3 Things Today

I have long held that that which you measure you will improve. This seems to be true regardless of whether or not you make an extra effort to improve the thing you are measuring.

That is, just the act of measuring something seems to automatically get you to take steps to improvement.

So if you want to lose weight, hop on the scale every morning. If you want to save money calculate your Net Worth every month. If you want to read more, record the number of books you have read this year so far (and update the record weekly).

Another example of this comes from a recent Hydro One study where consumers are given monitoring devices that let them track their hydro usage in realtime. The result? Given a way to measure their usage people used less electricity:

“The bottom line is that this study — the largest ever conducted in Canada –¬†found an average¬†7 to 10 per cent reduction in electricity use over the course of a year, when compared to the same months and seaons in the previous year. This finding supports past studies, including one out of Oxford Unversity, that came to similar conclusions.”

Bloomberg:

““Spending income on experiences makes people much happier than spending on material goods (beyond a threshold of income). So to increase happiness, concentrate on experiences (diving, safari and concerts) rather than possessions (new house, fast cars or flashy watches).””

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 points out this cute little simulation game for improving your time management skills… so schedule some time to play it, why not?

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.”