lifehacks

Yes, I’m back from hiding with another empty promise to blog more often. :)

This one is a pretty simple and “obvious” hack. Last week Cool Tools posted a link to a simple and very ingenous device for holding those extra cords behind your desk, the Keep-a-Cable cord organizer.

While I could have just bought a pack for $5 and be done with it (and I encourage you to do so if you’re so inclined rather than rather blatantly ripping off their idea like I did), I’m just not that kind of guy. I can’t look at a flat 5-cent piece of stamped plastic and not want to make my own.

So I did. Details below the fold.

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An awesome time-saving database forwarded to me by a friend:

The IVR Cheat Sheet: This “QuickBase” from Intuit has instructions for how to cut through to a real person when you call a company and get an IVR system — Interactive (or Integrated) Voice Response. You know, the computer system that tries to solve your problem using stacked menu systems so they don’t have to pay a real person to talk to you? Even though you know what you want can’t be solved by the machine and you have to talk to a human? This site will tell you what you need to do to get the human on the phone.

The Intuit IVR Cheat Sheet.

Apparently I’m a productivity guru now:

“I really need to spend a day sitting down doing the Chris Metcalf lifehacks thing, and organizing all my projects into folders and such…” - A friend of a friend in a forwarded email.

Whenever people take an interest in the nerdy little hacks I post, I’m quite surprised and flattered. So I’ve decided to start posting more Lifehacks. If this kind of stuff interests you, please leave me a comment and let me know how you feel.

So stay tuned for more fun hacks.

Update: By the way, I’m not the only desperate, productivity-challenged geek out there doing this stuff. By no means did I start this, I’m just another hipster with a stack of 3×5 cards. There are lots of other great resources for Lifehacks and Lifehacks-compatible ideas:

• 43folders - Merlin didn’t start it all, but he sure has done a good job of bringing lots of good ideas together. The site is a bit Mac-bigoted, but then again everybody is these days. Also home to a great wiki where a lot of folks have posted great ideas.
• Lifehacker - Way too many ads, but the RSS feed leaves those out. Lifehacker tends to aggregate ideas from a lot of other sites so its a good one to watch for ideas.
• Working Smart - A great productivity blog for managers or wanna-be-managers.
• Slacker Manager - Also with a management focus, but a little more easy-going.
• Flickr - Surprisingly, there are a lot of good tags with some great Lifehacks and GTD-compatible ideas.

Oh, and pick up a copy of David Allen’s Getting Things Done. Right now.

Mobile File Cabinet Hack: Folders

Another Lifehack:

I keep track of my projects and assignments for school using clear folders. I stick color-coded 3×5 cards in the front of the folders to label them, so they’re all reusable.

It might look like overkill, but its actually pretty compact when its all put together. And it keeps me from carting around old papers I don’t need anymore, as well as from having to constantly reprint things I’ve lost.

You can see more of this hack in my Lifehacks set on Flickr.

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“Don’t Forget This” Hook.

Originally uploaded by krezel.

Lately I’ve gotten into the GTD/43folders/Lifehacks craze and I’ve decided to start posting some little hacks of my own.

Super nerdy, but I stuck a plastic hook over my deadlock so I can hang stuff there. That way I can’t possibly forget it when I rush out in the morning (a problem I tend to have a lot). Here you see my rent check ready to go out in the morning.

As Homer (Simpson) would say, I’ve “discovered the awesome power of the hook.”