adamyntium

Category: tips

  • Advice on making New Years’ resolutions

    Advice on making New Years’ resolutions

    Use this three-step guide to making resolutions

    1. Decide on broad goals and include a WHY.
    2. Highlight a small thing to do to help you get to your goal and establish timing. Don’t worry about ‘completion’ or even results at this point, just focus on behaviors!
    3. Check in regularly to evaluate your progress, determine whether your actions are leading to positive results, and — if not — refine stuff 🙂

    More details

    Start with goals + why’s

    EXAMPLES

    • I want to learn to speak and read some Japanese so I can enjoy my trips to Japan more.
    • I want to sleep better so I feel more refreshed in the morning and at the top of my game during the day.
    • I want to learn more tricks & tools associated with music composition so I can enjoy the satisfaction of composing pieces without so much hassle and frustration.

    Pick the ‘small thing’ + timing

    EXAMPLES

    • … and I will spend an average of 15 minutes a night learning hiragana and katakana.
    • … and I will not eat anything or drink alcohol after 9pm and I will lay in bed, without my phone, by midnight each night.
    • … and I will spend an hour every week watching videos or reading material pertaining to music composition and spend another hour composing or arranging music.

    Notice I didn’t write stuff like “I will sleep 8 hours a night” or “I will write 4 songs.” Of course, if I end up still feeling tired, or fail to write any pieces in the first month or so, then I’ll retool my plans :). I know that conventional wisdom says to focus on the results, but I firmly believe that focusing on improving behaviors is more effective and sustainable.

    In the past, I’ve actually used a Google spreadsheet to track how well I’ve done each behavior, and I think I’ll try that again this year :). In part, it’s a reminder that good is better than perfect, and past failure is no excuse for subsequent failure; seeing lots of checkmarks is inspiring even if it’s not 100% in a set! (for some, “Don’t break the streak!” is motivating!)

    Lastly, consider NOT entirely avoiding something that you enjoy… but rather just bound it to a more positive behavior or by timing. “I can eat a serving of chocolate after I’ve already eaten a serving of fruit” rather than “No more chocolate!” Or “I can browse Reddit for 30 minutes a day on my desktop, but no mindless scrolling on my phone, so I’m removing the app!”

    Do you tend to make New Years’ resolutions? If so, do you follow a process like the geeky one I’ve outlined above? 🙂

    [Pictured: a totally-unrelated photo of my backyard. Yay, Meyer lemons, which should be ready in another month or so!]

  • Doing an expense report for work? Here are some tips

    I recently traveled to Brazil and Mexico for work.  That’s damn cool, I admit.  I’m lucky to have that opportunity, grateful to meet so many wonderful people on my journeys and see so many awesome sights.

    But, as with many things in life, there’s also a downside.  In this case, I am owed thousands of dollars in hotel, airfare, meal charges, etc., so—of course—I need to file an expense report.  And doing that in three different currencies is no fun, no fun at all.

    Procrastinating this effort even further, I just wrote up a blog entry on my company’s internal blog system, but then I realized… heck, maybe others could benefit from my tips.  So without further ado, here they are 😀

    • Sweat the small stuff.  “Oh, it’s just a $4 coffee and energy bar!” er, it all adds up, trust me!  Keep track of this.  Along these lines, don’t forget to take into account (and expense) ATM surcharges, reasonable tips (which may not show up on your receipt), etc.
    • Put as much stuff as you can credit cards.  On the downside, this’ll likely result in an extra 1-3% fee when you are outside your home country, but… you’ll often get extra protections (such as lost luggage assistance, purchase protection, etc.) and as noted above you’ll have backup evidence of expenses in case any of your receipts are lost or stolen.  It also gives you an extra 30-6o days to cover the bills (and get your money back from your company!), which is especially important if you’re on a tight personal budget!
    • Write down a quick note after every expense, e.g., “Sat Sep 20 dinner, incl 2 colleagues, 1 partner $R152, on Amex.” Note the pertinent details here: the when, what event, who, how $much, and on what card (or “cash”).  Add this to an “Expenses” note in your Blackberry or iPhone, or on a handy notecard in your wallet, etc.  I can’t tell you how much I’m frustrated with myself for overlooking this to-do this trip; now I’m having to piece together, er, which was the dinner where I treated a friend (my expense) or took along a colleague (Google’s expense), etc. I’ll get it right, but it’ll take a lot of extra time.
    • File your expenses in a timely manner.  Wait too long and you might not even get your money! (there are actually tax laws about this!) But even waiting an “acceptable” amount of time… you forget stuff.  Some receipts may have gotten misplaced in the interim.  Don’t risk it.
    • Be smart about currency values.  If you’ve been somewhere that has a rapidly fluctuating currency, use reasonable conversion rates from the days you converted your native currency, using your credit card and ATM charges as a guide. Don’t just go on xe.com (admittedly a very cool currency exchange site) and plug in the single conversion number you see today; you could be substantially cheating your company or cheating yourself :-(.

