Episodes

Tuesday Apr 23, 2013
ProdPod: Episode 62 -- Best-Practices for Blog Reading
Tuesday Apr 23, 2013
Tuesday Apr 23, 2013
The blogosphere is not a new invention, although it was only recently embraced by media and the general consumer public in the late 90s. What does this mean for you and me? Well, it is likely a cornucopia of potentially amazing (and maybe not-so-amazing) content for us. So that reading all this great blog content doesn't become unwieldy, overflowing and overwhelming in our lives, I've put together a series of best-practices (pardon the corporate-speak) to keep Blog Reading a practice of compound benefits to your productivity.
1. Let's start with what you should and shouldn't follow in terms of blogs and bloggers. Less than three major media outlets...the sometimes pump out hundreds of articles per day and it can quickly overwhelm; if they have best-of feeds that limit to just the most important. Monthly purge of articles from blogs which you haven't read *any* posts...this keeps your list manageable. You can only read so much, and you owe it to yourself to find the material that best suits your personal tastes and professional needs.
2. Use an RSS feed reader, like Feedly, to combine all your blog reading into one centralized repository. I have keep two different accounts: one for personal and one for professional reading. You likely don't need that separation, but I need to so I don't get enticed into reading about cognitive neuroscience, personal productivity and electronics gadgets at the office when I should really be reading professional industry blogs!
3. Process this RSS feed reader inbox into Pocket, Instapaper, Readability or another reader app for offline reading if you can't read all the articles in your RSS feed reader in one sitting and you know you'll have time away from your computer or laptop, where you can bang through those articles that same day.
3. Once you set up your RSS feed reader, make the determination whether you will have a master feed from which to process incoming posts, or whether you'll use folders to segment groups of blog feeds together based on category or context. I have days when one or the other method is best suited for me, and I like being able to use different folders for context (@airport, @subway, @brain-dead, etc.) while at times just looking at All Items view and just processing from the master spigot of articles. You decide which best works for you.
4. Every morning, midday or evening before whenever you look at your RSS feed reader again, make sure to clear out your items in your reader app. This way, you don't start to compound reading material that you just aren't going to get to. One trick is to make sure to categorize by tagging every item you receive in your RSS feed reader (either automatically if it's available in your application, or manually as you select the important articles you want to read or reference later, as opposed to something you'd *like* to read for fun but isn't important enough to tag or track), as well as those you add to your reader app. That way, if you just swiftly archive everything you haven't read any given morning you can always retrieve the important reference materials from the category tags in the future quickly and easily. Don't depend on the built-in search functionality of your RSS feed reader or reader app to do the job only your brain can do of cataloging items you believe are important.
So there you have it, a set of techniques for making blog reading a well-greased productivity engine!

Thursday Mar 28, 2013
ProdPod: Episode 61 — Personal Life Action Negotiation (PLAN), Part Two
Thursday Mar 28, 2013
Thursday Mar 28, 2013
In episode 60, I presented an introduction to a personal development plan, but for your personal life, called the Personal Life Action Negotiation (with the acronym, PLAN). In this episode, I'll cover three guidelines for an effective PLAN.

Wednesday Mar 27, 2013
ProdPod: Episode 60 -- Personal Life Action Negotiation (PLAN), Part One
Wednesday Mar 27, 2013
Wednesday Mar 27, 2013
I'm developing a personal life planning tool called the Personal Life Action Negotiation (with the appropriate acronym, PLAN). In this episode, I explain the reasoning and overview. In episode 61, I give the general guidelines for creating a PLAN that works for you. Enjoy!

Tuesday Mar 19, 2013
ProdPod: Episode 59 -- Habit
Tuesday Mar 19, 2013
Tuesday Mar 19, 2013
I came across this poem (who's author is unknown to me) several years ago and I think it's definitely worth sharing. If you haven't yet listened to Episodes 12 to 15 on habit development, go check those out after listening to this episode. Enjoy!
Habit
I will push you onward or drag you down to
failure.
I am completely at your command.
over to me and I will do them - quickly and
correctly.
Show me exactly how you want something done
and after a few lessons, I will do it automatically.
and alas, of all failures as well.
Those who are great, I have made great.
Those who are failures, I have made failures.
I work with the precision of a machine
plus the intelligence of a person.
it makes no difference to me.
I will place the world at your feet.
I am your constant companion.
I am your greatest helper or heaviest burden.
Half of the things you do you might as well turn
I am easily managed - you must be firm with me.
I am the servant of great people,
I am not a machine though
You may run me for profit or run me for ruin -
Take me, train me, be firm with me, and
Be easy with me and I will destroy you.
Who am I? I am Habit.

Thursday Mar 14, 2013
ProdPod: Episode 58 -- Paperless 2013
Thursday Mar 14, 2013
Thursday Mar 14, 2013
Google and several other companies have recently convened the Paperless Coalition [http://paperless2013.org] to help you "take the paper out of 'paperwork!'" In this episode, learn about the Paperless 2013 and go paperless in 2013!
According to their website:
Why should you go paperless?
If you do the quick math, that's conservatively two billion sheets of paper used every year just in the United States! We know better and we can do better...and the benefits are great for us...greater efficiency and higher productivity at work and at work.
It just takes small decisions and workflow changes. Using tools like Google Drive, HelloSign, and Nitro (which is a PDF creation tool) changes the print and paper chase of working to seamlessly collaborating and sharing documents and file without a single fiber of tree having to be used.
On the flip side, the companies like Lemon Digital Wallet, ShoeBoxed.com and Fujitsu's ScanSnap help you turn paper into digital files so that you can defeat the paper monster once and for all. The efficiences that can be found by having all your documents in one central, digital repository (even if you do keep the physical paper around for tax, legal, financial or other logical safekeeping).
While not a Paperless Coalition member, I am a big fan of Evernote and use that to capture my paper notebook pages after I go to a meeting so that even though I like the kinesthetic benefits of handwriting notes, I can still go paperless quickly and easily. With the Google Drive smartphone application, you can snap a photo and upload it directly to a Notebook folder as well.
You can find them at paperless2013.org where you can sign up for their monthly e-newsletter with tips and tools. I hope this sparks your interest in going paperless and gets you started toward a Paperless 2013.
According to the US Environmental Protection Agency, the average US office worker uses 10,000 sheets of copy paper each year. In 2010, the amount of paper recovered for recycling averaged 334 pounds for each person living in the US, according to the American Forest & Paper Association.

