Oprah’s Most Inspirational Advice

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English: Oprah Winfrey at the White House for ...

English: Oprah Winfrey at the White House for the 2010 Kennedy Center Honors (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Oprah Winfrey has taught me so much about giving, being a good listener, and striving to achieve your goals. She’s been a part of my life since I began watching her show when I was young and has become more of a role model as I’ve gotten older.

She’s certainly given us a lot of wisdom over the last 60 years! Here are my 10 favorite pieces of advice from Oprah in honor of her 60th birthday:

1. You become what you believe

2. When people show you who they are, believe them the first time.

3. Turn your wounds into wisdom. Read more

5 Ways To Think About Time

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It was my goal when I started this blog that I would be able to help others become more organized and productive. I hope that if you’re using the tips and tricks on this blog, you’ve started saving a lot of time!

It can be so easy to use that extra time to get a jump start on the next day, start a new project, or shorten your to-do list, but I’ve realized recently that that “extra” time isn’t really extra at all. I’m going through some pretty exciting changes (we just closed on an apartment – yay!) and as I prepare to leave some old things behind to make way for the new, I’ve noticed a few important things about time:

1. Time is ephemeral – once it’s gone, it’s gone for good and you can’t save a single second for later use. When you decide to put your goals, your dreams, or the things that make you happy on hold for later, unfortunately time won’t save up until you’re ready. Read more

Fab Find: PocketSuite Connects You With Small Businesses Nearby

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A friend of mine is getting married and has been really into getting fit before the big day! I wanted to get her personal training as an engagement gift, but I don’t live near her so I struggled researching nearby gyms and reading several conflicting reviews on the internet. It was important to me to find the right person for her because I didn’t want to waste my money or her time. Then I discovered PocketSuite, the app that would solve my dilemma!

PocketSuite is designed to connect freelancers, personal assistants, trainers, and small business owners with clients in their area. The app helps you find professionals based on your location for a wide variety of services. Simply sign up, attach a credit card to your account, and then PocketSuite handles:

  • Scheduling Appointments – The app maintains a calendar of appointments, making it easy for you to find the best available appointment time for your busy schedule. Read more

5 Ways to be a Better Complainer and Get What You Want

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United Breaks Guitars

United Breaks Guitars (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

A few weeks ago, I told you about an app that helps you skip the wait-time when calling customer service. However, just because you get to talk to a person faster doesn’t necessarily mean you’re going to get what you want. I’ve had amazing customer service, but I’ve also had really horrendous help that leaves me so frustrated. You know what I mean – it can be really hard to keep your cool when the stranger on the other end of the phone is being difficult about their company shipping you the wrong pair of pants.

A few years ago Dave Carroll was flying United Airlines when he noticed that the people loading the plane were throwing his guitar around, resulting in a broken guitar when he landed. He spent months dealing with United’s customer service, only to discover that they weren’t going to do a thing about his smashed guitar. Dave took matters into his own hands, writing the song “United Breaks Guitars” and exposing the airline’s bad behavior in a viral video that resulted in United reaching out to David and offering to replace his unusual guitar. Now, when the rest of us have to get a new guitar, we can’t quite get United Airlines to send one for us. Instead, we can compare a range of small bodied guitars on a site like thesoundjunky until we find the guitar that is right for us.
I know that we don’t all have the luxury (or the musical ability) to handle bad customer service the way Dave did, but here are a few ways anyone can complain smarter and get better customer service: Read more

6 Productivity Shortcuts To Save You Time

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Recently, a friend told me she heard a statistic that claimed that the average American living in suburbia can spend up to 3 years of their life waiting at traffic lights. I live in NYC so this time-waster doesn’t apply to me directly, but it really got me thinking about how I might be wasting time even in my very productive life. I’ve written before on the basics – laying out your clothes the night before, having a plan for the morning, etc – but I believe that just like goals are achieved by focusing on the small steps, maximum productivity is achieved through shortcuts.

Here are a few of my favorites:

1. Using keyboard shortcuts – The tech experts at brainwave.com estimate that you save 2 seconds per minute when you use keyboard shortcuts (vs. reaching for the mouse). If that doesn’t seem like a lot of time – that 2 seconds per minute adds up to 8 workdays per year – that’s an extra vacation!

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