shawnw

Google Wave is going to change how people collaborate on the web. Think a combination of email + IM + image sharing + chat + more. I should be getting an invite soon and will do my own first look at that time.

For now, check out what Lifehacker has to say about Wave.

Describe for me the conditions that put you in your sweet spot. That place where you’re most productive, or creative, or happy. The weather. The room temperature. Everything.

For me it’s at my Starbucks (pictured above) with my laptop and some tunes piping in from lala, knocking down my todo list, capturing ideas in Evernote and sipping on an iced coffee (in the summer) or a grande Pike (in the winter). I dig it when the sun’s out but, for some reason, rain and thunder get my creative juices flowing.

Your turn. Tell me: what is your sweet spot?

One of the questions I’m most often asked is, “Shawn, what tools do you use to do what you do on a computer?” So, here it is. The definitive list of the digital tools I use to Get Things Done.

Google Suite – That’s my name for Gmail, Gmail Tasks, Google Calendar and Google Docs. Gmail Tasks and Google Calendar integrate so when you give a Gmail Task a due date it appears on your Google Calendar. You can also tick a Gmail Task as done from Google Calendar, too. I use Google Docs for 100% of my document writing and spreadsheets and don’t have Microsoft Office installed on my machine at all (I do on my work laptop but only because my office uses Microsoft Exchange calendars to schedule field techs). I also use Google Reader to keep up with my RSS feeds.

Evernote – I’ve been using this for years and consider it vital to my being productive. If you didn’t check out my personal productivity system article I suggest you do so. It gives a clearer picture on how I use Evernote as part of all my day to day activities. Evernote is available for BlackBerry, iPhone and lots of other devices.

Firefox – the web browser of web browsers. Not only is it standards compliant but it’s safer, faster and can be customized in just about any way imaginable. I use the Xmarks add-on to sync my bookmarks between desktop and laptop PC’s plus many other add-ons to shape Firefox into a powerful productivity tool.

Task.fm – this is a newcomer to my digital toolbox. I use Task.fm to send me email and text reminders (when making a Google Calendar event is too weighty). You can add Task.fm reminders via email, their website or Twitter and you can also set recurring reminders.

Syncplicity – This is also another newcomer to my digital toolbox. Syncplicity allows me to sync files automatically between my desktop and laptop PC’s. I simply tell Syncplicity to “watch” a folder and whenever I add, remove or change a file in that folder, the changes sync to the Internet automatically. These changes then sync to my other PC automatically. It’s also a fantastic backup tool.

I hope this article helps you become more productive.

What items are in your digital toolbox?

The book Getting Things Done by David Allen changed the way I work. I went from having no productivity system to one I could grow into. GTD was as simple (or complex) as I wanted it to be.

But I never truly implemented GTD. Not on a grand scale, anyway. It helped me realize I needed to write everything down and work through everything on my todo list(s) equally.

Then, Unclutterer made a post about WSD. What’s the WSD system?

Write Stuff Down.

And then it dawned on me.

(more…)

Kelsie and I went driving tonight. She’s taking her driver’s license test on Friday and she needed to get some last minute practice in.

As soon as we got in the car she was tentative and hesitant behind the wheel. She made a couple blunders but overall she was doing okay.

It came time to practice her parallel parking and one thing led to another and BOOM she drops a drama bomb.

Lemme just say: I ain’t into drama. She can save the drama for her momma.

I said, “that’s it, this is over, drive home.”

Then, it happened.

She began to drive. Really drive.

No more of this tentative crap behind the wheel. No more of this pansy slow acceleration and indecisive steering.

She accelerated smoothly. She steered confidently. Her corners were tight.

You know why?

She stopped thinking and started doing.

Her brain was getting in the way. Before she got mad at me she was overthinking the entire experience. But, once she got mad at me, her brain became occupied, thinking of various ways to put me away in my sleep, and her instincts took over.

How often does this happen to you? How often do you overthink things? How often do you think instead of do?

The next time you’re thinking of how you’re going to get this project done, or complete these errands, or finish writing the next two chapters, or get everything done in the next 24 hours that you need to, and your brain just isn’t coming up with the solutions, do this:

Stop thinking, tell your brain to kiss off, and just do.

Are you a thinker or a doer?