Wonderful Day: Productivity, Jerry Seinfeld style [Updated]

I've been experimenting with a new productivity / motivational tool that I discovered the other day.  It is called "Wonderful Day," and it is an iOS app that is designed to give you an easy, in-your-face way to establish and reinforce productive habits.  It reminds me of that old adage, "How do you eat an elephant?  One bite at a time."

Apparently, this app was inspired by Jerry Seinfeld's productivity technique - very interesting.

Set a goal, create a chain

The premise is simple:  You pick a goal you want to achieve that requires persistent commitment, and you put it in the Wonderful Day app.  You decide how often you want to perform some activity that contributes to your goal (daily, weekly, etc.), and set up how often you want to be reminded / nagged so you don't forget.

Now, for each of your goals, you have a "punch card" that you use to record whether you actually did what you set out to do.  The objective is to build a "chain" of punches that advance your goal, and to keep at it so you don't break the chain.  If you stick with it, you'll get a lot done, improve yourself, and establish new habits.

My example

One of the goals I used Wonderful Day to track was to spend at least 30 minutes each day working on a specific work project.  I wanted to do this because I keep forgetting about this particular project, but I want to get it moving.

Now, the app reminds me of this project every day and I pick some element of the project and work on it for 30 minutes.  Each day I do that, I get to punch my card in Wonderful Day.  I didn't think this was rocket science, but punching that card turns out to produce a rewarding feeling.  Here are a couple of screen shots to give you an idea (these aren't mine - they are from the App Store, but I think they illustrate it very well and show a longer "chain" than the ones I have so far):

In the screen on the left, you see the Activities (I call them Goals in my head) and you can have as many as you'd like.  I recommend starting with no more than 5 to keep from overwhelming or annoying yourself.

On the right, you see one of the "punch cards" I mentioned.  Each dot is an interval (in this case each dot represents a day).  The green dots represent the times you did what you wanted to do, and the red dots are times when you didn't do it.

This is a pretty simple and effective way to log your progress and ingrain habits into your daily life.  I think the Wonderful Day app is a novel approach to getting things done, and worth a look.

If you try it out, let me know how it works for you.

Stay In Sync On Holiday Shopping

Well, it's that time of the year - holiday shopping time.  Maybe it's just me, but one of the challenges of shopping is coordinating the "divide & conquer" approach with my wife.  

We have 3 kids, grandparents, nieces, siblings, etc. that we want to buy gifts for and we have busy schedules, so we want to make sure everything gets covered, we don't duplicate efforts, etc.  There are a couple of tools we've evolved that make this easier and I wanted to share them here in case they'll help you, as well.

Part 1: Gather ideas during the year

The first method is pretty easy - I create a note on my smartphone for each person I want to buy gifts for.  I call them "Gift ideas for <name>" so I have a separate note for each person.  Then, during the year, when I hear them mention something they want or I see something that might be a good gift, I add it to the list.

The list gets replicated on all my devices (iPad, computer, phone, etc.) so I can add items (and URL's if appropriate) to make it easy to shop when the time comes.  You can use notes in Outlook, iOS, Google Notes, or Evernote - it's your choice.  I'd pick one that can be replicated across all the devices you use - that makes life a lot easier.

By the way - these lists work for birthdays and anniversaries, too - not just holiday shopping.

Part 2: Stay in sync with your shopping partner(s)

When we get into the shopping season, I create a shared spreadsheet in Google Docs.  You could also use Office360, a cloud storage location, or something similar;  I like Google Docs because it is free and multiple people can edit simultaneously so there are no versioning problems.

The tool is pretty simple.  As you can see from the screen grab above, you just make a list with one column for each person you want to shop for, along with a Status column.  You farm your "Gift ideas…" lists and add them to this spreadsheet, then you share the list with your shopping buddy (my wife, in my case) so they can get to the list.

In the status column, you can enter things like "Have," and "Ordered" to indicate which things are already covered.  You can also enter someone's name so you know who is expected to handle the shopping for that item.  Don't forget that you can add comments and notes to the items - this is a great place to elaborate, add URL's, specify colors, etc.

The only caveat:  don't share the sheet with anyone who's in it, otherwise they'll know what you're getting them!  For my wife, I just stick with tracking things in the "Gift ideas for…" note - including tracking what my kids have gotten for her. (That reminds me: when we hear what other people in the family are getting our kids, we track that in this spreadsheet, too - that helps prevent duplicate gifts.)

If you have your own tips and tricks for holiday shopping, please share.

