EXPLORING AMERICA ON COLUMBUS DAY

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How did you celebrate Columbus Day? I paid a tribute to the great explorer by reading passages from Thomas A. Bowden's book, The Enemies of Christopher Columbus, and thinking of my future exploration of the land of opportunity.



In the news: Is Columbus Day Sailing Off the Calendar? - The Wall Street Journal.

UPDATE 10/13/09:

Columbus Day Celebrates Western Civilization

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BACK TO BASICS

I am glad to see that my post on Open Forum, Productivity Tools For Your Worklife, has been "retweeted" so many times. I want to highlight C. Scyphers, who gave a short & sweet summary of my post:

scyphers says: Tips for managing time: (OpenForum) Recap; Actual inbox, empty email, mindmap, small tasks, take notes, always improve (1st October 4:19, Tweetmeme / Twitter.)

Anita Campbell of Small Business Trends, wrote the following comment on my post:

Martin, good article! I have tried, but I find it impossible to a zero inbox -- or even close to zero, say 30 unread emails. Unfortunately, my unread emails number in the 3-figures or 4-figures. Of course, most of those are monitoring emails, such as Google Alerts, or newsletter subscriptions, or email notifications about comments on my various blogs. I've tried setting up special folders and automatically pushing certain emails to those folders so I can review them later. That helps. But even so, unread emails just accumulate in my inbox. Then eventually they get archived, and that helps keep the numbers down. Of course, my business is mainly Web-based and 99% of everything we do involves email. But I wonder if others have the same problem? -- Anita (Open Forum, idea hub - topic: innovation, October 2009.)

As I said in my post, I have struggled with maintaining an empty email inbox for a long time. At the moment, I have 8794 messages in the inbox... I have to archive them and start from scratch again. I am sure that the GTDInbox is a great application and solution to this problem. Please read, Why Email is Addictive (listen to the rats), for a possible explanation to the email "problem"...



Amanda Stillwagon, editor of Small Business CEO, has used an excerpt of my post in her post, Work Smarter With Productivity Tools. Please feel free to leave a comment here, at SMBCEO.com, or a vote at bizSugar.

I will go back to basics and use a low-tech solution:

• Stack of index cards with a clip, a.k.a a Hipster PDA. I am using pre-printed to-do cards by Stiernholm Consulting.
• Small pens. I am using a TEC pico pen and a Fisher space pen.
• Notebooks. I am using Moleskine notebooks.

For inspiration, I will participate in Stephen Smith's "work.life.creativity" forum and continue to read Todoodlist by Nick Cernis. [Editor's note: If you are interested to read Todoodlist and at the same time support my blogging, please click the "buy now" button. I wonder if I have to add a disclosure to this post? Read Duncan Riley's post, My FTC Disclosure, and have you done yours yet?]

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MICHAEL MOORE AND HIS HATE STORY

Here is an excerpt from Jonathan Hoenig's article, Michael Moore Is Clueless on 'Capitalism':

After making an unpaid cameo in his last movie, I have no interest in seeing Michael Moore’s new film bashing capitalism. But even from the few interviews I’ve caught, it is quickly apparent that Moore is ignorant – obviously willingly so – of exactly what capitalism is. In a popular clip now circulating online, Moore incoherently struggles to describe capitalism as “the legal system which allows this greed to take place,” quickly suggesting that “the regulation and rules that used to keep these people in check…” -- businesspeople we can presume -- is “no longer is keeping them in check.” (October 1, 2009, SmartMoney.com.)

Related: My post, PICK A BOOK.

UPDATE 10/05/09: Read mtnrunner2's post, A Review of Michael Moore's "Capitalism: A Love Story" at Fun With Gravity.

NOTES ON BOOKS AND NOTEBOOKS

I recently received the following books:

• Love Is the Killer App: How to Win Business and Influence Friends by Tim Sanders. [Editor's note: I will write a review of this book for Small Business Trends.]

