3 Things Today

GC has a good review of Is Your Genius at Work:

“When I say I’ve been interacting with the book, I mean that I’ve been doing (and repeating…and revisiting….) the simple exercises Dick provides in the book. The exercises approach the challenge of finding your genius from a lot of different angles, to enable you to get a glimpse of the essence of your power. I feel like I’m getting closer, but I haven’t gotten the “buzz” that others in the book describe when they finally name their genius”

Doug talks about how avoiding distraction is the real key to greater productivity:

“Now, I think I’ve used almost every type of text editor, word processor, mark-up system (e.g., LaTeX, SGML, HTML and XML), outliner, web-based editor, and personal content management system over the past 20-odd years. I’m to the point where I can compare and contrast how various systems and methods work for me. I’ve learned that –for me to truly write quickly, creatively and well– the key is keeping things basic and focussed.”

Kadavy has the best list so far for 8 Life Hacks for Health, Wealth, and Happiness : kadavy.net:

“I‚Äôve noticed in my short existence that I tend to do many things differently from most people. Some of those things probably work just as well, whereas others make me wonder ‚Äúwhy doesn‚Äôt everyone do this?‚Äù Here are eight things that may make you feel like you‚Äôre cheating the system, too”

I agree with the entire list - especially walk, live small, and under-organize.

Devilishly difficult to let ourselves submit to some of these lifestyle changes and so rewarding if we do.

Sodawar is on week two of seriously trying daily affirmations as a way to improve personal performance:

“I‚Äôm still surprised by just how effective they can be at times, and I often find myself repeating my affirmations if I‚Äôm feeling low. They don‚Äôt completely remove the negativity, but they certainly make a difference.”

LifeHacker thinks a bit about the biggest time wasters. So often we are working on saving time but if we could simply waste less there would be more than enough left over.

Topping the list, Instant Messaging and Online Gaming.

For the really hands-on minded, DIYPlanner has this piece on making and binding your own books:

“Today, I‚Äôm going to show you how to fold the folios, make a single signature, awl punch the paper and then sew your book with a bookbinding needle and waxed thread. While I am giving instructions to create a digest (5.5‚Äù by 4.25‚Äù) sized book, you are welcome to cut your paper to make your book any size you want.”

43Folders outlines Merlin’s system for keeping everything in text files:

“I use applications like OmniOutliner, iCal, and (formerly) Entourage to organize the relationships between silos in my life; but text files are the living repositories for as much of the actual information as I can manage.”

Merlin shares his kGTD setup:

“While I‚Äôm not prepared to do a major sales presentation, I am happy to oblige the folks who wanted to see how I‚Äôve set mine up. Also gives you a little window into my current contexts (as well as my atrocious personal habits).”

I can also vouch for kGTD - if you have a Mac and you are with your Mac most of the day, its the best!

David Seah has been exploring these waterproof notebooks for writing ideas with his Fisher Space Pen in the shower:

“A basic no-frills sketch book of 42 blank sheets‚Äîexcept unlike your average sketch paper, these sheets are waterproof. ¬†If you sketch in the field when there‚Äôs a chance of rain‚Äîor a chance of dropping the book in a stream‚Äîyou can feel assured that your artistic creations will not be lost.”

Mark Cuban picks out his favorite posts how how he became successful:

“I get so many questions about how I got¬†‚Äùlucky‚Äù so many times,¬†things I have done that have worked or not.¬†Experiences I have had. This series of entries, written more than¬† a year ago, I think,¬†bring back some great memories for me and I think are worth sharing again.”