Productivity @ Home

Avoiding Orphan Sock Syndrome

HT to Danielle at the new Faith and Family Live blog for bringing to my attention a laundry sanity saver, the Sock Cop. Who among us isn't frustrated by the orphan socks in our lives? We all have ways of dealing with them - some turn them into dusting devices or whiteboard erasers. Others are able to simply and guiltlessly throw them away. Not me - perhaps it's the optimist in me that keeps a small pile of mateless socks next to my washing machine, convinced that someday their long lost mates will reappear.

Danielle, a self professed "laundry geek" recommends the Sock Cop, a small plastic device that clips two socks together and keeps them clipped throughout the laundry cycle. I'm not sure how much time I waste every week sorting socks, but I'm fairly sure it's at least twenty minutes per week. Would the acquisition of some Sock Cops help me write that next best-seller? Could I do more volunteer work at my church or spend time on my home business? What would you do with the extra time you spend sorting socks each week?

In my home, sock sorting is less of a chore since I purchase different styles and brands for the four sets of feet that live here. But if sock sorting is one of the banes of your productive existence, you may want to check out this handy little tool and make life a little more efficient.

Sock Cop ends lost, mis-matched socks - Laundry Accessory, Sock clips that keep Socks Organized

iPhone Productivity App of the Day - NYTimes iPhone App

Today's iPhone productivity app of the day won't be found in the "Productivity" category, but rather in the "News" category. Now, thanks to my iPhone, I have daily access to the New York Times through this convenient, free application.

We've had access to the Times for years through the website, but now with my iPhone and a few spare minutes I can get caught up with all the latest news and information. The app is free and does not require registration or subscription to the newspaper. The features vary daily but include most major sections of the paper (excluding classified adds and movie times). A small, unobtrusive banner ad appears at the bottom of each article page but is not a hindrance to reading the information listed on the page.

Upon initiation, the app takes less than two minutes to sync on my iPhone. Syncing is an important feature, as it allows the content to be viewed even when you are offline, including in airplane mode.

Individual iPhone users can configure the content you choose to view and select your favorites for the bottom row icons. In your iPhone settings, you can determine the amount of days for which you would like access to news and articles, up to seven days.

Apps like the NYTimes iPhone app make waiting situations much less painful - I enjoyed reading the Times yesterday while waiting for my son's clarinet lesson to finish. You don't need to bring anything with you but your iPhone to make smart use of a spare ten minutes!

What's your favorite new iPhone app? I'd love to hear from you!

NYTimes iPhone Application - FAQ - NYTimes.com

iPhone Productivity App of the Day - Typepad for iPhone Application

I'm having fun playing around with all of the new applications offered on my iPhone through the App Store. Even though I haven't upgraded, my phone still feels like a new toy/tool for productivity. I thought I'd investigate a few of the apps in the Productivity category of the App Store and share my thoughts with you. I will only be reviewing the free apps, but if anyone wants to give me access to their tools with fees, I would love to check those out as well and share my thoughts here.

Since Productivity @ Home is a Typepad blog, it made sense to me that one of the first apps I should check out is the new Typepad application. The app downloaded quickly (despite my lack of 3G) and was immediately installed. Upon entering the app after installation and verification of my blog info, I now have three options for quickly posting on my blog from the iPhone. I can either create a post, take a photo, or add a photo - all are fairly self explanatory. Under "create a post", one cool option is the ability to immediately twitter the post. Since my posts tend to be fairly long, I likely will have limited use of this feature but it's nice to have the option of blogging on the go. I think the best feature of the Typepad app for me will be the ability to take a photo and then immediately blog it - I can determine the category, decide whether or not to "tweet" the photo, and include text all from one easy screen. Other components of the Typepad iPhone app include the ability to review and work with pending and draft posts and some basic settings for my account.

All in all, I would say that the Typepad iPhone app is one I will definitely implement immediately and one that will certainly enhance my productity. So be on the lookout for more mobile blogging soon from Productivity @ Home!

TypePad - Features - Blogging on the iPhone

The Awesome Power of Yes!

Thanks to today's guest columnist, John Bishop of TeachingMoments.com for the following inspiration.  Many of John's comments are relevant for all of us, not just those special teens in our lives!

The Awesome Power of YES! ---- Help for Teenagers

Are you a Yes person?

The word YES speaks volumes about the type of person you want to be. It tells people that you are willing to make a commitment and be held accountable.

Yes says you will take responsibility for yourself and others. Many of us say No much more easily. The negative word allows us to remain in our comfort zone, but it also stops us from reaching our full potential.

No validates our fears. Yes vibrates us from them.

John Bishop the Executive Director of Accent On Success, a nonprofit dedicated to helping teenagers succeed, is introducing three YES! bracelets as a daily reminder of the awesome power of YES. Each teal colored silicone bracelet is embossed with a message. The choices are: YES! Count on Me; Yes! I Believe; and YES! I Can Make It Happen.

