productivity — GigaOM

productivity

Skype is taking the beta tag off Skype Connect, its VoIP service that integrates into an enterprise PBX or Unified Communication solution. Why the push for business customers? Skype has to beat Google to the punch and start getting more of its customers to buy services. Read More »

Tools and Tips for Better Online Reading

Eyestrain and ocular fatigue used to be associated with the computer screens themselves, but the root of the problem is actually incorrect screen settings and poor reading habits. To improve our online reading experience, we only need to have the proper screen settings, tools and habits. Read More »

 
 

FolderBoy: A Fast, Folder-based Note-taking Tool

FolderBoy is a web-based note-taking app that sits somewhere between the bare-bones functionality of Paprika and the kitchen-sink approach taken by Evernote. As you might expect from the name, FolderBoy encourages users to create folders to organize notes. You can even create folders within folders. Read More »

Stress Reduction Tips

While everyone experiences job-related stress at one time or another, those of us who work online have a different type of stress. We trade stressful office environments for the stress that results from spending too many hours in front of the computer with little human interaction. Read More »

Monday Morning Productivity Jump Start

Mondays aren’t always the most productive days. Busy weekends leave us lagging, and it’s sometimes hard to find the motivation to get things going, so here’s a quick “jump start” to kick off your week and get you moving closer to achieving your goals. Read More »

The biggest problem with information overload for most people is that it is cumulative and it comes in from a variety of sources. The source that people think about when you mention information overload is the huge amount of content that we consume online. Read More »

Jumpcut: A Handy Mac Clipboard Buffering Tool

I’ve been using Jumpcut — an open-source Mac clipboard buffering tool that provides access to text that you’ve copied, even if you’ve subsequently copied something else — for a while. It’s super-handy to be able to keep more than one snippet of text in my clipboard. Read More »

Productivity Tip: Google Contacts Keyboard Shortcuts

Google Contacts has some useful new features, including sorting contacts by last name, custom labels and keyboard shortcuts. Long-time readers of WebWorkerDaily will know that I’m a big fan of web applications that provide keyboard shortcuts, so it’s great to see them in Contacts, too. Read More »

7 Discipline-builders for Remote Workers

Working remotely with success takes more than a good playlist: it requires real discipline. The kind of discipline that keeps you at your desk when no one will know if you’re not. The kind of discipline that keeps the television off, and your brain switched on. Read More »

We all have our own ways of organizing our tasks and other activities. But what’s a great productivity system without the tools to implement them? The good news is that many of the more popular productivity systems have inspired developers to create accompanying tools. Read More »

Tips for Managing Social Media Information Overload

Last week, I gave some tips for managing information overload, primarily with a focus on dealing with email overload. I wanted to follow up this week with a few more suggestions for dealing with the information overload that results from participation in social media. Read More »

One thing that struck me while reading this interesting Guardian article by Phil Daoust about the rise in the number of people working from home were the figures claimed for the increases in productivity of organizations with telecommuting employees. Read More »

More Must Reads

One of the first things that most people look at before using an app is the feature list. When we look for new tools we’re looking for the bells and whistles we need. But extensive functionality doesn’t guarantee that the app will be useful. Read More »

The reality for anyone who does most of their work online is that information is endless, and keeping up with the most important information without becoming overwhelmed can be quite a challenge. Read More »

There is something appealing about a simple, no-frills, web-based system for creating notes and to-dos. That’s the niche that Paprika is trying to fill. As I worked with it, I came to the conclusion that Paprika is missing too many features for my needs. Read More »

Among all the productivity tips we’ve discussed here at WWD in the past, there seems to be one element needed to make any of them really work: Passion. I’m not talking about fleeting bursts of motivation, nor the satisfaction of crossing off a to-do item. Read More »

I finally get to dig into all of the applications that I’ve been reading about for years but haven’t had the chance to try. My first foray was to look into the area of PKM. Would I find a tool that suited me on my Mac? Read More »

It is fascinating to watch how people behave during conferences in ways that either help or hinder their productivity. It is important to find ways to make the most out of our time at the event, while still getting other work done and remaining productive. Read More »

As more demands are placed on you, tasks that once seemed extremely important become trivial. You have one hundred things to do and a limited amount of time to do them in. So the question becomes, what do you give up? Read More »

It’s typhoon season again in the Philippines, and just this week I was left with no electricity and no running water for a little over 24 hours. But the ordeal isn’t over. I will be experiencing several power outages within the … Read More »

The recent release of the Google Command Line Tool may seem targetted at the Python-coding ultra dorky user, but belies the extent to which the command line interface is still an intimate and intrinsic part of everyday computing. Read More »

Working from home has many advantages. I have an office with a door and a window, a fully stocked kitchen with all of my favorite foods and a much shorter commute involving a few stairs and no traffic. However, I don’t have co-workers hanging around where … Read More »