    Hope these tips have been helpful 😀

  • A very quick found-money tip

    Earlier this week I spent about 45 seconds and got $134 for my effort.

    It went something like this:

    1. Phone rang.  Didn’t recognize number, and was going to let it go to voicemail, but for some reason I answered it.
    2. “Hi, may I speak with Adam?” [oh no… not a telemarketer!  I braced myself.]
    3. “This is Angela from [dental group], and I wanted to let you know it’s time for your teeth cleaning…”
    4. I explained that I had moved and was getting my teeth cleaned by another dentist.
    5. “Oh!  Well, there’s a $134 credit on your account.  Would you like me to send it to you?”
    6. Three days later, I found a check for $134 in my mailbox.

    Why am I sharing this story with you?  Well, you see, this got me to thinking.  Maybe there are other people who have changed dentists or banks or optometrists, that sort of thing.  And maybe they’re owed money, too.

    Perhaps it’s worth checking for a check, eh? 😀

    – A public service message from your local BLADAM

  • How to pick an apartment (with the help of a damn cool Google Spreadsheet "wiki")

    I’m in apartment-hunting mode, and have amassed a set of criteria for my search that I thought you might benefit from… and be able to easily add to!

    With the new release of Google Docs and Spreadsheets (horrid name, super product), I can now do all sorts of cool stuff!  For instance, I’ve embedded the spreadsheet below for you to read… but I’ve also included links at the bottom for you to:

    • EDIT ONLINE:  Load up the spreadsheet online in edit mode!  Your changes will be reflected within five minutes on the document AND this page, so please be both thoughtful and nice (I can revert as necessary, of course).
    • EDIT OFFLINE:  Download the CSV and load it up in Excel or Excel imitator :-P.
    • VIEW: …as PDF, HTML, TXT, and in other formats as well.
    • SUBSCRIBE:… view Atom or RSS

    Pretty neat, eh?  And now, on with the show!

    • EDIT:  View and edit online (general Google Account required; add lines as needed by right-clicking cells and selecting INSERT… or you can highlight several rows and select INSERT [n] ROWS ABOVE/BELOW)
      Aw, bummer!  As described in the comments below, I hadn’t realized that the usernames (and, thus, gmail e-mail addresses) of collaborators would be listed in this doc, so I’m un-sharing the doc until and unless this no longer happens.  Thanks, Rockya, for the discovery.
    • DOWNLOAD / VIEW:  CSV, XLS (Excel format—new link for this entry), PDF, TXT, HTML, ODS
    • SUBSCRIBE (1st page): Atom, RSS

    I welcome your comments below…
    – On the actual criteria I’ve listed (or has been added)
    – On this use of Google Docs and Spreadsheets
    – On anything else related to this entry 😀

  • Getting hired by Google

    I recently noticed that a fellow Googler posted some thoughtful tips about interviewing at Google, and — now that I’m a bit more comfortable blogging about Work — I figured I’d contribute to the conversation a bit by offering my own, unofficial tips.

    Note the unofficial part. I work in Search Quality; aside from occasionally being asked to interview candidates (like most Googlers) — I have nothing to do with our recruiting, recruiters, etc., nor do I pretend to speak for the HR folks. The stuff below is based on my own observations and opinions.

    * * *

    Application and interview tips
    Broadly: be interesting, be humble, demonstrate outstanding competence in your direct area, briefly highlight your well-roundedness (academically, workwise, and personally), and clarify how you are an excellent
    fit with both the position you’re applying for and Google overall.

