It seems like lately I’ve been using my cell phone a lot. What would I do without it?! It’s still surprising to see so many people unaware of the nifty little tricks our cell phones are capable of, especially in a business environment.

If you’re still fresh to cell phones take a few minutes in your spare time and check out your manual. I was shocked at how big the manual was for my first cell phone. Of course, I fell prey to the typical guy mentality of disregarding the manual.

I’m pretty tech savvy so I of course figured out the majority of it myself but I was surprised to find a few little features in the manual that I didn’t know about.

Of course, doing a Google search for your phone could clue you in on some other neat things you can do with your cell phone!

Here’s a list of the things I use my cell phone for aside from calling:

An alarm clock - I’ve used my cell phone as my alarm clock for years now. For some reason it’s more effective and easier than a normal alarm clock. Plus, if you’re stuck somewhere and want to take a quick snooze you’ve got your alarm right there with you.

Phonebook - Of course this is the most common use aside from calling but I have addresses, notes for people, etc. that I might need in the future for each contact.

Internet - For about a year I used my cell phone for EVDO because I couldn’t get dsl or cable internet where I lived. EVDO is so much better than dial-up

Entertainment - Pretty much all cell phones have some form of a game…and when I’m utterly bored and stuck somewhere it’s just enough to keep me busy and entertained.

Make shift flash light - I can’t tell you how many times I manage to get stuck in a dark room or something and can’t see anything. My cell phone screen is so bright it will illuminate the room to where I can find even small items.

Texting of course - I don’t text a lot, but I do text every day. It’s my way to keep in touch with my girlfriend while I’m at work and a pretty easy way to get a message to someone quick without having to talk to them. I’m not big on small talk so a short and sweet text message is perfect for the job.

Pictures & Video - Cell phones are great for a quick snapshot or video. Now that phones are getting more and more high tech, this is a feature I may use more often once the quality starts really going up. Now that phones have way more memory it’s not an issue having 50-100 pictures on your phone either.

Music - I don’t really listen to music on my phone but I have a few songs that I really like on it and when I don’t have my iPod or aren’t by a computer and really want something to listen too.

Anyway, those are the majority of uses I have for my phone. I use to have a PDA and used it basically like a micro-computer for email, document editing, etc. but I’ve since downgraded to a sleek and stylish flip phone from LG, the VX8700.

I’m sure there are a ton of other great ways to use cell phones, if you have one share with a comment and I’ll add it to the list

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Have you ever had one of those days where you feel like you were insanely busy but you didn’t actually get anything done? Even on the days where I feel like I really accomplished something, I look back and evaluate my work and my day…suddenly realizing that I wasted a significant amount of time.

Earlier this morning I read a post over at JohnChow’s about 5 Online Time Savers. I really felt like they were things that were common knowledge. Unless you’re new to the internet, you most likely already know everything that was posted. So in a sense, the guest blog was preaching to the choir.

I was a little surprised to find out though that some people felt like it was good to have a gentle reminder. I don’t think that could be any more true. We get so caught up in other things we forget about the most useful and simple tools available to us.

Without further ado, Time Management Tips and Helpful Keys - a gentle reminder:

1. Time management is always going to fail you. After everything is said and done, you will have been able to get more done in the time you had but won’t. It’s the nature of life.
2. Set goals, without them, you’re a lost puppy in a caffeinated world going at light speed. When you have something to set your sights on and focus on, you know what has to be done between where you are now, and where you want to be.
3. Use tools available to you to stay organized and on track. Whether it’s a pencil and paper, a PDA, laptop, online tools or something else, there are tons of tools available to keep you and your day organized and focused on your goals.
4. Be aware of where your time is going and prioritize. Knowing where you’re wasting time and knowing when you can waste time is going to help you work and play much more efficiently. Getting your priorities all lined up will help you figure out where and when you can waste time.
5. Get into a routine and stick to it. Routines do suck, I’ll admit that, but they do help you figure out much more efficient ways to do things. When you establish a solid routine you’ll get faster and more efficient the more you do it.
6. Set yourself up to remember the things you forget. I forget things left and right….but I have learned that I will forget those things and how to set myself up to run into those things when I will need them next. For instance, I will forget to call people back by certain times. I know that I check my email as soon as I get home which is at 5:15pm at the latest. So if I email myself a reminder to call those people, I’ll do it and won’t have to worry about remembering anything.
7. Set and Forget….this one goes along with number 6 but I like it. You can spend all day worrying about things, getting things done, calling people, making deadlines, etc. There are notification systems surrounding us. So set a reminder and move on (in a sense forget about it). You have fewer things cluttering your brain while not missing a beat and getting even more done.
8. Stop waiting and start doing (multitasking). I see this one a LOT. So many people say, well I had to wait for this and I had to wait for that…. while you’re waiting you could be doing something else. Get the task started and go get something else started. This is essentially multitasking but a little different (in my opinion).

