Annoying Tech

If you have to call and talk to customer service, it is rarely a human being, you are often subjected to hold music. In defense of this music, there is evidence that listening to music will make time seem to go by faster. But must we always be subject to such horrible music? The people in charge of the phone services should put more consideration into this hold music or just let us stew in silence about the cable bill. Second annoying aspect of tech is that every little gadget and device has its own charger. There really needs to be a universal charger because the average person carries at least two different devices. Once you start using a product with a lithium-ion battery, it starts to degrade. To keep the product from becoming obsolete before you’re done with it, batteries need to be easily replaceable.

Working From Home: Helpful Habits

These days more employers are becoming more lenient when it comes to choosing where you work. Before, people were chained to their desks at the office and that was the norm. Now, people can choose where they work and can even move around because of the advancements of communication services and mobile applications. They can remain just as productive and be a bit more happier with all that freedom. Being able to work from home can also have its downsides and there need to be some very important habits adopted in order to function at peak performance. Create a designated working space; it doesn't have to be a whole room, but it does have to be a distraction-free setting that isn't used for any other purpose. It might not be a good idea to work in bed or in front of the TV because you will be tempted to relax and get less done. On the same note, make sure to dress for going to work even if it is just to your home office. It will be helpful in setting the right mindset.

Three Rules for Success

First of all, success is what you make it and it depends on you how you define it. There are several universal rules that need to be followed and that never change. Rule number one is to never give up. When the going gets tougher, you will need to dig deeper to really embrace this never giving up rule. The key is to do something that uses your leverage and feeds into your purpose. Success will take time and perseverance. You need to have the drive to figure out other solutions that work. Another rule is to follow your gut and trust it. You need to learn that your instinct is there for a reason and embrace it. Lastly, do not play it safe. You have to be able to take risks because otherwise you will never progress. If it fails, you can use that grit and never give up attitude to think of another solution. When it comes to web development or mobile application development, it take trial and error to perfect it. Go out there and chase your dreams and success will come.

Taking Back the Mornings

There are certain things that are better and worse to do when you are trying to take back control of your mornings. You should plan ahead by per-programing the coffee maker, choosing your clothes for the next day, and having a to do list ready for the morning. As for the morning, make sure that you get up around six or earlier. Before you get into bed, make sure that all of your electronic devices and mobile applications are off at least 90 minutes before going to bed. Once that alarm clock rings, do not hit the snooze button and set a routine so you get your mind going and moving forward. Speaking of moving, you should get your blood moving and then use your first thirty minutes on the most important things that need to get done. Make sure that you spend some time on breakfast with the most important people in your life and realize just how lucky you are.

Faster Internet

There is nothing worse than waiting an extra ten seconds for your page to load. The things that can run through your head in those seconds. Some researchers played around with lasers and we might have ourselves a much faster internet. Aside from waiting for things to load or to be able to download with lightning speed, faster internet means that internet phones will work better because the quality will be better. Score for unified communications. What sets this laser apart from previous iterations is that the zinc oxide nanowire material used to develop the lasers is placed on silver instead of glass, which is traditionally used. The ultra-thin laser produces as many as 1 trillion pulses per second, making it much faster than your run-of-the-mill laser. With faster speeds streaming will be much better as well. As for the cost of using such a laser when it is implemented, it is still unknown. Either way, it could really impact the web and its speed.

Blocking Your Schedule

If you are running a small business, during the week there are many different things that you might have to do. These different things probably require different skill sets and would mean that you have to put on different hats. If you change your mindset too many times throughout the day, you may be wasting unnecessary energy. One of the solutions is to write down the tasks that need to be done in a week and block together the tasks that require similar skill sets. Sometimes your organized schedule gets disrupted. If you have travel or personal disruptions, your blocked out calendar may lose its shape. You can still apply these principles though. Maybe you take Monday off and start your blocked schedule on Tuesday, or you take your most important blocks and you move them around your personal appointments. Blocking your tasks will enable you to focus on the important things that you need to get done and get you into certain mindsets so that you are more productive, such as one day for creating and another for meetings and video conferencing.The bottom line here is to take time to plan.

Active Sitting

If you are someone that spends 8 hours at your desk doing website development or secretary for someone, listen up. Sitting for long periods of time has been shown to completely damage your body. It has been linked to heart disease and diabetes. When we sit for long periods of time, our bodies start to degrade and the muscles shorten and weaken. Not only should you move around during breaks but also throughout the day. Take a couple breaks during your day and roll each foot on massage ball or small frozen water bottle. Shoe off, press down on the ball or bottle and roll it back and forth over the arch of your foot allowing the pressure to loosen up the tissues and increase circulation. Constant sitting shortens the hip flexors, so you need to stretch the anterior capsule and surrounding musculature of the hips as well as the quads with some lunges.

