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The personal weblog of Stephen P Smith

Posts Tagged ‘GTD’

Fast Company and The Influence Project

Fast Company magazine is looking for the most influential person online: Influence Project. Well, that is certainly pretty interesting…I wonder if there might be a way to parse and analyze this information with regards to topics of influence, what it is that people are talking about.

Here is the basic summary:

ABOUT THE PROJECT

We started with a simple question: Who are the most influential people online right now?

That’s what The Influence Project is designed to answer. By participating, you will have your picture appear in the November issue of Fast Company magazine as part of an amazing photo spread. The more influence you demonstrate, the bigger your picture will be.

You may discover that you’re more influential than you think.

Influence is not only about having the most friends or followers. Real influence is about being able to affect the behavior of those you interact with, to get others in your social network to act on a suggestion or recommendation. When you post a link or recommend a site, how many people actually bother to check it out? And what’s the likelihood of those people then forwarding it on? How far does your influence spread?

This is the type of influence we’re looking for. We want to find the most influential person online.
Who knows? It might even be you.

So, I decided to sign up, and find out what kind of influence I might have. This is not a popularity contest, nor is it some hunt for fame. I know that I am certainly not in the “Most Influential” category, though with several thousand subscribers there is something going on.

So here is my request, if you are a subscriber or visitor and you came to this site looking for information on Productivity or learning to use Social Media for your small business, then please click this Influence Project link and help me to find out how I can better serve you – the readers.

Thank you!

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Moleskine Accessories

For those of you notebook fiends out there, some cool add-ons to our favorite notebook:

Matt Reimer points to a DIY SD Card wallet you can make for your Moleskine notebook:
Moleskine and Me

On the road I’m never without my camera and the way I take pictures it’s sometimes nice to have spare SD cards with me. I found this wicked Instructables tutorial by a user called Pipeski on how to make your own SD card wallet that fits really well inside a Moleskine notebook. Definitely worth a look!

Andrew Bosley created a tool he calls The Brainstormer:

When I was in school at SJSU, studying visual development and illustration, I was always trying to give myself little concept projects to keep myself sharp and thinking. So I created a list of objects, persons, things, etc. and a list of styles, adjectives, etc. These very large lists were in the back of my very first Moleskine (an address book used as a sketchbook). The idea was to combine an object or person with a style or adjective (ex. Byzantine submarine or subterranean factory) to create unique and interesting combinations to concept out and illustrate.

I found it useful in it’s crude form, but always wanted to turn it into a small, more sophisticated pinwheel format. Finally, a few months ago, during a lull in freelance work, I decided to make it happen.

Patrick Ng created a Moleskine Sketchbook/Diary in a leather cover (click over to see the pics!):

The day I decided to use the Moleskine 18 months weekly diary from July I knew I would have problem pulling out what I need from my bag. It has the same size and look as the Moleskine sketch book I’m using. Knowing that I will be using both quite often in this coming half year starting from my trip to Tokyo next week, I did something drastic in 30 minutes.

If you have seen any cool Moleskine hacks or add-ons, let us know in the Comments.

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95 Tips on Work/Life Balance

Carol Roth has put together quite a list:

95 Strategies for Work/Life Balance When You Work From Home « Unsolicited Business Advice from Carol Roth

More and more entrepreneurs are setting up a home office, which means that more and more entrepreneurs have to find a way to balance their work and the rest of their life. This topic was brought to my attention by a regular CarolRoth.com contributor, Adelaide Zindler of Home Office Mommy, so thanks Adelaide!

As usual, I reached out to my network of valued experts and entrepreneurs and I am excited to present 95 strategies to help achieve some semblance of balance in your life when you are working from home (in no particular order).

I contributed a tip (#11) “Balance Through Productivity

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Thoughts on Investing Your Time

Write it down or it won’t happen!Time management is a common focus here, but something that is not often discussed is just what good is all this time that we are managing?

There are several reasons to be concerned about your use of time, and there are times when you should feel free to just “be”.

Here are five things for you to think about, as an exercise in investing your time:

  1. Time allows you to rest and recover – We all need downtime for recuperating from stress. Pushing yourself and overcoming challenges are excellent ways to invest time, resting is the best way to use some of the time you gain from your investment.
  2. Time allows you to increase your focus – Invest the time that you gain to think about bigger things, your 3-5 year goals, your Someday/Maybe list. What do you want to have time for doing later?
  3. Time allows you to gather the facts – Gaining a true understanding of your situation takes time. Investing time in this way creates a larger picture for you to evaluate.
  4. Time allows you to see how things turn out – Once you set a plan in motion there are frequently some variables beyond your control, and waiting is all that you can do. Invest this downtime to prepare for the next stage of your project.
  5. Time allows you to create balance in your life – All work and no play leads to a heart attack. Invest the time that you gain to be with your family and friends. Connecting with your circle is energizing and can be a link to discoveries you may not have expected.

How do you invest your time, and what do you do with the time that you gain?

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