    Admittedly, with an insane number of applications a year, it is a bit of a numbers game.  Some outstanding people get rejected.  And, though I haven’t witnessed this personally, I’m sure some jerks get offers.  Luckily, Google’s been overhauling its hiring processes, and I’m optimistic that particularly the percentage of great people getting overlooked (in relation to the number of apps) will decrease.

    Some specific tips and notes:

    • Write a decent cover letter

      • Write with a tone that’s professional yet warm… not stiff or dry.  Your (discernible) voice should come through.
      • Keep it to one page (max!) or less.  Maybe even a lot less.
      • Convince Google of the fits described above — that’s critical!!!
    • Your resume can be in PDF, Word, HTML, or text formats (unless otherwise requested, of course!)

      • But note that it will be ultimately printed out.  This means that reasonable pagination can be helpful and also suggests that a comprehensive 20 page document is perhaps not a great idea.  When you want your recruiter and interviewers to know more about your background & interests, links are your friends. 

    • Respectful persistence can be appropriate

      • If you genuinely have another offer on the table, let your recruiter know! If the recruiter promised to get back with you in [x] days, and in [x+1 or x+2] days you haven’t heard back, politely e-mail them.
    • If you have a friend at Google who can articulately and sincerely vouch for you, that can work in your favor.

      • Your association / relationship with that person matters.  They’ll be asked how they know you and how well they know you (and your skills).
    • Passion matters and is skillfully perceived.  You’re probably wasting your time unless you really are
      excited about a particular position.
    • Getting turned down for one Google position does not mean you’re ineligible to apply for another position down the road.
    • General interview advice that probably applies for pretty much any company:

      • Ask thoughtful questions.
      • Allow time for traffic and parking and finding the right building. Google — at least the Mountain View campus — is a big place!
      • Dress one or two steps better than you expect your interviewers to be.  Less than that, and people may wonder about your judgment. More than that, and people may think you’re clueless or arrogant.

        • The “right” dress at Google probably varies by department. Engineering folks tend to be more informally dressed than sales folks.  If you’re interviewing for a senior management position, I’d probably dress a bit more formally than you would for an intern interview.  But the official advice also really makes sense here:  dress comfortably.  If you feel comfortable and confident, it’ll show.
      • Get a good night’s sleep the two nights before.  Sleep deficits are cumulative.  If you have a
        morning interview, make sure you’re getting up early the two or three mornings before to get yourself ready to be mentally and physically alert during your interview time.  On a similar health note, drink and eat smartly the day of your interview.  Hunger pangs are distracting.
      • Invest in a good pen to take to interviews.  The heft and reliability can be a real-even-if-small confidence booster.  Taking occasional notes can help you remember info or questions for later, and also might indicate a sense of thoughtfulness and interest to your interviewer.
      • On the whole, think of interviews kind of like first dates.  You don’t want to do all or even most of the talking.  You’re there to impress, to learn, to help determine whether there’s a good potential for a relationship.  First impressions are important.  Show you are caring and thoughtful by asking good questions.  Avoid having spinach in your teeth (floss beforehand!).

    Possibly-little-known factoid:

    No Googler — not even Larry or Sergey — can singlehandedly extend an employment offer to anyone.  While candidates don’t have to go through as many interviews nowadays, most candidates — regardless of level — typically interview with quite a few peers; team-fit is critical!

    * * *

    I expect to offer some more Google-thoughts in the future, but — as a reminder — this is my personal blog, and as such, I expect to generally blather on about anything I feel like discussing, ranting, dissecting, punning, lamenting, etc… which is more likely than not to be boring to the impatient sort.

    Oh, and one last thing: please keep comments on-topic as a courtesy not only to me, but to the cool folks reading my blog. Thanks!

    * * *

    Related entries:
    – A blunt note to HR folks and interviewers
    – How to evaluate your current job & career… and thoughtfully consider future options

    and lastly, for a blast-from-the-past… some perspective & a bit of cranky ranting…

    – What do you do? (self = job?) And how are you?

