Don't be Caught Listless
Monster.com's technology folks sent me an interesting feature article today on the subject of "life hacks". (I'd love to provide you with a link, but sadly readership is subscription-based.)
For those of you who haven't heard of life hacks, they're practical tips for increasing productivity and organization in the workplace. And, according to Monster, the term also refers to a larger movement of finding simple ways to manage complex tasks.
With that definition in mind, life hacks can be anything from software tools to ideas that keep you productive. For example, responding only to urgent email before noon is a life hack, as is Ta-da Lists, an online to-do organizer, which receives a hat tip from Monster.
What can Ta-da do for you?
The answer to that is, just about anything. And now you're about to see Megan get really excited.
Ta-da allows you to create easy-to-make-and-store lists about anything. You can make lists for other people—including friends, family and coworkers, share your lists with the world (okay, or the office) or store them privately. Best of all, because Ta-da is Web-based, you can access your lists at work or at home. Your Ta-da lists also show you how far along in a task you are—the bullet mark in front of each task shrinks as you near its completion.
Best of all, Ta-da is free! Of course as the folks at Ta-da hope you love it so much that you'll consider subscribing to an upgraded version, which includes notes, reminders and photo storage. The only catch is this: Ta-da may only work for you if you have a Safari, Firefox or Internet Explorer (IE) 6.x, web browser, so you may need make adjustments before downloading.
Now, as someone who loves making lists, the free version sounds like a good fit for me. For you busy agents, an upgraded version may have more of the capabilities you need to stay organized. Although I have to tell you, I really do love the act of crossing things off of my lists, (this is especially fun with the new fun-colored Sharpies) but I'll give Ta-da a try this week and see if it changes my life.
If you'd like to learn more about life hacks and how to simplify your workplace, you can checkout LifeHack.org, LifeHacker and 43 Folders (great recommendations from Monster). And, from our own library of agent resources, check out our InsureMe article, Eliminating the Hoops: Streamlining Business Practices.
Although, come to think of it, some advocates of life hacking could argue that reading through the blogs and articles linked above is really just contributing to the rest of the distractions you deal with during the day. :)
