Month: February 2013

Blood type of your daughter? Your own? Your Wife? Any known allergies?
Do you have any of those answers at hand? If you get any of those questions, you will freeze. Fear is going to be real.
Write down the relevant stuff on the medical history of the people close to you, and make sure you ask to those you may need to take care of. Ask the kind of medicine your parents take.
This information it is simple to find right now, it is scary when you need it and don’t have it.
Don’t wait to collect this when it is an emergency, be prepared, and be ready. You will thank yourself.
i.e. I have on the iPhone a memo per each member of our household, with Allergies, Blood Type and any medicine they are currently taking. I even ask my parents when they visit to update their own memo note. I had been blessed that I had never use it on a real emergency, but I had seen so many people that had no clue; you don’t need the extra stress on the emergency.

Writers are special. We complaint that we don’t have the time to do what we said we love so much. We invent things like “Writers Block”. We spend hours setting the place to write. We spend hours testing pens, software, paper and more. At the end of the day, we create so many excuses that we forgot to do exactly the thing that we want to do the most: Write.
If you are a writer, and write in a computer (laptop, desktop, tablet, smartphone) stop using complex software and begin using simple Plain Text. Stop looking if that should be “Bold”, “Italics” or should be “underlined”. Stop looking to see if should be half an inch from the border or three quarters. It is irrelevant.
A writer write. You will have plenty of time to edit, to play, to format and to procrastinate more after you have written.
Stop looking for reasons why you are not writing today, and sit and write. Stop formatting. Stop testing. Stop trying and simply write. Eliminate all the distractions, and write.
i.e. As a writer I recommend (and only write) in Plain Text. Because I know I am good making excuses not to write, and really good at getting distracted. I don’t need the software I am using to write to provide me with good excuses not to write and to focus on formatting. I have always found enough time to play with that after I have written and when I can procrastinate about that.

How many times you plan to cook dinner but forgot to consider the cleaning up time? How many times you plan to do laundry but forget the time to fold and put into the closets?
We tend to think that it is going to take forty five minutes to do something, when in reality require one hour because it is going to take fifteen minutes to clean up after.
When planning for activities, need to remember to plan for that clean up time, I leave the building at five because it is fifteen minutes to the place I am going it is fine, when you are at the door of the building at five, not when you are going to begin packing at five.
Most people forget to add cleaning up time and then they wonder why they are running and stress out trying to get somewhere. They wonder how is that it didn’t work, the plan was perfect. It was, except, that you forgot to consider those 10 minutes to clean up and leave the building. Ups.
Next time you are planning and activity, remember the setup time, and the cleaning up time. Most likely considering them, will allow you to reduce your stress and be much more effective.
i.e. The reason most people have dirty dishes on their sink is the fact that cleaning is never on the equation, cooking is. Then it is the go to bed routine. If instead you add to the Dinner time, cooking, serving, eating and cleaning on your time equation, must likely there will be less plates on that sink (and more in cabinet.)
i.e.2. Leave your working space ready with your first activity for the next day, this way, you aren’t going to be distracted arranging things and can guarantee that you will do at least one activity at the beginning of the day, every day.

Sometimes the most important thing to do is that little annoying thing, that in many cases is not even important, but that had your attention. I have said multiple times (as well as in my book “No”):

“Focus and Concentration are your biggest assets, not time. Time we all have the same. Is how you use it”

If you have something little, unimportant, even annoying in your mind, get rid of it, because the reality is that it is taking focus on concentration that you need to accomplish the important stuff. Want to be really productive, get rid of the things that consume your focus and attention.
i.e. I set half days to get rid of annoying things. Most of the times are not even important, relevant, or anything. They are just annoying things, that for some reason tend to get into my mind and take away from my focus and concentration. Plan an afternoon a week to remove from your system those little annoying things that had your attention, do it early in the week, so you can use the clear mind.