  • Natural energy boosters guaranteed to kick your ass (in a good way)

    I guarantee* that the following all-natural AdamSpecial (“CafeKeek” in honor of my now-undoubtedly-horrified French friends) will put a pep in your step, will put the mmmmm in mooove, will take the ache out of awake…

    Required…
    1) Coffee beans + grinder (ideal) OR not-terribly-fine-ground coffee (okay) OR instant coffee (will do in a pinch; can ignore French press/strainer instructions)
    2) Milk (ideally non-fat, optionally low-fat) OR milk substitute that can be heated/drunk hot or warm
    3) French press OR extra container + a strainer
    4) Teaspoon
    5) and – unless you don’t like sweet stuff—one of the following Adam-named add-ins
    – “Plain Sweetie”:  Sugar—one to two teaspoons per cup of milk.
    – “Chocolate Jesus”:  Pure unsweetened cocoa powder and sugar (one teaspoon each per cup of milk) OR pre-sweetened chocolate syrup / cocoa powder (Nestle Quik does not count!)
    – “Cuckoo du mint”:  The Jesus ingredients above + three drops pure mint extract per cup of milk OR Trader Joe’s mint cocoa powder

    Instructions for making CafeKeek…
    1) Boil milk OR heat milk in microwave (ideally use a microwavable measuring cup or similar item for easy pouring)
    2a) Got a French press?  Put in the ground coffee but not other ingredients.
    2b) Using a strainer?  Add ground coffee to intermediate container (that you can easily pour from into your drinking cup)
    3) Pour hot milk into either French press or intermediate container.  Wait 5 minutes.
    4) Pour coffee-soaked hot milk into drinking container (using strainer if you didn’t use a French press)
    5) Add optional other ingredients and stir with teaspoon.
    6) Enjoy, then come back here and write a comment about how much you loved it and how you’re eternally grateful to me and so on.
    7) Repeat, but probably not on the same day.

    Strongly recommended in conjuction with CafeKeek…
    – Protein—either a handful of nuts or some peanut butter on a cracker, etc.
    – Potassium—a banana works great (half of one is fine)
    – Exercise—no time for a real workout?  Prefix the incomparable CafeKeek with 18 jumping jacks or 18 seconds of jump-roping or anything else to quickly get your heart pumping.  I’m serious about this… it really helps!

    *  *  *

    Okay, now it’s your turn.  What natural foods / practices do you use to help wake you up? (so, yeah, those energy drinks with unpronounceable ingredients don’t qualify here)

    *Guaranteed satisfaction, or your pro-rated BLADAM subscription fees reimbursed!

  • Top 8 things to do before (and after) you stupidly lose your wallet

    A few days ago, I lost my wallet.  Understandably, I was pretty bummed… but I was also grateful that I had taken some steps ahead of time to minimize the damage.  So, without further ado, let me share with you some suggestions so you, too, can suffer less when you stupidly lose your wallet.

    1. Don’t keep more than what’s necessary in your wallet.
    This is the easiest way to avoid headaches.  You may have 10 credit cards, gas cards, etc., but how many do you really need to use on a daily basis?  Putting less in your wallet not only means less hassle when it’s is lost, but also less heft that you have to sit on (if you’re a guy) or carry (if you’re a woman, or a guy who doesn’t like to put his wallet somewhere other than his back pants pocket).

    2. If you do keep gift cards / stored value cards on your wallet, make sure they’re registered!
    Addicted to Starbucks and got a Starbucks card, for instance?  Make sure it—and all your other stored value cards—are appropriately registered so that when they’re lost, you don’t lose the money on the cards.


    3. Start a document or note that you can access electronically where you can put critical wallet-related info… ideally something that also syncs with your phone.
    You should write down what’s in your wallet and be able to access it from nearly anywhere.  You could use Google Docs or Google Notebook or even a (very, very secure, password protected) file on your Web server or file server.  Here’s what I do:  I have an “In my wallet” Outlook note that I update regularly.  I use Plaxo to reliably sync my Outlook notes between home, work, and laptop computers, and then I use my Treo’s software to regularly place that same info on my phone.  I don’t put credit card numbers or similarly private info in this note, however, since it’s possible my phone could get stolen, and I haven’t gotten around to passwording it yet.  I store that more detailed info on a file on a network drive.


    4. Actually update this document.
    Yes, you actually have to remember to update this document (or these documents) regularly.  Given how often I’m putting things in and out of my wallet (particularly since I travel internationally), this is more important than you might think.


