Kindle (eBook Reader)

The Kindle: Amazon's Wireless Reading Device may seem like an unlikely purchase from someone who listens to audio books. Listening to audio books is a great time saver. However, it is not possible to bookmark, take notes, or highlight material. During and after listening to books, particularly business books, I use them as reference material. The Kindle provides a compact, portable library of reference material. With a library of books on the device, the Kindle provides search for the entire library. For example, I may want to reference information on "accountability". The Kindle quickly provides access to readings on the topic from my library. In addition, the Kindle has highlighting, bookmarking, clippings and note taking features. And when books are not available in audio format, the Kindle is my preference when reading.

Time Study

In most professions time is a valuable resource. Efficiency and productivity depends on how we manage our time. It is my experience most people do not effectively manage their time by prioritizing, delegating and leveraging tools because they are unaware of time spent on tasks. A simple method I find effective is keeping a log of activities throughout the day. For this I simply use Microsoft Excel and record all activities even a 2 minute phone call or 1 minute email reply. After doing this for several days, examine it. Analyzing your time isn't necessarily easy and may require questioning long-held assumptions. Often you do not realize how much time is spent on certain tasks. Question your priorities, identify opportunities for delegation and discover opportunities for leveraging technology. It is difficult to apply technology solutions until you have a clear understanding of the opportunities.