Your Best Just Got Better - A Review

I've been reading Jason Womack's book, "Your Best Just Got Better," on my Kindle for the past week or so.  I just finished it and the verdict is in: It is so well done!

I met Jason a few years ago when he still worked for the David Allen Company, and have been impressed with his perspective from day one, particularly his ability to provide insightful suggestions to improve your skills no matter what your current situation.

Expand your perspective to improve your outcomes

This book is very interesting, practical, energizing and I highly recommend it.  Throughout, Jason offers hands-on exercises to get you into a more active mode of driving your own future.  I read the book cover-to-cover, but now I am planning to go back and conduct the exercises step-by-step (I skipped some exercises because I was on planes, or my energy / attention levels weren't where they needed to be) because I can see just how powerful they can be.

One pervasive theme throughout the book is to think beyond your "normal" perspective so you can stretch your goals, drive different and better effort, and get more assertive in pushing your life where you want it to go.  For example, the book begins with an interesting visioning exercise called "Your Ideal Day," which gets you to begin imagining how things could be if you had a magic wand.  If you want a taste of this, be sure and check out Jason's web site for a sample, along with a contest that goes through the end of 2012.

One of the things I like about Jason is that he uses a lot of models and constructs that make sense to me (I'm big on finding models that I can apply in different situations.  For example, I like the I.D.E.A. model that shows up throughout the book:

I: Identify a very specific area you want to improve. Focus your attention on making the best better in one area of your life, and clarify what that will look like when you get there.

D: Develop strategies to engage in specific actions and techniques to direct your professional improvement and personal development. Acknowledge the process—remember, you’re just getting started! An important aspect is that the most sustainable changes people tend to make usually start small, are repeated with consistency, and often result in a payoff greater than anyone could have hoped.

E: Experiment by planning for and taking actions that generate bursts of momentum. Experimenting gives you the freedom to stop at any time to try something new. It also provides a more objective framework so that you can determine whether you should stop or continue moving forward. When you take actions to make your best better, it continues to get better.

A: Assess the value the effort has created. Here is the question I consistently ask myself, my friends, my family, even my clients: “Is what you’re doing worth the effort?”

Womack, Jason W. (2012-01-05). Your Best Just Got Better: Work Smarter, Think Bigger, Make More (p. 5). John Wiley and Sons. Kindle Edition.

 Shape your own outcomes

Jason also provides some great advice in shaping the results you get in your life - one involves adjusting the words you use to create more positive, future-oriented results; the other involves taking inventory of the people you hang out with, and distancing yourself from those that have a negative or counter-productive influence on you.  Truly great advice.

You'll find some familiar concepts (including some I've written about in the past, like time audits) and they're always presented with solid step-by-step methods to help you apply the concepts.  For example, you'll find some great techniques for more effective "chunking" (aka time boxing) your day to get more out of each 15-minute block in your day.  You'll also find good techniques to track how you're doing on your goals, as well as how well you're using your energy to get there.As someone who's always looking for ways to become more productive, I eat this stuff up.  

This book is that it isn't just about getting more done, Jason also coaches you on methods you can use to make more money - that's something we can all use, particularly in this economy.  And Jason's advice on how to build and leverage your network (business, social, etc) is excellent.  Very cool.

A great book for "now"

Lately, I've noticed that a lot of people I know are taking hard looks at their lives - either to increase their success, make more money, or fig our out what's next for them.  If that sounds like you, this book is perfect for you right now, and I encourage you to pick up a copy and get started going through the exercises.

If you aren't sure, or you want to get a feel for Jason's writing style, why not start with a free e-book from him called, "7 Keys To A More Productive Day," from Jason Womack's web site.

If you're convinced and ready to jump in, grab a copy of "Your Best Just Got Better," today.  By the way - I think this book will be a great gift for some recent graduates I know, as well as great gifts this holiday season for some of my good friends.

How can you boost your productivity?

In the past, I've written a lot of things relating to personal productivity here, since efficient & effective throughput is a big quest for me. I recently ran across an article on the Industrial Space blog, called "7 Websites That Can Boost Your Productivity" and I found it worthy of sharing.

The post refers to a couple of familiar tools that I've written about before, such as Toodledo, which I use in conjunction with the Manage Your Now methodology; and RescueTime, which I use to track where I spend my time on my computer.

But wait- there's more!

Eric Thompson, the author of the post, also brought several additional web-based tools to my attention -- ones I'd never heard of before. Specifically, he shares info about Bitrix 24, PickyDomains, Yugma, JetRadar, and Vyew. I won't link to them here - instead, I encourage you to head over to the article on Industrial Space, read Eric's descriptions, and follow the links from there.