Yes people are solution oriented

Yes people seek out others who can help them succeed

Yes people minimize excuses

Yes people have a sense of urgency

Yes people do more than is expected

Yes people are results oriented

Yes people are determined

Yes people understand good decision lead to good results

Yes people are courageous

Yes people know the rewards of a job well done

Yes people are committed

Yes people are open to change

Yes people know how to set and achieve goals

Yes people have desire

Yes people have self-respect

Yes people are disciplined

Yes people help others

Yes people take responsibility

Yes people are dependable

Yes people are accountable for their actions

Yes people are problem solvers

Isn’t this what we want for your teenagers?

Mr. Bishop, the Executive Director states: “Let’s face it; today’s world can be scary. We want the YES! bracelet to be a daily reminder that this single word, when used correctly, can positively impact our teenager’s future. As parents we know our teenagers will face many new challenges and opportunities when we are not around. But, we still want them to make the good decisions.” The YES bracelet remind teenagers that good decisions lead to good results.

The Yes! bracelets can be used anywhere teenagers are being encouraged to succeed. For example in various school programs such as character education, sports, after school, school detention, alternative and at-risk. The members of youth development groups such as the Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, church groups and sports boosters can benefit from these effective daily reminders. The bracelets can be very helpful for those individuals going though difficult rehabilitation programs for drugs, alcohol or physical injury. They can be also be used for a Junior Achievement project or as a fund raising item. And, of course, by concerned parents wanting to remind their teenagers of the awesome positive power of YES.

Note: The YES! Bracelet is being offered as a fund raising item. Proceeds will go to fund other books and projects to help teenagers succeed. They can be purchased directly from the website. www.TeachingMoments.com Thank you!

Jump Starting Productivity after a Long Weekend

Coming off of the joy of a three day weekend, Monday seems to hit even harder with a lengthened "to do" list and a bit of let down from the passing of a holiday.  Our family will be on the road yet again later this week, so I need to be particularly productive today. 

I wanted to share with you the following thoughts I have on getting back on track after a long weekend:

1. Spend some quiet, meditative time first thing before diving in.
2. Make time for a workout.  It may feel like you're wasting time, but getting back on track in your fitness and nutritional goals well help your overall well-being, especially if holiday parties led you a bit astray!
3. Make a plan.  Sit down and pull together a comprehensive list of all that needs to be done, determine next actions and create a schedule for the day.
4. Don't worry if you don't get it all done.  You may feel overwhelmed, but if you have established your priorities, don't worry if a few items remain on your list.
5. Congratulate yourself for the things you do accomplish. 
6. Start looking forward to the next long weekend!

Do you have any thoughts or suggestions for post-Holiday-weekend syndrome?  I'd love to hear from you!

New Podcast Helps Families Learn about Home Based Businesses

If you work from home, have an interest in home based business, or just want to learn more about organizing your time, I would love to recommend a new podcast to you: the Home Biz MomCast. Becky and Cheryl are two mothers who have successfully built home based business, but more importantly who have a focus on keeping family first. Becky and Cheryl have just released the first episode of their podcast and I found it very entertaining and informative. I'm looking forward to future episodes and wanted to take this opportunity to share with you the great work these two awesome moms are doing.

Home Biz MomCast: Uniting Families Through Home Based Businesses

Twitter vs. Plurk Smackdown

For the past few months, I've enjoyed using Twitter.com to stay in touch with friends. A few times a day (ok, more than a few), I take a break from what I'm doing and pop over to Twitter to see what my online buddies are up to. Since I work from home, Twitter has made my workday feel a bit less isolated. But those of you who use Twitter know that, as of late, it's been down more than it's been up, with repeated service outages.

So today, I finally took the leap and followed a few of my friends over to Plurk.com to check it out. Since I'm a type A personality, Plurk's funky timeline approach is a bit chaotic for me. I've started posting, but will admit to feeling a bit more at home in the "mobile" view which replicates Twitter's more linear approach.

The big question for a Personal Productivity blogger is this - does use of either of these social networking applications contribute to or detract from getting things done? I think the answer lies in a person's self discipline - if you can master your ability to use these types of sites as tools to communicate and occasionally socialize, then sign up and get started using them. If, however, you find yourself distracted by the constant barrage of cross-chat to the extent that you can't get your work done, you're better off not venturing anywhere near them. The more "friends" you connect with in these sites, the more information there is to keep up with. Another important thing to note is that these communities flourish and do well as communication tools only if you play your part. Use them to share information that is helpful for your contacts and don't abuse their intent.

For me, the jury's still out on which quick update site will win my vote - for now, I'm going to try to update both a few times a day and watch what happens. More importantly, I'm going to see which site - Twitter or Plurk - ultimately adds to my ability to get things done.

Do you have a preference? Chime in - I'd love to hear from you! And if you're on either site, feel free to follow/friend me:

Twitter / LisaHendey
Lisa on Plurk

Get Your Paperwork Organized

Life has been full of adventures and very busy for the past three weeks, keeping me away from my home office quite a bit!  I'm looking forward to returning to my routine and to regular blogging this week.  A special thanks to Debbie Dragon, today's guest blogger, for sharing her wisdom!

