February 2008 Archives

It's ironic, really. Regular reading of the blog that offers "Tech Tricks, Tips and Downloads for Getting Things Done", LifeHacker, is a sure route to information overload. I mean, come on now, if I read all of these great ideas, I wouldn't have time to get anything done! And isn't that the opposite of what they're going for?

But I can't stop. This is great stuff. Today's feature, "How to Stop Checking Email on the Evenings and Weekends" makes a very interesting point. If you want to stop getting so much email, you need to stop sending it! Of course, why didn't I think of that. The more we try to get done, the more inundated we become. Here's another piece of advice I particularly like. "Don't scan email if you can't immediately fix problems encountered." It's true, I've been guilty of taking a quick look on a vacation day, but I'm trying to break that habit for this very reason. Nothing ruins a good vacation day than reading an email with a problem you can't fix until you get back to the office.

So, you see my problem. My RSS reader says I have 414 LifeHacker entries to catch up on. How can I truly be efficient if I can't keep up with blog entries on how to be efficient?

Here's my LifeHacker-like solution. Instead of reading the entries on a regular basis, I've been searching LifeHacker when I have a question. For example, when I needed to know how to create a slideshow of my Flickr photos, off I went to LifeHacker to run a search on "Flickr" and "slideshow". I'm researching web conferencing tools, so I run a search and find an interesting entry on a free service call Yugma. Hmm, I'm definitely giving this one a try.

Browsing LifeHacker by category is another way to go, and yields some interesting stories. I couldn't resist clicking on "Pets", which is how I found a great article on a pet travel web site, Plan a Pet Friendly Route with PetsWelcome.com. This is perfect for my "other" web site, CarGoDogs. And if you're particularly interested in a specific category, you can opt for the RSS feed for future articles on that topic.

Now, where was I? Ah yes, I was researching web conferencing tools when I was distracted by LifeHacker. I've obviously digressed. So many LifeHacker tips....so little time.

It can be hard to truly evaluate software until it's installed and in use, and by then it's too late. If you're hoping to forgo the pain of making the wrong match when it comes to making a major purchase of library software, you'll get some help from a new survey done by Marshall Breeding, "Perceptions 2007: An International Survey of Library Automation." Judging from some of the ratings, I think some librarians were happy to have an opportunity to vent.

See also: Report on Librarians’ Feelings About Automation Is More ‘Validating’ Than ‘Surprising’, a Newsbreak by Kathy Dempsey

I find this new enhancement to GoogleDocs VERY intriguing. According to CYBERCity's Weblog, you can now create an email form, email it to whomever, and when they email the completed form back, the data will automatically populate in a GoogleDocs spreadsheet. This is something you can't do with plain vanilla Excel.

The respondents don't even have to sign in, which is quite an advantage if you're collecting data from people who aren't GoogleDocs users...or, heavens, don't even know about GoogleDocs.

This has definite possibilities...okay, I don't have an application for this yet, but I will...and I suspect you will, too.

For more information, see:

Stop sharing spreadsheets, start collecting information (Google Docs Blog)

Not familiar with Google Docs? See Google Marks Microsoft's Territory - Google Docs and More.