Tag: advice

The subversive genius that is Cracked.com

The team at cracked.com have a tested formula: take some good advice  and practically bury it in humour to get a piece that has you laughing at first but thinking later. It is a very subversive way to get people thinking on a site you wouldn’t expect to be doing so.

I first started reading cracked.com for the laughs, but afterwards thought: hey, they have a really great piece of guidance there. Here are two pieces from many good ones on the site:

There are lots of sites on the Web giving advice (including this one). Cracked does it in a way that is better than most. Worth checking out.

If you are having problems charging your fitbit flex, consider this fix

If you plug your fitbit into your charging cable and then into your computer, lights should start pulsing.  (See here for details.) If they don’t start pulsing, then your fitbit will not take the charge. How can you fix this?

Take a look at the three very small circles at the bottom of your fitbit. They should be a shiny copper colour if they are clean, and they need to be clean in order to take the charge. Ideally they should always stay clean, but it is easy for them to get dirty since they are so close to your skin.

To clean them, you need a very gentle abrasive to clean them. What worked for me was taking the end of a paper clip and very gently scraping the circle until I could see the shiny copper again. Then I plugged it back into the charging cable that was attached to my computer and the lights started pulsing.

Note! If you are the least bit concerned about breaking your fitbit by doing this, then do not do this. Instead, take it back to where you purchased it and see if they can help you. You are responsible for your own fitbit.  That said, this worked for me and my fitbit worked fine afterwards.

4 p.m. recipe(s): some good meals to make this autumn and winter (soups, salads, and rice)

I was going through my list of recipes I have been collecting, and rather than trickle them out, here are four worth trying this autumn and winter (all via Chatelaine.com):

P.S. I am a fan of recipes from Chatelaine: they are well tested, nutritious and healthy. The recipes aren’t boring, but they are easy to make and it is easy to find ingredients, even if you don’t live in a big city.

You want to take better photos with your digital camera? Henri Cartier-Bresson has 10 tips for you

Ok, it’s not advice directly from the Master. However, the author of this piece, 10 Things Henri Cartier-Bresson Can Teach You About Street Photography, has distilled 10 lessons from Cartier-Bresson’s photography that easily applies to digital photography. Anyone looking to take better digital pictures can benefit from this lessons, especially the last one:

 Always strive for more

The trick of caramelized onions

Caramelized onions are a great thing to have: many basic dishes can be enhanced by adding these golden beauties. Sound good? If so, consider this:  Why recipe writers lie and lie about how long they take to caramelize onions.
 I recommend you read this before you try to make caramelized onions, otherwise you might wonder why the burned/undercooked ones you just whipped up don’t have the appeal you expected.

Stuck for a recipe to use them with? Consider this egg dish recipe from Martha Stewart: Caramelized Onion and Gorgonzola Quiche Recipe or this pasta recipe from:  A CUP OF JO: Rigatoni with Caramelized Onions and Gorgonzola.

The Economist (and yours truly) on why you want to update your LinkedIn profile

If you think LinkedIn is a waste of time and something no one uses, think again. For starters, check out this chart:

More and more companies and people are using LinkedIn.

You might counter: I have never heard of anyone getting a job on LinkedIn. To that I say that people are losing jobs to LinkedIn, in that HR and others are using LinkedIn as a screening process. Good use of LinkedIn might not get you a job, but poor use of LinkedIn might lose you a job.

I’d add that lots of recruiters use LinkedIn, more than you think. The better your profile, the better chance you have to get linked in with someone with a new and better job for you.

Lastly, LinkedIn is becoming a longer and better version of a resume. Just like you should have an up to date version of that, you should have an up to date version of your career highlights on LinkedIn.

For more on this topic, and to see where I got the chart, go to The Economist’s excellent tumblr

More evidence – in case you needed it – that many great things take time

The overnight success idea is one that refuses to die, regardless of how much evidence there is that great things take along time to accomplish. If you needed a reminder of this, then consider this: In Praise of Slow Mastery: 10 Great Achievements That Took Time – 99U.

Even as things get faster, it remains true that to accomplish great things you need time. Here’s to you on the great things you are on your way to achieving.

