Internet Business Productivity

Friday Readership: Apple Mac by Microsoft guy, Business advice and Birthday

This Friday will not be about the Apple iPad, but the fruit company will remain anyway. Here's the roundup of articles that caught my attention, you can browse the other "Friday readerships" here:

From MSFT evangelist to Mac enthusiast - the other side of the road by Don Dodge

I had a pleasure of meeting Don personally twice during my most recent USA trip, we talked and laughed and I asked him about how it feels to be a Google guy after many years of being a Microsoft guy. This post explains it all and shows the conversion from purely Microsoft products to Google and Apple powered ones.

Business Advice In Three Words by Neil Patel

Neil did an interesting post on three-word business advice and most of it is really worth reading several times. He starts with "Time is money" and later continues with "listen to customers" or "use social media". Really great read. One of the people commenting added my favorite ABC: "Always Be Closing" (a sale).

Basecamp turns 6 by Jason Fried

37signals is my "guru" company and I admire them for what they are doing and how they've inspired me and other startup founders in the world. It's their Basecamp and Backpack apps that inspired me to do a GTD web app called Nozbe and find my passion in running it. Basecamp is double the age of Nozbe which just turned 3 which says a lot about how much time these guys are already making it all happen. Congrats guys and thanks again for... basically everything!

Are you also a Microsoft-to-Apple convert? What's your favorite three-word advice? Are you a Basecamp, Backpack or Nozbe user?

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I'm Michael Sliwinski and I'm an entrepreneur who's also the...
.. Founder of Nozbe.com - a time and project management web application
.. Editor of Productive! Magazine - a global PDF publication on productivity
.. and a blogger as well as a producer of a weekly 2-minute Productive! show.

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Filed under // apple business followfriday startup

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Posted 3 days ago (Friday, 5 Feb 10)

Efficient Traveling and Switching Planes - ProductiveShow.com

I just came back from my two-week USA tour in the New York City, Boston and the Silicon Valley and in the meantime recorded several episodes of my Productive! Show. I'll be posting the shows in the forthcoming weeks, yesterday I posted my first show on my ProductiveShow.com blog:

Efficient Traveling and Switching Planes

What are your tips for quick and efficient traveling? Hand luggage tips and tricks?

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I'm Michael Sliwinski and I'm an entrepreneur who's also the...
.. Founder of Nozbe.com - a time and project management web application
.. Editor of Productive! Magazine - a global PDF publication on productivity
.. and a blogger as well as a producer of a weekly 2-minute Productive! show.

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Filed under // productivity video

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Posted 4 days ago (Thursday, 4 Feb 10)

3 productivity tips and tricks for open space workers in California's Silicon Valley offices

If you've been following my Twitter feed lately, you can see I've been traveling in Silicon Valley in California, visiting headquarters of the companies like Facebook, Yahoo, Google, Techcrunch, Plug and Play Tech Center and others... and most of these companies have office spaces that look like this:

"Open to everyone"... and everything - including distractions

All of the companies say this kind of office setup is cool and promotes openness... but what they don't tell you is that it's really hard to concentrate and get things done in a setup like this. The funny thing is that most of the guys who designed offices like this are brilliant people who might have even read the book "Peopleware" but they somehow forgot about the key advice from this book...

How to get stuff done in an "Open" environment?

OK, let's be constructive about this situation and embrace the "openness" and give some solutions as to how to be effective and productive in this kind of environment:

"Solution" 1 - use headphones

Yes, I've heard that before - developers and office workers use headphones to clear the noise, but many studies have already shown that programmers do a better and more creative code when they are sitting in silence than listening to the music. Music is usually a distraction as well.

"Solution" 2 - use 3 display monitors... or more!

The problem with working in a place like this is the fact that even if you've cleared the noise with headphones, you can still see everyone around you. To make sure you won't be tempted to look around and stare at other people, get as many display monitors as you can... and as big screen displays as can be - this way you won't be able to see people around all that much.

Using multiple monitor setup is actually a great productivity booster as such, but in an open environment it gives an additional benefit of being a barrier between you and the guy in front of you.

"Solution" 3 - embrace it (like you have a choice)

That's right, embrace the fact that most (if not all) companies in Silicon Valley prefer open spaces. That Venture Capital firms which invest in startups don't want them to "waste" money on private offices. Be proud of the fact that you work for Facebook in an open environment - after all it's the most over-valued and over-hyped startup in the world and they are allowed not to care about your working environment.

Finally, enjoy the good weather in California, maybe other programmers at companies like Fog Creek have great private offices, Aeron chairs and a overall fantastic environment (I know, I was there)... but they are located in the cold New York City.

