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Using a three-folder system to keep e-mail under control

Checking, reading, processing, replying to, and stressing out about e-mail can all be sources of clutter in our lives. And, according to a recent Fast Company article written by Gina Trapani titled “Work Smart: Conquering Your Email Inbox,” processing e-mail might be taking up half of our workweek:

A 2008 survey at Intel showed employees receive 350 emails per week on average; at Morgan Stanley, employees get 625 new messages per week. Executives’ incoming email volume was much higher. In some cases, workers spent 20 hours a week just dealing with email.

Trapani suggests in her article to create three folders to keep e-mail from cluttering up your time: To-do, Wait, and Reference. To use them:

If the message is a task you’ve got to complete–like a request from the boss–file it into your To-do folder, and add it to your to-do list. If the message is about something you’re waiting for–like a package shipment notification or a promise from a co-worker to get you something by next Tuesday–put it in your Wait folder, and maybe even on your calendar. Everything else–the CC’s, the FYI’s, the “just thought you should know”s–file these in Reference. That’s your library of email that you can search any time to look up information you might need later.

In my opinion, the most important parts of this system are “add it to your to-do list” and “put it … on your calendar.” Treat e-mail like regular mail or as if there is someone standing in your office making the request. This type of attention can go a long way in keeping e-mail under control. Be sure to check out the article for additional tips.

Posted by Erin on Mar 6, 2010 | 18 Comments | Tweet This

Vertical laptop stands save desk space

If you use your laptop with an external monitor while working at a desk, you can use a vertical laptop stand to help conserve a limited amount of desk space. There are a number of sturdy and aesthetically pleasing vertical stands to choose from. Unfortunately, the companies that make these are all targeting Mac users. These models may work with some PC laptops. Here are a number of our favorites:

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The BookArc by TwelveSouth

We like the organic curves of the BookArc, which supports all MacBook models.

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The Power Support Docking Stand for MacBooks by Power Support

If you want something simple with a more rectilinear form than the BookArc, consider this model.

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The NX Stand by Macessity

We like this stand’s integrated 4-port USB hub. It’s also nice that it provides a space to tuck an external hard drive, as shown in the above image.

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The Balmuda Floater by Balmuda Design

This stand is probably the most substantial of the bunch, which is only fitting, given the fact that it costs over $300. Maybe I’ll upgrade to this when Publisher’s Clearinghouse gives me one of those gigantic checks.

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Do you have any of the units mentioned above? Another one we didn’t consider? If so, please tell us about your laptop stand preferences in the comments.

Posted by PJ on Feb 20, 2010 | 16 Comments | Tweet This

Ask Unclutterer: Cell phone cleanup

Reader Erik submitted the following to Ask Unclutterer:

How do you keep your cell phone uncluttered? I occasionally realize I have contacts I don’t even know who they are or never call and aren’t sure whether to keep or delete them. My text message inbox also fills up quickly and I can’t delete all of them as I like to keep some. Your thoughts would be appreciated. Thanks for all you do!

Oh, Erik, I know your pain. I currently have four cell phone numbers for my friend Stephen, even though he only has one cell phone. So, read this advice knowing that I try to follow it myself but am far from mastering it.

If you regularly sync your contacts between your phone and computer, set the controls to prompt you before merging the data. Even if you don’t have conflicts in the data sets, it’s still a nice opportunity to review the contents of the files.

When entering new contacts into your phone, capture as much data as you can. If the data is incomplete, be sure to enter notes that will prompt your memory. One of the contacts in my phone is “Veterinarian, Dr. Judy.” It’s not accurate, but it serves my needs. I’m not even sure that I would know she was our cats’ vet if I used her actual last name.

As far as deleting is concerned, I vote for doing it whenever you come across someone you don’t remember or no longer talk to on a regular basis. Create an Excel file on your computer of names and numbers that you’re deleting if you’re worried that you’re deleting in error. My thoughts are, though, that unless you are the only person in the world with someone else’s number, you can always find a number again. A quick e-mail to a friend of a friend, or a call to 411 is usually all you need to do.

Unused and irrelevant contact information on your phone increases the chance that you’ll misdial or text the wrong person. And, in my case, it means that I never call my friend Stephen because I don’t remember which number is actually his.

