zehabits: 18 Five-Minute Decluttering Tips to Start Conquering Your Mess

http://zenhabits.net/2008/04/18-five-minute-decluttering-tips-to-start-conquering-your-mess/
"

I’ve written a lot about simplicity and decluttering (I can’t help it — I’m passionate about it!) and I’ve noticed that a lot of readers share my ideal of having an uncluttered home or workplace, but don’t know where to start.

When your home is filled with clutter, trying to tackle a mountain of stuff can be quite overwhelming.

So here’s my advice: start with just five minutes. Baby steps are important. Sure, five minutes won’t barely make a dent in your mountain, but it’s a start. Celebrate when you’ve made that start!

Then take another five minutes tomorrow. And another the next day. Before you know it, you’ll have cleared a whole closet or a room and then half your house and then … who knows? Maybe before long your house will be even more uncluttered than mine. We’ll have a challenge!

For those who are overwhelmed by their clutter, here are some great ways to get started, five minutes at a time."

Six Revisions: Eight Tips on How to Manage Feature Creep

http://sixrevisions.com/project-management/eight-tips-on-how-to-manage-feature-creep/
"Feature creep, also known as scope or requirement creep, refers to unforeseen requests for additions and changes that are outside the project scope. It typically happens due to inadequate requirements gathering, poor initial planning, and an unclear protocol for change implementation, among other things.

In this article, I’d like to discuss eight tips and suggestions, based mostly on my experience, to help minimize and manage the effects of feature creep in your own projects."

Lifehacker's Exclusive Line of Productivity Software

http://lifehacker.com/347269/lifehackers-exclusive-line-of-productivity-software
"Not only do the editors here at Lifehacker feed your head with a feast of posts every day, every once in a while we put our programming chops to good use and build custom software for our readers. If you've missed any of the Lifehacker Code line of applications, scripts, and plug-ins, here's your chance to get caught up.

All of the Lifehacker Code projects listed below are free to download, and they're licensed under the GNU Public License with source available, so we invite you to use, modify, and enhance to your heart's content."

Merlin Mann: Google Tech Talk: Inbox Zero

http://www.43folders.com/2007/07/25/merlins-inbox-zero-talk/
"Video for Merlin’s “Inbox Zero” talk"

Lifehacker: Note Taking: A Beginner's Guide to Mind Mapping Meetings

http://lifehacker.com/software/note-taking/a-beginners-guide-to-mind-mapping-meetings-288763.php
"Do you have trouble keeping up with meetings because you can't take notes as fast as the speaker talks? If you do jot down some thoughts and ideas, by the time you re-read your notes they make no sense? If this sounds like you, a meeting mind map may be just what you need. Here is a quick start guide that will give you some pointers and a printable template you can use to get off to a great start with mind mapping."

10 Tips for Razor Sharp Concentration

http://www.lifehack.org/articles/productivity/10-tips-for-razor-sharp-concentration.html
"Writing to-do lists and keeping a schedule may keep you organized, but does it really help you get more done? I believe that organization is important, but what you really need is focus. Being able to sit down and concentrate intensely on your work for a few hours. Even a half hour of focused effort can get more done than an entire day of distraction and multitasking.Here’s some tips to get into a state of deep concentration where work flows easily:"

lifehacker: Jerry Seinfeld's productivity secret

http://lifehacker.com/software/motivation/jerry-seinfelds-productivity-secret-281626.php
"Years ago when Seinfeld was a new television show, Jerry Seinfeld was still a touring comic. At the time, I was hanging around clubs doing open mic nights and trying to learn the ropes. One night I was in the club where Seinfeld was working, and before he went on stage, I saw my chance. I had to ask Seinfeld if he had any tips for a young comic. What he told me was something that would benefit me a lifetime..."

Mashable: Work Together: 60+ Collaborative Tools for Groups

http://mashable.com/2007/07/22/online-collaboration/
"With businesses and families spread out more and more, we’ve dug up 60+ sites that will help everyone be on the same page."

lifehacker: The art of the doable to-do list

http://lifehacker.com/software/geek-to-live/the-art-of-the-doable-to+do-list-270404.php
"There's no better feeling than checking something off your to-do list. Done! Finished! Mission accomplished! Yet it's so easy to let a whole day or week go by without knocking one task off your list. How does that happen? Well, your to-do list can be a tool that guides you through your work, or it can be a big fat pillar of undone time bombs taunting you and your unproductive inadequacy. It all depends on how you write it."

zen habits: Handbook for Life: 52 Tips for Happiness and Productivity

http://zenhabits.net/2007/05/handbook-for-life-52-tips-for-happiness-and-productivity/
"This is something I’ve been wanting to write for some time — a Handbook for Life. Now, is there any handbook that can be a guide to every single person? Of course not. This is just a list of tips that I think will help many people in life — some of them common-sense tips that we often forget about. Consider this guide a reminder."