Are you travelling for work? Listen to Austin Kleon and travel smart

You may not being going on a book tour, but if you are travelling for work, you can steal these ideas from Austin Kleon (Austin Kleon : 10 Things I Learned On Book Tour) and have a much better trip.

Ideas I stole on a recent trip:

  1. Invest in good gear. I had my carry on well packed, and it fit nicely above my head. It made my 2.5 hour flight a breeze to get through. Plus I had everything I need, meaning no need to scramble at my destination looking for things (time you usually won’t have, anyway).
  2. Wear a uniform. I do this now on all trips. You look presentable, you look good in photos (if you take selfies), and you don’t have to pack as much.
  3. When in doubt, go to an art museum. I was in Tampa, and I found out where their museum was and visited. Not only is it a great museum, but they had on two good shows. Bonus: the area around the museum was excellent in itself.

His entire list is worthwhile. If you are travelling soon on business, you will benefit from reading him first.

P.S. Photo from a link to his blog. Go read his blog. Better still, buy his books.

Making walls better with moulding


While you can do interesting things with paint or wall paper to your walls, another idea is to use simple moulding to break up boring walls. The woman featured in this post, Charlotte’s Budget Beauty — House Call | Apartment Therapy, has  it throughout her place, and I think it looks great.

Want more ideas on how to do that? Here you go 🙂  http://lmgtfy.com/?q=add+moulding+to+walls

Helpful advice in preparing for dealing with the death of a parent

If you are fortunate, your parents are living and you have a good relationship with them. The dreaded day will come, though, when they die. It will be hard to deal with, no matter what advice you get, but this piece of advice will certainly help: Things I Wish I Had Known When My Mother Died :: YummyMummyClub.ca.

I would add: expect to deal with a lot of administrative tasks that will seem surreal at times. There is much more of it then you think. At best it will seem bizarre. At worst, it will be agony. Either way, it must get done, and if you don’t think you will be able to do it, consider who you would lean on to help you with it when the time comes.

(Thanks to Emma W for the pointer to this.)

Are you trying to learn to code? Are you finding it difficult?

It’s likely not you. As this piece argues, Learnable Programming, there are limits to the approaches that online sites have which many can get by, but some cannot. If you are in the latter group, give this piece a read. Afterwards you might think: aha! That’s why I couldn’t get it!

With technology, if you don’t understand something, don’t assume the problem lies with you. It may, but most of the time, the problem lies with the technology.

It’s Tuesday. You need some inspiration

If you are following this blog, yesterday you fixed up your (Windows) machine. You got a new todo list. Excellent. Now, perhaps, you need something inspiring for your desktop wallpaper.

If you agree, check out these wallpapers from Design Milk. There should be one to appeal to you, regardless of whether or not you are a designer.

The best todo list ever? Certainly the simplest. Likely the one you need.

By now you’ve had a chance to go over the things you need to do this week. Quite possibly it is looking overwhelming. Even though you are working hard, you don’t feel like you are accomplishing things. If so, try stepping back, take a minute, and read this: If you do this and only this, today will be a good day.

It really is a good way to approach your day. (And yes, it’s fine if you do more than one thing.)

It’s Monday. Your Windows computer sucks. Here’s how to make it less sucky!

First, take this list: 25 tricks to make working with Windows faster, better and more fun.

Second, apply as many as you can. Even if you aren’t technically savvy or comfortable with changing things, look through the long list and find some you are comfortable with and apply them.

Third, ask for help with the ones you can’t do (either because you aren’t comfortable or their are restrictions regarding what you can change on your computer).

There! Your computer is better and less sucky already. And a less sucky computer means a less sucky work week.

Good luck! Thank me later! 🙂 Also thank ITBusiness, which is where I found it.

How to give a great — exceptionally great — presentation?

Follow the steps that Marc Ensign outlines here: The Tale of Inspiration, Perspiration, Preparation and Celebration.

I am convinced that people who give a great presentation do it because they put this much into the presentation. For people who give so-so to good presentations, including myself, you likely just manage to get it done. For people who give great presentations, they do all the things that Marc outlines here.

