Wednesday, March 26, 2008

Download a Free Copy of David Allen’s Email Rules

11:10PM Kevin Purdy | David Allen, author of Getting Things Done and inspiration for a lot of posts ’round these parts, gives away a free four-page PDF at his website that covers his basic principals for keeping email organised. Getting specific without going too in-depth, he explains the “two minute rule,” why action-able emails should be kept separate from others, and why creating your own system—such as Gina’s modified “Trusted Trio”. Great reading for GTD neophytes, and a good brush-up for the rest of us. Getting Email Under Control [via Digital Inspiration] More »

Grocery List for Smart Eating at Work?

6:18PM Adam Pash | The New York Times taps registered dietician Marissa Lippert for 10 picks of the all-around best (read: healthy) snack foods you can stockpile in your desk or office refrigerator at work. The list covers the gauntlet, from granola bars to chocolate to popcorn, but guarantees a healthier version of the snack than you’re probably used to (provided you keep your portions under control). Hit the original post for the Times’ 10 best picks, and when you’re finished come on back and share your favourite and legitimately healthy work snacks in the comments—just be sure to steer clear of those 12 healthy foods that aren’t. Smart Eating at Work — Part 3 [NYT] More »

Save money by using your local library

6:17PM Sarah Stokely | I’m a big fan of libraries – one of my favourite ways to be frugal is to make up a list of new release books I’m  keen to read, head on over to my library and put in requests for each one. Sometimes it’s free to put a book on hold, sometimes it’ll cost a dollar or so – but that’s a lot less than the $25 or so you’ll pay to buy the book new! (And, before you ask, libraries do pay royalties so the author still gets some benefit from people reading their books through libraries rather than buying them.)But just borrowing books isn’t the only way to save money – Wise Bread has published a great post which celebrates the many and varied cool and usually free things which libraries offer to their community. This includes borrowing DVDs and CDs for free. There’s usually free or very cheap computer access – and often there’s wireless as well (recently we told you about 10 Sydney libraries offering free wireless). Depending on the needs of the local community, libraries often host story time for children, or computer tuition for seniors -so it’s worth checking out what’s on offer at your nearest library.And finally, no post extolling the awesomeness of local libraries would be complete without mentioning Melbourne’s own City Library at 253 Flinders Lane. If you check out the link you’ll see they’re trialling free wireless access from now until the first week of April, they have a speaking event with Max Barry coming up, and they have acoustic music sessions at lunchtimes. They also have a really cool gallery space which showcases local artists.And do I need to mention the lure of the sexy librarians? Go on, you know you want to get shushed. :) Duh – Libraries [Wise Bread] More »

BtProx Locks Your Workstation with Your Cell Phone

6:15PM Adam Pash | Windows only: Free, open source application BtProx locks your Windows computer whenever your cell phone or other Bluetooth device is out of range. Similar to previously mentioned Blue Lock, BtProx includes a more advanced feature set, allowing you to set a timeout before it locks your PC and run a program when your device is out of range. I had trouble using it with my iPhone, so if you give it a go, let’s hear how it works for you in the comments. Again, it’s still not as cool or impressive as the Mac alternatives, but it seems to be taking things in the right direction. BtProx is free, Windows only. BtProx [SourceForge] More »

Reasons to Trash or Rewrite Your Resume

6:10PM Gina Trapani | Marketing expert Seth Godin says job hunters who are “remarkable, amazing, and spectacular” probably shouldn’t have a resume. Bold statement! Godin writes: Having a resume begs for you to go into that big machine that looks for relevant keywords, and begs for you to get a job as a cog in a giant machine. Just more fodder for the corporate behemoth. That might be fine for average folks looking for an average job, but is that what you deserve? More »

Sponsor a tree and watch it grow on Google Earth

5:29PM Sarah Stokely | Talk about your green-friendly mashup  – mybabytree.org lets you can sponsor a tree planting through WWF (World Wildlife Fund) – and then lets you see the exact area of forest your tree is growing in, thanks to Google Earth. Trees cost $US5.50 (about $6) each to sponsor via PayPal. The trees are being planted in Indonesia as part of a venture by WWF. Once your payment is processed, you get an email informing you that your tree will be planted in a few days: “Once that is done, we will mail you the exact location and you will be able to see your tree on Google Earth.” The Ecogeek blog pointed out that while the resolution in Google Earth isn’t quite good enough to be able to make our your particular tree, “even now the context is nice”. This idea is geeky, I like. :) Buy a tree and watch it grow thanks to Google Earth [Ecogeek] More »