The Omni Mouth: OmniFocus pre-release: early birds get the bugs

http://blog.omnigroup.com/2007/05/14/omnifocus-pre-release-early-birds-get-the-bugs/
"Boy, I can’t tell you how much I’ve been looking forward to writing a blog post that mentions OmniFocus but doesn’t include yet another wishy-washy (and ultimately inaccurate) guess at a beta timeframe.

Folks, we are unleashing OmniFocus into the wild TODAY, starting with a subset of the OmniFocus mailing list. We aren’t seeding the whole list yet because among other things we want to make sure our password system doesn’t explode, sending database shrapnel all over our office, but if you’re on the list you’ll eventually receive an email from us with the information you need to access the beta."

zen habits: Massive GTD resource list

http://zenhabits.net/2007/05/massive-gtd-resource-list/
"My tribute to all the GTD junkies out there (a group that includes me) — a massive list of GTD stuff. It’s far from comprehensive, but who can be comprehensive on a topic this huge?"

Google 10 Commandments

http://www.google.com/corporate/today.html
"Our Philosophy

Never settle for the best
"The perfect search engine," says Google co-founder Larry Page, "would understand exactly what you mean and give back exactly what you want." Given the state of search technology today, that's a far-reaching vision requiring research, development and innovation to realize. Google is committed to blazing that trail. Though acknowledged as the world's leading search technology company, Google's goal is to provide a much higher level of service to all those who seek information, whether they're at a desk in Boston, driving through Bonn, or strolling in Bangkok.

To that end, Google has persistently pursued innovation and pushed the limits of existing technology to provide a fast, accurate and easy-to-use search service that can be accessed from anywhere. To fully understand Google, it's helpful to understand all the ways in which the company has helped to redefine how individuals, businesses and technologists view the Internet."

Quicksilver tutorial and screencast roundup

http://www.simplehelp.net/2007/05/10/quicksilver-tutorial-and-screencast-roundup/
"I can’t even begin to describe how wonderful Quicksilver really is. Nor can I adequately describe exactly what it is. But I will say this - if you own a Mac - download and install Quicksilver right now, then start watching a few of these screencasts and/or read a few of the tutorials. It won’t take long for you to wonder how you survived without it."

mashable: Turn Netvibes into Your Personal Office

http://mashable.com/2007/05/08/netvibes-personal-office/
"Netvibes, the popular personalized portal, works great as an RSS reader, but if you’re using it only for this purpose, you’re missing out. With the huge number of available modules, you can use it to increase your productivity or even do serious work. Create a new tab, slap on the following Netvibes modules, and you’ve got yourself a lightweight and always available online office environment."

lifehack.org: Simple Productivity: 10 Ways to Do More by Focusing on the Essentials

http://www.lifehack.org/articles/productivity/simple-productivity-10-ways-to-do-more-by-focusing-on-the-essentials.html
"These days our lives are busier than ever. We work more than ever. We are more stressed and exhausted than ever before. And yet we get less done and are not as happy.

It doesn’t have to be that way."

33 rules to boost productivity

http://www.stevepavlina.com/blog/2007/05/33-rules-to-boost-your-productivity/
"Heuristics are rules intended to help you solve problems. When a problem is large or complex, and the optimal solution is unclear, applying a heuristic allows you to begin making progress towards a solution even though you can’t visualize the entire path from your starting point.

Suppose your goal is to climb to the peak of a mountain, but there’s no trail to follow. An example of a heuristic would be: Head directly towards the peak until you reach an obstacle you can’t cross. Whenever you reach such an obstacle, follow it around to the right until you’re able to head towards the peak once again. This isn’t the most intelligent or comprehensive heuristic, but in many cases it will work just fine, and you’ll eventually reach the peak."

LikeItMatters: Trimming the attention sails

http://www.brianoberkirch.com/2007/04/20/trimming-the-attention-sails
"You are what you pay attention to.

I had a “no mas” moment. I have a project generating a ridiculous amount of non-productive email. I have social networking service emails crufting up my inbox. I burned time in online ‘debates’ I just shouldn’t have gotten involved in. And I read Tim Ferris’ 4 Hour Work Week, which unhinged my mind and helped me think totally differently about goals, workflow, and being a stringent gatekeeper of your time. (If you like 43folders, you’ll like 4 Hour Work Week.)"

zenhabits: Big Rocks First: Double Your Productivity This Week

http://zenhabits.net/2007/04/big-rocks-first-double-your-productivity-this-week/
"If your week is seven buckets, and you go into each bucket without planning ahead, and you fill it up with little pebbles and grains of sand and whatever other debris comes your way … soon there will be no room for the Big Rocks. Your buckets fill up faster than you know it, and once your buckets are full, you’re done. You can’t get bigger buckets."

5ThirtyOne: Basecamp, GoPlan, and Activecollab compared

http://5thirtyone.com/archives/791
"From the design, development, and product strategy company Webreakstuff comes a new contender in online project management and collaboration known as Goplan. In its newly released form, how does it stack-up against Basecamp & ActiveCollab?"