Characteristics of Successful People

Success is what you define it to be. There are some common roads to get there though. One of which is that successful people will not let anyone define it for them. You do not have to always compare themselves to others so that your self worth comes from within, and most certainly not a mobile application. People who are successful will always live to fight another another day even after a failure. This means that you should not live in the past and dwell on that failure which will prevent you from moving forward toward that success. Along the same thought, something that is not perfect is not failure. It is never a good idea to make it your goal to aim for perfection. When it’s time to say no, emotionally intelligent people avoid phrases like “I don’t think I can” or “I’m not certain.” Saying no to a new commitment honors your existing commitments and gives you the opportunity to successfully fulfill them.

Time vs Money

Let us get it out there: time is money and money is time. A lot of people tend not to see it that way and not treat time as if it is as valuable as money. The authors of a recent business book argue that because you spend time in order to earn money, you're also spending time whenever you buy something. If you're a web developer earning $50 per hour, a new iPad doesn't cost you $500; it actually costs you 10 hours of work. And if you make $25 per hour, that iPad is twice as expensive. The key to be able to delegate tasks that you are not good at and focus on the ones that you are. For example, if you run a software development company, you would not be raising pigs and chickens for your bacon and eggs in the morning. The easiest way to figure out its worth is to take your total income from all sources and divide it by 2,000, the number of hours in a standard work year (based on a 40-hour week). If this hourly wage is greater than the cost to pay somebody else to handle a particular task for you, pay somebody else. If not, do it yourself.

Traits for Success

Do you know that one person that seems to have good things happen no matter where they go? Take the time to observe them and maybe you can learn several things. Success does not mean being at the right place in the right time or having all those connection. Even successful people have setbacks but the difference is that they do not let them slow them down. Even if that software development project does not garner as much attention as you hoped, it is the perfect time to go back to the drawing board and do what we like to call an update. Other traits include meeting every single person with respect and no judgement. On that note, you should try being inclusive and always have room for more. After all that listening, being a willing and patient teacher can be a serious plus. Sharing knowledge benefits more than just the other person that is listening. Another great trait to have to be able to live by the idea that no job is too big or too small and never to ask someone something that you would not do yourself. Lastly, take the world by the horns because otherwise the horn will take you by the throat.

Get Going in the Morning

It is important to be productive during the day no matter what you do. If you are a scientist or work in software development, you need to think of your brain as a muscle that needs to get ready for the day of work by stretching and prepping. On average, people spend about a half hour commuting to work. This is the perfect time to think about what you have to do as soon as you get to work as well as major problems. You could also use the time to listen to stimulating music or a great podcast. Another way to get into the mood to work is to easy into it. You could do some tasks that require less brain power such as making quick calls and answering non-critical emails. Somewhere about midday, your focus and enthusiasm is starting to wan. The perfect solution to that is to take a power nap, even if your commute back home is on public transit. You will be able to come home refreshed and in a better mood no matter how stressful the workday was.

Myths About Technology

The terrors of technology...we have all heard that one before. The constant communication services are making us isolated and so on and so on. There are always two sides to any story and of course here as well. Some would like to claim that smartphones have increased mindless stimulation. In some cases that may very well be true but it does not describe the whole of the population. Secondly, are social networks destroying real friendships and communication? In a study conducted in 2007, Drs. Peter and Valkenburg looked at 1210 students between the ages of 10 and 17, and found that those students who used online communication to talk with their friends had closer friendships and felt more personal and social satisfaction than students who did not. In 2011, Mariek Abeele and Keith Row found that texting, instant messaging, and emailing more frequently with friends was associated with a higher sense of belonging and a stronger overall social network. In 2012, Dr. Adriana Manago found that students who had more Facebook friends experienced higher levels of life satisfaction, perceived social support, and overall well-being. Any thoughts?

Rise and Shine

There is nothing quite as bad as waking up to a jarring ringtone that makes you want to throw your phone across the room. This is just a bad way to start the day. Alright, maybe the next worst thing is being woken up by some communication service such as a text, or email, or internet phone message, or any other apps that you might find very useful for the first wee that your are using them. Enter Waky. Instead of assaulting you with obnoxious sounds, Waky uses sultry human voices to gently nudge you awake. But this human-voiced morning alarm app is as fun and wacky as its name suggests. You can select from the voices of 11 guys or 11 girls. Or even Santa. If you have trouble finding your happy place in the morning, try Calm, a serene, natural landscape enriched meditation app. All you have to do is launch the app, choose a how long you’ll exercise for (five to 60 minutes), choose a workout (upper or lower body, core strength, cardio or stretching), and get your weary heart pumping. When you’re winded, exhale and wind down with some yoga poses. No equipment required.

The iWatch

Before I start on the post about this watch, I have to ask if it is really needed? Are we really solving any problems? According to the rumors, it will be coming out in October and have a huge health element with many different sensors. These sensors might be a good idea so that people can really track their progress and take action in order to be healthier, especially coupled with the mobile applications in the iOS. The watch will also have multiple different designs so that it will appeal to many different people. The watch face measures 2.5 inches diagonally, and is semi-rectangular. Another interesting rumor is that they are expecting to sell a lot of the watches which seems like a bit ambitious because there are plenty of these smartwatches on the market and the general population is not too thrilled with the technology. I guess the real question here is does it tell time?