The "solutions" described above won't help all that much

This is why they are written with ' " ' sign - these are not solutions but key problems I have with open spaces. Aha, and did I mention that it's really hard to get stuff done in an office because people can poke you and distract you all of the time? Well, in an "open" office constant poking is guaranteed.

I don't like open spaces and I think they're a contradiction to productivity. I'm just not THAT open - what do you think?

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I'm Michael Sliwinski and I'm an entrepreneur who's also the...
.. Founder of Nozbe.com - a time and project management web application
.. Editor of Productive! Magazine - a global PDF publication on productivity
.. and a blogger as well as a producer of a weekly 2-minute Productive! show.

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Filed under // gtd office productivity startup

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Posted 5 days ago (Wednesday, 3 Feb 10)

7 ways the new Apple iPad will increase your productivity

The Apple's iPad is still causing lots of controversy all over the Internet and since it's not been shipped yet to the Apple stores, hardly anyone has ever played with it. However, looking at the iPad's page and the promo video, one can already find a number of ways the iPad will do to improve your productivity (if you get one of course):

1. There's no "right" way to hold it, it rotates automatically to adjust to you

iPhone users know this already, but for many folks this can be a new thing - you can just grab the iPad and it rotates to adjust to the way you grabbed it. It doesn't force you to think "how to hold it" - just grab it and start playing with it.

2. Pinch and zoom photos, tap articles to make them bigger and better for reading

Again, nothing new for the iPhone users, but on this kind of device it's unprecedented - just pinch and zoom or simply tap to read an article better, to see more details, to make sure your eyes are not working too hard. This will make it a perfect computing device for people with sight problems.

3. Process email inbox to zero beautifully

The beautiful all new interface to email will make processing messages to zero fun and cool. You'll be inclined to process more messages at the time just because of the cool interface of the new email app - the "paper-like" feel to the email messages and ease of use will encourage you to get email done.

4. Single-tasking will improve your focus, it's a feature, not a bug!

People complain about the fact that you can be in one app at the time on the iPhone and will do the same on the iPad... but this actually helps boost your focus and decrease distractions. You'll get more done, one app at a time. The only thing I'm concerned about is the performance of the on-screen keyboard, especially for people like me who are touch-typing.

5. One email message at a time in vertical view

Similar to the point above, iPad has another focus-boosting feature in its email client - when you rotate the screen you see the email message in a beautiful vertical view and you see only this message, no inboxes, no folders, no clutter, just the message that you can give full attention to.

6. Beautiful calendar will encourage planning your Weekly Review

The calendar app on the iPad is incredibly similar to the good old-school paper calendars we used to carry around with us. I'm sure this app will encourage more order and better planning... and who knows, maybe we'll finally be able to schedule your GTD Weekly Review more often than once a month? Let's hope so!

7. Books will encourage readership - you'll read David Allen's book again!

The iPad is to serve as an eBook reader and from what I'm seeing on the video, it'll be the most elegant eBook we've seen so far. It'll help you read more and learn more... also about productivity!

Elegance helps getting things done

I've highlighted many times in this post the iPad's aesthetics and the fact that the apps coming with it also look gorgeous and I'm telling you - interacting with pretty tools makes you want to use them more. I should know, I'm using the Macbook Air and enjoy working on it every day.

How will the iPad improve our productivity? Will the apps really deliver on the iPad? Time will tell, but since it's just a bigger iPhone/iPod Touch, I'm sure this device can be a real productivity booster for everyone. What do you think?

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I'm Michael Sliwinski and I'm an entrepreneur who's also the...
.. Founder of Nozbe.com - a time and project management web application
.. Editor of Productive! Magazine - a global PDF publication on productivity
.. and a blogger as well as a producer of a weekly 2-minute Productive! show.

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Filed under // apple gtd ipad productivity

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Posted 6 days ago (Tuesday, 2 Feb 10)

Friday Readership: No one really likes the Apple iPad?

OK, so this was Apple's week big time. They first announced their best quarter results ever and two days later they launched the new computing/lifestyle device/gadget - the Apple iPad. What it is is just a bigger iPod Touch and folks have been asking questions if this device really makes sense...

So here's a roundup of my favorite Apple iPad articles (and at the bottom of everything I'll add my 2 cents):

First Impressions of the New Apple iPad by Walt Mossberg

"It’s about the software, stupid. While all sorts of commentators were focusing on how much Apple’s new $499 iPad tablet computer looks like an oversized iPhone, the key to whether it can be the first multi-function tablet to win wide public acceptance probably lies in whether consumers perceive it as a suitable replacement for a laptop in key scenarios."