You might have to learn to use a few things you don’t usually use (ie. cell phone, task manager, advanced email functions, google calendar, etc.) but it will save you time and save you stress.

My girlfriend has a tendency to walk in the apartment and start setting things down. Then later she can’t find anything and is scrambling so she won’t be late. Inevitably, she is late, usually can’t find something and is stressed out. Stay consciously organized and aware. Put things where you know you’ll find them (tangibly and digitally).

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I happened to come across this tonight and wow! I already love Gmail (except for the recent spam problems that should be solved soon) but this just adds yet another reason why people should be using it.

(credit to MakeUseOf.com for the original post)

Part 1:

You can receive email to youremail@gmail.com with a dot in any part of the “youremail” section. For instance, y.ouremail@gmail.com (or @googlemail.com). You can put the dot anywhere in “youremail” and it will go to youremail@gmail.com. That isn’t anything I got excited about.

Part 2:

Here’s the awesome part. You can add extra information into your address! What you do is add a + and then the extra info. you want. So youremail+website@gmail.com (again, @googlemail.com as well).

This one is particularly nice because you can use that to figure out if you’re getting spam from a particular website by signing up using youremail+website@gmail.com

Additionally, if you use labels and filters you can setup filters with this. So maybe myemail+netflix@gmail.com and have them all filtered into a Netflix label. 

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This has been around for awhile but I know tons of people who don’t know about it. It’s pretty nifty and could be pretty useful. 

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I signed up for Twitter recently to see what all the fuss was about and quite frankly, I still don’t see what the big deal is.

I don’t really care for it much but maybe I need to spend more time on it to actually catch the twitter bug. 

So, you’re supposed to just post what you’re doing right? Update as you go through your daily tasks? Why exactly would I want to keep everyone up to date on what I’m doing right now? I mean, should I update that I’m going to go poop?

So Twitter is supposed to be like a micro-blog. So far, what I like about it is that some of the bloggers I follow (ProBlogger, JohnChow, DoshDosh, ShoeMoney, etc.) sometimes use Twitter to let people know they are working on a new blog post, or to ask a question, or even just shout out to their followers about something cool they found. 

So it definitely has it’s uses…I’m just not totally convinced it’s all that great. That could be because I am only following a few people at the moment or that none of my friends are using it or that nobody is really following me.  

So here’s what I gather I’ll be using Twitter for:

• A source for news (quicker than blogs)
• A place I can ask a quick question and get a pretty quick response
• A status report for my far far away friends (soon, they aren’t on it right now)
• A form of letting my followers (maybe more soon?) know what I’m going to be posting next, working on currently, when I’m using the toilet (I kid, I kid! ) or any other “important” update
• A place to tell people about something funny or interesting that happened or that I found
• Lastly, I’ll setup my phone to twitter while I’m at WinCo….a micro-rant! Stupid Sucks!

I’m sure there are tons of other uses for Twitter out there, if you have one (or many) please share…because if Twitter really is so freaking amazing, I’d like to be in on the fun!

Here’s a cool list of 50+ Guides, Hacks & Scripts for Twitter. While you’re at it why don’t you follow me on Twitter!

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This review has been long over due and I’m excited to finally get to write it.

Awhile ago I was introduced to the idea of solar roadways. You know, like all the roads being made out of solar panels. My first reaction was… well, not exactly positive. I just didn’t think it was all that feasible of a thing to do. Solar Roadways was impractical to me.