    5. Keep an emergency stash of cash at home and at work.
    It’s amazing what a nice buffer of $60 will offer when you just need some cash to tide you over for dinner, or get you into a club to meet friends, etc.


    6. Separately store a passport (and a photocopy of your passport).  Put a scanned copy in a secure location online and tell your family/best friends how to access it.
    This is particularly helpful if you find your wallet AND passport stolen sometime, especially if you’re overseas somewhere like, say, Estonia (trust me, I speak from experience on this one!)


    7. Make sure the info in your wallet includes your full name and phone number.
    That’s important for obvious reasons.  Sure, some folks’ll say “don’t include identifying info!” but frankly, I’m more eager to get my wallet back than I am to prevent identify theft (which, IMHO, is a lot more likely via other means and from folks other than your standard pickpocket jerk).


    8. Do some checks but don’t panic.
    Before you start canceling all your credit cards:
    – Check and recheck (and potentially call) obvious and non-obvious locations where you may have dropped, left, or otherwise abandoned your poor wallet.
    – Look online right away to see if there’ve been any suspicious charges.
    – If you have a debit card, I actually WOULD cancel that right away, since—as I understand it—you don’t have the same sort of protections on that kind of card as you do on regular credit cards.
    – On the rest of your stuff, unless it contains info or access-rights that’d be treacherous to your well-being or others’, I’d sleep on it overnight.  I think you have something like 24-72 hours to contact your credit card companies before you’re held liable for fraudulent charges.  Why stress yourself out with extra work unnecessarily if you don’t have to?

    Especially when, in my case, you discover your wallet inexplicably cowering under your bed and not really “lost” at all ;-).

  • Gmail user? The new "murder," er, "mute" function will have you crying tears of joy

    Lots of folks have noticed that five very cool new features debuted today in Gmail:
    1) Enhanced UI, with Reply and other handy features placed at the top of conversations.
    2) Notification when new messages have been made in the conversation since you started drafting your reply.
    3) Forward an entire conversation (all messages).
    4) Send chat messages to your friends using Gmail chat or GTalk even when they’re offline (the messages’ll be held for them).
    5) Get Gmail on your mobile phone with a rich app (not just slow Web pages).

    [Read more about these new gmail features]

    But what I have to share with you is even more deliciously glorious… especially for those of you who are on lots of mailing lists or who have boring (albeit perhaps well-meaning) friends who just won’t shut up.

    Friends, Romans, fellow GMail users… I introduce to you…

    MURDER!

    Oh wait, that’s not exactly right.  Officially, the new feature is called Mute Thread, or “Mute” for short.  Here’s how it works:

    THE OLD WAY:
    1) You’re reading some posts about the elections.
    2) You were once excited about reading this stuff.
    3) But at least one conversation is now on its 471th message.  You keep hitting Archive but the damn conversation keeps popping up every time someone makes a new post!
    4) You’re ready to tear out your hair.  The posters’ hair.  Your keyboard’s hair.  Er, keys.
    5) MAKE IT STOP!  MAKE IT STOP, PLEEEEEASE!

    THE NEW WAY:
    1) You get yet another annoying message in the same damn conversation that’s already been conversed to death.
    2) You press the ‘m’ key.  Unless a message is written *directly* to you (e.g., your name is in the TO spot), you’ll never see that message in your inbox again!

    In short, the Mute feature enables you to tell Gmail: “Archive this conversation AND all future posts in it… just have ‘em skip the inbox!”

    [See official Gmail info on Mute]

    I can think of only one downside to this feature at the moment:
    If you filter your discussion list mail into separate labels (say, “Prolific Politics List”) and already have those posts skip the inbox… then the M key will sadly have no effect.  It doesn’t remove labels, it just creates a “get out of inbox free”

    But that aside, I think this is a super-awesome feature, and one that—to my knowledge—is unique amongst major Webmail providers.

    So, go ahead, indulge in those high-traffic lists again.  And don’t hesitate to threaten any annoying poster, “Dude, if you write one more word about Rummie, you’re getting SO m’d!”

    DISCLAIMERS:  I work for Google.  I am not on the Gmail team.