So Walt was pretty objective, but most of geeks and gadget reviewers/bloggers didn't like the device:

What's missing from the iPad by TUAW's Mel Martin

While all the final info is not out yet, there were a few major omissions from the iPad hardware. Here's the highly desireable stuff that came out missing: No Camera, No verizon, No notifications, No TV content, No multitasking...

The Problem with the Apple iPad by Lifehacker's Adam Pash

The iPad, much like the iPhone, is completely locked down. The user has no control over what she installs on the hardware, short of accepting exactly what Apple has approved for it...

8 Things That Suck About the iPad by Gizmodo's Adam Frucci

A lot of people at Gizmodo are psyched about the iPad. Not me! My god, am I underwhelmed by it. It has some absolutely backbreaking failures that will make buying one the last thing I would want to do...

But not all reviews were so bad, some liked it:

The iPad Is Like Holding The Future. But Only Because I Graduated From iPhone School by Techcrunch's MG Siegler

Most people won’t yet, but as long as Apple has its base that will buy and use the iPad, they have plenty of time for either themselves or third-party developers to create the killer uses that make the iPad a must-have product for a broader range of people ... there will be no shortage of people willing to splurge on the device just to see what all the fuss is about. They’ll get hooked too.

And I'd like to finalize this post with quote from my favorite NY Tiimes journalist:

The Apple iPad: First Impressions by NY Times' David Pogue

"My main message to fanboys is this: it’s too early to draw any conclusions. Apple hasn’t given the thing to any reviewers yet, there are no iPad-only apps yet (there will be), the e-bookstore hasn’t gone online yet, and so on. So hyperventilating is not yet the appropriate reaction.

At the same time, the bashers should be careful, too. As we enter Phase 2, remember how silly you all looked when you all predicted the iPhone’s demise in that period before it went on sale."

What do you think about the iPad? Love it? Hate it? Will you buy it (i.e. vote with your wallet)?

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I'm Michael Sliwinski and I'm an entrepreneur who's also the...
.. Founder of Nozbe.com - a time and project management web application
.. Editor of Productive! Magazine - a global PDF publication on productivity
.. and a blogger as well as a producer of a weekly 2-minute Productive! show.

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Filed under // apple followfriday gadgets ipad

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Posted 10 days ago (Friday, 29 Jan 10)

On stage like Apple's Steve Jobs: 3 Mistakes to avoid when presenting

Today we're all enjoying Apple's Keynote presentation where Steve Jobs is showing off their new gadget called iPad (let's hope this thing ships today, 'cos I already want to buy it). Watching Steve deliver his presentation reminded me of three fundamental mistakes people make when delivering a keynote presentation....

Photo courtesy of gdgt

Delivering a good and solid presentation is not a rocket science, just avoid these three mistakes and you'll be closer to Steve's perfection than you think:

1. Don't start with an apology - it's not funny

I've noticed many people start presentations saying:

- "I'm sorry I'm not really prepared"

- "This presentation is crap, I've just finished doing it"

- "I did this presentation 5 minutes ago when on the plane/train"

- "This presentation will be boring to you"

- "Sorry for this/that, I didn't have the time to..."

What you're doing is actually saying: "I can't understand why you came to this event/conference and paid for it (with money, time, travel) to listen to me, as I obviously don't care about you at all to bother preparing myself for this speech."

Is it really the message you're trying to convey? Do you really think it's funny? No it isn't. Don't say anything like this even if you're really unprepared. Don't say upfront you'll be wasting people's time. Just don't.

2. Use dark background color and BIG white letters, 30 pixels minimum. Don't paste entire paragraphs.

Guy Kawasaki has this 10/20/30 rule when pitching Venture Capital firms saying - your presentation should have max 10 slides, last max 20 minutes and the smallest font size you're allowed to use is 30.

Many people use white background (Microsoft Powerpoint default) which is really not that elegant. Plus if the projector/beamer is crappy, the presentation looks crappy too. However this is nothing compared to the fact that lots of folks simply paste entire paragraphs to a presentation! I mean, come on, you're there presenting and you want me to read your presentation from the end of the hall when it's all written with the font size 8?

Unfortunately MS Powerpoint's presentation defaults encourage this mistake so remember this - change background to dark and don't use smaller fonts than 30. Ever. Don't make people read your presentation and distract them from your keynote speech.

3. Look at the public, don't read slides

OK, this is a fundamental mistake yet so many people do it! Both Powerpoint and Keynote (my tool of choice) have "presentation mode" where you can see the slide in front of you on your computer and you don't have to watch the slides behind you.

