Web 2.0 Toolbar provides a one-stop solution to information overload.

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soupornuts is moving!!! In order to have more control over my blog (how it looks, plugins, etc.) I have decided to move soupornuts.wordpress.com to soupornuts.com. When you come to soupornuts.com, you will see my new postings along with updated and edited versions of most of my old articles. Don’t panic if the site looks different the first couple of times you visit. I am trying different themes to see which I prefer.

Time management is essential to being productive. Being productive is essential to being successful. Therefore, if we can manage our time better, then we can be more productive. Due to the democratization of information via the internet, we are constantly bombarded with an ever increasing number of new sites, blogs, news readers, video sites and more vying for our attention. What’s important? What needs to be read? How do we decide which sites to visit?

I recently came across the Web 2.0 Toolbar and thought that it looked like a promising solution to information overload. This toolbar is like a super aggregator on steroids. It offers over 30 different search engines, 16 submission sites, 20 different news reader feeds, 10 links feeds, job listings feeds, 11 video feeds, picture feeds and press feeds.

I’ve been using it for about a week and have had no problems other than there is a lot to look at. At least it’s all in one place. Take a look at it and let me know what you think.

Tags: web2.0, aggregator, timemanagement

Your word & Righteous compliments – my two point hot list for timeless traits

 The article will begin below this paragraph

soupornuts is moving!!! In order to have more control over my blog (how it looks, plugins, etc.) I have decided to move soupornuts.wordpress.com to soupornuts.com. When you come to soupornuts.com, you will see my new postings along with updated and edited versions of most of my old articles. Don’t panic if the site looks different the first couple of times you visit. I am trying different themes to see which I prefer.

Today’s world in general and the internet specifically is all about what’s hot, new and exciting. What is the “next big thing?” Who’s on top? What’s popular? Who’s in the news? Did you Diggit or Buryit? It is exciting to not only be the first to see the latest, breaking news story, but to also be involved in it’s proliferation.

However, regardless of of popular opinion, there are some things that in and of themselves mean something. They stand alone. They do not need the seal of approval of society, popular opinion or any one else. This is my two point “hot list” of inherently valuable principles.

1. YOUR WORD

If you say that you are going to do something, then do it and do it in a timely fashion without anyone having to remind you that you said you would do it. There is no value/principle that is more important to you personally than the trust that others place in you because they know “you’ll get it done.”

Like most trends, it’s popular to say, “I’ll get right on it”, “I’ll get in done”, “It’s a done deal”, or the classic “The check’s in the mail.” But in order for your word and thus you to be valuable, your word must be carried out. It must be fulfilled. Every time. Every, single time.

This gives the people who surround you, whether in a personal, business or social setting, confidence. Confidence in you and your integrity. Confidence in you and your ability to come through – to get the job done. You become the “go to guy/gal” because you always get it done, regardless of the obstacles.

When you always get the job done, people will begin to seek you and your services/abilities out. Your value increases and you can begin to demand greater compensation because “you always get it done.” This is all a result of the fact that when you say you will do something, you do it. You have created your power because you live up to your word.

2. RIGHTEOUS COMPLIMENTS

Everyone likes to feel good. Everyone wants to feel good. You have the power to fulfill this need and desire. Stop for just a moment and consider the pride you feel when someone notices your work or your effort. You step livelier. You hold your head higher. You try even harder because it feels good to be appreciated.

It is basic human nature to need to be appreciated. I have personally seen more bad work attitudes develop in industry simply because workers did not feel appreciated, nor were they shown any appreciation by management. This is simply a bad, bad business practice.

The cost of a “thanks”, “nice job” or any acknowledgment of appreciation by management is minimal if anything. But the value is incalculable because you cannot put a dollar value on a good attitude. It is priceless, overlooked and could be had with a simple “thank you”.

Do you want to increase your bottom line? Your company’s value? Invest in saying “thanks”, “nice job” and “I appreciate your effort”. A righteous compliment is a small investment with a potentially priceless return. Use them to your advantage.

