Thought Lateral » productivity

#77 How do you know what the real priorities are?

Denver — Sun, 03 Oct 2010 15:54:56 +0000

It is very time efficient to do the priorities first, but a major inefficiency would be incorrectly identifying the priorities in the first place. What to do?

Quickly and accurately targeting a priority allows for more time to deal with it. The million dollar question then would be “How do you know what the real priorities are?”

In order to know the real priorities an end goal must be held in mind. With this future situation in mind think of the activity you need to do. Does it really matter to the achievement of the end goal? Or is it a extraneous time eater you can do without?

This simple technique can save much wasted effort, and help one achieve far more with far less.

#76 104 words that can increase your success

Denver — Sat, 02 Oct 2010 15:43:10 +0000

At the end of the day there was always enough time to get the important things done. If the important things did not happen (e.g. writing this post today) I only have myself to blame. 24 hours is given to each (no matter how much time we ‘save’), and I must admit if I have not accomplished the desired activities only I am responsible.

For this reason the priorities must be done first. All else is secondary. You can end the day with no accomplishments and a list of excuses, or you can end it with a list of accomplishments in the absence of excuses.

#60 Learn something new – technical

Denver — Thu, 16 Sep 2010 19:48:50 +0000

Brian Tracy, a time management guru, cites that what we know is sufficient to get us to today. To achieve and succeed in the future we must acquire and develop new skills and abilities.

This is even more true in the current information age in which we live. The fabric of our interactions is tearing and stitching together in complex ways with many new threads sewn in place.

Re-skill, add skill, complement skills, whichever is most suited to your desired end, it’s all good.

#46 Shave 100% of time off of the daily shave – shave every other day

Denver — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 09:00:29 +0000

Wet shaving with a razor every day can be a chore for men. Epilating is an option, though not many would take it.
Rather than scraping your skin as well as the intended hair, shaving every other day is another option to keeping your face scar free.
In addition to the direct benefits of being scar free, and saving time, the facial skin would obviously benefit from not bathing in a multitude of chemicals. Aqua, Palmitic Acid, Triethanolamine, Isopentane, Glyceryl Oleate, Stearic Acid, Isobutane, Sorbitol, Hydroxyethylcellulose, Parfum (??), PEG-90M, Glycerin, Linalool, Propylene Glycol, Sodium Nitrate, Butylphenyl Methylpropional, Glyoxal, Silica, Polysorbate 60, Disodium Phosphate, CI 45350, CI 42090 are the listed ingredients on a can of [famous brand] shaving gel I’ve just looked at. Well I did say “multitude” didn’t I?
Apparently shaving foam should not be used to clean rocks (gravestones in particular) as it can damage them, and is also more acidic than acid rain.

Hmmmm. Shaving every other day is sounds healthier as well as quicker the more I read about shaving foam.

Electric razor anyone?

#45 Turbo park your car the lateral way, literally – Sprintcuts video

admin — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 09:00:00 +0000

Some times the car needs to be parked, and the space is small.

In this video the stunt skilled driver displays how it can be done turbo style, with minimal fuss, and no to-ing and fro-ing. Forget parallel parking, this is the time saving method of lateral car parking. See how it’s done after the break…

(I love the info-graphics overlaid on that clip, awesome work!)

#40 For fast food, fast pour ketchup – Sprintcuts video

Denver — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 17:14:03 +0000

Continuing in the fast food line, waiting for gravity to act on ketchup can seem like the gastronomic equivalent of watching paint dry. Shake things up by increasing gravity, all without the headache of space travel after the break…

…or you can just buy a ketchup bottle with the nozzle on the bottom instead.

#39 How to fast fold a shirt in less than 5 seconds

admin — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 16:30:40 +0000

Doing the laundry can be such a chore, and a bore. So why not spice it up by practising some Japanese origami and get the job done far faster?

Watch how it’s done in the vid after the break, but beware! You’ll never look at a pile of washed clothes the same way again!

#38 How to quick peel a banana – Sprintcuts video

admin — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 16:28:19 +0000

Fast food is popular, and a very profitable business. Though we all know we should really be eating more fruit and vegetables to maintain health. Here is a blend of these ideas in a video of healthy fast food. And yes, it does blend well…

#37 How to keep your headphone cord tangle free – Sprintcuts video

Denver — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 16:20:59 +0000

The time it takes to untangle your life can be slightly shorter than the annoyance of untangling headphone cord, so it’s a good thing Sprintcuts came up with this time saving video….

#35 Speedily tie shoe laces – Sprintcuts video

admin — Sun, 22 Aug 2010 16:01:54 +0000

At this point in the Life Hack series we move into another category of life improvement hacks. A set of short videos helping to save time by speeding up an activity.

The first of these is a method of quickly tying shoe laces.

Sprintcuts: Speed-Tie Your Shoes

…my other shoes use velcro fastenings.