Category: Uncategorized

One of the cool things as your kids begin to grow up is that they begin using some of those cool toys you use, specially those that you remember fondly. Lego is one of those toys.
See how your kid play, and how you have grow up and are expecting your own playing time to be it is an interesting experience. I love the experience of really used your imagination, the idea that the block is more important than what the set can build, that the colors all match and the vehicles can do incredible things.
If you have the luxury of having a kid around sit and play Lego (or any other toy that will allow them to use their imagination) and remember what your imagination was able to see, dream and accomplished before you learned about fears, reality, bills and that thing people called “Real life”

We all have phones that call that we should ignore. You know that time you gave them your phone number and since then they have call you to offer a service that you don’t want and regardless that you had request them that they please remove you from the list, they continue calling you.
Create a contact called IGNORE and add all those numbers. Next time you get a call from them your phone will tell you exactly what to do.
i.e. Since I use an iPhone you can also set an special tone for the ringtone (mine is a no noise one) and a special vibration (mine for this contact is none). The cool thing is that if I receive a call form this list of numbers, my phone don’t make a noise or vibrate. I only found out the next time I grab the phone.

Planning your weekly meals it is one of those things that aren’t that complicated, but that many people I have around don’t do. We go to do groceries ad get enough generic stuffs that we hope we will be able to make meals for the next seven days. Then every night we hope that we are going to get inspired enough to make those meals.
Most of the time that’s exactly the problem. We hope that after a full working day we will have enough brain power to think about a meal, prepare and cook. The reality many times is that our energy level is too low to make a good decision, so we grab a microwave solution or something that it is not necessarily the best of the options.
What I have learned is that when you plan the menu, your grocery shopping it is much more specific, and since you know what are you going to make the whole week you don’t really need much brain power to actually make the meal and you certainly had all the ingredients you need for the plate you are planning to cook. Also if you need to, you can move meals around but in general you know you will have all the ingredients and there is no need to really think anything, just cook.
i.e. I resist for years this idea and of course made poor choices constantly regarding our meals. Since I begin doing that, I have been eating much better meals and somehow had been able to save between 35% to 45% on our weekly grocery bill. So it has been really a great solution.

I am aware that I am not the only one that dislike in general the sound of their phone. I love the fact that the phone can vibrate instead of ringing like crazy. I honestly get annoyed by my own ring tone.
One of the solutions is to use the phone in “Vibrate Mode” all the time. The problem with this is that doing that you lose other sounds that the phone can make and you will like to have, like text messages or Calendar Alerts.
The solution for me was really simple, I install on my phone a NO SOUND Ringtone that I create on Garage Band. The ring tone it is simple, it had no sound. The advantage is that then I can keep my phone out of the vibrate mode most of the time, but the phone never rings, when a call came in the phone simply vibrate, but I can get sounds for Text Messages and other alerts.
Since I installed this I have rarely place my phone on vibrate mode, I don’t mind the rest of sounds, in many cases I appreciate them.

We grow up wanting things, more things, more things. At least I grow up wanting more. I could not wait to get this or that. Even this days many times I am guilty of this but I have improve significantly. (I think at least)
I am not a minimalist, I had said that I want Enough. I would had for example multiple pens years ago, now I have one.
It’s hard to fight against the consumerism, and decided when you should update or replace stuff. It is a hard to walk line, and I am the first one to miss the line more than what I should, but I try, hard everyday.
Instead of go to the super store and buy 20 t-shirts, go to a good store and buy 4. Instead of get a box of pens get 1 good pen.
When we stop looking into the quantity and begin focus on quality and utility our relation with the stuff change.
We don’t need to continue getting stuff to show up. To prove that we can. To fill an emptiness that consumerism make you feel.
Try to go a month without buying anything other than food and medicine. Try to think really well before you buy something. Don’t buy because it is cool or cute or nice.
i.e. I wrote somedays ago about the Daily Bag. I said that most people should replace their bag. I also show the bag I hope to buy someday and said that my bag was 10 years old at least. Could I replaced it, the answer is yes. I have not done it because the one I have is working great. Someday will be enough, and will be replaced.
i.e.2. My car is the same, is fully paid, more than 120,000 miles, but everything worked. There is no reason yet to change it. For that I need it, it’s perfect. In case of any doubt, yes, I believe that they are cooler cars in the market as well as nicer ones… I just try hard on not to buy on those reasons.

Do you journal? No. Why not?
Journal is one of those things that a lot of people don’t do, and most of the people we admire do. We admire people but we don’t copy the good and amazing things they do.
I journal. constantly. It is almost a need. I had solve problems, found answer, caught my own fears and lies, and learn so much from my own self.
Journal is hard. Journal feels weird. Journal is uncomfortable. It is. The issue is not if it is or not all those things. The reality is that the people that journal are more successful, better people, and eventually stop feeling weird and uncomfortable about doing it. (For me continue most days being something hard to do)
i.e. I use an application called Day One on the iPad and iPhone. Honestly it is an incredible application.

It’s not a secret that I do a daily review of my system. I check the actions, cross stuff I had finish. Notice if there is things coming my way and what to do about them.
The goal if this short revision is to provide me perspective, and be ready for the day ahead. The first thing I do is get perspective. I write down what had my attention. I read my 12 to 18 months goals. Then I go to my Contexts.
Those two previous steps, change everything. Not only that, when the flow of stuff hit me soon after that (email anyone?) I am clear on what are the priorities and how to react to the new inputs. (and I hope more often than not appropriately)
i.e. I had say many times, if you don’t know where you are going, any road will do. Read your goals, otherwise any action will be potentially as good or as bad for those. Stop hoping and begin moving with solid steps.

In iOS under the preference panel and under the keyboard settings there is one of those cool tricks. The shortcut list. You can teach your iOS to change “omw” to “On my way!” or “xap @ so it populate my email address.
There is another software even more powerful called TextExpander, that work on the iOS as well as the Mac. In my opinion this are little things that not many people know and are aware but can save you typing minutes, specially for those things we repeat a lot.
i.e. I have create a shortcut for each book that I have written, with the name and the url to amazon. If I type for example: “25tfp” automatically get’s transformed into: “25 Tips for Productivity” and “w25tfp” create “http://bit.ly/25t4p

Need to scan a document? Have an iPad (iPhone, Smartphone?)
The cameras of our tablets and smartphones this days are so powerful that the biggest problem you will have is going to be the shacking that your hand is producing.
I remember those days that Scan a document in order to fax it to the approbate person was something so complicated and expensive. I remember when I got that really cool and super portable NeatScan that fit in by bag and could scan one page at the time.
I have an application called ScannerPro that will take the picture and allow me to fax or email directly from there.
Try it, look for an scanner application and test it. You will love it.
i.e. If you are an user of Evernote, you can send it to Evernote and it will apply OCR to the file. Easier to even retrieve the file in the future.

I think life is complex enough for us to go around making things more complicated than they need to be. I believe that if you focus on keep things simple you will have more time to do other things and enjoy life.
The problem is that simplicity is something relative. What for me is simple, for you may be over simplistic. What for me may be simple, for you may be complex.
Think about process, actions, and things you do that are complex for you… Spend time thinking how you can make them simple; for you.
You don’t need to do anything, that’s the reality. You don’t even need to try to make anything simple. Until one morning you do. That day, remember to keep it simple.