Tags: integrity, honor, motivation

Time Bandits

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soupornuts is moving!!! In order to have more control over my blog (how it looks, plugins, etc.) I have decided to move soupornuts.wordpress.com to soupornuts.com. When you come to soupornuts.com, you will see my new postings along with updated and edited versions of most of my old articles. Don’t panic if the site looks different the first couple of times you visit. I am trying different themes to see which I prefer.

Time is our most precious resource. When it slips by, it is gone. Forever. The successful millionaire and the average Joe are just alike when it comes to time. Each is given the same amount each day. It then becomes very easy to see that those people who are financially successful must use their time in a more efficient manner. The truth of the matter is a man or a woman usually finds the time to do the things they want to do.

If we were like Rip Van Winkle and took a nap one day then woke up and it was twenty years later, we would be furious. Waking up twenty years older, seeing our children grown and with children of their own, it would be worse than any nightmare. But is it any different when we allow minutes and hours to be stolen from us each day? Is it only the magnitude of the time that makes it a nightmare?

There are events, technologies and people who unnecessarily take up our time each day. I call these things Time Bandits. Time Bandits steal your time. A minute here, a half hour there, a little at a time so you barely notice. But time is gone just the same. The following are some of the most common Time Bandits:

1. The Telephone: a great device for communicating with someone who is not in your physical vicinity. Do you really need to spend as much time on the phone as you do? Just because it rings doesn’t mean you have to answer it. Learn how to relay your message to the recipient in as an efficient a manner as possible or learn what they are trying to say to you, then move on.
2. E-mail: another handy device for communication. But do you really need to check it every 5 minutes? Must you reply to every email? There is no doubt that it is both a convienence and a time trap, but it can be tamed and used for your good. Set aside a special time to check and reply to your e-mails. Ignore it otherwise.
3. Cel Phone and Text Messaging: sort of a hybridization of the worst of the telephone and e-mail. They have their benefits, but for your sake, use them in moderation.
4. The Office Talker: you know who I’m talking about. They stop by to “shoot the breeze”, but all they kill is your time. Not only are they not doing their job, they are making sure that you are not doing yours. Do yourself a favor, institute some boundaries and introduce the Talker to them. You’ll thank me later.
5. Television: the drone box. Do you think you’ll be lying on your death bed and lament that you would have liked to watch a few more episodes of some show? I doubt it. Be productive and expand your mind at the same time. Read. It doesn’t matter if it is a book, magazine, or an online article, but use your mind.

We live in a time when there are more time-saving devices than ever before and yet we have less time. How is this possible? Time is what we want the most and then use in the worst possible ways. When we waste time, we are devaluing our life. We will never get it back.

We must “seize the day” and “grab the bull by the horns”. Ask yourself, “Is what I’m doing right now the best possible use of my time?” This simple question, if asked prior to beginning any new task will help you in your endeavor to spend your time wisely. Does reading this blog help you? Does it provide technical or motivational information that is worthy of the time you are devoting to it? If the answer is yes, fantastic. If the answer is no, then stop reading now and move on to something that facilitates your growth and development. Don’t waste time. You don’t get a do-over.

Create your destiny through effective time management

Time is the one commodity that we are all given but it is a perishable commodity.  Regardless of what you hear, you will never save any time.  You may do a task in a more efficient manner and be able to move on to something else, but you will never have any more time than your allotted 24 hours in each day.

However, by the effective management of our time today, we can create the future that we desire.  As the old saying goes, “If you don’t manage your time, your time will manage you.”  There must be a commitment to the development of a plan for effective time management.  You do not manage your time by accident.  It is only done through a definite, systematic plan. 

Many people have deluded themselves into thinking that they are committed to managing their time, but they seldom exhibit this by their lives.  Conversations with these people often have the comments like “there just isn’t enough time in the day”, “I don’t have enough time”, or “I am too busy”, sprinkled though out the dialogue.  Perhaps there is a misunderstanding of “commitment”.  Here is a short example that helps me remember what commitment is.

