All Questions
10
votes
2answers
215 views
Is there anything similar to TRIZ known outside of Russia for improving personal productivity?
I was born in Russian and went to school there in middle 90ies. During my school time we had a special subject called "TRIZ" that stands (in Russian) for "theory of inventive problems solving". Apart ...
4
votes
0answers
525 views
Dvorak vs. Colemak breakdown? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
How effective is the Dvorak keyboard at improving productivity?
What are the pros and cons, advantages and disadvantages between them? Let's assume the premise that both ...
5
votes
3answers
603 views
How does taking a break from work improve productivty?
What research has been done on this subject? I.e Is it better to work 95% of the time and break for 5% or 70% - 30%? What should you do during your break?
17
votes
8answers
4k views
Are there alternatives to the GTD system?
What are likely alternatives to the Getting Things Done productivity system?
Full fledged alternatives that "compete" with GTD
Group of smaller systems used together to replace GTD
"Simpler" systems
...
5
votes
4answers
255 views
What does research say about when/where we have our best ideas?
Some people (like me) have their best ideas exercising, as they try to sleep, and others at completely different occasions. There seem to be some more popular than others. In any case what does ...
5
votes
1answer
337 views
Are there software solutions that implement Structured Procrastination?
Let me just say this philosophical essay changed my way of working: Structured Procrastination
Basically it says that you should put urgent critical tasks at the very top of the list; but ones that ...
4
votes
1answer
122 views
What's a note, what's a reminder, what's an event?
So, I was putting my father-in-law's birthday into my iPhone using Siri and I couldn't figure out whether it should be a reminder or an event. Which do you think?
Sometimes I make a list of things, ...
9
votes
3answers
831 views
How to get rid of silly mistakes?
I've always been having some silly mistakes in homeworks/tests/exams etc, as well as programming. I very often seem to be 1-2 silly mistakes away from a perfect score, despite having done a draft and ...
5
votes
5answers
450 views
What can I do to quickly become a better orator/public speaker?
What can I do to quickly become a better orator? For example giving a public speech, a presentation before a crowd, etc. I'm looking for things I can do to ingrain good speaking practices as habits, ...
4
votes
1answer
181 views
Inability to function without use of the exocortex
As someone at least passably competent at productivity-enhancing procedures and tools, I've developed an extensive exocortex for information. This information usually enters the input chute from ...
10
votes
1answer
162 views
Is there any psychological research into the value of GTD's trusted outside system?
One of the basic ideas of GTD is to dump all the things that are on your mind outside your skull, because you can't trust your brain to reliably remember all the details.
Personally I find this ...
9
votes
2answers
449 views
Organization system for cables, adapters, etc - electronics clutter
First a bit of background:
I have most other kinds of physical and virtual "stuff' organized, but over the years I have accumulated scores, if not hundreds, of cables & adapters from a variety of ...
8
votes
2answers
161 views
Repeating and Reviewing of Pomodoros
One of the objectives of the Pomodoro techinque is to make the Pomodoros more effective. This is done by either repeat and review on a Pomodoro level or on a Pomodoro set level. On a Pomodoro level it ...
3
votes
1answer
203 views
When leveraging the Pomodoro technique
Is there a threshold of the number of Pomodoros you can execute in a sequence before the technique has positive effect?
I could imagine that you do not want to use the Pomodoro technique if you have ...
7
votes
5answers
668 views
How to stop vocalization habit in reading
Voicing the words,as you write or read...How to stop it?
It wastes a lot of energy, and limits the speed....
any other tricks than singing... cause I also need to comprehend the matter
2
votes
3answers
564 views
Does anyone produce a truly heavy duty, long arm stapler?
One of the things I do which makes handling paper documents much easier, is to print out in booklet format. With a duplex A3 printer, I can print out a document of 60 A4 pages onto 15 sheets of A3 (in ...
6
votes
6answers
570 views
How do I avoid missing important/urgent e-mails?