  • A blunt note to HR folks and interviewers

    I wrote this quite a while ago, both to vent my frustrations and also to sincerely urge HR folks and interviewers to improve their practices.  I’ve had pleasurable experiences with most of the companies I’ve interviewed with in the past, but there has still often been quite a bit of room for improvement.  Also, I figured my rant below might make for a useful counterpoint to the plethora of interviewee-advice pages out there :-D.

    *  *  *

    Dear HR folks and interviewers:

    Write or call back when you say you will.  If you don’t, apologize.

    Don’t ask us about our salary history.  That’s rude and completely irrelevant.  Perhaps we were working for the Peace Corp.  Maybe we were wildly underpaid at our last job.  Or crazily overpaid.  Instead, tell us (at least a range of) how much your position is paying and we’ll let you know if that’s aligned with our expectations.

    Make job descriptions descriptive… complete with some day-to-day details.  Cut the jargon and market’y crap.  When your Craigslist ad contains verbiage about “best of breed solutions” and “every customer is #1” and “we offer GENAROUS [sic] benefits! [ahem, such as?]” we don’t know whether to laugh hysterically or run screaming.

    Make the interview day pleasant.  Let us know the names and positions of each person we’ll be interviewing with.  Don’t have us sitting in a room alone for 45 minutes wondering what’s going on.  Maybe even take us out for coffee or lunch with a potential colleague or a group of colleagues if we’re one of the finalists for a particular position.

    Consider starting off with at least a brief bit about your background to help establish a friendly rapport.  Help us see you as a (real, well-rounded) person we’d like to work with, not an adversary or mere interrogator.

    Be respectful of us and our time.  Don’t manage your scheduled phone interview call time on a “+/- 20 minute” basis.  Don’t be on a speakerphone.  Both of those behaviors scream to the candidate “You’re not very important and I really don’t want to be interviewing you.”

    Don’t be cheap-ass about reimbursements.  Reimburse us (promptly, please) for our transportation from the airport, for crying out loud, and the sandwich we grabbed in the terminal so we wouldn’t be starving when we sat down with you at the office.

    Make sure you have our latest resume, not one that you got from the recruiter 6 months ago.

    Remember that interviewing is a two way street.  You’re not just there for grilling us, you’re there to make us excited about your company and the position we’ve applied for (or you’ve recruited us for!)

    Cut it out with the stupid “strengths and weaknesses” questions.  Ask us to tell you about a favorite project or least favorite project, talk to former managers about us, anything where you’re bound to get more interesting and less fake commentary (e.g., “My weakness is that I tend to get too into my work and forget to eat lunch sometimes…”)

    Do share some of our key answers and info with future interviewers at your firm so we’re not asked the same question 5 times in one day.

    If someone at your company is consistently an unpopular or lousy interviewer, don’t have them interview people!

    Ask what we like in a job and work environment.  Ask what makes us happy.  Ask what stresses us out.  This is the sort of thing that’ll help determine if your job is a good match for us (and visa versa).

    And, for the love of God, if at all possible… please don’t make us fill out an application—by hand!—after we’ve already given you a detailed resume and other documentation with all the same info on it.  At least let us type it… please?  We’ll all be much happier 😀

  • 10 Steps Towards InfoSanity

    I was suitably inspired by this commentary on “keeping up.”

    And so I’ll ask you what I asked myself over the last few weeks:
    How many undealt-with messages do you have in your inbox?
    How many paper magazines or newspapers do you get regularly?
    How many RSS feeds do you subscribe to?
    How many “must see” pages do you have bookmarked in your Web browser?

    How many of these items make you happy, provide you with essential information, truly help you have a better life?

    I’ll tell you where I stood a few weeks ago. 4,000+ e-mails in my inbox.  Over 100 e-mails coming in daily (and no, that doesn’t include mails at work).  Many thousands of unread blog items. Nearly a thousand to-do items.

    Now I’m making progress. My inbox is down to fewer than 100 mails.  I’ve begun trimming my RSS feeds.  I decided not to renew two of my magazine subscriptions.  And I cleaned up my browser bookmarks.

    Here are some of the cleaning techniques I’ve used; perhaps you’ll find some of them helpful.