It is interesting what happens after you write a book and give it to the world. Honestly when this happens the books is not your property anymore, as an Author you are not sure if this is the best thing ever or the biggest sadness.
I wrote NO, because I saw the increasing need in learn how to use it. I wrote NO, with the idea that invites you to think. I wrote NO, because it was something I was in need to tell to the world and to myself.
The most interesting thing, is that it is not mine anymore, it belong to the world.
The comments I had receive about the book are simply amazing, thanks!. There are few things that will make a writer smile and tremble and explode on emotion and at the same time be terrified and sit yourself in a corner than when you receive some of the comments I have regarding this book.
If you had yet not had the chance to read it, I invite you. It is a short book, maybe the best two hours of your weekend.
This is a quote of the book, I hope you enjoy it:

“Most people believe that you need to learn to say NO to others, the real challenge is in learn to say NO to yourself.”

Do you believe that you know how to say NO to yourself, I invite you to read this short book, it’s possible that what you believe change forever.
Available on Amazon, Apple, Barnes&Noble and more…

It’s not a secret that I love my iPhone and that I honestly believe that it is a really powerful tool. Sadly it isn’t a secret that I am getting old. (not that old mind you) but sometimes that little font, it’s simply out of my reach.
I use an App called “Eye Glasses” on the iPhone that basically allow me to magnify 2X, 4X, 6X and even 8X. One wonder why so many people struggle with looking on the small font, with this tools on hand.
My guess is that they simply lack the knowledge of their existence. This little thing, it’s really magical, and had been helpful many times.

This is one of the most common questions that people ask me since I made the iPad my main machine. For many the iPad is a toy, but not a production machine. I may need to agree that it is a great machine to play, but it had been incredible for production.
In my work I used basically four applications, regardless if I work on the iPad or the MacBook: A Word Processor, An Spreadsheet, A Presentation Software and a Browser.
Let’s see the MacBook: Pages, Numbers, KeyNote and Chrome. (I understand your list may say: Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint)
On the iPad I found: Pages, Numbers, KeyNote and Chrome. (If you want a more powerful option you can use Office2)
I understand that if you need macros, the iPad is not the machine since as today it’s not possible, but honestly I don’t know many people that use them.
I work on a Word Processor, I don’t do anything more complex that add images, graphs or a comparative table on those then I am doing reports. All this I can do with Pages, without any problem. The other thing I do, is review documents for which I need the track changes function, but it is part of Pages, so I have no problems there.
On the spreadsheet, it is the same thing. I have some that had many graphs (all created on the iPad) and many formulas that connect one page to the other inside the document. The only thing that I can’t do on the iPad are Pivot Tables and Macros, but honestly I can’t remember when was the last time I use either of those.
An application to do Presentations: Honestly, I wasn’t a big fan of Microsoft PowerPoint to begin with and there is nothing that I can think that KeyNote on the iPad can’t do. I even connect this application to the Apple TV to see the presentation on there and use the iPhone to control the presentation and even look my presentation notes if I wish.
A Browser: I had said previously that I use two browsers, one for work (Chrome) and one for play (Safari) (You can read the story and the why on my book 25 Tips for Productivity) in this case I can use both without any issue.
As you can see I have the basics covered, additionally exist certain applications on the iPad that make the experience even more of a pleasure and only one on the Mac that make me come back once in a while.
On the Mac side the application is Scrivener, without a doubt the best application to write in existence, but to my knowledge there is an iPad version coming soon.
For me work on the iPad create a different way to work, it’s exactly the reason that get people away from work on the iPad what make me work closer to it.
When the iPad was released my mother was looking for a laptop, even on those days the iPad was the machine I used the most so I recommend it to her. Even that she loves her iPad, she wasn’t able to substitute the laptop and months later we got another laptop for her. The problem was never a power issue, as many people think, her iPad had plenty of processing power, her problem was that she need it to interact in a different way, it was a confort zone problem.
One of the biggest problems people had with the iPad had nothing to do with the capabilities of the machine, or how more or less powerful their laptops are, but with the idea that they don’t have the same menus, the fact that the interaction is more personal, is the fact that you are dong with your hands. The most interesting is that a soon as you break trough that barrier and you sit on a laptop or desktop you will find yourself touching the screen and discovering that the magic it is not there.