There is no better time to say this than now…. Stupid Sucks! Really, the idea Scott & Julie Brusaw has come up with is simply brilliant and I was being closed minded and ignorant about it. Every new technology is going to have its challenges to overcome but that doesn’t mean they aren’t possible.

The more I thought about the possibilities and potential of something like this, the more I realized this is one of those things that would change man kind and the way our world lives. From energy to global warming to traffic management to roadway safety, this could really be the next best invention to the car.

As amazing as the thought of the endless possibilities was, the thought of the astronomical price tag was much more overbearing. Here’s a big shocker though… It would actually cost about the same to produce these solar roadways as it is to produce current asphalt roads. That’s not even taking into consideration what we would get back from them either!

These roadways would literally pay for themselves! I won’t go into detail on the overall cost analysis but if you’re interested, visit Scott & Julie’s cost analysis page. What’s more amazing that you’ll find there is just how many other uses solar roadways would have to us and the world. Less pollution, no more energy problems, safer driving conditions and even better technologies delivered to our homes.

Now think about this idea…. if our roadways were built out of solar panels using a specialized type of glass that is as durable if not more durable than asphalt, had built in lights for traffic management instead of painted lines that wear off, collected our country’s energy needs x3, melted ice during winter and could carry a more advanced communication & data infrastructure, how incredible would that be?

Here is a video of Scott presenting the idea, which better explains how it works.

If you haven’t heard of this already, it’s worth checking out. Before you know it this kind of technology could be put into the roads you’ll be driving on. Solar panels have been developed with increasingly more efficient abilities and lower production costs.

If you’d like to support Solar Roadways, there are many different ways to do so. Bumper stickers, t-shirts, dog shirts , their encouragement list and even myspace. In fact, check out the countries from around the world already supporting the idea!

If you liked this article and/or would like to support and spread the word about this idea you can Digg it.

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During the day I work as a graphic designer at a local newspaper and I work on…. wait…. I’m not sure if I can say it…… Windows … 2000.

Now, you can’t really blame the newspaper because not every company can afford to buy the latest and greatest and believe me, this company does try.

As a designer though, it’s the equivalent of working without a soul…

It’s always amazing to me at just how much more inspired I am to be creative as soon as I get home and jump on my iMac, crank up the tunes (iTunes isn’t allowed at work so I use my iPod) and get into the mood Apple products inspire.

They really are much more conducive to creativity than… well, I don’t even need to say it (windows).

I don’t have Apple’s newest operating system (leopard) but tiger alone puts any version of windows to shame. I mean, I just don’t have the problems I used to have with windows, and I’m a pretty advanced user. I always manged to fix whatever arose but seriously, why deal with that? I just don’t have problems on my iMac (ok, I lie, games aren’t exactly Mac friendly).

Here are 10 reasons why people should switch and give Mac’s a shot:

• They’re conducive to creativity and fun
• They’re easy and intuitive
• Your mac isn’t going to get sick from all the viruses running around the internet
• Macs don’t come with all that extra crapware (crap software) installed that is a total pain to get rid of.
• They come with software that is useful, works and isn’t annoying.
• Macs can run anything a PC can
• Mac users are apparently smarter
  
• Installing and Removing applications is so simple a 5 year old can do it
• Everyone I know that has made the switch vows they will never go back and wished they had switched sooner.
• You don’t have to defrag macs

Those are just a few, here is a list of 50 reasons. Want 10 reasons to upgrade to a PC though?

Top Ten Reasons for Upgrading to a PC instead of a Mac:

• You enjoy reading computer manuals
• Buying parts ‘not included’ is your idea of being patriotic
• Blaming it on the PC is a great excuse… for anything
• Tech support is your idea of telephone dating
• Your favorite computer game is figuring out where your files are
• You look forward to today’s new virus (or worm, or both)
• You like listening to telephone support hold-button music
• Letting the kids play on the Mac next door frees your time (eliminates after-school kid sitters)
• You think Bill Gates deserves the money
• You have nothing better to do with all the extra time

I thought this video was pretty hilarious!

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