If you are wondering is it worth it, I can say that it is. I have given a small number of really good presentations, and every time I have, they were good because I went through a process similar to Marc’s. What strikes me is that years later, I am still happy and proud to think of those talks that I gave.  That’s what makes me think it’s worth  doing all of the things that Marc talks about.

Needless to say, I highly recommend this advice and Marc’s piece. Bonus: he’s funny.

Why Laurie Penny writes may also be good reasons for you to write

In the Overland literary journal, Laurie Penny has a long and interesting essay on why she writes. For anyone who is thinking of writing more and writing publicly, I highly recommend it.

Have reservations about writing? Her piece should persuade you to give them up and get down to the business of putting your thoughts and words out there for others to read.

Do it!

Changes and life improvements should not just be for the first of January

You can start life changes any time. These may be aimed on people making New Year resolutions, but you can resolve to change right after you read this.

Good luck.

Do you have Chromecast? Then you want 5by

Chromecast is great for putting YouTube videos on your big screen TV. The problem for me, though, is finding good videos to watch: I want to spend less time searching and more time relaxing. 5by.com answers that problem by providing you videos picked by them around themes. I have just started with it, but it looks good (in more ways than one).

For more information, see Video Concierge.

It’s 7 a.m., you haven’t slept a wink, and you need to go to work. What do you do?

You print off this article: How to Get Through a Workday on No Sleep — Science of Us and you follow it step by step, hour by hour. Really. It has a great rundown of all the things you should do and why.

Of course the best thing is to do what it takes to get some sleep the night before. Or call in sick and get some rest. If neither of those options are available, what you read in that article may be the thing that saves you.

P.S. Thanks for reading this. If you have found it useful and you’d like to say thanks by buying me a coffee, you can do so here. Thanks! That’s awesome!

How much sleep do we need? Seven hours? Eight?

This WSJ article makes the case that you can probably get by with less than eight. Given the audience of the Wall Street Journal, I am not surprised they would have such an article.

For more reasonable people, this article in Real Simple (So Now We Only Need 7 Hours of Sleep? Not So Fast) makes more sense.

As I get older I lean towards getting more sleep, but to each their own.

Regardless, the weekend is coming up. Get some sleep.

P.S. The image, from the wikipedia section on sleep, shows the downside of lack of sleep.

On avoiding the trap of political outrage

If you are associated with people who are political activists, you will likely be presented with events from time to time and you will be asked  “why aren’t you outraged by this?” It can put you on the defensive. It can make you feel uncaring, selfish, or apathetic. You have to agree that a massacre or child abuse or great poverty is outrageous, and you feel at that moment that a) something should be done and b) you are somehow deficient for not doing something about it.

This is a trap. First off: is there something you can immediately do to stop this? If you can, then do it. Chances are you cannot. So outrage aside, you need to make a plan either to take action in the longer term, or not take action at all. But why would you not take action at all? Simply because there are more terrible things in the world happening than you can possibly tackle. Even if you were to devote your life to them, there would be many many more things you cannot do than you can. You need to have a plan to do what you can.

Feelings like guilt or or pity or outrage may spark you do something. But if things stop there, such feelings are self-indulgent. Instead, pick something that you are motivated to improve and work on.Can you do more? Do more.

Just avoid the trap.

(Originally posted at Posterous on April 24 2011)

 

Freedom 48 – how to retire early

My former colleague and all around great person, Annie English, has a book and a blog on how to retire young. The Toronto Star has reviewed it here: Here’s how this couple retired at 48 in expensive Toronto: Roseman | Toronto Star. Annie and her husband, Rich, were disciplined before retirement, and that discipline has paid off. If you want to learn how they did it, check out the Star article, or their blog, Retired At 48. If this is something you want to achieve, buy the book, too.

Some thoughts on dealing with small difficulties

The problem with small difficulties is that if you get too close to them, they seem large. Like mosquitoes, even though they are small, with enough of them pestering you, you can find yourself entirely taken up with dealing with them.

With mosquitoes, you might endure them, and this is one way to deal with them if you have to. You can also endure your small problems and fight through them as if they were a swarm of mosquitoes. Or you might step back inside to a sheltered place. Stepping back is also a good way to deal with small problems. Step back and gain some perspective and see the small problems for what they are: small and insignificant in the bigger frame you view them from. You will still deal with them, but regaining that perspective reduces the irritation that they bring on, and helps you deal with them with great patience and equanimity.

