Productivity Tips and Software Recommendations – No Evident Investigative Leads

Don’t enter the black hole of the inbox off hours because you’re afraid you'll forget something. Use these services instead to keep focused, whether on completing a critical project or simply enjoying the weekend. > Jott ( www.jott.com ) Capture thoughts, create to-do’s, and set reminders with a simple toll-free phone call. The service transcribes your message (15-30 seconds) and e-mails it to whomever you want, including yourself, or to your Google calendar for automatic scheduling. Jott also enables you to post voice message links to Twitter (www.twitter.com), Facebook (www.facebook.com), and other services that tend to consume hours if you visit the sites themselves. > Copy talk ( www.copytalk.com ) Dictate any message up to four minutes and have the transcription e-mailed to you within hours. Excellent for brainstorming, and the accuracy is astounding. Preventing Web Browsing Completely > Freedom ( http://www. ibiblio.org/fred/freedom/_) Freedom is a free application that disables networking on an Apple computer for 1-480 mintues (up to eight hours) at a time. Freedom will free you from the distractions of the Internet, allowing you the focus to get real work done. Freedom enforces freedom; a reboot is the only method for turning Freedom off before the time limit you’ve set for yourself. The hassle of rebooting means you’re less likely to cheat, and you'll be more productive. Experiment with the software for short periods of time at first (30-60 minutes.) => COMFORT CHALLENGE Revisit the Terrible Twos (2 Days) For the next two days, do as all good two-year-olds do and say “no” to all requests. Don’t be selective. Refuse to do all things that won’t get you immediately fired. Be selfish. As with the last exercise, the objective isn’t an outcome—in this case, eliminating just those things that waste time—but the process: getting comfortable with saying “no.” Potential questions to decline include the following: Do you have a minute? Want to see a movie tonight/tomorrow? Can you help me with X” “No” should be your default answer to all requests. Don’t make up elaborate lies or you'll get called on them. A simple “I really can’t—sorry; ve got too much on my plate right now” will do as a catch-all response. HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_013868