Get Your Paperwork Organized

Paperwork at home can get out of control fairly easily.  If you consider the school papers your children bring home, the incoming mail including your credit card statements, utility bills, and other fun household documents, it's no wonder many of us have papers randomly stashed in drawers all over the house.

Organizing your paperwork seems overwhelming amidst all of your other daily tasks, but it's one of those things that if you just take the time to set it up right in the beginning, you can easily maintain it with very little effort or time.  It's well worth it- and you may never be late on a misplaced credit card bill again!  One popular method of organizing your household paperwork is to use three-ring binders.  They're inexpensive, and help keep things in order.

Step One: Put all of your paperwork into a pile.  Go through the house and gather all the mail that has been stuck in various places to “file” later; receipts, children's school related or activity related paperwork, menus, user manuals, directions, contracts, and whatever else you have to keep.  When you think you have all of your paperwork in one place, quickly sort it into categories (“children”, “home maintenance”, “hobbies”, “bills”, etc)

If you have a home of active children, it may be necessary for each child to have their own three-ring binder.  As you've made your piles of categorized paperwork, you'll be able to see how many binders you'll need.  You may be able to create a single binder for “household” paperwork, to contain appliance maintenance schedules, filter replacements, planned improvements, exterior maintenance; another for bills and credit card statements, utility statements and a schedule of due dates, another for each of the children, etc. 

Other ideas for binder organizational systems:

• menu planning, nutritional records

• hobby information, articles, topics you find interesting

• home reference materials, like how to manuals, product receipts, warranties, etc

• phone and address lists, internet log-in's and passwords, goals and deadlines, records of expenses

• home based business records

Step Two: Divide each binder into subcategories.  In the children's binders, you can use three ring binder dividers (inexpensive to purchase, or simply 3-hole punch colored cardstock and label it) to separate activities, school schedules, and other information pertaining to each child.

For binders that may contain receipts or small slips of paper, you can get the dividers that contain pocket folders as well, and simply slide them into the appropriate binder and category.  For documents that you need to keep for a long time, or things you don't want to put holes in, keep a supply of translucent page protectors on hand so you can slide the paper inside them to view once placed inside the binder.

Step Three: Stick to it.  Once you've set up your various binders, the hard part is done.  All you need to do to make this paperwork organizational system work for you is maintain your hard work!  When you get the mail, go directly from your mailbox to your binders and file the documents where they belong.  Promptly trash anything you don't need.  Whenever you refer to information in one of the binders, be sure to replace the paperwork when finished.

For a small investment of money (binders and supplies) and a reasonable time investment, the returns are tenfold.  You'll know at a glance when your credit card bills and other bills are due; know whether Johnny has soccer or baseball on Wednesday or Jenny has ballet or piano lessons; and best of all- you'll always have a place to keep the important paperwork around the house.

Debbie Dragon is a work-at-home mom of two boys and a full time freelance writer.  She provides content and articles for Creditorweb.com; where she writes about credit cards, rewards programs, and personal finance topics.

Bringing Up Geeks!

My good friend and columnist Marybeth Hicks recently announced the release of her new website at BringingUpGeeks.com in anticipation of her book of the same name.

Marybeth's book focuses on raising "GEEK"s - Genuine, Enthusiastic, Empowered Kids. I can't wait to see the book and have had a blast exploring her new site. Some of my favorite features of the site are the Geek Parent Community, What's Really Cool in Middle School and Fun Stuff for Geeky Kids.

I'll remind you in early July when Marbeth's book is available, but if you'd like you can pre-order Bringing Up Geeks: How to Protect Your Kid's Childhood in a Grow-Up-Too-Fast WorldBringing Up Geeks: How to Protect Your Kid's Childhood in a Grow-Up-Too-Fast World at Amazon now.

It's time to redefine what's cool for kids

Drive More Productively with DriverSide.com

Thanks to Allison Blass for bringing to my attention a cool new web 2.0 site for drivers called DriverSide.com. Through the site's very interesting "What's it Worth" feature I was able to learn, somewhat depressingly that my 2005 Tahoe is now worth just under $16,000 and that my 1974 VW Bus is worth $7,000! If you have trouble remembering to service your car or are looking for another source of information about automobiles, this might be a great tool for you. Here's what Allison has to say about DriverSide:

DriverSide is a full service Web site with the mission of saving consumers time and money through resources that make owning or leasing and automobile hassle-free. As you know, people have busy lives and not everyone can remember when their oil or air filters need to be changed or they're not sure where the best auto body shop is. However, keeping your car maintenance up-to-date is incredibly important for getting the best gas mileage, keep your car safe, and also retaining the highest value of your car. DriverSide solves these problems and more by giving consumers a place to get advice and interact with other car owners in forums, store service records and seek guidance on how much to pay for servicing, and find out the real value of their car, among other things. It’s a quick and easy way to store all your car information and is easily accessible through the Internet.

DriverSide | Help for Buying, Owning, Car Repair & Maintenance