Categories
misc

Lifehacker-ish binder clip hack

Well, I have been following lifehacker for quite a few years now. But, until now, I have only tried their software hacks. This is the first time, I have solved a real world problem using a binder clip hack (something that I had read about long time ago, in lifehacker).

My cell phone charger is connected to a plug point beneath my desk, and the wire just kept falling off. The binder clip now makes sure that it always remains on top of my desk – where it should be. Thank you Lifehacker !

 

Categories
productivity

Beyond Life hacks …

Gina Trapani, chief life hacker supreme, has an excellent article titled “Beyond Life Hacks … Reusable solutions to common productivity problems.”

I will let you read the first paragraph:

Let’s face it: when you’ve run into serious productivity roadblocks like procrastination, distraction, and overwhelmed paralysis, keyboard shortcuts and index cards aren’t going to save you—only better patterns of behavior will.

And she goes on to describe some common problems, and some useful tips to handle them. Common problems include – distractions, procrastination, information overload etc.

A good read – the article is here.

Categories
misc

Tiffin carriers make it to America

More specifically, make it to lifehacker.com – [link here]. Wow indeed. We Indians, have been taking tiffin carriers for ages. Apparently American steel workers used to take such carriers but of steel. But now, lifehacker says the below:

If you’re not content with smooshing all your food into a mini-cooler or a brown bag, behold the stackable, food-separating, shiny awesomeness of a tiffin carrier lunchbox.

Tiffins—derived from the Indian word for snack—are the Indian equivalent of the iconic steel lunch boxes that mid-century working men in United States carried. Essentially a tiffin is a series of stacking containers and lids secured by a tension clip on the side.

And they have linked to a website called happytiffins.

 

pic: http://happytiffin.com
pic: http://happytiffin.com

But the dang-mother-of-all-gods-what-the-h*** moment is, when you read the below:

Prices range from $12-$25, depending on the number of tiers and size you select. The Tiffins are made from food-grade stainless steel, so they’ll last you for a lifetime and provide endless easy conversation-starters at lunch tables.

$25 for a tiffin box !!! Hmm, let me see, 25×50 (approx) = Rs. 1250.  You can get 5 tiffin boxes in India for that ! ROFL.

Categories
misc productivity

Lifehacker’s portable office

Gina Trapani, in a fantastic article in Macworld, gives a behind-the-scenes look on how the lifehacker team of editors work seamlessly, even though, they are so geographically dispersed. I think they have the framwork just right. A gist of the tools they use:

  1. Campfire for chat
  2. Gmail for email
  3. Gcalendar for calendaring
  4. Google Docs for collaboration
  5. Mediawiki for documentation
  6. Backpack for Project Management
  7. Del.icio.us for bookmarking

Read the full article here.

While at it, you should also look up The Lifehacker Editors’ Favorite Software and Hardware.

Categories
misc

IT professionals play fair too.

What comes to mind, for a lot of non IT-professionals is that, they are being unfairly treated well, and that they are over paid, and that, the compensation is not commensurate with the work they do etc. However, it is not known for too many people (other than the family of the IT professional), that we guys usually (almost always) carry our work with us home too. We need to check email, and sometimes even work from home. Most times, IT professionals do not have the luxury of doing work only at work, and not carrying work home.

Coming to the fairness part of the post, today in lifehacker, there was a reader poll, asking if we should get paid overtime, for the time we spend at home, checking email. This is the current status of the poll.

Look at the option having the largest votes. I rest my case.