I get so many emails (mostly as part of email lists) that the way I process them is to simply scan my eyes down the list of messages, looking at sender, subject, and the first few words. I only ...
7
votes
4answers
173 views
Is there an adopted strategy for dealing with cell phones ringing in the office?
I work in office with a kind of a cubicle farm arrangement where sound propagates no-problem. When a cell phone not in silent mode rings it can be heard in at least 10-meters range and therefore ...
4
votes
5answers
2k views
What is the hidden secret in Think and Grow Rich (by Napoleon Hill)?
He mentions in the book that it is in every chapter and while inspired by it, I did not have a clear idea of one single secret after reading the book.
Did anyone discover a "secret", or is it ...
16
votes
9answers
625 views
How can I become a more effective listener?
I believe that I am a poor listener. Often after meetings, I find myself having a lot of loose ends, but in the situation I am not enough aware of this to be able to ask a specific question. I am ...
8
votes
5answers
788 views
Why does the Pomodoro technique recommend writing down every interruption?
The Pomodoro technique suggests that internal and external interruptions of a task should be annotated (e.g. with a ' or -).
What is the purpose of doing this? The only reason I can imagine is that ...
7
votes
3answers
486 views
How can I make my evening work time more productive?
I have always been at my most productive in the morning. However I have recently had a child which has required that I rearrange my schedule somewhat. I still wake as early as possible and get work ...
0
votes
0answers
97 views
In what way is the Steve Pavilina blog useful? [closed]
Has anybody followed Steve Pavlina's blog and used his methods with beneficial results ? What specifically have you found there that worked really for you ?
5
votes
8answers
826 views
Where can I get a custom designed notebook from?
There are people out there who are just like me. We rarely memorize information just for the purpose of having it. We use Google to know things and we look things up as we need them. We are those ...
14
votes
13answers
918 views
Version control for homework?
Background:
I'm a high school student. I've noticed lately that I'm not particularly fond of my current scheme for keeping my files up to date (ferrying around a USB stick, naming files 'essay-1.doc', ...
10
votes
2answers
549 views
Is it possible to handle perpetually ongoing tasks in Personal Kanban?
I'm exploring organization systems like Personal Kanban and one thing I'm still not clear on is how to represent ongoing activities that are always there and always have to be done. For example, say ...
7
votes
3answers
618 views
I feel sleepy and tired when I encounter problems during a working day, is that normal?
I think it is kinda strange but I just noticed that I have this odd habit of feeling tired, sleepy and dizzy when I encounter a (programming) problem that I can't solve after a while of trying. It ...
13
votes
5answers
998 views
How to improve my observation?
I have noticed that I do NOT notice the details which others seem to notice without any efforts.
My mind is too occupied in its own thoughts to notice the fine details.
Are there any ways to improve ...
0
votes
2answers
188 views
What are some good metrics of physical health that indicate optimal mental productivity?
Regular exercise and sleep all contribute mightily to productivity. With that in mind, I can think of the following physical health metrics for someone's productivy
Resting Heart Rate (lower is ...
2
votes
2answers
275 views
Does speed reading work well with reading non-native language?
My native language is Serbian, but from my early age I started to learn English. And now, when I am a programmer I read almost all stuff in English (stuff for college, books, internet stuff, movies, ...
6
votes
3answers
331 views
Working and studying--being productive
The summary: I need to be hyper-productive.
I work more or less for eight hours a day, but I still need to graduate. I can not stop working--I need to do so--but I'm still trying to find a way to ...
5
votes
2answers
360 views
How to use voice notes?
I started to use Evernote, and I want to find the best system for me to work with it. I am currently thinking about how can I use voice notes.
The problem that I see with voice is that you need to ...
19
votes
4answers
835 views
How can I eliminate fear of phone calling?
I've always been a shy person, never really speaking up or trying to take the leader role. But I tried to change and step out of my comfort zone, and now I'm not really afraid of most things. I don't ...
17
votes
8answers
2k views
My thoughts distract me, how do I keep my focus?
