Persistence Unlimited Personal Productivity Tips

Listen to My Goal Setting and Motivational Meanderings On Your Cell Phone

Do you get a lot of ideas, but forget them before you can write them down?  Well my friend, if you aren’t using Jott, you should be. 

What is Jott?

Jott is a service you call and leave voice note, set an appointment, send an email or you can even do a short blog post!  The great thing about it is you don’t get back your voice… Jott transcribes your voice into readable text.  :)

That means, you can blast out a quick email you forgot to write at the office without having to find a computer or fumble with text entry on your phone.  You can record an idea when you don’t feel like writing or typing.

For longer writing sprees, you might want to check out my post at Lifehacker about Jotting into Evernote.

Ok, Jott is cool, but what use is it?

For the past few months, I’ve been using it (almost daily) to capture ideas that occur to me.  You see, I get a right many ideas while I am driving my car.  While driving, writing on a notepad or PDA could be deadly.  Instead, I whip out my phone and call Jott and send a note to myself.  If I need a reminder, I Jott directly into my Google Calendar.  Jott has a built in SMS reminder system as well so it can notify you in that way too.  But I prefer calendar reminders.

Other creative things I’ve done with Jott:

• Jotted to my Twitter feed
• Set ToDos and calendar entries with reminders
• Sent an email to friends
• Outlined blog posts
• Brainstormed headline ideas for ads

How can I listen to this site on my cell phone?

This morning, I was spending some time updating my Jott address book and clearing out some of the outdated notes when I noticed an icon called Jott Feeds. 

Jott Feeds lets you call Jott  and listen to your favorite web sites on your cell phone.  Amazing!

Step 1.  Click the button below to add this site to your feeds list:

Step 2:  You will see a screen that says add a feed.  I recommend you name it Persistence Unlimited for clarity.  But you can name it what you want.  Just don’t call it “I hereby declare my allegiance to Persistence Unlimited” because it’s too long, weird and frankly a little creepy.  ;)

Step 3:  Call Jott Call (866) JOTT-123 and say “Jott Feeds” then say “Persistence Unlimited”

That’s it!

I was amazed at how well the service works when I tested it.  I called up and listened to the first post.  The voice was clear and easy to understand.  She muddied a few words here and there, but you tend to understand anyway. 

So I recommend you give it a try.  I’d love to hear your feedback. 

What do you think of the new Jott feed service - especially with regards to this blog?  Do you use Jott for other interesting purposes?  If so, please share in the comments on the blog.  Thanks!!

Freeware: Turn Off Windows Update Restart Nag

Nothing is more annoying than working in the zone and getting interrupted.  When it turns out Windows Update is pestering you to reboot, a double homicide is imminent. 

Microsoft likes to “help out” by installing patches in the middle of the night.  That is a good thing.  But whatever goodwill they earn with this convenience is immediately destroyed when first thing in the morning a “reboot computer” message appears.  And appears… and appears…

If you choose Restart Later, it waits about 10 minutes and then pops this screen up again.  Argggh!

It occurred to me some of you may hate this as much as I do, but you don’t want to go fiddling around in Services.msc or have to memorize “net stop” commands.  Worse is the articles that teach you to shut it off permanently.  If you shut it off for good, you don’t get updates unless you manually go to Windows Update.  In the long run, this can be more painful than rebooting as soon as you see the message.

So to address this problem, I created a simple little app called Leave Me Alone!  When you run it and click the “Leave Me Alone” button it temporarily turns off the source of these restart messages.  It is certain to boost your productivity when the WU Restart beast comes calling.

I see about 5 advantages to using this software:

1. You can get back to work immediately
2. Does not permanently disable your updates
3. You don’t have to memorize net-stop commands
4. You don’t have to fish around in the system services panel
5. You don’t have to set a system policy

Trivia:  I coded Leave Me Alone! in C#.  It is my first stand alone C# program.  Woot!  

Download Leave Me Alone! (Windows XP/Vista)

Gadget Lust: Kindle e-Book Reader

Am I lusting after the right gadget?  Help me decide if Amazon Kindle e-Book reader is for me or is it going to kill my productivity…

I think I’ve made it plainly known that I love reading e-books.

Since the year 2000 I’ve been reading novels, how-to books and biographies on Pocket PC devices.  Pocket PCs are great for reading in short spurts - especially in bed because of their backlit screen.  You don’t have to worry about waking the Mrs. while reading. 

However, the trade off is the text is small (probably eye straining) unless I up the font size.  When I increase the font the type decreases the screen real estate.  Thus, I might only be reading 1 paragraph before having to turn the page.

Many of the early reviews of the Kindle say my Pocket PC headaches are solved.  And this review makes me want to drop the money today.  But I don’t want another gadget just lying around if I can help it.  Maybe you can help me decide if it’s right for me

PPC Productivity and Vocabulary Building

Another major benefit of the Pocket PC and Mobipocket reader (which happens to be the underlying technology of the Kindle) is it’s dictionary option.  I purchased an Oxford dictionary which turns any reading session into a learning session.  As I read and come across a word I don’t know, I immediately tap and hold and choose look up.  Then I get a definition immediately.  From there, I copy and paste the word and definition to my Supermemo flash card program. 

