Posts Tagged ‘writing’

How to Write in 140 Characters or Less

On Wednesday, I wrote a set of tips on writing (http://is.gd/wlJ). I had in mind business and similar situations where solid writing counts.

Joel, also of Lifehack, linked to the post on his blog (http://is.gd/wlU), saying I should do a guide to writing in 140 characters or less.

With Twitter fast becoming an important marketing tool - maybe THE important marketing tool (http://is.gd/wlZ) - there’s… » Continue

June 13 2008 | By Dustin | Tagged: concise, short, twitter, writing | 30 comments»

How to Write (in a thousand words or less)

I’ve written about editing, eliminating distractions, getting started – it’s time to get down to basics. Too many people don’t know how to write. Period. Yeah, they can make marks on paper, but when it comes to making a clear, compelling, and meaningful statement, especially one more than 140 characters long, they fail.

So here, in no particular order, are 17 ways to make your… » Continue

June 11 2008 | By Dustin | Tagged: business, communicating, editing, student, writing | 18 comments»

Saving Time on Routine Tasks: Optimized Writing

Last time we looked at saving time on routine tasks, we found a few ways to optimize our reading process. Today, we’re covering the opposite side of the same coin with optimized writing. Technically, we’ll spend more time on optimizing your typing than writing, but in this day and age there’s really not much of a difference.

Using your computer, by nature, involves writing. You no doubt write something at… » Continue

May 21 2008 | By Joel | Tagged: efficiency, email, instant messenger, optimization, sms, writing | 5 comments»

Polish Your Writing to Professionalism: Three Tips for Self-Editing

The ability to write without errors is crucial, whether you are writing for the whole world to see, or just your department. Even a few typos can make a writer look beyond unprofessional — errors imply laziness and poor presentation in much the same way that a stained shirt shows a lack of effort at a business meeting.

But, important as good spelling and grammar are, errors can slip… » Continue

April 17 2008 | By Thursday | Tagged: editing, grammar, proofreading, spelling, writing | 14 comments»

The Ultimate Writing Productivity Resource

Last week, I launched a new site I’d been working on for several months, dedicated to technology and the writing life. Since I’ve been eating, drinking, breathing, and sleeping "writing" all week, it seemed natural to pull together some of the tools, sites, and Lifehack.org tips I know of that can help make writers more productive, organized, and creative.

Note: Maybe you don’t consider yourself a… » Continue

March 31 2008 | By Dustin | Tagged: creativity, editing, publishing, revision, writers, writing | 51 comments»

How to Write a Business Letter That Gets Results

I can’t tell you how many truly awful letters I’ve had to read in my life. As a former administrative assistant, I was responsible for all the unsolicited submissions to a major New York museum. Artists and collectors all over the country (and abroad) wrote to have their work considered for display or acquisition, and to be honest the decision frequently rested more on the quality of their cover… » Continue

March 10 2008 | By Dustin | Tagged: business, Communication, letter, persuasion, writing | 16 comments»

How to Start a Writing Critique Group

Did you say you were going to start writing that book this year? If you’re looking for a way to honor your word(s) and put your writing life in action, starting a writing critique group will catapult your accountability and get you in community with your peers. It will also sit you next to writers who have an intention to publish. At the very least it will help you… » Continue

March 4 2008 | By Lisa | Tagged: critique_group, writer, writing | 18 comments»

Stay on Track with a Treadmill Journal

Nobody knows more tricks and hacks to keep themselves working towards their goals than writers! From getting fired up to start to knowing when to quit — and all the struggles to keep on going in between — writers need every dollop of motivational help they can scrape up.

One trick that some writers use is a “treadmill journal”. Unlike a typical journal, a treadmill journal is a single-purpose journal… » Continue

February 29 2008 | By Dustin | Tagged: journal, motivation, project, sticking_point, tasks, time_management, writing | 16 comments»

Beat Blank Page Syndrome: 10 Tricks to Get Your Writing Started

Anyone who writes, whether for school, for work, or for a living knows the scene: you sit there, a blank document open on your computer screen, that little cursor silently (accusingly?) blinking away, and your mind a complete blank. You know overall what you want to say, but how do you get there?

Fortunately, there are ways to beat that blank page into submission. The trick isn’t to obsess… » Continue

February 6 2008 | By Dustin | Tagged: block, starting, writing | 36 comments»

Lifehack Live for February 4, 2008

[display_podcast]

This week I talked with author, teacher, hypnotherapist, and creativity expert Jurgen Wolff. To learn more about Jurgen, check out his blog Time to Write, as well as check out his projects at BrainstormNet, TimeToWrite.com, and Your Writing Coach. You can also subscribe to his free monthly brainstorming bulletin by sending an email to BstormUK@aol.com.

Be sure to enter this

» Continue

February 4 2008 | By Dustin | Tagged: creativity, jurgenwolff, Podcast, writing | 4 comments»

Tips and Tricks for Distraction-Free Writing

If you do a lot of writing, you already know the benefits of a distraction-free writing environment. It’s hard to keep yourself on-task when there are noise, people interrupting you, or the ever-present temptation of Desktop Tower Defense only a click or two away on your PC. It’s especially hard when you reach a rough patch and it’s so much easier to do something else than think your… » Continue

January 16 2008 | By Dustin | Tagged: concentration, distraction, software, tool, writing | 31 comments»

How To Use Your Blog To Make 2008 Your Best Year Ever!

Introspection, and self-actualization are two thought processes that are very unique to the human species. You may be surprised to learn that one of the best ways to discover your potential is to somehow keep track of your progress as well as your thoughts in various instances of life.
The reason that blogging happens to be the perfect medium for recording such ideas is that it’s much more than… » Continue

January 11 2008 | By Alex | Tagged: blogging, creativity, writing | 31 comments»

Introducing Our New Podcast: Lifehack Live

[display_podcast]

Because the end of the year isn’t busy enough, this week lifehack.org is launching a new podcast series, Lifehack Live. Every week, we’ll be discussing personal development, productivity, organization, and creativity with our guests — and with you! Lifehack Live is recorded using the BlogTalkRadio system, which allows us to broadcast a live stream during the show, and take callers while we’re recording.

It’s going to take… » Continue

December 24 2007 | By Dustin | Tagged: interview, Podcast, procrastination, Productivity, project, writing | 2 comments»

Do Your Emails Suck? How to Write Emails That Get Results

Feel like a slave to your inbox? Improve your writing and you’ll save plenty of time by eliminating miscommunications and the need for follow-up. Email management productivity tips can only do so much if you don’t know how to write an effective email. That doesn’t mean you have to strive for lyrical prose in every message (though I always welcome lyrical prose in my inbox). The key is to… » Continue

December 19 2007 | By Pamela | Tagged: email, work, writing | 12 comments»

Write Here, Write Now, Write Anywhere: 13 Free Web-Based Word Processors

Imagine the situation: You’re visiting your parents’ home for the holidays, a thousand miles from your own PC, when inspiration strikes, a brilliant idea for the next plot twist in your novel! Or consider: you’re on a business trip and your laptop is stolen — and the proposal you’re working on is due tomorrow! Or you’re on campus when you remember you have an assignment due in two… » Continue

December 14 2007 | By Dustin | Tagged: online, software, webapp, word_processor, writing | 35 comments»

« Previous Entries