I recently started working full-time as a software developer. [potentially unnecessary background info here]
I've always had a problem focusing. It's very difficult for me to push down my curiosity ...
14
votes
7answers
1k views
What could I do to convince myself to finish my projects?
Here: you can read : "Often, tasks are delayed till a reasonable time before the deadline. Just because you feel like you can do it later; [blabla] ..."
This is not the real problem I've been facing ...
6
votes
4answers
435 views
Too obsessed. Cant concentrate
I am an addicted computer programmer. I am doing my Engineering. I am extremely obsessive about things. I am soo much obsessive that people tell me that I work really slow. I feel that I am unable to ...
12
votes
3answers
579 views
Do digital wrist watches have productivity advantages over software based features?
My wife recently received a digital wrist watch (Casio Baby GShock) as a gift. She is a teacher and uses the watch for (other than quickly telling the time) timing her lessons, other presentations and ...
5
votes
1answer
492 views
Free Alarm Clock And Calendar Software?
I need something like Atomic Alarm Clock but free. I feel limited with organizer that has no alarm clock. It would be amazing to have calendar notifications with an alarm clock as well.
6
votes
5answers
205 views
Are artificial incentives a good idea to boost productivity?
If there's projects or tasks I've been meaning to get around to doing, could adding a reward or incentive program provide me artificial motivations to completing these projects or tasks?
(In general, ...
3
votes
2answers
1k views
How to get past feeling defeated?
I have a couple of passions in life, one of them is music. I love playing drums and really want to play in a band. I've moved to LA about 3 years ago and have been searching for a group to play with ...
10
votes
4answers
622 views
Is there a task manager that incorporates spaced repetition learning?
I'm having students in mind, let's suppose that a student plans to prepare exam for next month.
According to the "forgetting curve", the key for successful study is spaced repetition learning.
Are ...
0
votes
0answers
132 views
How much time is reasonable Internet usage on a daily basis? [closed]
There is a cartoon showing a guy sitting in front of his PC shouting to his wife, "This is important. Someone is wrong on the Internet". This could just as easily be, "I haven't finished reading the ...
9
votes
3answers
475 views
How to quickly restore concentration?
Very often I'm being interpreted while working or studying, sometimes the interruptions are small, and take a minute and sometimes it requires more than few minutes.
How do I quickly restore ...
4
votes
2answers
310 views
How do I efficiently use my daily learning limit?
Is there an ideal amount of knowledge to be taken in on a daily basis? I've different kinds of conflicting information. From the list of ideas I've seen, which, if any, is most correct? Here are ...
8
votes
4answers
484 views
Day Tracking Program, with Charts
I need to find a program or excel template to help me track what I do during the day. The ideal candidate would be simple to use, and I would spend virtually no time filling it out. I would then like ...
7
votes
2answers
2k views
How to fight over-excitement?
Sometimes I get drowned by my imagination. I'll give an example. An hour ago I was reading some stuff about esoteric programming languages. Then my imagination kicked in. After that I was just sitting ...
2
votes
3answers
548 views
ToDo list application with projects, start and due dates, a priority field and custom filtering for Mac OS X?
I'm searching for a todo-list application for Mac OS X which can do the following.
list tasks
organize them in "projects" (à la GTD)
assign a start date and a due date to each task
and ...
6
votes
2answers
175 views
How do your busiest people transfer their knowledge?
This question was originally posted on Programmers SE. I've placed it here based on advice in the comments.
We have recently polled our company wide wiki users and found out that there are two large ...
7
votes
8answers
516 views
How to retain proficiency in foreign languages?
In elementary school I had learned the German language for six years, my skills were at an intermediate level, but then I started with English and I haven't learned German for nine years.
Now, my ...
0
votes
1answer
514 views
Mind-mapping software recommendations for Mac OS X? [closed]
I've been looking for a good Mind Mapping software for quite a while, but I still haven't found one that would feel just right.
What's your favorite Mind Mapping software?
