Archive for the ‘Featured’ Category

11 Ways to Think Outside the Box

Thinking outside the box is more than just a business cliché. It means approaching problems in new, innovative ways; conceptualizing problems differently; and understanding your position in relation to any particular situation in a way you’d never thought of before. Ironically, its a cliché that means to think of clichéd situations in ways that aren’t clichéd. We’re told to “think outside the box” all the time, but how exactly do we… Continue reading

November 6 2009 | By Dustin | Tagged: creativity, innovation, problem-solving, solution | 9 comments»

12 Lists That Help You Get Things Done

At the center of just about every personal productivity system are lists – GTD has it’s context lists, Pomodoro has it’s action inventory and daily to-do lists, todoodlist has, well, the todoodlist, and so on. But there are a lot of different kinds of lists besides your task or to-do list that can help you be more productive. Lists in general are powerful tools – open-ended, constantly growing… Continue reading

November 5 2009 | By Dustin | Tagged: checklist, list, online-tool, pen-and-paper, reference, software, task list, todo | 15 comments»

Make Email Your Servant (Not Your Master)

Let's be clear. Your email is not your work; it is simply a tool to help you do your work. But like any tool it can be ineffective or even dangerous when used wrongly. Here is how to make email your servant not your master. 1. Check your email inbox at set intervals. Do not have your email on and active in front of you all the time. For most people… Continue reading

November 4 2009 | By Paul | Tagged: contact, email, folder, message, outlook, twitter | 12 comments»

Your Happiness Plan

A Quick Survey Before we get under way with today’s briefer-than-normal chat, I want to conduct a little research on the run. Put up your hand if happiness is one of your aims in life. And no, participation is not optional at Stepcase Lifehack today. Yep, even you scaredy cats. Okay, keep ‘em up so I can count… 1001, 1002, 1003… yep; that’s all of you. Guessed as much. So it seems that… Continue reading

November 2 2009 | By Craig | Tagged: happiness, life, materialism, personal-development, planning | 13 comments»

Four Kinds of Vampires that Haunt Your Life (and What to Do About Them)

You are surrounded by vampires. They circle you, slowly, eyeing your throat, their teeth glistening in the moonlight. Your heart pounds in your chest as they move in, intent on draining your life's blood for their own unholy nourishment. A scream rises up in your chest as they close in on you, their fangs bared, and then you feel the first pair of teeth sinking into your throat. "Hey, Dustin, got a… Continue reading

October 31 2009 | By Dustin | Tagged: attention, halloween, no, time-wasters, vampire | 8 comments»

Being a Man in the 21st Century (Part 2)

Earlier this week, I began a discussion of the way that manhood in American society is changing. Today, I want to revisit the topic with some of my own ideas about how these changes could lead to a more enriching and satisfying take on masculinity. Before I do that, though, I want to say how thrilled I was at the response the first post got – I had never expected… Continue reading

October 30 2009 | By Dustin | Tagged: culture, identity, manhood, masculinity, men, work | 38 comments»

Review: aNobii for iPhone

aNobii.com is a cataloging and social networking website for booklovers. On aNobii you can catalog your book collection on a beautiful wooden shelf and meet people with similar reading tastes. aNobii has an international following with information on over 10 million books, including 200,000 book reviews spanning 15 languages. aNobii has just released an iphone app, and we've had a chance to try it out. The bottom line: this is… Continue reading

October 29 2009 | By Leon | Tagged: app, barcode, book, iphone, organizatoin, scanner | 7 comments»

Being a Man in the 21st Century (Part 1)

Manhood is changing. It's as simple, and as complicated, as that. Two recent events prompted me to write about manhood today. The first was the release of The Shriver Report, a study of the status of women in the United States. The second was the publication of The Art of Manliness, a book of advice on manhood based on the popular blog of the same name. The Shriver Report's… Continue reading

October 27 2009 | By Dustin | Tagged: body, culture, identity, manhood, masculinity, men, work | 27 comments»

How to Give a Great Speech: Part 2 Delivery

An important speech can be a worry. The keys for success are good preparation and confident delivery. If you have prepared your talk well and memorised the key points then you are ready to give a great performance. And it is a performance. Giving a talk should be much more than simply conveying information - it involves an element of drama and of theatre. Here are some tips: 1… Continue reading

October 26 2009 | By Paul | Tagged: address, delivery, keynote, presentation, public-speaking, speech, talk | 9 comments»

What Will You Learn Today?

A Typical Life? I gotta be honest, I really like my life. Of course I have my moments (being human and all), but for the most part, it rocks. Not a day goes by where I am not thankful for, or totally aware of, what I have and what I’ve been given. Of course it’s not always a normal, conventional or typical life by any means (but who has that?) –… Continue reading

October 23 2009 | By Craig | Tagged: attitude, learning, lifelong-learning, personal growth | 13 comments»

The Science of Motivation

What motivates you? While there are thousands, millions, maybe billions of answers to that question, a growing body of research, some of it dating back 50 years, shows two things that don’t motivate us very well – the promise of rewards and the threat of punishment. It seems counter-intuitive, since after all we take it for granted that we need incentives to do work. It’s the basis of our whole economic system… Continue reading

October 22 2009 | By Dustin | Tagged: goal, growth, learning, mission, motivation, personal growth, reward | 20 comments»

Getting Things (Re-)Started: Dealing with Mental Blocks

In any significantly big project, there are bound to be times when you lose the track of what you’re doing, when for whatever reason you stop moving forward and, what’s worse, can’t seem to find the motivation to get going again. When we “fall off the wagon” like that, a kind of psychological wall starts building up, making getting back in the swing of things seem more and more daunting… Continue reading

October 20 2009 | By Dustin | Tagged: creativity, mental-block, motivation, procrastination, work | 12 comments»

How to Give a Great Speech, Part 1: Preparation

If you have to give a keynote speech, an after-dinner talk, or an address to a group of customers or colleagues then preparation leads to success. Here are some key tips: 1. Investigate the audience. Find out as much as you can about your audience, their interests and their likely mood. What is it that they will want from your session - information, entertainment, tips, ideas, guidance? What will they have heard… Continue reading

October 19 2009 | By Paul | Tagged: presentation, public-speaking, speech | 15 comments»

9 More Apps to Help You Get More Out of Your Android Phone

With new android phones just out and even more on the way, I thought it would be a good time to release another list of neat-o Android apps. My last Android post (part 1 and part 2) focused on apps specifically for increasing your productivity; this post includes all manner of apps. Some will help you be more productive, some will just help you have more fun. (Note… Continue reading

October 16 2009 | By Dustin | Tagged: android, app, google, mobility, smartphone, software | 5 comments»

The Nature of Commitment

In a comment on my recent post about breaking up, someone asked if I'd write a follow-up about staying together. I've actually written about successful relationships before, based less on my own experience than on the work of relationship psychologists, so I'll just refer you there if you're looking for relationship advice. But thinking about what goes into a committed relationship got… Continue reading

October 14 2009 | By Dustin | Tagged: choice, commitment, mission, personal growth, purpose | 12 comments»

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