How to Get Audiobooks Onto Your Zune – and Off Again

Although I am a professional writer and blogger, although I keep up with the latest tech trends, although I am, might I say, something of a geek, I do not iPod. I don’t even iPhone. This is not a political nor even a religious position, it is simply the Way That It Is. When Microsoft released the Zune, I scoffed. Until one day, I sauntered past the Zune display at… Continue reading

July 3 | By Dustin | Tagged: | no comments»

How to Hire A Web Design Firm

July 3 By Susan | 1 comment»

How many times have you heard stories of people who hired web firms to design and develop their web sites and either got substandard sites or the developer ran off with their money? Or what about the entrepreneur who "hired" his nephew/friend/daughter to design the site for free, and the results were disasterous and this small business owner didn't feel comfortable offering much constructive criticism on a job done for… Continue reading

5 Components Your Business Web Site Needs

Last week I talked about why a strong web site is crucial to your business. Today I'm going to talk about five components your web site needs and why you need them. Bear in mind, however, that these five aren't the only components you need. At the end of the article, I'll mention a couple of other things you may want to include. Now, you can't just slap these components… Continue reading

June 17 | By Susan | Tagged: content, entrepreneur, home-based-business, small business, website | 11 comments»

Adobe Moves Closer to Online Office Suite with Presentations, Spreadsheets, Premium Plans for Businesses

Long-time readers of Lifehack know of my ongoing love affair with Adobe’s online word processor Buzzword, since last year part of the Acrobat.com suite of online applications. “Love affair” is not too strong a phrase, either – I like the interface and ease of use so much that I was inspired to write a book, Don’t Be Stupid: A Guide to Learning, Studying, and Succeeding at

June 16 | By Dustin | Tagged: acrobat.com, adobe, online-app, presentation, web2.0 | 5 comments»

Are you Satisfied?

In September of 1960, J.F. Kennedy engaged Richard Nixon in the first presidential candidates’ debate. Kennedy’s opening statement in that debate has now become the famous “I am not satisfied” speech. What Kennedy’s team rightly strategized was that in any competitive environment, political or businesses, sustainable success starts with focusing on your own house. You will not win the race by focusing on the competition. There are a number of reasons for this... Continue reading

June 16 | By Clemens | Tagged: branding, business, coaching, competition, customer, entreprenuership, leadership, Management, marketing, success | 6 comments»

Stripped GTD: 3 Habits That Make You More Productive

David Allen's Getting Things Done has been a huge help to me as I've created processes and systems for many of the things I do, be it writing, other work, or just budgeting my time so I can spend more of it doing the things I love. The problem with GTD, the snag I've hit time and time again trying to implement its practices, is that it's just so darn… Continue reading

June 15 | By David | Tagged: gtd, notebook, organization, Productivity, review | 14 comments»

Unplug For Greater Productivity

We've all experienced those days when we sat down at our desk with a long list of things to do, and yet somehow hours later we realize that we haven't done much, aside from checking our emails 5 times, spending hours at Lifehack.org, and instant messaging everyone we know. For those days, when you can't seem to beat the buzz, the greatest possible way you can ensure productivity… Continue reading

June 11 | By Ibrahim | Tagged: distraction, focus, paper, unplug | 16 comments»

Review of Bill Hybels, “Holy Discontent”

Review of Bill Hybels, Holy Discontent: Fueling the Fire that Ignites Personal Vision. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2007. What really sets you off? What are the things in life that really get your blood boiling? In this short, provocative, and easy-to-read book, Willow Creek’s Bill Hybels uses his pastoral fluency to challenge the reader to consider what he calls their “holy discontent,” which consists of a sort of God-given righteous… Continue reading

June 10 | By Art | Tagged: activism, book review, change, discontent, religion, spirituality | 9 comments»

Why A Good Web Site Matters To Your Business

For most businesses, a web site is one of the most important investments you can make. Entrepreneurs are either overspending or underspending on their web sites, and many have no idea what they're doing or why. So today I'm going to talk about why a good, solid web site really matters to your business, and in the next two weeks, I'll follow up with articles on the core components your… Continue reading

