Why wait for Apple?

Words Alone Cannot Describe: "What I needed at that particular moment was to reach into my laptop case and pull out a free DVD video showing adults and youths playfully using GarageBand. I should have said, %u201CI think a Windows laptop is a fine choice. By the way, here%u2019s a DVD you can have that shows some adults and youth using Apple%u2019s GarageBand software. GarageBand comes for free with all new Macs.%u201D"

I just don't see why we should wait for Apple to come up with such a thing. We all have our own favorite pieces of Apple software or hardware.

I can't tell you how many commercials I've seen from other computer companies that touted something Apple's been doing for a while.

With the new iMovie and Garageband I don't see why we can't do someone like this ourselves and post it to .mac accounts or Google Video The best will float to the top.

iPod Garage : iPod, iTunes, and Music : News, Commentary, and Reviews : Switch to the iPod Garage - Video Podcasting starts with a video camcorder

iPod Garage : iPod, iTunes, and Music : News, Commentary, and Reviews : Switch to the iPod Garage - Video Podcasting starts with a video camcorder: "For creating a video podcast you are going to need a video camcorder."

My latest article is up at iPodGarage discussing how to choose a videocamera.

MacBook Garage

MacBook Garage: "So what's the big deal about a MacBook site? Isn't the MacBook Pro just a rebranded PowerBook? Isn't this just the same old thing but faster?"

iPodGarage is expanding with a new site dedicated to the rest of Apple's products.

Striving for Excellence

Macworld UK - Behind a Steve Jobs keynote: "Jobs' focus drives the company: 'It is one of the most important aspects of Steve Jobs's impact on Apple: he has little or no patience for anything but excellence from himself or others,' Evangelist writes."

Are you expecting excellence from yourself? It is hard, but every time you do it you get a little bit stronger and a little bit better. Just one decision a day that brings you closer to excellence will allow you to reap greater rewards in just a couple of years.

Goals

If you are like most people you set some New Year's Resolutions or set some goals. That is good.
I can't find the reference anymore but I remember a study done by USA Today about that. It found that while most people set goals only 3% wrote them down, but of those who wrote them down 90% achieved their goals that year.

I have written down many goals and some of them I achieve but an even better way is to review them often. Something I am now trying is to limit myself to four goals but keep them in mind most of the time.

To do this I am only focusing on Health, Wealth, Wisdom and Spirituality. You can pick four of your own. Actually there is a fifth one, and while obvious might be too obvious to see, Work. Work is in our face all the time and sometimes we forget the goals we have for it.

So how to keep these goals in mind? I am now putting them at the top of my to-do list. This reminds me everyday where I am trying to get to. This also puts the To-Do's in perspective. Rather then just having a big pile of to-do's to get through, I can prioritize what needs to be done before other things relative to my goals. I can also decide what I need to do what could be delegated and what needs to wait for a better time.

Giving each to-do item an approximate duration also allows me to see how things can fit into my day if I end up having a few minutes to spare here and there.

I try to get at least one big thing done in the first part of the day. The first part of the day is fairly quiet and so I can make a lot more progress on it then later when most of the interruptions happen. Interruptions break my concentration so it is much harder to get things accomplished quickly. With too many interruptions you can't get in flow and apply the full power of your mind to the problem/project.

Filling your day.

Google Groups : 43 Folders: "His categorization of the different types of procrastinators is spot-on. I sometimes fear that using a GTD system has turned me into the world's most efficient type-B procrastinator, with the cleanest house and most well-stocked pantry because my little popup alerts and running lists never let me forget to sweep out behind the fridge or pick up that gallon of milk. Meanwhile, I still don't get any more 'important' work done than I did before when I kept one to-do list on a legal pad."

While I've contributed to this thread I'm going to summarize some thought here.

There are so many systems of doing things:
Covey seems aimed at Senior Execs so they usually have clear goals
already.
GTD seems aimed at middle management who have restricted areas of
influence but a clear place in the hierarchy.
Time Management for SysAdmins (which I saw above) is aimed at totally
interrupt driven jobs.
Simpleology is a system not unlike GTD that seems aimed at
entrepreneurs.
Paul is highly experienced as a startup founder and his article matches
that experience.
Extreme Programming is focused on developers
Even Automatic Wealth has a info management system.

There is a great link in that thread to the parableBig Rocks

The idea is to fit in the big stuff first and fit the smaller stuff in as you can.

That is a very good idea. I try to do the important things first in my day. Working for an hour or two on the Big Project, and then on the next most important thing that needs doing, and so on.

This is how I try to make sure I do the important things rather then let the small stuff get in the way. Things like email, feeds and news just bombard me with information, not all of which is useful and important right now. They tend to fill my brain with all kinds of flotsam that defocuses my day. If I save those things for later in the day I am getting more done.

The little things are friction in my day. I am using von Clausewitz definition which (paraphrased) is, the things that slow down and delay an action.

Another thing that is helping is to chunk my day. We only have limited amount of slots for things we can think about at a time.

Adding some of the small chores to be a part of my routine to keep them out of the way in my mind. As part of breakfast I empty the dishwasher that I ran overnight, then eat, and make sure to put the dirty dishes in the dishwasher.

Other things can be:
Wiping down the bathroom sink with the washcloth after washing up.
Tossing in a load of wash before taking a shower so it'll be done before you go and can toss it in the dryer.
Cleaning up you desk before going to lunch.

Chunking these chores together allows your mind to fit a lot more into one memory slot then all of them individually. Or rather dump them in the routine or reflex area to open more of your mind for real thinking.

Where Canadians (and others) can fill an iPod with video

CANOE Money: How to fill that video IPod - for free: "Oh, whoops, you're a Canadian and you can't even do that. On this side of the 49th, you're stuck with Pixar animated shorts and music videos from the ITunes store."

This selection of video outlets has some good stuff for free for you iPod.

BU turns to podcasting as way to enhance learning

BU turns to podcasting as way to enhance learning
: "'I don't think it's going to replace whiteboards,' she said. 'Students need a place to get together and collaborate. I see this as a support service. It's not replacing class lectures. It's a way for students to be able to review class lectures. It has a lot of potential for teaching faculty.'"

No, an iPod can't replace whiteboards, but then an iPod isn't a silver bullet and can't do everything.

As an educational aid the iPod is really good, allowing you to review lectures and enhance your notes and your memory.