Medical iOS Attachments

The designers say that this three inch cube, Cue, provides analytical precision substantially equivalent to the results produced by massive and expensive desktop lab equipment. Tests that were previously only available through a doctor’s office now can be administered at the bedside of a sick child or following a workout at the gym. The laboratory is getting much smaller and cheaper. These days you can test many different things right at home. Testing is simple. Bodily fluids are collected on pristine white strips which are inserted into disposable, color-coded microfluidic cartridges. The cartridges are then analyzed by the Cue and results are displayed through an iPhone mobile application. One of the major hurdles that this technology is facing is approval from the FDA which is crucial to marketing it. They need to show that it works consistently and has good quality control. It also needs to make sure that there is no way the user can mess it up. And of course there is what we like to call phase four testing, where the population uses it and things are discovered that can only be discovered through the use of the technology.

Working Remotely

The trend is that people have been able to work remotely and be in the office as much. This means that they are in the field and possibly getting more accomplished that way that being stuck in a cubicle somewhere. Obviously there are many communication services such as video conferencing and call forwarding that are needed but for the most part the people use their own phone. One of the best tips that I have heard about how to get your workers to be more comfortable about working from home (or wherever) is that technology needs to be utilized to make collaboration much easier. Setting a clear standard for communication will help teams avoid miscommunication and streamline the workflow process. Start with daily and weekly check-ins so employees can share what they’re working on. You can take things even more granular by sharing a list of daily tasks to ensure that the whole team is aware of one another’s immediate priorities. Then, coordinate weekly or monthly lunch-and-learns during which team members present projects they’re working on, and use videoconferencing to bring in those not located in the office. Co-workers can give feedback on projects and help improve product quality and collaboration.

Life Before Email

I know that it is hard to believe but there was life before we had emails, internet faxing, and Facebook. We all had something we did before email, texting and social media. Some of us cooked, some drank, some read, some of us made quilts, some of us played tennis. And what do we accomplish with all this emailing? Are we getting more work done? Are we more effective? Individually perhaps yes, but collectively there is very little change to how productive we are. Oddly enough, with all these communication services and mobile applications, we are not closer to our family and friends. In fact, I think that it might have added some distance. We are only human which means that there will always be misunderstandings and just a text or a post will not be the answer. We need to see them in person and understand how they are feeling.

Texting 911

911 has become an almost universal phone service number where everyone know what it means. If you’re ever caught in a situation where you want to dial 911 but don’t want an intruder to hear you, a feature that will be live next week could save your life. America’s four largest carriers — AT&T, T-Mobile, Sprint and Verizon — will support Text-to-911 starting May 15 to provide a helpful option for those caught in dangerous circumstances. While a Text-to-911 program has been around since as early as 2011, the feature was only available on a limited basis in a few markets such as Los Angeles, Iowa, Maryland, Durham and Vermont. The FCC announced a proposed rule to make this service uniformly available via all text providers by Dec 30, 2014. Why hasn't this service been available earlier? It seems like common sense with much of the conversation going on being in the form of texting to be able to text 911. It would be interesting to see some of the cases where the texting was used and proved to be effective.

Face to Face Communication

I have come to find that technology and the advancements in communication services can be a blessing and a curse. On one hand, it is so much easier to be able to talk to anyone in the world free of charge whenever you want. On the other hand, it has put distance between us and the people that are closest to us. Without face-to-face communication skills, the next generation will be unable to make conversation, ask for a date, propose to a mate and, thus, create the next generation. The entire human race could die off if we don't start teaching our teens how to communicate! Ok, I relent. That was a bit over the top and I was making too many assumptions. But be honest for a second here: how far are we from that point? So here is one tip in breaking the ice when it comes to talking with strangers, which is a very much needed skill. I always enter a room with at least three topics to talk about. Always. Another tip is to always introduce yourself. This is so basic - but so often overlooked! Sometimes you've managed to actually start and carry on a great conversation and you walk away realizing that you have no idea what someone's name is and they have no idea what yours is! It can get awkward really quick but that it is life.

Sleep Deprivation

We live in a 24/7 world, I get it. But there are real dangers to not getting enough sleep. If you've ever come close to nodding off in the boardroom or behind the wheel, you know that the effects of sleep deprivation can range from embarrassing to downright terrifying. Sleep deprivation is the single most dangerous aspect of any sleep disorder, because you have no idea that you are compromised cognitively, physically and emotionally. Hopefully that will make you think twice before finishing that app development project late at night. Also, there's no one "ideal" amount of sleep. Some people function just fine on seven hours, whereas others need a heftier nine. We all need to be at our thinking, feeling and reactive best in order to thrive and stay safe. In most cases, a little extra shut-eye will get you there! Sleep tight!