Two men, Bob and Tom were traveling down a small river in a canoe.  It was a nice, simple trip.  Just a lazy day drifting.  But on this particular day Bob and Tom each shifted in the canoe at the same time, in the same direction, which resulted in the canoe capsizing.

Bob, being an excellent swimmer, came up and slowly considered the temperature of the water and how refreshing it made him feel, then slowly began swimming to the side of the river.  Bob was interested in getting out of the water.

Tom did not know how to swim.  When he surfaced, he did not care how refreshing the water felt or what it’s temperature was.  He simply gasped for air and began to fight for something to hold onto.  He pushed, pulled and struggled to breathe.  Tom could see the side and he desperately wanted out of the river.  Tom was going to do whatever necessary to get to the side.  For Tom, getting out of the river was not just a “good idea” or “an excellent theory”.  It was the key to his survival.  Tom was committed to doing whatever is necessary to survive.

Like Bob, most people are interested in time management.  The highly effective, successful few are like Tom.  They realize that their survival, their future, depends on their commitment to a systematic plan of time management.  They are as committed to time management as they are to breathing.

Napoleonic delusions never result in managerial effectiveness

There doesn’t seem to be a clear-cut pathway to becoming a manager.  I don’t think any child dreams of one day being in middle management. However, colleges and universities still offer management curricula, so someone must aspire to managing.  My guess is that most managers have the position “thrust” upon them, an essential rung in the corporate ladder, with little or no choice in the matter.

In my professional career, I’ve both managed and been managed.  I’ve seen some great managers and some who couldn’t manage to come in out of the rain.  The quality that seems to divide these two extremes is “attitude”.

Being a great manager is no accident.  It takes effort, time, dedication, continuing education and a high degree of commitment to developing the skills which lead to greatness.  The first step in achieving excellent or even adequate management skills is the desire to be a better manager.  Recognition of the need for personal growth and the development of necessary managerial skills is paramount.

Regardless of what you may have heard or believe, very few (an infinitesimally small number of) people are natural-born leaders!  It is amazing to witness the apparent arrogance of those who believe that possession of a degree or title makes them competent managers.  In any field of endeavor, excellence requires commitment to development.  There are no craftsmen that I know of, who believes or would dare to even joke that “I am a natural-born carpenter”, or ” I am a natural-born welder”.  It just won’t happen.  The humility of hard work, study and long hours of practice in their craft strip away the false bravado.  It has taken them years to develop and hone their skills.  Becoming an excellent manager is no less strenuous.

After realizing that being an excellent manager requires diligent effort, a potential manager must decide what he is going to manage.  Someone will say that because of my background, education or previous training, that “I will manage the accounting department”, or “I will manage receiving”, or “I will manage production”.  The managers that think these thoughts have missed the boat and are doomed to failure, because what managers manage is people!  P E O P L E ! (yes, I know that all caps is shouting on the web — it’s that important)

So, if you desire to be a manager and you recognize that managers manage people, then you are beginning to realize that only “your people” can demonstrate to others how effective your management skills are.  It stands to reason then, that you must develop your people skills.

How you treat “your people” can make or break you and will directly impact your effectiveness.  If you want “them” to respect you and your management philosophy, then you will have to show your respect for them, show your respect for their ideas and show your respect for their needs.

Smile and greet the “little” people, talk to them, acknowledge their existence, question their methods, explore their expertise, get to know them.  Remember, you manage people not reports, not meetings and not conference calls.  In most cases they will reciprocate and be more productive.

Without a doubt, the ultimate manager is the military leader who can motivate his troops and convince them to follow him into armed conflict.  It is imperitive then that the leader make sure that every soldier in his or her command knows of their importance to him.  This leader’s success literally lives and dies with “his” people. 

But in reality, doesn’t every manager’s success live or die with “his” people?