• Personality Not Included: Why Companies Lose Their Authenticity And How Great Brands Get it Back, Foreword by Guy Kawasaki by Rohit Bhargava.

• Trust Agents: Using the Web to Build Influence, Improve Reputation, and Earn Trust by Chris Brogan and Julien Smith.

• Six Pixels of Separation: Everyone Is Connected. Connect Your Business to Everyone. by Mitch Joel.

• The New Community Rules: Marketing on the Social Web by Tamar Weinberg.

• The Plan-as-You-Go Business Plan and 3 Weeks to Startup by Tim Berry.

Talking about books, Jan Ekbom mentioned to me that he had bought several books by Ayn Rand in Swedish at the book fair in Gothenburg. I went to the book fair on Sunday and bought some notebooks by Moleskine.


Moleskine Volant - plain notebook with 54 detachable pages. (6.5x10.5 cm)
[Editor's note: What should I put as a reward? "As a reward: $"]


Moleskine Volant, Weekly Notebook Diary (hard cover) with address book insert (9x14 cm, 208 pages) and TEC pico pen.


Moleskine notebook diary in action!


Moleskine weekly notebook diary (hard cover) opened with expandable inner pocket. Formatted to-do cards.


Moleskine notebooks in three sizes: 6.5x10.5, 9x14 & 13x21 cm.


I will get a New York City Notebook when I visit the Big Apple again...

Recommended reading: Moleskine: The Guide by Nick Cernis and Why Moleskine Is The Model For Newspaper Survival by Jon Bernstein.

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POST ON PRODUCTIVITY TOOLS

What kind of productivity tools do you use in your worklife? Read my post, Productivity Tools For Your Worklife, on Open Forum.


Image source: screenshot of Open Forum.

READING TWEETS WITH BRIZZLY

Image by Getty Images via Daylife

I haven't published any new posts for some time, but I have been microblogging during this time. You could follow me on Twitter, FriendFeed, Posterous and Tumblr.

I will start to use Brizzly when I am reading and writing tweets. It is a new, web-based Twitter client. I have been using Twitter's standard dashboard, Seesmic's desktop and in-browser. Read Jennifer Leggio's post, Brizzly takes the guesswork out of using Twitter.



If you want to have an invitation to Brizzly, go to my tweet message:

@Brizzly says: "All the cool kids are using Brizzly! Don't miss out - use this invitation link, good for 10 people." http://bit.ly/SVyO7

Related post: How Small Business Owners Get More Done with 101 Twitter Tools by TJ McCue.

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40 YEARS OF SPACE TECHNOLOGY

How did you commemorate the 40th anniversary of the first moon landing? I wrote a new post (The Space Race Is Finding New Heights) for Open Forum.


Image source: screenshot of Open Forum.

EVOLUTION OF EGO WORKSPACE

Image by David Reber via Flickr

[Editor's note: I started to write a draft of this post on 08/02/09. It has taken a long time to "chew", process & clarify stuff. Due to the "organized chaos" I am going back and forth between the different steps of the workflow process. I am often trying to collect, process, organize, review and do things at the same time! I am feeling a bit more at ease now when I have finished reading David Allen's book, Making It All Work: Winning at the Game of Work and Business of Life. The book has given me new fuel and energy to kick-off this ongoing journey of getting things done. Let's roll & pluck the day! Please feel free to join the conversation on GTD, productivity best practices, worklife, etc.! At the moment, I am especially interested to receive tips on podcast shows on this topic.]

I have been thinking of writing a longer post on my development of my worklife for some time. One big part of improving my productivity is clear the workspace and to set up the right "buckets". I have a picture clear on how to create a good workflow process, but I get overwhelmed now and then about all my old stuff that I have to go through. I have spent several days of my "vacation" to clean up things and I am starting to see the "light in the tunnel"...

I read Stephen Smith's post, The Evolution of a GTD Workspace, and that triggered me to write a comment on GTD Times. Stephen Smith then wrote the following tweet message @hdbbstephen on July 17:



So, here it goes...