Although this is cumbersome to an extent, it works well for building my vocabulary.

Also, there’s something to be said to having all your tools in one place.  If I can manage my task list, calendar, email and read an e-book from the same device that’s good right?

PPC Reading Downsides

• Screen real estate - As mentioned, you don’t have the screen real estate for say reading for an entire afternoon.  I’ve often felt some eye strain after reading for longer stints.  Also some books I wouldn’t even attempt to read on the Pocket PC.  Technical manuals on programming are a good example.  Reading code is challenging enough.  Having it roll on for 100 pages makes it nearly impossible.
• Fewer Selections - What is frustrating to me is hearing about a book I’d love to read and it not being available for Mobipocket reader.  That is where the Kindle seems to have a huge advantage.  Where many of the Pocket PC Mobipocket books are Romance novels and Adult erotica, Amazon has captured many more professional titles including most of the bestsellers list.  More selections mean more reading.
• Short Battery life - By most everyone’s measurement, the Pocket PC gets very short battery life.  Try 6-8 hours one one battery charge.  A lot of it has to do with the back light eating up the energy.  Some of it goes due to the WiFi radio.  The Kindle boasts the possibility of weeks on one charge.

Perceived Advantages of the Kindle

Since I do not own a Kindle, I can only go on what I’ve read.  Here are the advantages that the Kindle seems to boast.

• Screen real estate of a paper book - The Pocket PCs screen is so small that I don’t read certain books because in increasing the font size, I lose the amount of text that is displayed on the page.  I wouldn’t have this problem with the Kindle.
• Clearer typeface - Although I can enable ClearType on the Pocket PC, ClearType looks blurry to me.  So I don’t use it.  Everything I’ve read about the Kindle from independent reviews says the typeface is brilliant.
• No LCD flicker - I haven’t noticed LCD flicker on my Pocket PC, but they tell me it’s there.  the flicker contributes to eye strain and potentially headaches. 
• Less eye strain - Having clearer reading, no LCD flicker and larger screen real estate means less eye strain.  Thus, one could expect a
• Larger selection of titles - A several time a month problem I have with the Pocket PC Mobipocket reader is the lack of titles.  I don’t read any Romance novels or adult erotica, but those appear to be the largest selection of titles.  Amazon has a great advantage here in their ability to deliver hundreds of thousands of titles.
• $10 Price Tag on Books - Many of the Mobipocket books are priced at retail.  Meaning I can go up to Barnes and Noble and buy the same book for the same price of the e-Book.  I never liked that because where paper, binding and floor space cost a lot of money, electronic bits cost very little.  They could at least cut the price substantially.  But Amazon has set up a price plan where you can buy current titles for $9.99.  Buy 30 books and you’d conceivably save enough money to pay for the device itself.  It’s a good deal, but something about it makes me wary.  Although the $10 titles are a great deal now, I wonder how long will it last before they raise the price on all the books? 
• Built in dictionary - This is a wash because I’ve got the same Oxford dictionary installed on my Pocket PC.  But it’s good to know I won’t have to buy another one.
• Battery life - Where a Pocket PC with an extended battery lasts 6-8 hours, the Kindle will last perhaps a week or more.  Not that I’d be reading that long non-stop. 
• Free built in EVDO wireless Internet - Another wash for me, I have more Internet than I need, including EVDO via Bluetooth tethering on my cell phone.

Perceived Disadvantages of the Kindle

• No back light -  I have mixed feelings on this.  The Pocket PC allows me to read from bed at night without disturbing Kim.  If I get a Kindle, I’d have to use a light or buy a “book light”.  I’d probably opt for the book light, but still, that’s another gadget to keep up with.  Some people comment that the lack of a back light is an advantage because the flicker of LCD screens are stressful on the eyes. 
• High price tag - $400 for a Kindle.  Whew!  Although Pocket PCs are expensive too, I already have one.  So for me (at least) I save $400 if I read from my Pocket PC.
• Another gadget to keep up with - Bringing another gadget into my world means having another gadget to keep up with.  I probably would not carry the Kindle every day like I do the Pocket PC thus, wouldn’t have all my books with me. 
• Fragile hardware? - Some comments and reviews point to the Kindle as having some delicate hardware.  Breakage isn’t so much a concern for me because I’ve been carrying fragile devices for years.  But if the Kindle is more fragile than a Pocket PC we might have a problem.  Accidents do happen.  I don’t want to be out in the cold when one happens.
• No built in flash card software - As mentioned above, I clip vocabulary words and facts from books and paste them into Supermemo.  Kindle would mean I’d have to copy the text somehow to my computer and import it to my computer.  From there, I’d have to manipulate the text into flash card format.  This is something I could definitely do, but it would mean tripling the amount of work to get the same flash cards made.

So what do you think?  Do you own a Kindle?  If so, do you think it’s a good gadget for me?  Or will it kill my productivity?