Archive for March, 2009

March18

GTD: The Soft Landscape

By: RirianProject

David Allen talks about hard landscape as being the items that must be done on certain days which all end up going on your calendar. I consider the applications below – ways in which you can utilize different software to manage your new GTD way of life – as soft landscape.

GTD Tiddly Wiki
This great app installs locally so you won’t need an internet connection to manage your GTD life. GTD TiddyWiki is searchable, has the option to print onto a 3×5 index card, and is completely customizable. Though it hasn’t been updated in some time, it is opensource as well.

GTD Gmail is an addon for Firefox that transforms regular Gmail into a GTDInbox. It allows you to turn email into tasks; categorise actions, communication, and resources into clusters (such as projects); and it can loosely support teamwork. It also provides a printable format that will fit onto a 3×5 index card and is completely open source.

HiveMinder is great for “brain dumping” with it’s one click task creator. It’s searchable, shareable, and contains RSS feeds, iCalendar feeds and great printing features. The free version is ad-supported but there is talk of a paid non-ad format coming out as well.

Remember the Milk is a free program that has the ability to connect with many programs you already use! For example, you can follow Remember The Milk on Twitter and send them a message that will get added to your “to do list”. You can also utilize RTM via iPhone, iPod touch, Gmail, Blackberry, Windows Mobile, Google Gears, Google Calendar, iGoogle Gadget, Netvibes, and you can even add a bookmarklet to your web browser. Most features are accessible from the free sign-up that is available.

Thinking Rock is a stand alone program that has a distince operation for each of the three steps in GTD: Collect, process, Revew-Plan-Do.

Midnight Inbox is another stand alone program that allows you to fully implement GTD into your life.

If you are in a true paperless office, Ready Set Do! may be the application for you. It functions like a virtual version of the paper method described in David’s book.

As you are working through the GTD system, it is easy to find lots of wonderful ways to help make the system more customized and easy to use. The most important thing to remember is that you actually have to DO these things – not just plan them out.

What types of GTD things are you hoping to learn about? What would you like to see in our upcoming posts about David Allen’s system?

Posted in: Computers & Tech, Featured, Self Improvement0 comments

March17

Love Yourself

By: RirianProject

Learning how to love yourself can be a difficult task, especially if there are negative messages playing in your subconscious mind. Many of these messages were recorded sometime in your childhood. I’ll bet you didn’t realize just how much influence your parents and teachers had on you!

The negative messages that you may have heard could have been hard to mistake: someone telling you that you were no good, for instance. Or someone may have told you that you would never do anything of value with your life. But some messages may not have been as easy recognize as negative messages. These could have been someone telling you that you have a learning disability. This could forever change the way you tackle anything you’ll ever come against.

The challenge as adults is to take those negative words and replace them with positive ones. Although it won’t happen over night, it can definitely happen. Here are a couple of ideas to get you started:

• Existing beliefs

This is a good place for everyone to start. You may think that there are some old recordings playing in your mind, but maybe you aren’t sure what they are or where they came from. In order to figure out what it is that’s holding you back in your life, you’ll need to go on a journey of sorts. You can do this alone, or with a friend or partner that you trust. You’ll want to start to ask yourself questions like these – “My earliest memory of feeling stupid is…” “My mother (or father, or teacher) always made me feel…” etc. The premise is that you want to explore the earliest feelings that you had in order to uncover the reason you feel the way you do today.

Once you understand where they came from you can start to ask yourself whether or not the statements are true now, or if they ever were true. Next, you can decide what you WANT to be true and create affirming statements that you can say everyday that will start to replace those negative recordings.

• Emphasize the good

Think about a woman who really loves the way her eyes look, but not necessarily the way her lips look – she will put on her make-up in such a way that her eyes are emphasized. You need to do the same type of thing when it comes to your qualities. When your self-esteem is low, you tend to focus on all the things that are “wrong” with you, but you forget about all the wonderful qualities that you do have. Not only can you help to emphasize the good qualities by positive self talk, but you can also create a physical reminder. Write down your best qualities on two pieces of paper. Place one on your bathroom mirror (we see that at least once per day!) and put one in your wallet. When you find yourself in a negative place, look at these qualities and remind yourself just how wonderful you are!

