Time On

As savvy time-managers we’re always vigilant about getting distracted by tools. But this one is irresistible and worth your time- ifttt. You can link up various apps (like twitter, tumblr, Google Reader, Buffer, pinboard…) and automate behaviors like tweeting, saving, backing up, publishing… We could go on, but just give them a shot! 

ifttt:

Today marks one year since we humbly launched ifttt into private beta and it’s been a wild ride to say the least! We dropped the ‘private’ in ‘private beta,’ introduced Recipes and built new Channels/Triggers/Actions like mad.

Though ifttt is still in its early stages, people continue to surprise us with new and incredibly useful tasks every day. Just yesterday, we saw our four hundred and thirty thousandth task created.

It is a fantastic start and we can’t wait to add new Channels and shape up Recipes to help more people discover useful connections that fit their digital needs and behaviors.

We’re hiring!

There are vast swaths of unexplored territory and lots left to design and build, including mobile apps, premium features and channels, and APIs. To get us there, we’re excited to start growing a team of adventurous and creative people focused on building a revolutionary product. If you’re game, check out our jobs page.

More to come

Our mission is to enable everyone to create valuable connections between the services and devices they use everyday. Even though we are over a year in, it still feels like ifttt is just getting warmed up!

The ifttt Team

“Time flies. It’s up to you to be the navigator.” -Robert Orben

“…Tablets were designed to be consumption devices, for the most part, so it’s easy to get distracted when you have a bunch of games staring back at you from a beautiful, glossy screen. Additionally, if you mix your productivity apps in with everything else you’ll have a hard time locating the app that you need. For these reasons, it’s helpful to have an entire page on your home screen dedicated to getting things done. This way you can flick over to that page during the work day and flick back when you’re done.”

- Productivity: How to Turn Your Tablet into an Awesome, Productivity-Boosting Second Screen

from pauls-elearning

(via paulselearning)

Time-management wisdom/ confession- If I get descriptive about my calendar (not prescriptive), I admit that the things I feel most obligated to schedule are things for other people.

“Meetings may be toxic, but calendars are the superfund sites that allow that toxicity to thrive. All calendars suck. And they all suck in the same way. Calendars are a record of interruptions. And quite often they’re a battlefield over who owns whose time.

In my experience, most people don’t schedule their work. They schedule the interruptions that prevent their work from happening. In the case of a business like ours, what clients pay us to make and do happens in the cracks between meetings, or worse, after business hours.

I’ve yet to see a résumé—and I hope I never do— that lists “attends meetings well” as a skill. Yet attending meetings ends up being a key component of many jobs. And it’s stupid.”

-Mike Monteiro, The Chokehold of Calendars

from: kxr

Managing time often means managing communications:

“Organize Your Daily Communication. Your workspace isn’t the only thing that requires organization. If you’re not organizing your communication to utilize speed-appropriate channels, you’re wasting valuable time. Sometimes writing an email is the best way to handle an issue, but other times you can be more effective on something more concise like Twitter/text messaging or something more live like instant messaging. You may be able to talk through an issue much faster by actually talking about it in person. Before choosing to communicate using your default means, think about what the fastest and most effective method would be. Once you start sorting your communication effectively, you’ll free up much more of your time to do the work you need to get done.”

-10 Ways To Create a Productive Environment

from tastemakery

(Source: knobank)

Time management may not be a strength of mobile workers if this is true: “mobile workers put in 240 more hours a year than non-mobile employees. One in four mobile employees sleep less than six hours a night…”

blogsnug:

This infographic from iPass, based on findings from their Mobile Workforce Report, shows how enterprise is going crazy for mobile technology.

Supported by Plantronics. Simply Smarter Communication solutions for the Mobile Professional

But there are pros and cons.

The iPass survey revealed that mobile workers put in 240 more hours a year than non-mobile employees. One in four mobile employees sleep less than six hours a night with one in three claiming less sleep because of work. 60 percent also blame work for not getting as much exercise as they should.

Check out the infographic below and let us know what you think.

Are mobile workers really working hard or hardly working?

Workforce Mobilemania

(Source: blogsnug)

“Can you devote all of your time to my project?”

Yikes! Tough question from a potential client. Here’s a good answer from How to Ace Your Next Freelancing Job Interview:

“Unless the project is full-time and pays enough to support you while you are working on it, you probably will be working on other projects while you work for this client. However, your answer to this question should address what are probably the client’s underlying fears. Try saying, “I am known for meeting my deadlines despite juggling multiple projects. If you have any questions and concerns I can be reached at XXX-XXX-XXXX.””

/from abetterfreelancer

We mentioned time management tools and the dangers of fetishism. Sheesh these nice yellow calendars are exactly what we meant. “Covet me.” -these yellow calendars.

cl

themadeshop:

Just got these photos of our 2012 Linear Calendars being letterpress printed over at Studio on Fire.

Should be getting them here today and shipping orders tomorrow. So there’s still time to buy one today for Christmas delivery!

:)

We’re not saying don’t have fun with time management. Go crazy. But we’ve all confused buying tools with actual progress. Consumption is not productivity. At the same time…. whatever it takes, boo. If you get high on buying supplies, we’re not bad.

designersof:

Ready to be filled with your 20 goals, activities, tasks or whatever you like to achieve within each month!

Click here to preview this listing

Etsy Shop • Facebook

(via flavorpill)

Look. Who doesn’t like Steve Jobs? Not us. We love Steve Jobs. Changed the world, etc. And yet… and yet there is no shortage of inspirational Steve Jobs quotes and videos and stories on Tumblr. So we took a pledge, “Easy on the Steve Jobs reblogs.” And yet… here we are. Reblogging a cool Steve Jobs video. Sue us. Mofo makes a point. You can’t do everything. Focus (and say no to some stuff).

from techdrops

Focusing is about saying no.

Also, check out this epic follow-up to the question: youtube.com/watch?v=FF-tKLISfPE

(Source: techdrops)

“Most freelancers probably don’t think of themselves as a sales person–at least, not at first. Yet, sales is a vital part of running a freelancing business since it is how freelancers get clients. No matter how uncomfortable, all freelancers need to know a little about.”

From: 10 of the Most Surprising Things About Freelancing

/via abetterfreelancer

“Excuse #3. I Don’t Have Time to Train Someone
…Here’s another good excuse, and I’m guilty of thinking it myself. Again, there are ways to get around this obstacle. Of course, the most obvious one is to hire someone who doesn’t need a lot of training. Other than that, here are some ideas:

• Use video to record training–Make a screen capture video to show how you want things done. By recording it, your new support staff can watch and go over the training as often as they need to. You’ll also be able to use the same training videos with other people. 
• Use existing training–Search YouTube and other websites for existing training videos. You’ll be surprised at the amount of resources already out there.”

from Should Freelancers Outsource?

/via abetterfreelancer

Not that anybody has time management issues with email. *Whistles innocently…*

minimalmac:

“Make sure you have a consistent set of useful behaviors in place before you try to solve your problems with plugins and apps. Is email causing you trouble because you are ignoring the basics? Do you have a habit (such as checking every time a new message arrives) or a lack of one (such as not consistently making decisions about new messages the first time you see them) that’s holding you back? Find a process to address that, and practice it consistently for 30 days before you install anything.”

—

Busy Signals: Install habits FIRST. Then software. If you have to.