Who knew I spent so much time staring at walls… I now use that time to read articles, papers, reports, and more! Instapaper helped me find HOURS per week in my already jam-packed that I can spend reading.
Instapaper is a “read later” service that has changed my life. It allows you to easily capture content from multiple sources and store it in the cloud so you can consume it at your leisure.
Simply click, “read later” across Instapaper’s many incarnations and the service comes through the internet to capture text and images from an article. That content is now available to read whenever and wherever you have some free-time.
It’s a ubiquitous and beautiful reading experience that I never knew I needed.
- You’ll find new time in your day
- It goes where you go
Read on to find out more, and check it out at instapaper.com.
Click to continue →
Excel is the go-to tool for business calculations. Simple or complex, weeks of work or merely minutes, you’ll use Excel eventually. As with any tool, knowing a few tricks can transform the output from a clunky mess to a useful, beautiful creation. 
- Learn before you hack
- Make it pretty
- Document everything
These three hints apply to lots of life’s endeavors,
but let’s talk about how they apply to Excel.
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…or, “how I consistently defeat fruit fly armies”
I came home from a weekend trip to Atlanta to find my apartment swarming with fruit flies. Luckily, I’ve done battle with these little bastards before… (I keep fresh fruit and don’t spend much time at home) By the next morning all the fruit flies were gone. Here’s how I did it.
- Build the trap
- Hide the prize
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You’re scouring the internet for data to prove your point…
After hours of searching, you finally found it!
One problem – it’s a chart in a pdf…
Charts are better than nothing, but you really want to have the numbers in Excel or Matlab so you can do analysis and get big insights (or at least make a nicer-looking chart).
The answer is Plot Digitizer
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Being a consultant is not like being James Bond… but I pretend it is! When I find out I’ve got two hours to make the red-eye to Bucharest, I order another beer before I head out – I know packing will take 10 minutes, tops.
These are a few tips, tricks, and time-savers that I’ve learned that have made packing an afterthought instead of a project…
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CNN and FOX news can’t stop talking about it.
You may have seen someone ‘tweet’ in real-life.
You feel like you might be missing out.
Despite all the hype, twitter seems unbelievably stupid…
I thought so too when I first tried out the service, but by taking a different approach it is starting to seem like a useful tool.
You should follow me on twitter (@shawnlankton).
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When I really need to concentrate I listen to brown noise. I find that it boosts my productivity and keeps me from getting distracted by sounds around me. This is most useful in coffee shops or noisy offices, but I even do this when it’s quiet.
Brown noise is similar to white noise; it sounds like random static. However, brown noise is at a slightly lower pitch so it’s easier to listen to. That means that I can work for hours without hurting my ears!
You can download some free random noise MP3s to play on your computer or iPod, or listen to some right from your browser. Both work great.
This works better than my previous method (using ear plugs) because the sounds aren’t just blocked, they’re all scrambled up by the static. I get so much input from my ears that my brain ignores sound all together and focuses on work!
Anybody else tried this? How else do you keep focused?
This was a guest post for my uncle’s site, Harmony Earth. You can find it in the “Success Stories” section. Enjoy!
I’ve been eating a mostly plant-based diet for the past few years. When I first got started, I faced personal and social barriers. However, by taking a few conscious steps, I was able to break them down and really improve my eating habits! Knowing the truth about nutrition, understanding the benefits of a plant-based diet, and committing to a change are all important, but actually revamping my lifestyle was a daunting task. Here are 6 tricks that I used.
- Think Long-term
- Add Some Extra Steps
- Keep the Good Stuff Nearby
- Surround Yourself
- Embrace Frugality
- Get Accountable
By thinking long-term about rewards and taking steps to preempt myself from falling into old eating habits I was able to leap feet-first into a new way of eating that has improved my life immeasurably. Click to continue →
I run frequently and had heard some buzz about this book. I’m keenly interested in the amazing results that often come from ancient wisdom and using our incredible human body as correctly as possible. These are the exact ideas that author, Christopher McDougall touches on in his book, “Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen.”
The book has two main parts. First, it follows the story of the author as he investigates solutions to his own problems with running. Along the way he, meets, befriends, and races with members of a mysterious southwestern tribe known as the Tarahumara Indians and several other interesting characters. The second part of the book (which is mixed in with the story) contains various accounts of scientific study, an evolutionary history of running, and the modern history of the running industry. Here are some key points I found very interesting: Click to continue →
I recently figured out how to keep a necktie in place. I get really irritated when they don’t cover the buttons on my shirt. In the past, I’ve tried several tricks, but last month I had to dress up a lot, so I did some research and found the best way (in my opinion). Click to continue →
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