Posts Tagged ‘hack’

Change Your Day, Change Your Life, Change the World: A Review of “New Day Revolution” by Sam Davidson and Stephen Moseley

Be the change you want to see in the world.–Mahatma Gandhi

This quote by Gandhi gets trotted out a lot by people with nothing but the best intentions. Suitable for bumper stickers, motivational posters, and sticking to the top of blog posts, it seems custom-made for all your feel-good occasions. But what does it really mean? And what would it look and feel like to really be the… » Continue

March 17 2008 | By Dustin | Tagged: activism, advice, book_review, change, hack, life | 13 comments»

50 Tricks to Get Things Done Faster, Better, and More Easily

We all want to get stuff done, whether it’s the work we have to do so we can get on with what we want to do, or indeed, the projects we feel are our purpose in life. To that end, here’s a collection of 50 hacks, tips, tricks, and mnemonic devices I’ve collected that can help you work better.

Most Important Tasks (MITs): At the start of

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February 13 2008 | By Dustin | Tagged: advice, gtd, hack, Productivity, system, tip, trick | 76 comments»

10+ Things to Do with Dry-Erase Markers

As both a teacher and an office supply junkie, I always have plenty of dry-erase markers handy. Which is a good thing, because I use them all the time — usually without a white board anywhere in sight.

Here’s just some of the things you can do with dry-erase markers:

Label your frozen foods: Use a dry-erase marker to write the contents and date on the lid of your

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November 28 2007 | By Dustin | Tagged: dryerase, hack, list, markers, note, whiteboard | 22 comments»

Study Tip: How to Find the Hidden Bias in a Test

Life isn’t fair. Why should tests be?

Virtually all tests have have hidden biases. These biases aren’t usually large and most instructors will do their best to minimize it. However, knowing the bias of a test can be an added tool for allocating study time.

What is a Testing Bias?

Testing bias is when a test favors students who understand particular concepts or have particular types of knowledge… » Continue

November 22 2007 | By Scott H | Tagged: bias, exam, hack, learning, school, study, test | 15 comments»

Index Card Hacks

I love index cards. I’d like to blame Merlin Mann and his hipster PDA for this obsession, but I don’t use a hipster PDA and still I find myself unable to pass the index card rack at Office Depot without stopping for a look.

Index cards provide a sturdier alternative to notepad paper, making them ideal for “throwaway” notes like directions or phone numbers — notes I’ll need… » Continue

November 5 2007 | By Dustin | Tagged: DIY, dryerase, hack, hipsterpda, howto, indexcard, paper, tool | 45 comments»

Complete iPhone Links List: Apps, Hacks & Reviews

Rockin’ Out with iPhone

As groovy as the iPhone is, it is missing a lot of stuff. In response to this a cottage industry of sorts has popped up in response. Whether you have a iPhone today or plan to get one some time in the future, here is a list of super cool links that can help you realize more functionality, and keep on top of the latest iPhone… » Continue

July 17 2007 | By K. | Tagged: hack, iphone, Resource, review, software | 15 comments»

Cheap Battery Conversion Hacks

If you find yourself needing some AAA batteries but only have a 9Volt available, or you need some D-Cells and only have C’s lying around - here are the solutions:

9V to AAA

Rip open the 9V casing with some pliers and retrieve the ‘AAAA’ battery cells, which will fit in most AAA battery slots (remote control etc).

C to D Cell

Grab those C Cells and throw them in your device with… » Continue

June 25 2007 | By Craig | Tagged: battery, hack | 4 comments»

Achieve Flow by Hacking Your Tasks

You know what it feels like to be completely engaged in a task. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi coined the term flow to describe this state. Flow is crucial to performing any intellectual task. But how do you achieve it?

Hack Your Tasks

You won’t get flow with the carrot or the stick. External pressures are unlikely to really engage you with your task. If you want to get… » Continue

May 3 2007 | By Guest | Tagged: flow, hack, task, time | 4 comments»

Speed up Adobe Reader 8.0

You can speed up the amount of time it takes Adobe Reader to boot by renaming one file in “Program Files.” Arsgeek explains how to do this very nicely:

I installed Acrobat Reader 8.0, and every single time I open a document, I was presented with a “please wait while the document is being prepared” message, that would sometimes stay for minutes as it indexed the entire document. This… » Continue

March 15 2007 | By Kyle | Tagged: adobe, hack, pdf, Technology | 4 comments»

Gmail Hack: Different Users From the Same Address

Flagrantdisregard.com have written a nice little piece on creating multiple users [writers] from the one gmail address. Their example for use is a parent who wants their young children to be able to send emails to friends and family without the parent needing to write it.
My kids, 6 and 4, are too young to have their own email accounts. Email software is too complex for them and they can’t type… » Continue

February 7 2007 | By Craig | Tagged: gmail, hack | 18 comments»

Poor Man Hack: Nike+iPod Sport Kit Shoe Mod

I got myself a Nike + iPod Sport Kit recently. Sometimes I buy a gadget because it is new and innovative, but this time it’s a rational purchase. I have a iPod nano and I want to exercise by running. Plus it is quite affordable.

What I don’t want is getting a new Nike+ shoes, at least not now. Frankly it is too expensive for me, plus I already have… » Continue

February 6 2007 | By Leon | Tagged: exercise, hack, ipod, shoe | 19 comments»

Email Hack: Using Draft instead of @Reply folder

At my current day job, email takes fair bit of my time. That’s why I find every opportunity to optimize my email workflow. I have been using @Reply, @Wait, and @Read folders for actionable emails and those can save me countless hours on searching those action required emails.

I have been testing my workflow a bit recently - mainly on moving emails that require replying to @Reply folder.

Now once… » Continue

October 9 2006 | By Leon | Tagged: email, hack, workflow | 16 comments»

Get Organized: on Spices, TV, Mail and Conversation

Meryl Evans at her blog shares some quick organization tips on conversation, mail, TV, spices. To save time and be organized in a small little section in your life will add up and save you a lot of time in long run. I like her conversation hack (yup, I need to keep reminding myself to drop everything down, now):

You run into someone who asks you for information or gives you… » Continue

September 26 2006 | By Leon | Tagged: hack, Productivity | no comments»

Remove Logos from your PDA with Sugar

This is an easy hack where you can remove any logo from your PDA or cellphone - like the branding logo from your service provider. The key is to use sugar cube to firmly rub on the logo. The sugar crystals are strong enough to remove the logo, but it is not strong enough to scratch the metal case.

Disclaimer: Use this hack at your own risk, and… » Continue

September 12 2006 | By Leon | Tagged: hack, hardware, pda | no comments»

Greatest Tools #7: Tie Rod Separator

Number 7 in the greatest tools of all time list is that weightiest of tools known as the Tie-Rod Separator. This hard forged tool is reminiscent of nothing so much as a giant tuning fork and its use will bring music to your ears. It is no less than twelve inches in length and has a great heft in the hand.

Here are a few of its greatest uses.