I delete text messages right after I read them if they don’t contain any information I want to reference later. When I sync my phone with my computer, I also have an option to download my text messages. If you have this option, you might wish to consider doing it and getting the messages off of your phone. If your phone is ever lost or stolen, do you really want a stranger or thief to have access to all of your personal correspondence? If you don’t sync your text messages with your computer, you could also take a picture of the text message on your phone’s display. Then, you have the memory of the text message but it’s not taking up space on your phone.

Thank you, Erik, for submitting your question for our Ask Unclutterer column.

Do you have a question relating to organizing, cleaning, home and office projects, productivity, or any problems you think the Unclutterer team could help you solve? To submit your questions to Ask Unclutterer, go to our contact page and type your question in the content field. Please list the subject of your e-mail as “Ask Unclutterer.” If you feel comfortable sharing images of the spaces that trouble you, let us know about them. The more information we have about your specific issue, the better.

Posted by Erin on Feb 19, 2010 | 22 Comments | Tweet This

The case against the iPad

Timothy B. Lee is good friend of ours. He is a member of the Center for Information Technology at Princeton University and he blogs at Bottom-Up.

Apple released a new product, called the iPad, yesterday. For those of you who don’t spend your days glued to Twitter, you can view all the details at Apple’s website. I’m not impressed. I’m a lifelong Mac fanboy, so I’m not averse to buying Apple stuff. But I have two problems with the device: first, I don’t understand who this product is marketed to. And second, I’m disappointed that Apple has decided to adopt the iPhone’s locked-down platform strategy.

It’s not clear who has an urgent need for this device. Apple’s existing product lines — Macs, iPods, and iPhones — are all focused on common activities that virtually everyone does. Most people listen to music and make phone calls. Most people need a full-scale computer. In contrast, it’s not clear what the core purpose of an iPad is. It’s too limited to fully replace a laptop — who wants to type long emails on a virtual keyboard? It’s too big and heavy to replace an iPod or an iPhone. And it’s just not clear that someone who already has a MacBook and an iPod will shell out another $500-800 for a third device.

I think the primary intended use of the iPad is as an eBook reader. But here too, the iPad falls short. Dedicated eBook raeders like the Kindle use e-ink which has two key characteristics: phenomenally long battery life and superior readability in bright light. E-Books are a nice “extra” feature for a tablet computer to have, but if that’s the primary thing people want to do, they should buy a Kindle.

My second problem with the iPad is more fundamental: The iPad appears to be Steve Jobs’s attempt to roll back the multi-decade trend toward more open computing platforms. Jobs’s vision of the future is one that revolves around a series of proprietary “stores” — for music, movies, books, and so forth — controlled by Apple. And rather than running the applications of our choice, he wants to limit users to running Apple-approved software from the Apple “app store.”

I’ve written before about the problems created by the iPhone’s top-down “app store.” The store is an unnecessary bottleneck in the app development process that limits the functionality of iPhone applications and discourages developers from adopting the platform. Apple has apparently chosen to extend this policy — as opposed to the more open Mac OS X policy — to the iPad.

With the iPhone, you could at least make the argument that its restrictive application approval rules guaranteed the reliability of the iPhone in the face of tight technical constraints. The decision not to allow third-party apps to multitask, for example, ensures that a misbehaving app won’t drain your iPhone’s battery while it runs in the background. And the approval process makes it less likely that a application crash could interfere with the core telephone functionality.

But these considerations don’t seem to apply to the iPad. Apple is attempting to pioneer a new product category, which suggests that reliability is relatively less important and experimentation more so. If a misbehaving application drains your iPad battery faster than you expected, so what? If you’re reading an e-book on your living room couch, you probably have a charger nearby. And it’s not like you’re going to become stranded if your iPad runs out of batteries the way you might without your phone. On the other hand, if the iPad is to succeed, someone is going to have to come up with a “killer app” for it. There’s a real risk that potential developers will be dissuaded by Apple’s capricious and irritating approval process.

The iPad also has a proprietary dock connector, a headphone jack, and no other ports. The net effect of this is, again, to give Apple complete control over the platform’s evolution, because the only way for third-party devices to connect to the iPad is through the proprietary dock connector. Again, this made a certain amount of sense on the iPhone, where space, weight, and ergonomics are at a premium. But it’s totally unacceptable for a device that aims to largely replace my laptop. Hell, even most video game consoles have USB ports.