(Via my iphone)

The best, easiest, and most effective New Year’s resolution to make (perfect for procrastinators, too) is

The best, easiest, and most effective New Year’s resolution to make (perfect for procrastinators, too) is this: I resolve to make a new resolution every week (or month, or quarter or season, or….you get the idea).

It sounds like a lame suggestion, but think about it for a minute. By making this resolution, you have already made a resolution. Good for you! One down. That out of the way, you can decide what is a schedule you are most likely to stick to. Once a week? Possible, but tough. Monthly? More likely. I personally like quarterly or seasonally. The idea of having a new resolution every season is a great way to kick off a season. In spring you can resolve to plant new / more plants. In summer you can resolve to go to the beach more, or go on that trip you always wanted, or spend more time in the park reading or exercising. In fall you can resolve to get out and take in more culture. And in winter you can resolve to get in shape for next spring and fall.

Whatever you do, keep a list. You will be surprised at the end of the year how many resolutions that you made and kept.

The other good thing about this approach is that you keep up the resolutions, rather than making a bunch in January, only to have them die off.

Good luck!

60 Things to Better Appreciate in Life

The actual title of the blog post that I am commenting on is 60 Things to Be Grateful For In Life at the site tinybuddha.com.  However, the word “grateful” implies you are grateful towards someone or something. I prefer the word “appreciate”, not only because it does away with that relationship, but it has connotations of “growth” and “value”. Appreciating your sense of sight implies not only do you value your ability to see the beauty in the world, but also you are growing your ability to see the beauty in the world. I like that better.

Regardless of whether you are grateful, appreciative, or both, check out the list. It’s a good one.

a nice reminder to backup your files

My computer is toast. Specifically there appears to be a problem with either Windows XP or the file system where Windows resides. Regardless, it is likely going to mean a lot of restoring of files or at least moving them.

Ask yourself; if my computer stopped working right now, do you have a copy of the most important files on my computer? Do I even know which files are important? Have you tested restoring those files and did it work?

If you don’t have a good answer to these questions, look for ways to determine how to answer them today. In the worst case, take your most crucial files and email them to someone or use a service like drop.io as a temporary place to put them while you find a longer term solution.

You don’t need a complex solution. In fact backing up your files should be as easy as brushing your teeth! And just as important.

Essential wardrobe item for men: the solid black suit

If you  search for Tim Gunn’s Fashion Essentials on the Web, you will find a number of things he recommends for women. To some degree, many of these things — classic white shirt, jeans, trench coat — work for men as well. But there is one thing on that list that women have had for a long time as an essential, namely the “little black dress”, that men should also have. Except it is the “solid black suit”.

I’ve read that if men are buying their first suit, they should go with a navy suit. Navy suits are great. But if I were recommending an essential piece of clothing for men, it would be a solid black suit.

A solid black suit is tremendously versatile. If you wear it with a white shirt with French cuffs and a solid coloured tie, it is the height of dressing up (save for wearing a tuxedo). If you replace the shirt and tie with a high quality T-shirt or a bold print shirt, you can wear the same suit to a gallery opening or a night club. You can wear it to weddings, funerals, and pretty well any special event in between. It travels well, doesn’t show stains or wrinkles as easily as some other suits, and if you have to pack light, you could add some light gray or beige pants and make the jacket coordinate with those slacks for extra business attire. You can even wear the jacket with the jeans if you want to mix it up.

I think solid black is more versatile than one with stripes. As for the cut of the suit, that should be one that works well for you. Since you want the suit to be versatile, the cut should be versatile as well. And get the best one you can afford, especially if you will be wearing it often.

There are lots of great articles of clothing a man should have in his wardrobe to look his best. A basic black suit should be one of those.

To see what I mean: if you want to see just how elegant such a suit can look, you can check out this post with Tim looking great as usual in a solid black suit. Meanwhile, this post on the new line of Comme des Garcons wear at H&M illustrates how to make such a suit look more casual.