June 9 | By Susan | Tagged: entrepreneur, Management, small_business, Technology, web_site | 27 comments»

5 Ways to Set Your Goals in Stone

Most of us set goals for our lives. Whether the goal is to climb Everest or to buy a pair of shoes, setting goals can sometimes seem like second nature to us. Even so, setting a goal doesn't automatically mean getting the result. Sometimes goals are gradually forgotten about and fade away into the back of our minds. Motivation is the biggest goal killer. When we first… Continue reading

June 8 | By Paul | Tagged: achievement, desire, goal, motivation, passion | 15 comments»

Wisebread Book Contest Winner

Congratulations to Sandy177, who was randomly selected as the winner of a copy of Wisebread’s book 10,001 Ways to Live Large on a Small Budget. Thanks to everyone who entered, and especially thanks to all of you for providing great tips on living well while spending little. If you haven't already, check out the comments on my review of the book and read 118 great tips from your… Continue reading

June 8 | By Dustin | Tagged: contest, wisebread | no comments»

GTD Refresh, Part 4: Getting Sorted

Last week, I talked about finally getting my projects in order. Of course, that’s not a one-time thing, but I’m not quite ready to talk about the process of bringing new projects into my lists just yet, whether “on-the-fly” or as part of my weekly review.

But getting a grip on my projects, both big (there’s a book proposal I want to write) and small… Continue reading

June 5 | By Dustin | Tagged: file, gtd, gtd-refresh, paper, project | 7 comments»

10 More from the Webware 100

Last week, I looked at the apps chosen by CNet for the productivity section of the Webware 100. There were, however, 10 other sections – 9 categories of apps voted for as top in their class and an extra categories of apps chosen by the editors at CNet. This week, I want to look at a selection of applications from the rest of the Webware 100… Continue reading

June 4 | By Dustin | Tagged: backup, image-editing, online, search, software, sync, twitter, web-app, webware-100 | 6 comments»

Nap time

Napping is one of the best, most underused tools for busy people. It is frowned upon by many people and is viewing as something for the elderly and children. Mention napping and you could be seen as lazy, depressed and unwilling to work. The majority of people experience drowsiness in the afternoon and notice their productivity and mood starting to slip and napping will help combat this. It… Continue reading

June 3 | By Paul | Tagged: energy, nap, napping, rest, sleep | 20 comments»

Improve Your Charitable Giving: Let Not Your Left Hand Know What Your Right Is Doing

According to virtually every religious and ethical tradition, meaningful charity does not draw attention to the giver, and dignified charity does not draw attention to the recipient. Here I will offer an economist's perspective on the Biblical injunction to "let not the right hand know what the left is doing" in charitable giving and will argue that this results in more efficient charity (meaning that it increases the bang we… Continue reading

June 2 | By Art | Tagged: charity, economics, giving, Money | 8 comments»

Great Ways to Become Poor and Stay Poor

Nobody plans to become poor and yet a great many people end up poor. Here are some of the best known ways of ensuring a life of penury: 1. 'We don't need no education...' If you drop out of school or fail to achieve a basic education then you will severely restrict your chances of employment. What is more it is difficult to acquire further skills if you lack the basic ones. … Continue reading

June 1 | By Paul | Tagged: addiction, education, job, Money, opportunity, plan, poor, poverty, wealth | 32 comments»

GTD Refresh, Part 3: Projects

Months ago now, I announced I was going to “reboot” my GTD setup, returning as close to an “orthodox”, by-the-book GTD setup as I could manage. Out the gate, I started “off”, working not from tasks up but from the middle, David Allen’s 30,000 and 40,000-foot levels, by drawing up a mindmap of my areas of focus and my vision for myself in a few years time.… Continue reading

May 29 | By Dustin | Tagged: gtd, gtd-refresh, next-action, nozbe, project, task | 6 comments»