The iPad book store looks like it has similar flaws. From all indications, the books you “buy” on an iPad will be every bit as limited as the books you “buy” on the Kindle; if you later decide to switch to another device, there’s no easy (or legal) way to take your books with you. I think this is an issue that a lot of Kindle owners haven’t thought through carefully, and that it will trigger a backlash once a significant number of them decide they’d like to try another device.

This is of a piece with the rest of Apple’s media strategy. Apple seems determined to replicate the 20th century business model of paying for copies of content in an age where those copies have a marginal cost of zero. Analysts often point to the strategy as a success, but I think this is a misreading of the last decade. The parts of the iTunes store that have had the most success — music and apps — are tied to devices that are strong products in their own right. Recall that the iPod was introduced 18 months before the iTunes Store, and that the iPhone had no app store for its first year. In contrast, the Apple TV, which is basically limited to only playing content purchased from the iTunes Store, has been a conspicuous failure. People don’t buy iPods and iPhones in order to use the iTunes store. They buy from the iTunes store because it’s an easy way to get stuff onto their iPods and iPhones.

Apple is fighting against powerful and fundamental economic forces. In the short term, Apple’s technological and industrial design prowess can help to prop up dying business models. But before too long, the force of economic gravity will push the price of content down to its marginal cost of zero. And when it does, the walls of Apple’s garden will feel a lot more confining. If “tablets” are the future, which is far from clear, I’d rather wait for a device that gives me full freedom to run the applications and display the content of my choice.

Posted by Timothy B. on Jan 28, 2010 | 85 Comments | Tweet This

Use your mac as a television

Large computer displays have become so affordable in recent years that many people who enjoy watching televised programming can now get by without owning a dedicated television set. This option can be particularly beneficial for those who live in smaller apartments or dorms.

Unfortunately, not all programming is available on Hulu or Netflix. If you want to watch over-the-air HDTV broadcasts on your computer, then you will need some kind of hardware TV tuner and an HDTV antenna. If you just want to watch analog or Clear QAM cable broadcasts, you won’t need the antenna, but you’ll need cable service.

We’ve tried a few tuners that have been sent to us for review over the last few months, and the one we like the most is the elgato EyeTV Hybrid for the Mac.

The hardware is very compact. The entire unit is roughly the size of a Zippo lighter. It connects to your Mac via USB. The other end has a coax connection for your antenna or cable — nothing out of the ordinary. The bundled EyeTV software, however, is the real reason we chose this unit as our top pick. The interface is well organized and makes it very easy to view and search television listings, change channels, and record programs. It also allows you to rewind, pause, and fast forward live television (with the included infrared remote).

If you like keeping all your media files in one place, the EyeTV software will even allow you to export your recorded content directly to iTunes, so you can sync it with your iPod or iPhone.

So if you have limited space and you don’t want to deal with having a dedicated television and DVR, or if you would just like seamless integration between your DVR and your iTunes library, then you should definitely consider the elgato EyeTV Hybrid.

Posted by PJ on Jan 25, 2010 | 28 Comments | Tweet This

Netflix streaming on your Nintendo Wii

Over the last year there’s been a slow but steady increase in the amount of streaming and downloadable content available online from Hulu, Netflix, Amazon Unbox, the iTunes Music Store, and countless other content providers. Better availability of streaming content means I’m less likely to clutter up my living-space with physical media that I have to store. In fact, I can’t remember the last time I bought a DVD.

Unfortunately, getting streaming content from the Internet to your television can still be challenging. We’ve written before about the Roku HD-XR, a set-top device which enables you stream both movies and television programs directly from Netflix to your television. We think it’s a great product, but we don’t particularly like the idea of another dedicated device in our entertainment center with limited functionality.

So you can imagine how pleased I was last Wednesday when I heard the official announcement that, beginning later this spring, the Nintendo Wii will support on-demand streaming of content from Netflix. If you have a Netflix account that includes on-demand streaming you can now sign up online to receive a free disc that, when inserted, will allow you to watch streaming content on your Wii.

The Playstation 3 and XBOX 360 have both supported Netflix streaming for quite some time. It’s nice to see Nintendo doing the same.

Posted by PJ on Jan 19, 2010 | 17 Comments | Tweet This

The Amish, their gadgets, and their ability to get rid of distractions

The lives of the Amish can seem simple, especially to those of us who are outsiders to their communities. They live off the electrical power grid, some use a horse and buggy as their main form of transportation, and they dress plainly. Their religious beliefs command that they live in this world but “not of it.”

