Archives for the 'Practical' Category
11 Tips for Better Tech Support [The Cranking Widgets Blog]
We’ve all been there. Something’s dreadfully wrong with your trusty computer - you can’t print, you can’t get on the web, you can’t play Bejeweled. For whatever reason, the problem is major enough to warrant one of the most desperate acts you can imagine - a phone call to tech support.
Now, before we [...]
Keep Your Notes in Order with the Daily Scratchpad [The Cranking Widgets Blog]
Image courtesy of London Permaculture
The following is a guest post by Gretchen Rubin of The Happiness Project
We’re all looking for ways to work both faster and calmer, and I recently hit on a trick that keeps my desk tidier and my thoughts clearer.
One of my most annoying habits is my tendency to scribble down important [...]
The Single Most Useful Contact on Your iPhone [The Cranking Widgets Blog]
Like most adults living in America today, I get many phone calls. Some from my wife, my mom, my brother, my friends. But sometimes, I get phone calls from the local health club, the local car dealership or somebody trying to get me to buy 5 pounds of veal.
Unsolicited phone calls. We [...]
Describing Twitter in Plain English [The Cranking Widgets Blog]
I’m a big fan of Twitter (even though we’ve had our differences in the past - mostly due to my not “getting it”). While my updates may not be as fast, furious or incessant as some of the people whom I follow, I do try to pop on there as often as is feasible [...]
How to Not Screw Up Your New Job [The Cranking Widgets Blog]
Photo Courtesy of uafcde
It’s one of the best feelings in the world, heading in for your first day at a new job. Everything feels fresh and new, you feel like you’re starting with a clean slate and that you’re really going to ace this one. You’re just so positive about everything, especially if [...]
Trick Out Your iPhone with These Smart Playlists [The Cranking Widgets Blog]
As I mentioned previously, i received an iPhone for this past Christmas. While I really love it, having to go from a 60gb iPod which held all of my music to having only 8gb of space took some getting used to. I started out by hand-picking various albums and tracks and changing the [...]
Sandy v. Remember the Milk: The Web-Based Reminder Cage Match [The Cranking Widgets Blog]
Within this little GTD cult of ours, there are an alarming number of battles fought over the best tool, notebook, web application, etc. In my mind, it’s a little silly - just use what works, right?
Well, sometimes there will be two “competing” services/devices/things that both offer a compelling solution to a common problem. [...]
6 Websites That Will Certainly Make You Smarter [The Cranking Widgets Blog]
Photo by Vit6
Ah, the Internet. It’s one of those things that regularly inspires awe in me, even though I spend several hours a day interacting with it (both professionally and recreationally).
But with such an immense amount of information, it’s difficult to separate the wheat from the chaff, so to speak. While [...]
The Magic of the Dumb Guy Principle [The Cranking Widgets Blog]
Photo by jimoconnell
We all face challenges. I’m not talking about having to make a touch decision or anything like that - I’m talking about challenging tasks. Things like changing a diaper for the first few days of having a new baby, or learning how to change the motor oil in your car by [...]
Your GTD System Isn’t the Problem [The Cranking Widgets Blog]
Since starting my current job about 7 months ago, I’ve garnered something of a reputation for being “the organized guy”. A couple of the higher-ranking people there had attempted to embrace GTD (with varying degrees of success) and were ecstatic to have somebody on-board who could attempt to convert the rank and file. [...]