Do you remember that problem for which you didn’t sleep for three days? Most likely the answer is not.
We tend to get problems and feel so little, it feels like the world it is going to end and this is the problem that will finally get rid of us.
The reality is that you are bigger than your problems and you need to remember that to yourself constantly. The reason is simple, your friends will tell you that and you won’t listen, so you need to remind it to yourself, so when the problem arrives you are ready and open to listen.
We all have problems, big and important ones. Most of them, really will not matter. Instead of work to get out of the problem, we paralyze and worry.
Most of the problems you have had in the last ten years had been fixed and resolved, and life had move on. Even most of them you don’t even remember them.
Next time the big problem knocks on your door, stop and think what are you doing to continue moving on, to remember that you can also get throw this, and that eventually this will also be part of the past.
I understand not all problems are like that, there are some that aren’t like that. Most people never got those.
i.e. One of my best friends had an accident when he was between high school and college. The result of the accident leave him on a wheel chair for life and paralyzed from the waist down. That’s a problem. For him, was an opportunity to be better. Today he is happily married to an amazing woman. When I get into the feeling that I may not be able to get out of the problem, is my friend the one that inspire me, and I am grateful every day to be able to call him my friend.

“If you are not checking the map, you risk never reach your destination.”
– Augusto Pinaud

It had always impress me how little people check their goals, (I am even more impressed with those that don’t even write them down or don’t even had any) the reality is that what it is the use of writing them down to review them once a year. It is exactly that reason why many of those goals are never accomplished. Think about the following: If you are traveling on a car to a place you are not familiar, you check the map constantly. Why don’t do the same with your goals?
Like many, I have goals for the next twelve to eighteen months as well as things I want to accomplish in the next five years, but I am not waiting fro 2018 to check the list and see if I am actually there, I check them constantly to make sure I am moving in the right direction.
Before I begin my weekly review, the first thing I do is review this goals, I spend some minutes to think about them, why are they important, and why I want to accomplish them. The reason is simple, I want to guarantee that the projects I am working on are the ones I should be working on, in other words, those projects are getting me closer to my goal, otherwise, why I am working on those.
The next time you do your weekly review, begin checking your goals, from there begin your revision. Simply you will be able to see which projects get you closer to your goals and which ones not. Which projects you should eliminate and which ones you should add. You can’t expect this is going to happen in other way.
Most people, hope to accomplish their goals, but forget that in order to make this possible, they need to know they are taking the right steps. How to know your steps are right? How can we know if they are going to help us get closer to our goals? For me the answer is simple, remembering which ones are they, constantly.
Think about the following, you do the weekly review, so you are on top of the important. You do the weekly review to remind yourself of all the pending things that you will forgot otherwise. But you do it without any direction and you hope that the actions that you are going to take will take you to a place that you review every three, six or more months. You want to accomplish your goals, review them constantly.
My recommendation, review them before you begin your weekly review, so when you are doing it, don’t hope to find critical stuff, but you could identify without any doubt which ones are taking you in the direction you want to go. Review the map, constantly, so you don’t forget the direction you are going and where you want to go.
Stop hoping that your weekly review will take you to your goals and begin directing it towards those.

I include this tip in my book 25 Tips for Productivity, and it is one of those things that are interesting. The principle is simple, if you have the cash flow, and someone can do a job cheaper than you, simply pay for it.
People tend to think that they are the cheapest option, and doing that they convert many tasks into really expensive ones. If you can produce $20 on an hour of work, and there is a task that can be done by other person for $10, and you choose to do it yourself, guess what it is not a $10 task any longer, you just made it a $20 one. Understand how much is an hour of your time, anything bellow that point, simply paid for it.
i.e. Also take into the equation preparation as well as cleaning time. Paint a room may feel like an hour activity, but getting the room ready may take another hour. Really that’s a two hour job. Get your rate, times two. If the quote is less that that, simply pay.