Author Dwayne Melancon is always on the lookout for new things to learn. An ecclectic collection of postings on personal productivity, travel, good books, gadgets, leadership & management, and many other things.
Not sure if it's a keeper yet or not, but I'm now playing around with "Twitter" - you can find me at http://twitter.com/thatdwayne - if you become a Twitterer, go ahead and add me as a friend from that page. More about Twitter at their home page.
One of my new goals is not to be the twit in Twitter.
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I stumbled across a great Getting Things Done (GTD) aggregator site the other day - in fact, it calls itself "The Ultimate Getting Things Done Index" and it pulls GTD-related feeds together from a wide variety of sources.
This is a time-saving, focusing list - what could be more appropriate for the topic?
In addition to quotes, links to blogs and articles, you'll find links to software that may help you on your quest for personal productivity the GTD way. Enjoy!
Update: Thanks to Stephen for sharing some other resources:
I was helping someone work on their presentation skills this week, and I suggested we do a "Stop, Start, Continue" exercise. My friend had never heard of this, so I thought it might be worth writing up in case others are in the same camp.
This technique is very straight-forward, and can be very effective and efficient. As the name implies, the goal is to observe activities, processes, etc. and come up with three distinct categories of feedback. I usually use one standard sheet of paper, and draw lines to create three sections and label them "Stop," "Start," and "Continue" so I can write notes as we go.
In the table below, you'll find brief descriptions, along with some examples from observing a presentation to give you a feel for what feedback might sound like in each category:
| Start | Things you aren't doing that you would benefit from starting |
Examples: "Try to make eye contact with the audience when you are speaking." "Come up with some examples you can share when you talk about <complex concept>." |
| Stop | Things you are doing that you would benefit from stopping |
Examples: "You're saying "um" and "you know" too much, and it is distracting. Try taping yourself and practicing until you don't use those filler words so much." "Don't use acronyms unless you explain them." "Don't read the slides. Get comfortable with the material so you can cover it conversationally without reading word-for-word." |
| Continue | Things that are working, that you should keep doing |
Examples: "Your introduction was great - I had a clear understanding of the topics you were going to cover and why you're qualified to talk about them." "Your 'can I see a show of hands for...' technique works really well to get the audience engaged with you and the topic." |
As you can see, this is a pretty easy technique. If you use this technique, strive to provide specific examples that the recipient can use as a basis for improvement.
Read MoreI was just looking at someone's profile on LinkedIn, and browsed their connections. Since I'm one of their connections, I am on the list. However, I am not sure I really need a little flag labelled "YOU" to recognize my own name...
It seems I've had a visit from Captain Obvious.
Read MoreI've recently "flashed back" to some advice that a friend of mine gave me about 10 or 12 years ago, and have been striving to apply it more lately. Basically, his advice was this:
"When you're trying to make a decision, force your feelings about the issue to one extreme or the other, and act on the decision with vigor."
This is a bit like the mantra "Go big or stay home" that was popular a few years back. Basically, this philosophy provides a sort of focusing tool, helping you get out of the middle ground and take a decisive postion on the matter at hand. For example:
These are just a few examples, and everyone's decisions and circumstances are different. However, according to my friend, these kinds of "extreme" stances will help you live a life of vivid color and meaning, rather than one painted in shades of gray.
Another aspect of this we discussed at great length: What if you decide you hate something? Should you attack it with great vengeance? Usually, no -- just get past it, move away from it, and don't let the things you hate take over your life.
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