was lucky enough to beta test Show Off Business Cards’ newest product: Show Off Cards Lite. You’ve got to check out the cool cards he got in return.
Show Off Cards’ primary product converts the standard, boring business card into something very cool. You become an action figure! They take your face, put it in some action scene (that meshes with your business), and then have it professionally illustrated.
The original cards are pretty expensive. You get 1000 cards for $499. That’s 50 cents per card. But if it actually gets you noticed and remembered, it’s a well-invested 50 cents.
The “Lite” version of these business cards are cooler, in my opinion. The company takes a picture of you and has an artist turn it into a vector illustration. It’s sort-of cartooney, but still very tasteful. The front of these custom business cards show the illustration in full color. The back has your contact info and the illustration as a watermark image. The “Lite” business cards only cost $199 for 500. That’s not bad at all.
Make your own custom business cards
These cool cards got me thinking. You could easily make your own unique cards. There are lots of ways to take a digital picture of yourself and turn it into a neat graphic, looking like a vector, a sketch, or some other effect. Then you could put the altered image on your business card, instead of the standard suit headshot.
Man, I’m going to lobby my employer to let me do this. Although, I don’t think we get our faces on our cards. That stinks. Maybe I can pay extra for it. 🙂
[tags]business cards, show off cards, phil gerbyshak[/tags]
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Get Your Motivation Moving with Small Steps
I’m out of shape. The scary part is that the men in my family don’t have great genes. Based on my father, uncles, etc, “middle age” for me will be about 29. I need to get motivated to exercise.
You’re probably thinking “this has nothing to do with productivity or the law.” But isn’t motivation a key to productivity? And don’t lawyers have to be productive? See, it all ties together.
Do you have something you’ve been putting off? Final exams, perhaps? That healthier lifestyle you’ve been talking about since January?
Let’s get motivated!
Now I’ll burst your bubble. I don’t have a great trick to help you find that initial burst of motivation. Honestly, you’ve just got to get up and move.
But, you only have to take a small step. That’s right, get up off the couch and take one step.
Once you take that first small step, go sit back on the couch. Now, get up again and take two steps. Sit back down.
Keep repeating this process. Each time you get up (or work on that goal) only focus on getting a little farther than you did before.
Small steps are the key! If you decide, “I’m going to run a marathon,” you can’t just run 26 miles tomorrow. You’ve got to start off very small. Your ultimate goal can be 26 miles, but each day’s goal should only be a small improvement over the previous day.
I biked 7 miles today!
Since I want to exercise, I’ve been trying to get back on my old, hand-me-down, purple, girl’s mountain bike (no joke – it’s purple).
Fortunately, Leo inspired me by riding 10 miles on his own bike. I thought, “I should get out and enjoy this beautiful Virginia spring.”
Saturday I almost gave myself a stroke riding about 2 miles. Sunday I came home exhausted after 3-4 miles. Today, I got home and realized I rode 7 miles. And my goal was just to go farther than before. Maybe tomorrow I can match Leo’s 10. 🙂
The point is that I’m focusing on small steps. I’ve made this a mini-game with myself. I’m determined to do better than yesterday. That’s it.
What is your small step?
Now think back to that nagging goal or project you’ve put off. Come up with one small step you can take within 24 hours. Don’t just put it on your trusty GTD action list. Go do it!
But in the mean time, let’s talk about here. Maybe we can help each other move closer to a goal. 294 minds (according to FeedBurner’s counter!!) are better than 1.
[tags]motivation, lifehack[/tags]
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Does a Restricted Info Base Have a Benefit?
Kevin doesn’t think so. He wrote an interesting article about LexisNexis’ approach to blogs. He talks about the differences between the Lexis blog directory, which contains only 35 blogs, and Justia Blawg Search, which boasts 1792 blogs.
It’s against the nature of blogging
Kevin’s absolutely right that Lexis’ 35-blog directory is fairly anti-blog. One of the draws of blogging is that there are so many voices out here. The benefit of multiple voices is clear – more knowledge, more points-of-view, etc.
But it’s productive
If I had gobs of money, I’d have a personal assistant. He would know my interests, likes, dislikes, etc. One of his duties would be to comb through blogs (new and old) and find ones for me to read. This would give me the best group of blogs and posts to read everyday.
Since I’m not rich, it might be handy to have a service that did this for me. In fact, busy lawyers might really appreciate something like this. They have the money to pay for this service. It saves them time. It’s productive.
The cynical view
The cynical personality in me has another explanation for Kevin’s beef with Lexis’ blog directory: none of his clients are in it. 🙂
Definitely kidding there. I don’t see any newer blogs in Lexis’ directory, and I’m sure it’s no testament to Kevin’s blog-design or his clients.
Update – Apr. 24, 12:43 AM – This comment was made in very poor taste. Please see my apology to Kevin, below.
Would you pay someone to pick blogs for you?
Now is where I turn it over to you guys. I’m curious about your thoughts on this.
Would you like a custom blog-selection or news-selection service? Would that save you time?
[tags]kevin, lexblog, justia, blawg search[/tags]
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I’m Asking You – Should I Open an Online Savings Account?
Something’s on my mind, and I’m looking to you for some help.
The other day I blogged about online savings accounts. I also read a great post by Leo about automating your finances. One of my favorite personal finance bloggers even has an ING account.
So now I’m thinking that maybe this is the way to go. The savings account at my bank earns practically 0% interest. But ING is currently paying out 4.5%. Even with not much money to earn interest, 4.5% is a darn good rate.
Pros and cons
The best thing (in my opinion) about online savings accounts is the high interest rates. It’s also good (in some respects) that you can’t just walk into the bank and get all your savings. But you can transfer money online when you need to – even automatically every month.
Personally, I’m a bit nervous about opening an account online. It’s a little unnerving to give money to someone you can’t actually look in the face. I know that I’m being crazy, but that’s the weird feeling I have.
Do you have an online savings account?
Now is where I’d love your input. I’m curious what you guys think about online savings accounts. Do you have one? Do you want one? Why, or why not?
[tags]financial, money, online savings account[/tags]
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What My Food Told Me This Evening
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Tonight my wife and I tried a Chinese buffet in our neighborhood. We’ve lived here three years and hadn’t been there yet. Needless to say, the food was great!
At the end of our meal, we opened our fortune cookies. You’re looking at mine. I’m not a superstitious person, but I am amused when things like this happen.
With graduation only 29 days away (heck yeah!), I definitely wouldn’t jump off the train now. But I’ve definitely questioned my career choice several times during this 3-year journey. It feels good to know that the cookie thinks I’ll make a decent lawyer. 🙂
Have you gotten any good fortunes lately? Do you follow your horoscope? Let’s talk about ’em.
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About Andrew Flusche
Lawyer, bicyclist, husband.
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