    1. I shifted over *all* my mail to Gmail.
    If I don’t read an e-newsletter within a day or two, I archive it.  It’s available to be searched for later, but now it doesn’t clutter my inbox and I don’t feel compelled to read it.  Gmail isn’t a perfect e-mail reader, but—among other cool features—its one-click (or one-keystroke) way of archiving is a beauteous thing to behold.
    2. I unsubscribed from a ton of e-newsletters.
    I asked myself—have I found anything hilarious, invaluable, or otherwise important to my well-being in each subscription that I don’t already get elsewhere?  When I answered no (and I did, quite often), that subscription went POOF.
    3. I learned to strategically answer personal mail.
    Wherein the past, I’ve often tried to respond right away… or I’ve found myself replying to friends’ mails literally a year or more later, now I’ve brought a better balance into play.  Is the e-mail a query that can be answered quickly and easily, something involving a time-sensitive issue?  I now try to answer that sort of mail either right away or within a day.  Is it more of just a friendly conversation?  My goal now is 1-2 weeks. Mails that I determine should be replied to at a later time get tagged with a month name, and I check each of those tags towards the end of each month.
    4. I adopted the handle-immediately-and-file habit on “impersonal” mail.
    I either immediately read/skim and file newsletters and receipts and such, or cut and paste the critical portion into my calendar, Evernote database, or MyLifeOrganized to-do list and then archive.
    5. I’m learning to treat RSS feeds as mercilessly as e-mail.
    Not brilliant, critical, hilarious, massively useful, or something from a friend?  I’m unsubscribing (though I have SO many feeds that it’s taking me a while to get through the list).
    I’m now using Rojo, an online reader.  Its overall UI and speed isn’t nearly as nice as my favorite desktop reader, NewzCrawler, but with Rojo I can catch up on work and personal feeds on my home computer (Windows), laptops (Windows), or work computer (Linux) as appropriate without having to worry about sync’ing issues.
    6. Down with tech magazines.  And most other magazines.
    Typically, the same content is available online, and in a more timely manner.  When I want to curl up in bed with something to read, or need something on the bus, I can bring one of those bound things with lots of text and no ads… I think they’re called a… a book or something like that!  And besides, after doing tech stuff all day, do I *really* want or need to be absorbing more tech in my free time?!
    7. I’m prioritizing my guilty pleasures (reading fewer opinion columns, spending less time IM’ing…)
    We can’t and shouldn’t cut out all the “lazy” activities (lolling around in bed with a crossword puzzle, watching The Simpsons), but we should wisely note that we can’t do *everything* we want and still accomplish all that we need to do (including sleep, exercise, and life planning).  Therefore, some stuff’s gotta go, whether that’s time spent playing video games, watching TV, beta testing non-work-related software, etc.
    8. I’m learning to be at peace knowing that I just can’t know everything
    Before I unsubscribed from dozens of e-lists and RSS feeds, I had this clammy fear that, oh God, I’m going to miss some critical posts on [x].  Overlooking the fact that the same info will likely turn up on another blog or journal that I read, there’s the more important retort:  So what?   So what if I’m 0.1 versions behind on my music player?  So what if I never hear that 73 Lightposts has just released a new, ultra-simple oh-so-amazing Web app?  Will my life go on if I never get to try yet another Goowyvibeycrunchy portal? [the answers, by the way, are:  I’ll live, that’s fine, and yes.]
    9. I’m purging without guilt.
    This is certainly related to #8, but… in RSS feeds in particular, I’m now much more ready to occasionally click the “Mark [entire directory of feeds] As Read” link.
    10.  I’m spending less time annotating; if I need it, I’ll search for it.
    Annotating and tagging takes time.  And there’s always the fear of… hmm… should I describe this in a more structured manner?  Use Access?  Excel?  It’s a lot easier—and sometimes just makes more sense—to archive it and forget it.

    *  *  *

    Of course, it’s a bit ironic that I’m patting myself on the back for getting better at infomanagement and yet spending 30 minutes writing a blog post about it.  But hey, if this post can save a collective few hours for other folks, then it’s worth it IMHO.  Besides, getting this stuff out there in writing is further discipline fodder for me (“I already told people I’m not taking a year to answer e-mails… now I have to stick with this…!”)

    Anyway, I hope my own discoveries are helpful for you.  Do chime in with comments about my tips, and please share some of your own!  It’s time well spent, I promise 😀