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Archive for the ‘Productivity’ Category

I will not become a statistic….

Posted in Academic life, Being a scholar, Dissertation, Graduate school, Organization, Productivity, tagged , , , on December 20, 2009 | 1 Comment »

They used to say that only 50% of those who start a doctorate finish.  Updated statistics in the social sciences says that number (10-year completion) is more like 56%, but that still leaves 44% unfinished and (in most programs like mine that have a time limit) unfinishable.  It isn’t the course work;  16% opt out [...]

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Review: GTDAgenda.com

Posted in GTD specific, Organization, Productivity, Technology, Tools on October 18, 2009 | Comments Off

A few months ago I was contacted by the developer of gtdagenda.com and offered an premium account that I could evaluate and, if I wanted, review.  I have now been using the site for several months and wanted to post a review of my experience.
What is gtdagenda?
gtdagenda.com is a web-based implementation of David Allen’s Getting [...]

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Perspective: Useful thing that…

Posted in Academic life, Dissertation, Graduate school, Productivity, Psychology, Stress, Teaching on October 4, 2009 | Comments Off

Often we are told to take a step back from things to gain some perspective.  It’s very hard when you are in the thick of things, particularly all-consuming things like a dissertation.
This week, however, I got some perspective.  In order to enhance my qualifications for the classes I’m already teaching, I signed up for an [...]

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Laser-sharp focus reduces stress

Posted in Academic life, Productivity, Stress, Teaching on September 27, 2009 | Comments Off

We live in a world with a wealth of things to distract us:

The internet and all the amazing information it brings to our door

RSS feeds
Facebook and social networking sites
YouTube
Wikipedia

A new TV season starting up
Books and/or magazines on every possible topic
Free education via things like Open Courseware or ITunes U

It is easy to get overwhelmed or [...]

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Kicken’ it old school: paper for some things

Posted in GTD specific, Organization, Productivity, Technology on September 20, 2009 | Comments Off

On the one hand, I really WANT to be able to use an electronic planner, note taking system and organizational process.  I’ve tried a number of them, and some (OneNote for my dissertation and my Inbox as a to do queue) are still in use.  But not all.
I have reverted to paper note taking for [...]

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Summer break?

Posted in Academic life, Graduate school, Productivity, Psychology, Teaching on August 1, 2009 | Comments Off

Ah, the good old days as an undergrad when you got your summers off.  I wish.  Summer for a graduate student is often as hectic as the rest of the year, and if some things (teaching) are reduced that merely means that other things (research) are expected to step in and make up the difference.
These [...]

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Backups are one of your most important tasks…

Posted in Organization, Productivity, Technology, Tools on July 12, 2009 | 1 Comment »

Modern academic work is centered on our computers; data storage and analysis, writing, research, reference libraries, and often collaboration with our peers all require working computers.
It is for this reason that keeping good backups is paramount to success as an academic.
There are a number of techniques for keeping good backups as an academic.  I want [...]

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A new (to me) tool for keeping up with the literature

Posted in Academic life, Being a scholar, Dissertation, Organization, Productivity, Technology, Tools on June 27, 2009 | 1 Comment »

One of the most challenging parts of being an academic is keeping up with all the new literature that comes out. We live in a publish-or-perish world, and that means the most active academics are putting out several new articles per year that we need to at least be aware of.
You may know already [...]

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Technology Experiment Updates

Posted in Organization, Productivity, Technology, Tools on June 19, 2009 | 1 Comment »

Over the time I have been writing here I have talked about a number of different technology experiments regarding making myself more productive.  Some have been successful, while others haven’t.  Time for an updated on some of what I’ve tried.
A voice recorder and Dragon Naturally Speaking for note taking while reading:
The experiment: I would [...]

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Inbox Zero? Not for me….

Posted in GTD specific, Organization, Productivity on June 19, 2009 | Comments Off

Lifehacker had a pointer to an article from New York Times technology guy David Pogue on how he stays organized.  He rejects Inbox Zero (the idea of emptying your inbox constantly and using GTD-like decision making to send email to your lists) and, instead, uses his inbox as a to-do list.
It was refreshing to hear [...]

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