When I talk to groups about uncluttered living, more often than not someone in the audience will express an objection to my ideas using the Amish in their argument. Typically the statement is, “but I don’t want to live like the Amish, I like my cell phone.” To this, I explain that uncluttered living doesn’t mean turning your back on modernity and, as a matter of clarification, many Amish have cell phones.

The lives of the Amish are filled with to-do lists and responsibilities just as ours. The ways in which they complete these items are different, but chores like laundry, dishes, meal preparations, and even returning e-mails still take up their time.

I’ve read a great deal about the Amish over the years, and one of the articles I’ve found that might interest Unclutterer readers is the article “Amish Hackers” from last year on Kevin Kelly’s Technium blog. The title appears to be an oxymoron, but Kelly’s research into the technical lives of the largest American Amish community illustrates how it’s not:

For being off the grid, without TV, internet, or books, the Amish are perplexingly well-informed. There’s not much I could tell them that they didn’t know about, and already had an opinion on. And surprisingly, there’s not much new that at least one person in their church has not tried to use. The typical adoption pattern went like this:

Ivan is an Amish alpha-geek. He is always the first to try a new gadget or technique. He gets in his head that the new flowbitzmodulator would be really useful. He comes up with a justification of how it fits into the Amish orientation. So he goes to his bishop with this proposal: “I like to try this out.” Bishop says to Ivan, “Okay Ivan, do whatever you want with this. But you have to be ready to give it up, if we decide it is not helping you or hurting others.” So Ivan acquires the tech and ramps it up, while his neighbors, family, and bishops watch intently. They weigh the benefits and drawbacks. What is it doing to the community? Cell phone use in the Amish began that way. According to anecdote, the first Amish alpha geeks to request permission to use cell phones were two ministers who were also contractors. The bishops were reluctant to give permission but suggested a compromise: keep the cell phones in the vans of the drivers. The van would be a mobile phone shanty. Then the community would watch the contractors. It seemed to work so others early adopters picked it up. But still at any time, even years later, the bishops can say no.

What inspires me most about the Amish isn’t their alleged simplicity (which you can probably infer I don’t necessarily believe is simpler), but their ability to give up a convenience after experiencing it. It is extremely difficult to give up a technology (or habit or vice or any possession) that you greatly enjoy. The fact that the Amish know of the technologies and ways of our world, have even experienced them, and are willing to give them up if they start to interfere with their priorities in life is what I find impressive. They easily get rid of the distractions that get in the way of what matters most to them.

Be sure to check out Kevin Kelly’s article in its entirety if you haven’t already.

Posted by Erin on Jan 11, 2010 | 24 Comments | Tweet This

Is checking voice mail, text, and e-mail messages outside of work hours cluttering your life?

We’ve recently talked about strategies for curing your e-mail addiction to reduce the number of times a day you check your e-mail at work. With many of us in the western world having a day or two off from work this week, I thought it might be appropriate to address the addiction you might have with checking messages of all kinds when you’re not at work.

How many times have you been at dinner with a friend and she puts her phone on the table without any explanation? (I’m not talking about when someone is waiting for an emergency call, but rather when she simply doesn’t want to miss any social call that might happen to come her way.) How many times have you done it? How many times have you been talking with someone and he reaches into his pocket to check his phone to see if he has any messages? (Again, not when he is on call or expecting an important message, but because the person can’t go for five minutes without checking to see what may have filtered in.) Has this been you? Are you obsessed with checking your phone for voice mail, text, and/or e-mail messages?

An addiction to checking your voice mail, text and/or e-mail messages may be cluttering up your life. It also might be interfering with your pursuit of what matters most to you. Even if you’re not addicted, and you just wish these forms of communication took up less time in your life, try the following tips to get message checking under control:

• Determine why you are always checking your messages. What reasons are propelling you to check in all the time? Are these reasons tied to what matters most to you? Or, are they tied to insecurities or simply out of habit?
• If some of your reasons for constantly checking your messages correspond to what matters most to you — maybe your job or your family — can you find a way to make these checks less obtrusive? For instance, can you set a specific ring tone for calls and messages from your technical support team at work? Can you turn off your message notification sounds but leave on an alarm so that you check your messages only at specified intervals?
• If your reasons are tied to insecurities or out of habit, can you leave your phone in your car’s glove box when you go into an event so that you can have access to it if you need it, but that access is just annoying enough that you won’t do it unless there is a reason? Can you ask the person you’re out with to carry your phone for you while you’re together?
• Remember that people survived only a decade ago without constant access to voice mail, text, and e-mail messages. If someone needs to reach you in an emergency, there is almost always a way to do it. Portable communication devices are extremely convenient, but using them shouldn’t be cluttering up the remarkable life you desire or interfering with what matters most to you.

