Today I’m releasing my second ebook, called Productivity Tips: 10 Clever Ideas For Getting Things Done. It is based on my popular productivity tips series here at the blog, but expanded and improved for an ebook release. I originally started the series as a way of collecting all those random thoughts and ideas on becoming more efficient into one place. It’s often these small tips and tweaks - which don’t really form part of a fancy system or methodology - that make the biggest difference in your life. Seeing as a I recently published my tenth tip it seemed like an appropriate milestone to bring the collection so far together for an ebook.
I have read part one and it is excellent. Very concise and practical tips on getting your workflow together.
If you found this post useful, please share it with your friends on Twitter using the tinylink http://tinyurl.com/a68vmb. Thanks, I appreciate it! Feel free to comment below, I enjoy discussing these ideas. ~@Stephen
My friend Ariane has updated her “getting organized” series of e-books: “The problem that many creative, spontaneous, and super-busy people like me have is that we have tried to use conventional organizing strategies that worked for our friends, or that we read in books written by “disciplined” people who like structure and schedules, and who really don’t mind putting a lot of effort into designing and maintaining sophisticated solutions. This book will help them too, because anyone can do simple, but really this book is for people who don’t have the time or patience for lots of details and steps.”
Ariane has worked as a professional organizer for many, many people over the past few years and she has taken the lessons learned from her personal coaching experiences and distilled them into a series of e-books that can show you how to overcome clutter and disorganization.
I have been meaning to write a series of books like this to share my own experiences, but why re-invent the wheel? I have read these books and they are written in a friendly and easy-to-understand style. Go get yours today! If you would like to learn more about Ariane and what she can do for you, visit her blog at Neat & Simple.
If you found this post useful, please share it with your friends on Twitter using the tinylink http://tinyurl.com/6s9b2v. Thanks, I appreciate it! Feel free to comment below, I enjoy discussing these ideas. ~@Stephen
Recently I had the good fortune to spend 40 minutes with Dan Roam, author of the great new book The Back of the Napkin. It’s quickly become one of my favorite books, for it changed the way I think about problem solving and helped me look at things in a new way.
Back_of_the_napkin GOOD NEWS: You do NOT need to be an artist to use Dan’s great style of problem solving.
If you found this post useful, please share it with your friends on Twitter using the tinylink http://tinyurl.com/5u9odp. Thanks, I appreciate it! Feel free to comment below, I enjoy discussing these ideas. ~@Stephen
“Escape from Corporate America” by Pamela Skillings is the first truly practical, and eminently readable, book about career-change that I have found. Written in a down-to-earth style, there is also a thread of humor woven through every chapter.
Pamela Skillings is an author, journalist, and entrepreneur who spent twelve years working as a marketing executive for major New York companies.
In 2004, she realized that corporate life wasn’t working for her anymore. By 2005, she left the world of steady paychecks and free office supplies to launch her own company.
During the long process of figuring out how to quit her job without going completely broke, Pamela met dozens of inspiring people that had escaped Corporate America to start businesses, find more life balance, and explore personal passions. She also met dozens who felt stuck in corporate jobs they hated and feared there was no way out.
This book actually made me feel good about myself! Through many trials and countless errors I have discovered for myself a path very similar to the one described by Pamela Skillings. I wish that this book had been around a few years ago, when I decided to get out of the Hospitality Business!
In a stroke of good fortune, I managed to snag a copy for a review, and I was definitely surprised at what I found. This is no re-hash of every other book and blog that purports to tell you how to find your dream job, or change your attitude by changing your latitude. “Escape from Corporate America” is a fresh look at why you may feel stuck (or suffocated) by your fancy corporate job and what to do when you feel like screaming
I hate my job
Some of the highlights include:
A quiz that you can take to determine if you are a “corporate casualty”. I took the quiz and scored an 18 - which puts me in the category of “on the fence” (to put this in context, if I had scored a 16 I’d be labeled “Disgruntled”). That score is okay for me, because I see myself as more of a consultant and entrepreneur for BigCorp and will be able to exit when things are humming along nicely.
The “Phases of Corporate Disillusionment”. Skillings interviewed a lot of people for this book. Their stories have been distilled and refined into this Top 10 list of what it feels like to fall into the spiral of corporate despair. If you don’t laugh at these descriptions, you may cry. Have a tissue handy.
a 7-page worksheet for planning the financial aspects of making a massive career transition. Much more detailed than the usual “save money for 6 months worth of bills”, Skillings asks you to analyze your taxes, IRAs, operating expenses for equipment and vehicles, even professional and family obligations. In just a couple of hours you can create a detailed picture of where you are, financially, today and how to get to where you want to be.
True stories of getting off the hamster-wheel
And that is just in the first half. The second part of “Escape” dives into an analysis of the pros & cons of alternative careers and business models. Skillings is able to maintain the easy reading style and humor, scattering “daring tales of corporate escape” from real people that make the change. Caveat: the stories are not always pretty. Sometimes ramen noodles are involved.
The benefit of including these anecdotes on career change is that Skillings goes on to point out what these escapees did right, and how you can avoid doing what they did wrong. Priceless!
The final gem in this crowning achievement in career planning is an uber-list Skillings calls “The Escape Tool Kit” - a massive list of print and online resources for aiding your plans to escape from the cubicle.
Online skill tests
Books and magazines
How to find a career counselor or coach
Career research websites
Financial planning and health care resources
Job listings and recruiters
Entrepreneur and freelance resources
Just this list is worth a pile of gold! Go get this book, even if you are not planning on leaving your corporate job. Take the quiz. You might learn something about yourself.
(I put the Amazon affiliate link here at the end, I know you folks hate these, but I want you to be able to get the book if you want it. Remember: Hosting isn’t free.)
If you enjoyed this review, you may like others - click “Book Reviews” to see them all.
If you found this post useful, please share it with your friends on Twitter using the tinylink http://tinyurl.com/5ubhxp. Thanks, I appreciate it! Feel free to comment below, I enjoy discussing these ideas. ~@Stephen
Subscribe
January 20th, 2009 by Stephen
Leave a Comment: 
Get involved with the 
The final gem in this crowning achievement in career planning is an uber-list Skillings calls “The Escape Tool Kit” - a massive list of print and online resources for aiding your plans to escape from the cubicle.
here at the end, I know you folks hate these, but I want you to be able to get the book if you want it. Remember: Hosting isn’t free.)
