What Everybody Ought To Know About Life Management
PickTheBrain is a website dedicated to self improvement with a focus on personal productivity, motivation, and self education.
Since the first article was published to PickTheBrain.com on November 22, 2006,
it has become one of the fastest growing self improvement sites on the web.
PickTheBrain diverges from traditional "self-help" by taking a broader approach.
Rather than sticking to a small set of topics, the site covers anything related
to self improvement. Any information that people can use to live more prosperous,
satisfying lives is a potential article.
Read on for our interview with Erin Falconer, Editor in Chief...
1 - What's your take on life and time management? How do you "manage" your time? (and what 'time' tips can you pass on to us?)
Like anything else, success in this department depends on organization. There's no way around it.
My main tip is to break out your week, month and day in schedules.
WRITE everything down! The best intentions mean nothing if you can't remember them.
2 - How can we find out what we want to do in life? (Or what we are best suited to doing?) What if you're really good at doing a whole lot of things?
Listen to yourself. Get to know yourself. Be honest with yourself. Take the time to ask yourself: What really makes me happy? Then carve out a path that almost exclusively serves the purpose of doing what you love full time.
3 - What sort of time management tools do you use in your own life? (Monthly calendar, business diary, iCal etc)
Everything is on my iPhone! I set my meetings everyday twice.
One at the actual time and all of my days activities in one time zone, early in the morning - so I have an alert (containing all of my day's obligations) first thing, so I can mentally plan the pace of my day.
(Don't set that alert to go off before bed, however, or you'll never fall asleep!)
4 - Does Shiny Object Syndrome (where people always have to have the 'newest' product out) seem to be one major challenge facing people today? How does one sidestep that?
I think that with the economy the way it has been over the last year, people have become less obsessed with owning 'things' and more focused on simply paying the rent. The silver lining here, is that I think people have been able to assess more clearly what's important, even though it's been a huge pill to swallow.
5 - How can we deal with information overload and how do you prioritise what needs to be done on a daily basis?
Unsubscribe to useless email newsletters (not PTB's though!) they are a distraction, you feel cluttered and often they cost you money. Otherwise, it's really hard to escape all of the digital stimuli we're subject to. It's simply the way of the world.
The only way I can decompress is to schedule time to actually read a book or plan a weekend out of town with no laptops or tablets. But honestly, even that is becoming harder and harder.
6 - With more and more people using cell (mobile) phones to access the Internet, in the next few years, what do you think people will be using to get online? How important is it to build websites that are mobile phone ready?
It's all about mobile devices right now. Period. The end. Get on it.
7 - When it comes to being productive, what is your ideal workplace? (For example, a 27" iMac, with wacom tablet, perfect ergonomically-designed seat, great views and a pot of tea? Please describe your own (or ideal) workplace:
My home office. My macbook air. An almond milk latte. Light rain. Classical music.
8 - How can we become better at knowing what we need to do, and then get motivated to do it? Will having wise guidance and a great mentor help?
Finding someone who's advice you trust is really impactful and is such a gift. It's unfortunately not that easy. There are so many great self improvement blogs out there that I would take the time to find a couple of them, whose voice fits yours and make the time to read them daily.
To your first point. You ALWAYS know what you need to do, it's just a matter of whether you willing to listen to that voice in your head or continue to bury your head in the sand.
9 - What interests and hobbies outside writing (and doing cool things in your life) are you passionate about?
LOVE movies - especially Woody Allen. Love good stand-up comedy - the most important thing in this life, other than love, is laughter as far as I'm concerned. Love Words with Friends, even though sometimes the words they accept are highly questionable.
10 - What does success mean to you? How does one achieve the mindset to live a successful life and what practical steps can we take to get there?
Success means true happiness. Again, refer to my answer #2. Listen to yourself, trust your instincts, find a way to do what you love. Trust me, the happiness will come.