• Love yourself

This seems pretty obvious, but it’s often the last thing we do for ourselves. We are so concerned with putting everyone else in front of our own needs that it’s often left sitting in the dust. Think about your last or current relationship. When you first met, you spent a lot of time, attention, and affection on one another, right? One of the best ways to learn how to love you is to allow yourself to enter into a similar process – except this time, the love affair will be with yourself. Start doing things that make you feel happy, sweet talk yourself, and spend “quality time” with yourself.

Posted in: Featured, Self Improvement0 comments

March16

5 Tips For Identity Theft Protection

By: RirianProject

As the world and internet in general become more advanced, we are apt to see more ways in which people are getting scammed in one way or another. By now, I’m positive that everyone has heard about the Nigerian Bank scam where someone emails you and for whatever reason needs you to help him handle the finances of his or her dead relative. There are many others that show up in our inbox such as subject lines like Your Account is about to be Closed! Or Congratulations! You Have Won the UK Lottery! The majority of these scams involve either trying to obtain your financial information, or getting you to cash money orders and other such documents.

When you receive these types of emails – and some of them are very real looking – you are almost tempted to follow the instructions that are sent just to investigate and see if things are on the up-and-up. First and foremost, you shouldn’t follow the links given in any suspicious email. You can often hover your cursor above the link and look at the status bar on the bottom of your screen which will tell you where the link is pointing. For example, I can tell you that there is a problem with your PayPal account and ask you to click on this link to go to your account now to ensure that your funds are still there. Try hovering your cursor over the link. PayPal

These emails can be very authentic looking to the point where colours and fonts are copied, and a logo is presented within the email. The best thing you can do with these types of suspicious emails is to forward them to the spoof address for the company in question. If you are concerned that there may be a problem with your account, open a web browser and manually type in the address into the address bar to ensure you are going to the right site and your keystrokes won’t be copied.

With millions of North Americans falling prey to identity theft, we’ve compiled a list of 5 tips that can help you protect your identity from theft:

1. Understand debit card dangers: Because there is no signature and only a PIN number to ensure you are indeed the person that should be using the card, there is a greater liability than credit cards. Be sure to check with your bank to understand your liability if someone steals and uses your debit card without your knowledge.

2. Rethink check writing: That little slip of paper has way too much information. Some experts advise against check writing because it gives away your address, bank account number, signature and license number to complete strangers. On top of that, there’s no federal legislation to limit your liability for forged checks (each state has its own set of rules). Experts advise that you look into automating your bill paying.

3. Secure your mail: Your mailbox is a goldmine of information. Between bank statement, bills, and all those pre-approved credit card offers, your mailbox is loaded with personal data which identity thieves can use to easily apply for a credit card in your name. Unless you diligently check your credit report, you may never even know about it. One way to avoid this is to have your mailbox under lock and key, but that may not be possible if you have home delivery of your mail. The other solution is to have a rented mailbox. Don’t ignore your garbage either when it comes to mail. Foil “dumpster-diving” thieves by buying a shredder and destroy documents before discarding.

4. Go virtual: For shopping online, there are “virtual” card numbers. These are randomly generated credit card numbers that are disposable and that on-line shoppers use once and throw away. It’s linked directly to your real credit card account so purchases show up on your monthly bill. The service is easy to use – and it’s FREE! All you need to do is register with companies offering the virtual card, and they are MBNA, Discover, and Citigroup.

5. Create an emergency identity kit: Would you know how to contact your credit card company in an emergency? Create an emergency kit that contains: your account number, expiration date, issuing company name, and emergency contact number for each card you own. While you’re at it, make copies of your driver’s license, social security card, birth certificate and passport and store them in a locked box or file cabinet, or a safe deposit box. I like the safe deposit box best, because this gives you protection in the event of a catastrophe such as fire, earthquake, etc.

Posted in: Computers & Tech, Featured0 comments

March13

Setting up your GTD System

By: RirianProject

A couple of days ago, I wrote about David Allen’s GTD system and book. Today, we’re going to move on to how you can actually get a system up and running. Remember, this is my particular system – so it may need to be tweaked for your life and business.