This is picture of Morris the cat stretching out on the computer desk. The photo is taken in the beginning of 2009 (February). I had plenty of piles on the desk and in the in-basket.

Here is a more recent photo Morris (July 15).



I started to set up the tickler file that I bought from Stiernholm Consulting.



Starting to assemble the tickler file...




Ready to file stuff!


Filing an invoice to be paid on a specific date.


Tickler file


How to Get Started with Getting Things Done by Robert Landon.

Time to check different sections of my workspace.


My bulletin board. The toy crusader is from my childhood. He has misplaced his lance and horse, but he will continue his fight... Do you know where I could get a Betsy Ross flag pin?


Picture of Morris the cat. 2009 overview calendar.


Bookshelf with books.


More books, course and reference material.


In-basket with file folders and to-do note cards by Stiernholm Consulting.

I start out the week on Monday morning by listening to David Stiernholm's podcast with "tips on how to create good structure and efficient work procedures for you and your organization." The weekly newsletter includes a PDF and an audio file (MP3).

I will start to take time at the end of the week with a review and a brainstorming session. I know that I have been procrastinating to get started due to all the old stuff that I have to get through before I could get ahead and continue forward. I have been looking for the new "ultimate" and cool gadget in order to motivate myself to dig into the piles of stuff. I have to go through a kind of mental "shock therapy," collecting all the old stuff and dump into the in-basket and then "force" myself to go through it, piece by piece. I have been spending some time this summer "setting up the right buckets" and going through "ancient archives" at the same time. I know that I will fall off the "wagon" now and then and it will probably take a year or two before I have integrated my personalized productivity habit so it becomes a natural part of my worklife.

Here is a list of things that I will be dealing with in the future:

Desks:

• Keep the computer desk in tidy fashion and give the in-basket a "VIP" position on it.

• Start cleaning off the mahogany desk, including the in-basket. Should I have reference material here in the study room?

• Go through the computer desktop on a regular basis. Keep files "fenced in". Look at the wallpaper and get inspired!

I recently purchased GoalEnforcer. I will use it as a combined project management / mindmapping / brainstorming tool. I will play around with this program during this autumn.

GTD template


Next action...


I will start to use and review GTDagenda sometime in the near future.



I have started to use GTDinbox, but I have to get back to scratch regarding the inbox again. I had >22,500 email messages at one time. I had to do dump them into an archive. I now have >6000 email messages in the inbox. I should visualize the stack of 6000 papers and get going... ;)



I will come to grip of the situation and acquire an insight of my workstyle. According to ACCO Brands Corporation's workstyle finder, I am classified as follows:

Expressive Work Style

You are a free spirit with a plan. You know what works for you, and you build your work life around your individual needs. You know where you're going, and you have a good idea of how to get there, but you're flexible -- you're not afraid to take a few side trips along the way. When a project is important to you, you are very organized and efficient and manage your time well. You recognize the equal importance of appearance and content, and you strive to balance the two in everything you do. You pick and choose what you are going to pay attention to, depending on what priority is at the top of your list on any given day. (ACCO.com, "workstyle finder survey results.")

I want to end this post with a photo of my new favorite productivity tool... Pico Pen!


[Editor's note to Christer Sjöback: Thank you very much giving me another pen!]

MAKING IT ALL WORK

I have now finished reading Making It All Work: Winning at the Game of Work and Business of Life by David Allen. I will publish my anticipated draft post on the evolution of my workspace on Monday, September 14, as an open thread post for further discussions on how to get things done with a steady control and a clear perspective of your worklife.

FOOD CARNIVALS

Image via Wikipedia

Are you following some food carnivals that are published on a regular basis? It is stated on the Blog Carnival site that the Seasonal Food Festival will be published on September 21 at Naturally Food. I wonder why the submission deadline is dated already on September 1.

Talking about food, did you celebrate Bacon Day? [Editor's comment: How about Danish bacon?]

Related: My post, CARNIVAL OF THE RECIPES.