I will tell you that I've already added JetRadar to my toolbox - it is a great resource if you travel as much as I do!

And one more from me...

And while I have you, I'd like to mention one other website that has really helped my productivity: Buffer. Buffer, (aka BufferApp) is an easy-to-use tool to allow you to create a reservoir of things you'd like to tweet, and have them go out at scheduled times. I have a schedule set up to send out tweets several times a day, which I like because I can schedule 30 minutes to catch up on my blog and RSS Feed reading, then queue up a bunch of tweets to go out over a longer period of time.

For me, this helps keeping me from "tweet storming" a bunch of posts at once (I find that a bit annoying myself), and creates the illusion that I'm online and tweeting a lot more than I actually am (shh- don't give away my little secret). Buffer integrates with a lot of apps including the Twitter web site, Tweetcaster, the Google Reader feed, and others. Most of the time, I use the BufferApp Safari add-on, which lets me push a button to add a page to my buffer:

As you can see from the dialog, you can post the tweet now, add an image, and/or add it to your Buffer. Once it's in the buffer, it gets added to the list of items to go out on your assigned schedule. I just added the post in the screen shot to my Buffer, and it is scheduled to post Monday at 5:42pm Pacific time.

However, it may not go out at that time, after all… and why not? The answer lies in a cool feature of Buffer: You can edit your buffer - the app provides a web page to manage your buffer, which makes it easy to re-order items, edit them, elaborate, etc. so you can adjust when specific items get posted.

So if you like to tweet, check it out. And, once again, don't forget to check out the "7 Websites That Can Boost Your Productivity."

Online Data Storage: Is it okay to Move to the Cloud?

In the past, I've written about how much I love layered backup strategies - a local copy (or more than one), an off-site physical copy, and a "cloud" copy.  Sometimes people ask me about whether my data is safe and/ or private in the cloud - especially people who want to back up business data.  The short answer is "yes - if you choose a cloud backup provider with the right capabilities."  With that in mind, I thought I'd share some additional information on this topic.

The problem people face when using private computer systems is the need to keep the maximum amount of information available - how can we store, organize, and protect all of it? To help solve this problem, you can use remote backup services to store online reports. The concern remains, however, about whether keeping information off-site and online is a safe way to store private information.

Is the Cloud the Best Option for Business Owners?

Some companies have come to realize that there are huge benefits of storing information online. A report on cloud storage comparison found that out of 97 health care facilities that were surveyed, 71 percent were considering a move to the cloud powered storage. Using The cloud is one of the more cost effective methods for storing information. There is no need to buy expensive equipment to back up data with and It gives business owners the quickest way to access information and it keep information secure at all times.

Why Are People Reluctant to Move to Cloud Computing?

The only issue with all of this boils down to whether or not the cloud is safe. And a business professional has good reason to be concerned about their private information falling into the hands of some hacker because all it takes is for one person to break their way into a private system to compromise highly confidential information. As this technology gets better, however, you can find Cloud Storage Systems that will fit your business's specific security needs. If you are methodical in your cloud storage comparison, you'll find that buying cloud storage is the same as buying anything else: there are products that are well made and that will fit your needs and there are products that simply will not. Knowing what you do and don't need out of your company's Cloud Storage is a good place to being your research. A second concern some people have is the availability and accessibility of their information. Companies that thrive on customer service must have access to their business information on a daily basis. The concern is that the company will not be able to pull up the information they need in a timely manner. When dealing with customers, the information you need has to available within a few seconds. If the customer has to wait any length of time they can become impatient and upset, which often prompts the customer to take their business elsewhere.

Is Storing Information Online Safe and Concern Free

Storing information online really is the safest way to keep information from being lost or stolen. When a file is uploaded to a backup server it goes through an encryption process that keeps hackers from being able to read and access information. In order to read user-files the client must first enter the correct user name and then enter a secure password. The password and user name is usually chosen by the information owner.

Information that is stored online is available 24 hours a day from any location. A company can upload information and have instant access to the account setup on the server. Not only does the client have instant access, but also a backup copy just in case the system should crash. Beyond the instant access and reliable backup there is also the benefit of business email providers, online customer service systems, and other user support.

Obviously, a lot of my comments are directed at businesses, but I use cloud backup services for my personal use - because I value the benefits I mention above for my personal data, as well.  

I hope you found this information helpful - I know my cloud backups have saved my bacon on several occasions, and I encourage you to make the move to the cloud for your backups.