It's the people you should be talking to, not the slides. If you've applied the trick you've learned in #2 (using min 30 pixel font size) you won't be encouraged to read your slides anyway.

This is the worst thing that can happen - a guy delivering a presentation by standing back to the public reading his own slides. Can you offend the audience more than that?

That's it, just don't do these 3 mistakes and you'll be delivering keynotes like Apple's own Steve Jobs. It's that easy. You don't have to be charismatic to do that.

What are your tricks to deliver great presentations? Tools? Ideas? Experiences?

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I'm Michael Sliwinski and I'm an entrepreneur who's also the...
.. Founder of Nozbe.com - a time and project management web application
.. Editor of Productive! Magazine - a global PDF publication on productivity
.. and a blogger as well as a producer of a weekly 2-minute Productive! show.

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Filed under // apple keynote presentation

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Posted 12 days ago (Wednesday, 27 Jan 10)

Friday Readership: Less conversation, more iPhone for kids... and clarity

If you're following my Twitter feed this week, you know I've been busy traveling between New York City, San Francisco and the Silicon Valley, but I'd like to give you a portion of cool articles I've found this week (I do this every Friday, so check the rest of my Friday blog posts here)

I Gave My 3 Year Old an iPhone: Have I Created a Monster? by Patrick Hunt

I'm missing my daughter right now (will not see her for another week before I return home) and although she's only one year young... she's a daughter of a geek (guilty!) so I'm sure I'll be doing the same as Patrick did: "My three year old daughter now has her own iPhone, though without service so it is effectively an iPod touch. And how did I create a monster, you might ask? Easy. Her first words upon waking from sleep are “Where’s my iPhone?”...

A little less conversation by Joel Spolsky

Joel writes about productivity, focus and he has many valid points there: “As companies expand, the people within them start to specialize. At such a point, some managers will conclude that they have a ‘keep everyone on the same page’ problem. But often what they actually have is a ‘stop people from meddling when there are already enough smart people working on something’ problem.”

11 Ways to Gain Clarity by Steve Pavlina

You can agree or disagree with many of Steve's posts, but this one is really good: "Fortunately there are many actions you can take and mental adjustments you can make that will help you shift from uncertainty to certainty. Here are 11 tips for infusing your life with more clarity: ...."

What did you find interesting this week? Link it up! or @MichaelNozbe me!

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I'm Michael Sliwinski and I'm an entrepreneur who's also the...
.. Founder of Nozbe.com - a time and project management web application
.. Editor of Productive! Magazine - a global PDF publication on productivity
.. and a blogger as well as a producer of a weekly 2-minute Productive! show.

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Filed under // family followfriday iphone productivity

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Posted 17 days ago (Friday, 22 Jan 10)

Serious Corporations use "serious business language". They don't speak English

The problem with many startups and small businesses is that they want to be big... they want to sound big, because they believe that showing an image of a "big company" makes them more serious and trustworthy. While that can be the case in some situations, trying to imitate a big company can sometimes work against you... especially in the way you deal with your customers and language you use.

"We're sorry for any inconvenience this may have caused"

Big corporations use this language to "apologize" for a server downtime. Just read it again. "Any inconvenience"? Users can't get to their data, they are furious! "We're sorry"? Sorry doesn't mean anything - "apologize" means you really take the blame, how about this: "We truly apologize for the server downtime, we know you really need to get to your data and we're working hard to make sure we're up and running again and that this kind of error won't happen in the future. Please bear with us just another minute.". Take the blame, be apologetic, suck it up and be human. People understand if you talk their language.

The official online forms with lots of data and no sentences

Just because your "big" competitor has a signup form asking for a user's favorite color, doesn't mean you have to. Make the signup experience as simple and short as possible. When you sign up for Nozbe, I only ask for Name, Email and ... that's it. I ask for password only after you've confirmed your email address... and I ask for rest of the data on "as-needed" basis. Why ask for country or city? You can get this data from the users's IP address if you really need it. Don't make the barrier of entry too high for your startup!

Same with the lack of sentences - "Sign me up" looks a lot better on a signup button than "Save" or "Submit". Explain what you mean, speak English, not Corporate'ish.

The corporate way of treating people - bureaucratic customer support

Just have a look at how your mobile phone company is treating you. How your cable tv company is ignoring your requests. Look at these big companies and ask yourself, do I want my customers/users to be as upset as I am right now when this big company is sending me a letter I don't understand? A letter? In 21st century?

