Ronald Reagan Was A List Maker!

I take copious notes while doing just about anything.

1. Phone Calls: I jot down keywords and phrases so I don’t forget details and can go back and reference what was said later.

2. Magazines & Books: I write down ideas or websites I want to check out as I skim through the pages.

3. Movies & TV: I’ll get a thought and have to write down a note or two about what I’m watching.

My husband thinks it’s a colossal waste of time but it turns out I’m not alone in this obsessive little habit. Former President Ronald Reagan did a similar thing!

A book called “The Notes: Ronald Reagan’s Private Collection of Stories and Wisdom,” is a collection of Reagan’s personal notes. He jotted down his favorite quotes, jokes and proverbs on 4-by-6 index cards and kept them locked away in the Oval Office. The only other person who had seen these lists was his beloved wife, Nancy.

The book says that Reagan picked up list making while he was working as a spokesman for General Electric in the 1950s. He would read during long train rides and write notes on what he thought was most important. Read more

Say Goodbye to Distractions and Stay on Task!

Puppy Personal Ads

(Photo credit: Out.of.Focus)

Apps, texts, cute puppy photos, prank YouTube videos, Facebook feeds, and delicious foods on Pinterest are just some of the distractions that I am faced with on the daily. I mean how can you focus at work when your friend just sent you the funniest Buzzfeed link?!

It’s hard to “turn off” from all this distracting technology to accomplish a task – so, for today’s “Fab Find” I found some awesome apps to help block out the “noise” of everyday life, and get focused!

Computer Apps 

1. SelfControl
Some days it’s just too hard to be good and not check your favorite Twitter feed.  This app will deny you access to your social media sites for the amount of time you choose. You are still able to access the Internet — just no more “liking” cute dog photos, at least for a little while.

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I’m Hosting a Free Productivity Apps Webinar

A few weeks ago I hosted a free webinar – “Boost your Productivity in 2014“. I really enjoyed sharing all of my tips with you and one of the most frequently asked question was about which apps I find most useful. So, I am happy to announce that on February 26th at 8pm EST, I will holding my 2nd FREE webinar : Productivity Apps!!

If you follow my blog, then you know I love all kinds of apps and just can’t get enough of them! I am constantly researching and testing out new ones to see which work best for my productive needs. Apps have recently been taking over my “Fab Find” column on Fridays.

When I see people using the “Notes” app on their iPhones to keep their to-do’s or tasks, I literally cringe thinking back to when I used to do the same! There are so many great apps out there that blow “Notes” right out of the water. And don’t fear – they are mostly all free!

Make Conference Calls More Productive!

I use conference calls all the time – whether it’s for interviews, chatting with fellow co-workers, or with my interns to brainstorm ideas for this blog. Having a way to contact your clients is important to any business. There are a lot of companies that offer internet and phone services (view online) for businesses that are looking for phone solutions to help them keep in contact with their clients. Group calls always seem like a good idea until you get on them. It’s easy to lose track of who is talking or what the topic is at hand with so many people trying to talk at once. It can get overwhelming and unproductive fast! Freelance business relay conference calls to keep in touch with clients and potential customers so having a business phone could be very helpful – see more at https://www.megapath.com/voice/.

So for this week’s “Fab Find” I want to share a website and app called Speek which makes conference calls super easy and simple! You can sign up for a unique URL for free and share it with people when you want to conduct a call. I have been testing it out this week and have come up with a list:

Pros:

1. Multiple ways to join the call: You can do it the old fashioned way by dialing the number and pin provided on the URL. Or you can have Speek call you. All you have to do is type in your number and in seconds your phone is ringing. Similar services are offered by a VoIP Provider. My favorite way to connect through is through your computer. The site will connect to your speakers and microphone and you can chat right through the computer. I love this option because you can be hands-free and are able to take notes or pull up files while on the call.

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This Productivity Tip Will Blow Your Mind

Screen shot 2014-02-02 at 5.03.39 PMI use Twitter every day to gather news, ideas, recipes, and the occasional “cute emergency.” I often “favorite” tweets with articles so I can read them later. They are usually ideas for blog posts, interesting tidbits, and, of course, productivity tips. I have all of these stockpiled in my “favorite tweets” but I never actually go back to read them. NEVER. What a waste, right?

Then I found IFTTT.com and discovered the most amazing productivity tip ever! “If this then that” is a service that allows you to connect different apps and sites (channels as they call them) to create your own “recipe” or action that you want your media channels to perform.

IFTTT.com has almost 10,000 pages of different “recipes” to choose from or you can create your very own for pretty much any function. For example, want to know when there will be a chance of rain? Create a recipe to receive a text whenever a drizzle or thunderstorm is near – no more bad hair days! Or want to save all your Instagram photos to your computer? There is a recipe that will automatically save them to Dropbox.

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