When I prepared my system, I made a trip out to the local office supply store. I picked up a basket full of things: a bulletin board, thumb tacks, a new calendar, file folders, a black sharpie marker, plain white labels, a pack of index cards, and 1 simple inbox. In the book, they suggest getting an automatic labeller – now don’t get me wrong – they are nice to have, but I like my penmanship so I’ve stuck with that rather than adding the labeller to my list of products to buy.

I then started to actually collect all the stuff that needed to be done – if it was a physical thing (magazines, bills to pay, mail to open, etc) it went directly into my new inbox. If it was a mental item (put away clothes, paint kitchen walls) the item was written on an index card that was placed into my inbox. I started in my office area and worked my way around the house. This wasn’t a one hour task – it was actually quite difficult and took me the better part of a week to accomplish. Keep in mind though – once it’s done, it’s done forever so long as you manage your system the way it should be managed.

Alongside of my physical inbox, I also maintain an online system strictly for emails that come in. The same procedures were used here – there were 3 folders that were set up – @Next Actions @Projects, @Waiting, and of course the actual inbox. I went through all my folders and put everything into the appropriate folder.

When I began to process things, I quickly filed them into the correct file folder or box remembering to do anything that would take less than 2 minutes to do. I started by labelling the following folders and then started to process my inbox from the top to the bottom.

• Next Actions for anything that had only one thing left to do, but took longer than 2 minutes

• Delegate for anything that was going to be handled by someone else

• Projects for all things that needed more than one action (Keep in mind the projects file is not something you will work daily with – it’s just a reminder of the projects that are underway.)

• Someday for everything I want to do one day. These consisted of all the things I may want to do one day like take a particular class at the college

• “Tickler” for all the things that I wanted/needed to do at some point in the future. Things like scheduling a writing seminar would go in this pile.

I also filed away my reference materials alphabetically and put them directly into my filing cabinet. The folders that are mentioned above sit on the far corner of my desk so they are easily accessible. I try to walk through them every day to make sure I’m not forgetting or missing any important steps.

Posted in: Featured, Productivity, Self Improvement1 comments

March12

Rock Climbing For Beginners

By: RirianProject

When you hear the words “rock climbing”, what comes to mind? Do you cringe in fear of the altitude? Or does the adrenaline start pumping through your entire body before you even have time to think about it? Rock climbing is definitely not a sport that will be for everyone, nor is it for the faint of heart. A bad day in this sport could actually mean death rather than just a bruised ego. Although there are many traits that make a good rock climber, we’re going to speak to some of the more general ones and explain what type of person you will generally find at the top of the mountain!

There are many reasons why people are drawn to this sport. Some may crave the mental challenges that will face them as they determine the placement of their hands and feet. Others may enjoy the physical aspect – let’s face it; this won’t be for someone who is not physically fit. You may think you are strong and fit, and you may actually be, but I can almost guarantee that you won’t be as strong as you need to be in the place you need to be – your fingertips! There may be times where your entire weight will be supported by just your hands and/or fingertips!

So we’ve determined that someone who is partial to rock climbing will be physically and mentally “in tune”, are not usually timid by nature, and who aren’t afraid of heights. But rest assured, there is more to rock climbing than just those few traits.

In addition to the physical strength, rock climbers must also be good leaders. When in the position of lead climber, it is your responsibility to choose the route to climb as well as the placement of the safety gear. Although overall fitness is important, having upper body strength is also going to play an important roll as well. You’ll need that strength to make it up vertical climbs and overhangs. A rock climber also needs to be patient and persistent. This is not a sport to rush through – as this could endanger your life.

So how can someone get started in rock climbing? Many cities have rock climbing walls or gyms. Bouldering will help build your strength and give you some real experience in rock climbing. The walls are generally built with all levels and strengths in mind so it’s a great place to start, and continue to build your strength and skill level. They are generally about 12 feet high – but don’t let that fool you! It won’t be as easy as you think!

Posted in: Featured, Health & Fitness0 comments

© Copyright Ririan Project. All Rights Reserved.