Technology

I hate wasting time. I’m totally on board with not multi-tasking, but some things are meant to be done simultaneously. I like listening to non-fiction audiobooks (library, FTW) when I drive and podcasts when I’m doing the dishes. They make driving and dish washing much more pleasant. Before I launch into a big pile of dishes, I always queue up a podcast. (Note: I normally do the dishes because Niki always cooks the delicious meals that made the dishes dirty. There should be a rule in families that no one can cook and do the dishes. That’s the worst) Here are a few of my favorite podcasts. I’d love to hear some of your favorites in the comments. ...

The mouse was a beautiful invention for the personal computer. But it’s mostly unnecessary. I still use it quite often, but I’m trying to move more swiftly through the digital world, rocking the keyboard instead of the mouse. It’s faster because you don’t have to move your hands and waste time repositioning (wow, I’m a nerd). (Confession: I just used the mouse and now I’m kicking myself. I definitely haven’t mastered this yet.) If you’re ready to be so fast and so furious, so you can get back to the things that matter, check out my favorite shortcuts below. I haven’t included every keyboard shortcut, but only the ones that I find the most helpful. I’d love to hear what some of your favorite shortcuts are in the comments. ...

I recently discovered MacSparky, David Sparks’ website. He often highlights the home screens of his friends’ iPhones, and since I don’t have any friends, I decided to write about my own home screen. My home screen is in constant flux. I’ve moved the icons around a dozen times in the last week since being back in the States (au revoir, MagicJack and Ljubljana Bus app). It was time to get all efficient. I normally sell you on why I love apps, but this is more on how I use them and my general iOS workflow instead of just great apps. I’ve been thinking a lot about workflow lately thanks to the Mac Power Users podcast (by David Sparks and Katie Floyd) and my incessant urge to be ever more productive and efficient. ...

I love books and I don’t care who knows it. “The books you read and the people you meet will determine where you are in five years.” __ Charlie ‘Tremendous’ Jones. Books are second only to relationships when it comes to the trajectory of our lives. I set out with a goal of reading 52 books this year. In case you’re wondering, an 8.5 hour plane ride across the Atlantic last week helped me get back on track, and I’ve officially completed 28 books, putting me on pace to hit 52 for the year. [Full disclosure: A couple books are pretty short, around 100 pages, so that’s lame, but I’ll work on getting my page count up, ok, you guys?] So, I thought it was time for some musings on books. ...

Email is a necessary evil and a wonderful tool for communication. It’s not going anywhere anytime soon. I wanted email to waste less of my time and be more effective. I’ve created a system that I wanted to share to help you filter your email to save time, see the important stuff and still not miss out on good but less urgent things (like sales from your favorite brands). Here’s what I do. This process is for anyone using Gmail or a Google Apps account, but I’d imagine (or hope) similar ideas could be applied to other email services. I’ll share the general guidelines first and then get into the nitty gritty. Regaining Control of Your Inbox Through Filters and Labels ...

Great content deserves to be read and shared. The problem is, it can be difficult to find and cumbersome to pass along. Often our processes slow us down and keep us from sharing what the world needs to see and read. Here’s how to find and curate some of the most interesting links on the web, no matter what your interests are. 1. Twitter This is where it all begins for me. Twitter is, bar-none, the best tool for discovering great content. Facebook is good for discovering who is having a bad day or who just got engaged, but as far as brain-stimulation, going to Facebook rather than Twitter to learn something is like going a circus instead of reading a book. Here’s how I curated my list of great people to follow on Twitter. I follow very sparingly, and I even have a more select, private list of people who share the best content, all the time. If you don’t know any thought leaders in the area you’re interested in, check out Twitter’s suggested list of people to follow and work from there. You can also link your email account to Twitter to find people who interact with on the web. Don’t assume that everyone you know is a good sharer on Twitter, but hopefully some sharp people you know are using the tool well. ...

I love knowing how people get things done. Seeing other people’s arsenal of productivity weaponry gets me pumped up than a nerd at Comic-Con. Here’s the list of tools I use, in no particular order and how they help my workflow. Click the name of each tool for a link to download or purchase it. My Toolbox...

If you’ve ever wrestled with Microsoft Word for an hour trying to line up a few blocks of text and a couple of pictures to just create a one-page document, I feel your pain. Our monthly letters contain only two rounded rectangles (one at the top and bottom with our information), three main text boxes (for our main story, a box for prayer requests, and a caption for our photos) and two to three photos. It’s really that easy. Here’s how you can make a slick 1-page PDF in 20 minutes flat. ...

I can’t pay full-price for anything. It’s some type of genetic mutation that definitely came from my mom’s side of the family. My grandma was a yard-sale warrior and would buy things for a nickel on the dollar. My mom hasn’t bought a non-sale item since 1976. We’re freaks. I like finding deals. I’m not much for yard sales because I can’t stand sifting through piles of garbage to find a rare gem, but I’ll gladly sift through the interwebs to find a good deal (yes, I see the irony). Here’s my precursor to what I won’t do to save a buck: Sign up for a ton of services where I get a penny back for every thousand dollars I spend. I know that works for some people, but it’s just not worth my time. Buy crap I don’t need. This defeats the purpose of saving money buying things online. If I wasn’t going to buy something in the first place, I’m not going to buy it just because it’s on sale. You didn’t save any money if you bought something you didn’t need. So if you were hoping for a post with pictures of me holding a coupon purse with an online shopping cart full of 300 packages of toilet paper and 10 cases of Heinz ketchup, I’m sorry to disappoint you. < p style=”text-align: center;”> With those disclaimers out of the way, here’s where I turn and how I work when it comes to finding a good deal. ...

With hundreds of thousands of apps in the Apple App Store, it’s easy to give up finding quality apps that turn your iPhone into a robot more powerful than Optimus Prime. Finding new, useful apps is definitely a side hobby, and this curated list below is a dozen of my favorite apps. Please share your favorite apps in the comments so we can all have awesomer iPhones. $5 will get you the whole collection of apps below. [To check out volume one of my favorite apps, click here.] Mailbox This app makes me want to read my email. It’s all about getting through your inbox so nothing remains when you finish. It has slick gesture controls and I love the overall feel of the app. My favorite feature is the ability to delay email until later. Then, emails don’t sit in your inbox, staring you in the face, waiting for you to move. You can have emails reappear in your inbox when you need them like a perfectly timed ribbon-around-your-finger reminder. I use the delay feature to remind me of appointments or tasks I need to complete, but don’t need to do today. You also get to see a new jaw-dropping photo hand-chosen from Instagram each day when you get to #InboxZero, which is at least half of my motivation for getting through my inbox. A few downers: you must use Gmail or Google Apps and there’s no way to access labels from within the app. I understand, since it’s all about processing email, so I keep Sparrow around for when I need to search through labels. Also, you’ll have to get into a waiting line for access to the app, but download it today so you can start the timer. ...