We all have those weeks. I’m having one right now. But web workers are ahead of the game when it comes to surviving intense work weeks. We have at our fingertips a few substantial advantages that we can use to our benefit during super-busy times. Read More »

Almost everyone I know listens to music while working. When I ask them why, the reasons are varied. Some say it’s to perk themselves up as they start their workday or to drown background noise. Others claim that listening to music helps them work better. Read More »

The weather here in Portland is just starting to turn from cloudy and chilly springtime into our beautiful, warm summer days. I plan to take full advantage of it while still kicking butt at work. There are plenty of ways that we can enjoy the summer: Read More »

Simon’s recent post about testing Firefox’s speed got me thinking: If Chrome and Opera are really faster than Firefox, why haven’t I switched? Speed is always an issue, of course. But for me its advantage is that it’s really more than just a browser. Read More »

Android smartphones are good examples of the phone as a mobile computer, and the increasing number of apps in the Android Market play a factor in that role. If daily productivity is the goal, these five apps are worth checking out. PIM lovers don’t miss Jorte. Read More »

Self-handicapping is finding excuses and obstacles that explain why we’re not responsible for our mistakes, failures, or poor performance. Most of us start experiencing it as students, but the habit also tends to stay with us even when we turn into capable professionals. Read More »

I should admit to a dirty little secret: I’m a productivity junkie. I get an enormous amount of pleasure out of finding faster and more efficient ways to accomplish everyday tasks; I love to find better ways to gather and process information more quickly. Read More »

HP has started shipping the e-All-in-One-D110a — a network printer making it possible to print wirelessly from anywhere. The D110a has integrated Wi-Fi and its own email address that provides the ability to scan, copy and print from any device that has access to email. Read More »

Sleep happens to be one of the most important things that we do each day. How we sleep affects our memory, learning ability, mood, and health. Too little sleep can have negative effects that will last us throughout the day and interfere with our work. Read More »

As a community manager, I spend a fair amount of time thinking about metrics. I measure activity across the community to watch our progress in various areas. Recently, I’ve been thinking about how my metrics approach could also apply to corporate web workers. Read More »

I’ve been working on several big projects in recent months, and after the whirlwind started settling down, I realized how important it was to take time off. How can we ensure that we get enough time away from our work before burning ourselves out? Read More »

Visor is a neat way to make the terminal in Mac OS X universally accessible via a hotkey. It’s useful because it means you can jump to the terminal without moving your hands from the keyboard, regardless of which application you happen to be using. Read More »

I am not the same worker I was last year. Too many things have happened in both my personal and professional lives that the strategies I had in the past are no longer working for me. But how do you know when things need to change? Read More »

The multitouch surfaces of the trackpad on Apple’s recent MacBooks and of the Magic Mouse are great. But have you ever wished that you could use them to do even more? jitouch 2 is an application that extends your Mac with a range of additional gestures. Read More »

Great companies make it easy for employees to do their jobs, whether they have a cubicle in the corporate headquarters, work out of a remote office or work from their home. By giving everyone remote participation options, you make everyone more productive. Read More »

For the past month, I’ve been working with a “work buddy”. She helps me stay on track with projects, keeps me focused when I’m not feeling motivated and gives me professional advice. She has become my go-to person for almost every concern I have with work. Read More »

I’m one of those people who takes advantage of telecommuting and flexible work hours to make sure that I am as productive as possible. I’ve managed to find a pretty good balance between work and life by making adjustments to the typical 9-to-5 day. Read More »

We all have different habits and personalities; for some of us, the usual productivity tips don’t seem to work. It’s entirely possible that doing the opposite of the conventional advice might help actually you to work better. Here are some counterintuitive techniques you can start with: Read More »

TrackPoints are getting scarce, though, and the Trackpad on the MacBook is a highly lauded feature; a friend even went so far as to call it “life-changing.” With praise like that, my expectations were high. So how well does it stack up? Read More »

While corporations can learn from web workers, I think that the reverse is also true. As someone who has worked recently on both sides of the fence, I thought it would be interesting to think about what web workers can learn from corporations. Read More »

When we work alone, away from the constant prying eyes of colleagues and supervisors, we tend to lose our competitive edge. I’ve noticed this in myself, too. I haven’t exactly been slacking off or taking my work for granted, but I feel like something’s missing. Read More »

If you have a critical project that you absolutely must get done and you’re finding it hard to concentrate, a distraction-blocking tool like StayFocusd might be useful. It’s a Chrome extension that you can use to limit the time you spend on distracting websites. Read More »

I was recently interviewed by Betsy Talbot of Married With Luggage, who wanted to know how I managed to bring big projects to completion so quickly. Here are the biggest three steps for me in getting things done. Read More »

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