Good luck to anyone who is struggling with a message-checking addiction. I have to admit, the first three months I had my iPhone, I was definitely addicted. I got through it, though, by having my husband carry my phone when we were out together. Eventually, I broke the habit and the novelty of constantly checking for messages wore off.

Posted by Erin on Dec 22, 2009 | 36 Comments | Tweet This

Gadgets of the decade that helped unclutter our lives

Paste Magazine dedicated their November issue to the “bests” of the 2000-2009 decade. They made lists of their favorite albums, movies, books, etc. of the past 10 years. One of the lists that caught our attention was their “20 Best Gadgets of the Decade.”

As unclutterers, we were specifically fond of Paste Editor-in-Chief Josh Jackson’s poignant observation about these technologies with item #3, the Garmin GPS:

When judging new technologies, you have to remember what they replaced. And is there any vestigial remnant from the 20th century we’ll miss less than the fold-out car map? The first automotive navigation system was developed in the early ‘80s, but it wasn’t until an executive order eliminated the intentional margin of error the military had insisted for commercial use on May 2, 2000, that the dashboard GPS became more accurate and widely available. Now you can navigate with voice directions from Homer Simpson, Gary Busey or Kim Cattrall. And you never have to try to fold those maps again.

The vast majority of gadgets on the list are devices that helped to get rid of clutter in our homes and offices. Gone is the need to stash blank VCR tapes thanks to the TiVo DVR (#2). The Amazon Kindle (#6) freed up space on our bookshelves. A single USB Thumb Drive (#17) replaced hundreds of CDs and floppy disks. Other items, like the iPhone (#7) created space in our bags and purses by replacing our little black books, pocket calculators, notepads, watches, calendars, and even our iPods (#1).

For all the unitaskers and useless doo dads the past decade gave us, at least there were a few gadgets that helped to get clutter out of our lives. Check out the “20 Best Gadgets of the Decade” and head back here to weigh in on the items selected for the list. Do you think the items are clutter-ful or clutter-freeing?

Posted by Erin on Dec 17, 2009 | 38 Comments | Tweet This

Status update: How are your 2009 resolutions working?

Last January, I professed to Unclutterer readers my 2009 resolution to get a handle on my overwhelming e-mail situation. I had hopes of finding e-mail zen this year, and I did — until August.

Regular readers of the website will remember that in August my husband and I received a phone call and a few days later became parents. We dropped everything, traveled to the state where our son was born, and lived there in a hotel for two weeks. I continued to write for the website during this period, but I let everything else work-related go — no e-mail, no phone calls, and the other Unclutterer staffers were left to fend for themselves.

I still have 80 unread e-mail messages from this time period in my inbox. Additionally, I have another 2,500 messages that are just hanging out and waiting to be processed. My whole system fell apart the minute I walked away from it.

Since I came back to work full time, I’ve tried my best to stay on top of the new messages I’ve received. However, I constantly feel overwhelmed by my inbox because of all of the not-properly processed messages from August and September. As a result, I’ve even fallen behind on processing newer messages. My loathing has created an avalanche of more loathing.

I refuse to end the year at anything other than Inbox Zero. So, between now and December 31, I’m committing to processing 120 of the old e-mails a day. I’m also committing to going through one of my folders and filters a day to make sure that I don’t have things in incorrect places (I found an Ask Unclutterer e-mail in my Unitasker suggestions folder the other day, so I know things can’t be good outside my inbox, either).

What was/were your 2009 resolution(s)? Do you need to get a plan in action now to make sure you achieve it before the end of the year? I’m interested in reading about your successes in the comments. Good luck, and I hope your resolutions are going better than mine.

Posted by Erin on Dec 10, 2009 | 24 Comments | Tweet This

iPhone alarm clocks

My husband and I need a new alarm clock and, after many deliberations, we have decided to go with a unit that works in conjunction with our iPhones. Since the units are all multi-functional (they’re all iPhone chargers, and all but the first include speakers to play music from iTunes at better quality than the phone speaker), I thought I would share with you our finalists.

