Displaying All Posts by Ana da Silva

Have you Digitalized Your Photo Albums?

Photo albums still line shelves in some living rooms and the feeling of going from page to page gives viewers a feeling of excitement when, not knowing what comes next, they find a photo from 1975 when they were just a baby – or just had had a baby.

On the other hand, those albums do require maintenance – cleaning and implementation of other anti-mold techniquest – and take up lots of space. Digitally scanning all the photos can take ages but you’ll be able to share the photos with all friends and family with an email address.

So what do you do in this case?

Do you sacrifice a few weekends in exchange for more space and less dust? Sure, it’ll take some time to get done – but it’ll be time well spent in exchange for preserving these memories on a digital medium.

Do you just leave it alone? You’ve got far more important things to do than to spend time scanning photos that are already well-preserved and not doing any harm as-is.

Which way would you go on this? Let us know in the comments. Click Here to Read Article …

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Project Management Software Review: 5pm

Ana da Silva 11th August Software 31 Comments

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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What’s Your #1 Question About Increasing Productivity?

Ana da Silva 9th August Productivity 25 Comments

When I worked in an office several of my co-workers asked me how I managed to keep my desk organized and clean at all times, how I managed to whip together all sorts of travel plans without a headache, and even whether I actually got any work done with my flexible work schedule (my time of arrival was 10-ish and I even did my grocery shopping during the workday).

As a WorkAwesome writer, I try to write about what I think is useful to my awesomely dedicated readers based on experience – and on whatever I come across in my daily life. I’m no productivity oracle but I want to help answer reader questions about increasing productivity. You can always email me with your questions, but for now . . .

If you rubbed your monitor and I floated out in a poof of smoke as your little productivity genie, what 1 question would you ask me? Click Here to Read Article …

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The Practical Guide to Doing Laundry

Ana da Silva 8th August General 6 Comments

Laundry: the weekly time-consuming chore that ties you up for some hours. If you’re one of us poor folks who can’t afford help, you’re likely to dread doing laundry, especially if you have to go to a laundromat. I’ve picked up some best practices on how to do laundry that I share here to help save you some time and energy while preserving your garments.

Click Here to Read Article …

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5 Great Links for Speed Reading and Concentration

Ana da Silva 5th August Productivity 3 Comments

In an earlier article, I discussed the merits of teaching speed reading in schools. While it doesn’t appear to be something on the immediate horizon, the web has a few options worth considering if you want to upgrade your speed reading skills:

Speed Reading Techniques

This is a quick guide from Indiana Wesleyan University.

How To Speed Read

BBC.com’s guide to students who want to learn speed reading.

Developing Better Concentration

Athletes have to concentrate if they’re to improve. Here is a guide from a fitness professional that includes concentration techniques.

A Guide to Meditation for the Rest of Us

Concentration is key not only to speed reading but also to achieving goals. Here’s a guide with suggested timers and music.

Building One Big Brain

New York Times columnist Robert Wright comments on author Nicholas Carr’s suspicion that the internet ‘is chipping away [his] capacity for concentration and contemplation.’

Do you have a particular method or tool at your disposal that helps you improve your speed reading skills? Let us know in the comments. Click Here to Read Article …

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Do You Have an Intern from Hell?

Ana da Silva 4th August Office Life 4 Comments

Ah, summertime in the northern hemisphere!

If your company takes on interns this is the time of year where you’ve got your share of college kids walking around the office in their only pair of crumpled slacks and inappropriate shoes.

By the average office standards, my “intern shoes” weren’t exactly inappropriate. But by the standards of my employer, a Madison Avenue boutique public relations firm, my shoes and the rest of my wardrobe were offensively unfashionable. But this was the least of their worries. I officially became the intern from hell on the day I unintentionally mixed up the press clippings from 2 brands that had very similar names – let’s call them Soda and Soda A. There were hundreds of clippings! I realized this soon after I ended my contract (as opposed to my contract being ended for me);it must have taken my supervisors quite a while to sort out everything.

How about you, have you been an intern from hell or have you had one in your office? Click Here to Read Article …

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Should Speed Reading Techniques Be Taught in School?

Ana da Silva 24th July Productivity 16 Comments

I picked up a teach yourself book at a friend’s today about speed reading. It states that with speed reading one can maximize their time and improve their reading efficiency. I’ve never met people who speed read but it seems like such a good idea. If we all could speed read we would be able to go through all of the information we go through every day much more quickly, allowing more time for our work. It leaves me wondering why speed reading isn’t taught in school as a skill – along with algebra shortcuts and writing short hand.

Do you think speed reading techniques should be taught in school? Do you think or know if it really helps? Click Here to Read Article …

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How Relative Is “Being on Time”?

Ana da Silva 21st July Office Life 16 Comments

In some cultures it is acceptable to be late, meaning arriving after the agreed upon time. This makes the definition of “being on time” subjective as some take it as meaning being 5 minutes before the agreed upon time, for others 15 minutes after.

I’ve asked this of many people and some swear there’s no such thing as cultural differences when it comes to being on time. Others argued that everyone knows that everyone else will be 15 minutes late so, in fact, everyone is on time. In today’s increasingly diverse workplaces these differences can create some tension – and make some team members feel they’re being taken advantage of.

Do you deal with this cultural difference in your workplace? What approach do you take? Click Here to Read Article …

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How Much Vacation Time Is Necessary?

Ana da Silva 15th July Career 41 Comments

When I was living in the United States, we had 2 weeks off per year as standard vacation time – although I did work somewhere where we only had 1 week off. Not so in Europe.

Many countries there give employees 5 or 6 weeks off per year. The argument for more time off is usually supported by the fact that everyone needs time to:

Rest
Be with family
Enjoy a hobby (or whatever activity makes one happy – skiing, surfing, etc.)

Those who support less time off have argued that with too much time off, people cannot concentrate once they’re back in the office.

So, are you for more or less time off for vacation? How much time do you need to recharge your batteries?
Click Here to Read Article …

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Do You Get More Done Working Alone or Around Others?

Ana da Silva 8th July Productivity 19 Comments

The idea of working all alone seems pretty tempting: nothing to distract your thinking process, no stress from the jerk on the cell phone. Just quiet.

Too quiet.

Sometimes my mind gets distracted by the silence – I find myself wondering where everyone is. So, like some other people who work from home I put on the television. Sometimes that does the trick, but at other times I just really wish there were some people around. Not co-workers, not people I know, but just (quiet) people as background noise. I worked from a café the other day and I got so many things done, so many ideas just popped up in my mind. The ambient noise was a catalyst of sorts.

What about you? Are you more productive at home, working alone, or when you’re around others? Click Here to Read Article …

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Do You Have an Email Routine?

Ana da Silva 3rd July General 10 Comments

You open your inbox for the first time in the day and there are 98 new messages; they’re from mom and dad, clients, that friend from high school who just found you on Facebook, a few stray spam messages and so on. Even if you spend an average of just 1 minute per message that’ll add up to more than an hour and a half. You just don’t have that much time to spare right now. So what do you do?

Look for important messages now and leave the rest for later?
Employ The Two Minute Rule; taking care of the ones that matter right now and defer the ones that don’t?
Read them all now and reply to them all later?

What’s your routine for checking email? Click Here to Read Article …

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