Improving Productivity: Nifty Tricks and Firefox Extensions
I wasted an entire today installing productivity enhancing software and reading up on the latest time saving tricks so that I can waste time more efficently in the future.
For a long time I have been content to just use basic programs as they exist. This apathetic tendency was shattered yesterday when I discovered Lifehacker and started to read about all the cool things I coud do using technology and a bit of cleverness to use the interenet and computers in general more effectively.
The thing that makes Lifehacker special is that instead of just spamming out geeky stories and geeky ways to do things, the writers share ways to use technology to do things, quicker, better or easier. As their tagline says, "Don't live to geek, geek to live. For example, I found articles on taking effective notes, budgeting, setting reasonable goals and creating an online "fridge" on which to leave your schedule, notes etc.
So what what was my response to all this great time-management advice? Well, first I cleaned my room. Then I mostly decleaned it by tearing all of my stacks of unsorted papers from their nooks and crannies to organize them. I went to the store and purchased folders and began carefully fling the stacks of class notes, syllabi and documents. Now they're all neatly packed away in my little shelf. I think I can safely say that our dorm room is neater now than it has been since we arrived. The whole experience was amazingly un-me yet at the same time stimulating.
Pretty amazing, huh?
After that, I poked around a bit to see if anyone I knew wanted to go touristing but since that effort failed, I went back to Lifehacker and began researching how to clean up my computer. Here are a few of the nifty tricks and tools I found:
For a long time I have been content to just use basic programs as they exist. This apathetic tendency was shattered yesterday when I discovered Lifehacker and started to read about all the cool things I coud do using technology and a bit of cleverness to use the interenet and computers in general more effectively.
The thing that makes Lifehacker special is that instead of just spamming out geeky stories and geeky ways to do things, the writers share ways to use technology to do things, quicker, better or easier. As their tagline says, "Don't live to geek, geek to live. For example, I found articles on taking effective notes, budgeting, setting reasonable goals and creating an online "fridge" on which to leave your schedule, notes etc.
So what what was my response to all this great time-management advice? Well, first I cleaned my room. Then I mostly decleaned it by tearing all of my stacks of unsorted papers from their nooks and crannies to organize them. I went to the store and purchased folders and began carefully fling the stacks of class notes, syllabi and documents. Now they're all neatly packed away in my little shelf. I think I can safely say that our dorm room is neater now than it has been since we arrived. The whole experience was amazingly un-me yet at the same time stimulating.
Pretty amazing, huh?After that, I poked around a bit to see if anyone I knew wanted to go touristing but since that effort failed, I went back to Lifehacker and began researching how to clean up my computer. Here are a few of the nifty tricks and tools I found:
- Spreeder - A tool that trains your brain to read faster by eliminating sub-vocalization and backtracing. Learn more.
- Hamachi - A virtually painless VPN creator. This allows you to connect computers online as if they were on a LAN.
- Blocksite - This extension allows you to block time wasting sites so that you aren't so tempted.
- Google Notebook - This handy tool allows you to save useful quotes, interesting links, pictures and take notes while browsing. This tool will prove its utility the next time I do research for a school paper or blog post.
- Time Tracker - This tracks how much time you spend online.
- GmailSpace - An application that allows you to use your gmail account as a private ftp server.
- Performancing* - A blog editor extension for Firefox.
2 Comments:
Yes my interest is piqued.
Fascinating.
Organizationg is good.
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