Displaying All Posts from August, 2010

What’s Your Avatar?

Nowadays, with photos on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, even individual blog comments, you’re often judged based on your avatar. That postcard-sized picture says a lot about you. Depending on the image you choose, you might come off as professional or playful, creative or cookie-cutter, silly or somber.

Due to privacy concerns, some people opt for a symbol (a typewriter for a writer, a gavel for a lawyer) instead of a photograph. Others choose a cartoon alter ego or some sort of artistic representation (for instance, a close-up of the just the eyes or a silhouette). Still others use an actual photo, whether it’s a professional headshot, a candid photo snapped by a friend, or a self-portrait courtesy of an iPhone.

I use a photo taken by a photographer friend. We staged a photo shoot at a local writer’s space to create a literary vibe, also incorporating props like my laptop and books plucked from the shelves to reflect my love of words.

How did you choose your online image? What sort of impression did you want to create? Click Here to Read Article …

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Productive Kitchen Gadgets #1: The Microplane

In an earlier article, I touched upon fast cooking tips for increasing productivity in the kitchen. Kitchen gadgets have become increasingly prevalent in this day and age – and we all know how much productivity-types get into their gadgets!

The first kitchen gadget I would like to feature is the microplane. Click Here to Read Article …

Book Review: The 4-Hour Workweek

Unless you are running on a different clock than the rest of us, you only have 168 hours to do what you need to do each week.  Figure at least 29% of that has to be used for sleep, and another 6% just for eating.  So that leaves you about 108 hours per week to split between work and fun.  If you’re like most folks, it’s not unusual to see over 60 hours per week spent on commuting to and from work, as well as on work itself.

And why do you work this many hours?  Oh, right – it’s so you can retire and not do any more work. Click Here to Read Article …

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Can You Make Ends Meet on a Single Income?

My wife and I made a conscious decision roughly 20 years ago to live on a single income. At the time, we just had our first child and we didn’t feel right leaving her at day care all day long. Also, my wife really wanted to be home with our daughter. At that time, my wife and I were making roughly the same salary. So, in effect, we basically took a 50% pay cut by having her stay at home and live off of one income. Eventually we went through all of our savings. In time, due to increases in my salary, we were able to stabilize and start saving money for the future – but this took many years. Click Here to Read Article …

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Are Desk Phones A Dead Technology?

The landline telephone was invented over a hundred years ago, and it has since evolved into nation-wide data networks, mobile phones and hands-free headsets, all of which can be incredible productivity tools. You can close a business deal while you cook dinner, manage your bank account on a bus, interview an applicant during your drive to work or touch base with your colleagues with both hands on a fishing pole or a golf club. Click Here to Read Article …

Project Management Software Review: 5pm

My boyfriend’s company recently switched project management tools and my boyfriend was so happy with the new program, 5pm, that he told me all about it (yeah, we’re geeks).  I quickly became very curious about the seemingly great features and so I signed up for 5pm’s 14-day free trial. Click Here to Read Article …

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Who Is Your Mentor?

There are some things that you knew how to do from the moment you arrived on this planet.  Eating – yup, sleeping – yup, and a few other related “projects”.  But for everything else you do, you had to learn by watching or listening to someone else.  You might have done this as a child, watching your parents make funny noises until you realized it was their own language.  Or you might have learned this as a teenager, learning how to drive a car with the help of a very patient parent or a professional instructor. Click Here to Read Article …

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Does Value-Based Compensation Increase Productivity?

Within the model of value-based compensation, you are rewarded strictly for results. The amount of hours spent or the degree of effort is irrelevant; you are paid only for tangible, measurable value produced, regardless of the duration or difficulty of the work.

For those used to a predictable hourly wage, value-based compensation may sound risky. Work impediments like sudden sickness or family emergencies can show up later as missing money on your paycheck. Most feel that the employer should handle the ups and downs of the business and provide workers with a steadier form of payment. Click Here to Read Article …

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