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The Kensington K33458US Nightstand Charging Dock for iPhone and iPod Touch

This is the most basic of all the options. It’s really only a charging dock that helps your iPhone stand on its side. It works with the Kensington Rise and Shine clock and weather app available in the app store. We found it to be a bit overpriced ($20) for just a charger but its design is simple and straightforward.

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The Philips DC315/37 Speaker System for iPod/iPhone with LED clock radio

It has a futuristic and sleek design, along with a built-in FM tuner and auxiliary input. I specifically like the auxiliary input to use with even more devices. My husband likes the LED screen on this one, but I’d prefer a bolder typeface. It’s $89, which I think is a bit more than I want to spend.

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The iHome iP99BR Dual Alarm Clock Radio with Dock for iPod, iPhone

This one looks like a more traditional alarm clock radio than the others, takes up a bit more space than the others, and is a lot more expensive than the others ($139). It comes with a remote for the person on the far-side of the bed. It’s okay, but neither of our favorites.

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The Sony ICF-C7IP Clock Radio for iPod and iPhone with hidden sliding dock tray

The dock slides in so that the unit is smaller when the iPhone isn’t attached. It also comes with a remote for the person to use on the far-side of the bed. This is my choice because it’s functional, good quality, reasonably priced ($62), and looks decent without an iPhone in it. You’ll have to guess which unit my husband prefers.

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Do you have any of the units mentioned above? Another one we didn’t consider? We still haven’t made our purchase, so tell us about your alarm clock preferences in the comments.

Posted by Erin on Dec 8, 2009 | 60 Comments | Tweet This

Reducing visual clutter in Mail.app

The fabulous Patrick Rhone from Minimal Mac instructs Mac users how to make their e-mail program less cluttered in his guest post today. Thank you, Patrick, for sharing your talents with us!

Take a look at the peacefully minimal Window above. That is Mail.app, the built in e-mail application on Mac OS X. You may not recognize it in that form. By default, it looks like this:

In just a few steps, you too can simplify and de-clutter Mail.app. Here is how:

1. In Mail.app, under the View menu, select “Hide Mailboxes.” This will hide the folders along the left hand side of the Mail window. Don’t worry about being able to get to those. I’ve got a better way coming up.
2. Next, also under the View menu, select “Hide Toolbar.” This will hide the icons at the top of the window. Once again, I’ve got a solution for accessing those items, including the Search box, that is faster and will save you hours a week.

These next steps are optional but I endorse them.

3. Install, Letterbox. This gives you the option to use that widescreen monitor to its fullest extent by placing the preview pane for the messages on the right or left side versus the default which is on the bottom. If you have the screen real estate, why not use it?
4. Install Mail Act-On. This will allow you to navigate mailboxes, file messages, open folders, set custom actions, and much more — all using your keyboard. Using this, in combination with learning the default keyboard commands, will eliminate the need to keep items number 1 and 2 displayed and save hours each week for heavy email users.

Speaking of keyboard commands, if you want to display the Mailboxes again, Command + Shift + M will bring them right back. Also, if you miss the search box in the Toolbar, Command + Option + F will bring it right back, allow you to perform your search, and hide the toolbar again once done. See, told you I would give you a better way.

Posted by Patrick on Dec 7, 2009 | 19 Comments | Tweet This

DIY everyday camera bag

The primary disadvantage of DSLR cameras is the inconvenience of trying to carry them everywhere. In searching for the perfect everyday camera bag, I found that bags for cameras are designed to carry only camera equipment. Some backpacks will fit a laptop and a few personal items, but if you prefer a messenger bag, there really isn’t any middle ground.

But it turns out that Timbuk2’s new Commute 2.0 bag is just the right size for adding a single insert to carry a DSLR. Two inserts that seem to be the right size are the Billingham 12-21 Superflex insert and the Domke FA-211 insert. I didn’t really feel like paying $30 for this experiment, so I constructed one myself from some foam and duct tape, then attached it to the inside of the bag with industrial strength Velcro. I’ve been using it for a couple of months now, and it has held up nicely.

As you can see, there is plenty of room for my camera, along with the other items that I like to carry with me. If i need to bring my laptop, there’s a zipper compartment on the outside of the bag so that the laptop doesn’t take up interior space.