The other day I had a problem with incorrect invoices on my mobile phone bill, I called their call center and they said I had to write a formal letter to get this correction done (it's them who screwed up, and it's me who has to write the letter?)... so I wrote the letter. After 3 weeks they sent me a letter back saying, that in my letter I forgot to mention this and that data and I needed to send the letter again. Couldn't just they've called me? They know my number, after all they are my mobile phone company! Was this helpful? Was I upset? Is this the way to act if it's the company who makes mistake?

The Bottom line:

Don't be like big companies, use English language, take the blame even if it's not entirely yours. Just like Kennedy said: don't ask what your user/customer can do for you, ask what you can do for them.

Disclaimer: in the past I also admit I used some of the "corporate" phrases in my correspondence with my users... I apologize, this won't happen again, I will speak English.

Which of the companies you work with treat you well and with respect? What is there still to improve? How do you improve your company to server better your customers?

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I'm Michael Sliwinski and I'm an entrepreneur who's also the...
.. Founder of Nozbe.com - a time and project management web application
.. Editor of Productive! Magazine - a global PDF publication on productivity
.. and a blogger as well as a producer of a weekly 2-minute Productive! show.

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Filed under // business enterprise startup

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Posted 20 days ago (Tuesday, 19 Jan 10)

New Year's Resolutions as GTD Projects - ProductiveShow.com

My Friday's compilation of New Year's Resolutions advice was quite popular so I recorded a video for my Productive Show blog, explaining how I approach New Year's Resolutions:

Simply put, as incremental goals that are verifiable and they I keep on constantly working on.

What's your take on New Year's resolutions?

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I'm Michael Sliwinski and I'm an entrepreneur who's also the...
.. Founder of Nozbe.com - a time and project management web application
.. Editor of Productive! Magazine - a global PDF publication on productivity
.. and a blogger as well as a producer of a weekly 2-minute Productive! show.

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Filed under // 2010 show video

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Posted 21 days ago (Monday, 18 Jan 10)

Friday Readership: Less is more, Android army and Amplifying complaints

Today I'd like to bring to your attention a mix of three totally different posts that really made me think and challenged my point of view...

Reader Responses to Review of Google’s Nexus One by David Pogue

"I think I may have accidentally unearthed a whole new untapped population online: the Android Army." ... "And yet here is this new army of Google defenders, raising their spears and chanting as though you’ve insulted….Apple." - read the complete article where David talks about this new phenomenon.

You can always do less by David Heinemeier Hansson

"The easiest way to force the insight of what can be lived without is by playing a game of constraints" ...."It’s amazing how creative the cuts and sharp the sacrifices become when you’re backed into a corner. It’s when you have to choose that you make the best choices." - great insights by the other David - simply embrace the constraints... but first create them!

Amplifying complaints by Seth Godin

"Here's a common human trick: before you state your complaint, wind yourself up with a preface that makes your complaint even more plaintive and more vivid." - Seth explains how human language and pro-human approach can change the way people deal with you... and they'll actually help you! I'll talk about the aspects of language in business in one of my posts next week.

Have a great weekend! What caught your eye this week? What has inspired you or made you think? Let me know!

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I'm Michael Sliwinski and I'm an entrepreneur who's also the...
.. Founder of Nozbe.com - a time and project management web application
.. Editor of Productive! Magazine - a global PDF publication on productivity
.. and a blogger as well as a producer of a weekly 2-minute Productive! show.

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Filed under // android business followfriday iphone startup

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Posted 24 days ago (Friday, 15 Jan 10)

This Month:	All Time:
Christmas Cleaning: Clutter-free... New Year's Resolutions for 2010... Y-Combinator vs Seedcamp... UX Confessions of an iPhone... Power of a structured "GTD" day...	GTD Notetaker Wallet - why pen... Zen To Done - 30 days to a habit... Removing features, noise and buttons... Macbook Air rocks and is sexy... How my daughter made my life richer...

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Friday Readership: Apple Mac by Microsoft guy, Business advice and Birthday

Efficient Traveling and Switching Planes - ProductiveShow.com

3 productivity tips and tricks for open space workers in California's Silicon Valley offices

7 ways the new Apple iPad will increase your productivity

Friday Readership: No one really likes the Apple iPad?

On stage like Apple's Steve Jobs: 3 Mistakes to avoid when presenting

Friday Readership: Less conversation, more iPhone for kids... and clarity

Serious Corporations use "serious business language". They don't speak English

New Year's Resolutions as GTD Projects - ProductiveShow.com

Friday Readership: Less is more, Android army and Amplifying complaints