Posted by Brian on Oct 8, 2009 | 12 Comments | Tweet This

Free time-tracking applications

Keeping track of how you spend your time is a necessity when you’re billing segments of your workday to multiple clients, but it’s also valuable for determining your efficiency and productivity. Lifehacker recently reviewed and rated the Five Best Time-Tracking Applications and awarded Klok (free and usable on all platforms) as the top application:

Built with Adobe AIR, Klok is a lightweight and cross-platform tracking solution. You can create a hierarchy of projects and sub-projects in the task-management sidebar and then track the time spent on each by dragging and dropping them into the workflow for the day. While you can delve into the details of each block of time, simple adjustments like expanding the amount of time you’ve worked on a project is as easy as grabbing the edge of the block with your mouse and tugging it down.

Also on their list are Manic Time (Windows), SlimTimer (web-based), RescueTime (Windows and Mac), and Project Hamster (Linux). All five of the applications mentioned in the article are free to access or download.

If you haven’t tracked your time before, I recommend keeping records for at least two weeks to see how you spend your time. The data you will acquire will give you insight into your most productive hours of the day, your low-performance times, when people tend to interrupt you, and how much time you waste during an average day. Then, you can start to tweak your work habits to get the most out of your time in the office.

Posted by Erin on Sep 23, 2009 | 17 Comments | Tweet This

Recovering from an e-mail interruption

The October issue of Real Simple magazine quotes a Microsoft and University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign study that claims it takes 17 minutes “for a worker interrupted by e-mail to get back to what she was doing.”

If this statistic is true, and I know from experience that there is a refractory time after any distraction, it is strong evidence against leaving the notification alert active on your e-mail program. Instead, you should schedule time in your day to check your e-mail. Based on the type of office environment you work in, you might need to check your e-mail at the top of every hour. However, most people can get by only checking their e-mail two to four times during the work day.

I also recommend checking e-mail during the times when you are usually distracted during the day. Whether this is when others tend to interrupt you or when your mind typically wanders on its own, it’s best not to try to do high-functioning activities when you plan to work through your e-mail inbox. For me, this is right after lunch when I find it difficult to concentrate for more than a few minutes at a time. I check e-mail, return phone calls, and do a little bit of filing.

Try turning off the notification alert on your e-mail system and only checking e-mail on a schedule and see if it improves your productivity. If the interruption refractory period really is 17 minutes, you should immediately notice significant gains in your focus.

Posted by Erin on Sep 17, 2009 | 23 Comments | Tweet This

Downloading digital sheet music

While at her local Nordstrom’s Department Store, my friend spotted the piano player using a MusicPad Pro for his sheet music. It’s a digital device, much like a Kindle, that can hook to a special music stand or be carted around like a single piece of sheet music. Officially, the product is a “music performance computer tablet.” My friend called me immediately to tell me about this space-saving and organized device.

Digital sheet music for the MusicPad Pro can be purchased and downloaded from the website FreeHandMusic.com. If I understand the information on the website, there is also a subscription service where users can have continuous access to a music library for around $50 per month.

Upon further research, I’ve learned that my comparison of the Music Pad Pro to a Kindle is actually quite common — so common in fact that FreeHandMusic has now made their sheet music available for purchase on the Kindle. Since the MusicPad Pro retails for around $900 and the Kindle around $300, I believe the Kindle is a better deal since it also has the ability to download books, magazines, newspapers, blogs, etc. However, you can scan your existing sheet music into the MusicPad Pro and you can annotate and make notes on page — neither of which you can do on a Kindle.

Irrespective of which digital device might be of interest, I think both are an organized solution for young musicians who are just starting to acquire a sheet music collection. If digitizing your sheet music collection isn’t your forte, you might consider spiral binding your music.

(Image of the MusicPad Pro via FreeHandMusic.com)

Posted by Erin on Aug 26, 2009 | 18 Comments | Tweet This

Five ways to use Evernote to organize your busy family life

I recently wrote a post for the Evernote website that I want to direct you to: “5 Ways to Use Evernote to Organize Your Busy Family Life.” Here is the first tip:

1. Remember where you parked
Whether at the mall, an amusement park, or a concert with your kids, the last thing you want to do is delay getting home because you can’t find your car in the enormous parking garage or lot. When you first park, snap a picture of identifying information near your space and save it to Evernote. If you’re in a rental, also add a picture of the license plate of the car you’re driving. Once you’re back, either delete the pictures or add notes about the quality of the spot if it’s somewhere you might want to park again. “Great place for quickly getting onto the highway ramp after a packed concert at Wolf Trap Amphitheater.”

Feel welcome to check it out and come back here and add to the list. Tell us how you use Evernote and other technologies to organize your busy family life.

Posted by Erin on Aug 24, 2009 | 13 Comments | Tweet This

Storing small memory cards

I don’t know if I’ve ever publicly admitted this, but I’m a gamer. I play at least half an hour every day, and usually more than that. I have numerous electronic gaming systems and even a huge collection of board games for when I want to be away from a computer. I’ll play any game at least once, and when I find a favorite I’ll spend days working to master it.

I didn’t grow up playing video games like many of my peers, but got into it in college thanks to my friend Clark. (Clark also introduced Stevie Case to computer gaming their freshman year of college … small world.) I like solving puzzles and gaming is my constant outlet for that aspect of my personality, and I’ll always be in debt to Clark for being my guide.

There are a couple Nintendo DS Lite games coming out in the next few weeks that I’ve pre-ordered to take with me while I’m traveling for my book publicity. Unfortunately, I don’t have a very organized method for taking all of my DS Lite games (about 30) with me. After a little research, I’m looking at getting one of these:

A Memory Card Album with anti-static pages that can hold three games (or SD cards or MMC cards or other small discs) per page:

Or, a Memory Card and Manual Holder that has places for games and the instruction manuals that come with the games. It too could easily hold other small memory cards:

Do you have multiple games that are stored on small discs or do you carry small cards for work or your camera? How do you keep them stored in a safe and organized fashion? I’d like to know what you use. The smaller memory cards get, I think the more we’re going to address this issue.

Posted by Erin on Aug 20, 2009 | 31 Comments | Tweet This

TuneUp your iTunes collection

I use iTunes to organize my digital music collection and, for the most part, it suits my needs. I say “for the most part” because similar to the problem I’ve been having with the photographs that I had scanned, not all of my music has correct information associated with it. Fortunately for my music, though, I don’t have to go through my entire iTunes collection song-by-song to straighten out the missing and incorrect data. I have found a program that simply corrects my data — TuneUp.

Based on algorithms and other technical things I don’t fully understand (kind of like the iPhone app Shazam), TuneUp picks up where iTunes leaves off at properly identifying the music in my collection. I no longer have seven Track 03s on my playlists. All I have to do is drag the misidentified song into the “cleaner” and TuneUp pulls up possible matches. (The cleaner function is displayed at right.)

In addition to identifying songs, it also fixes formatting, finds rarer cover art, matches artist names, and even gives information about the songs in your collection sort of like VH1’s old Pop-Up Videos.

There are other programs out there similar to TuneUp, I just happened to find this program first and since it worked for me I didn’t try the others. If you have tried other programs and had success, please tell us about your experiences in the comments. TuneUp is free for a “limited-access” download, and is around $20 for an “unlimited” version.

If only I could find a program to clean up my digital photographs as easily …

(Image from TuneUp’s website … I fear if I show my music collection you all will make strange — but probably correct — assumptions about me! And, it should go without saying, but I wasn’t paid to write this review.)

Posted by Erin on Aug 18, 2009 | 17 Comments | Tweet This

In pursuit of the dream docking station

Maggie Mason’s recent post on WePC.com “If I Were In Charge: A Docking Station Wishlist” has me thinking about charging stations for electronic devices. For the most part, PC laptop docking/charging stations are unattractive and cumbersome. It’s one of the reasons that I use a second monitor with numerous USB ports instead of a traditional docking station. Maggie describes what she would like to see in these devices in her article:

… I don’t want a mass tangle of wires — there should be individual drawers with gratifying slots for all my gadgets. And like GBear’s idea for a streamlined dockbook, my dream docking station would connect to my laptop via a single, elegant plug.

Simple and clutter-free to the eye, my docking station would also have muscle, with heavy peripherals like DVD burner/player or secondary processor all built directly into the station, which means my laptop can be ultra light, petite, and purse-friendly.

I agree with her ideas and would add that I would also love a back up hard drive dock. What would you like in your dream docking/charging station? Tell us your ideas in the comments.

Posted by Erin on Aug 4, 2009 | 11 Comments | Tweet This

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