Organize IT

Organize IT recap for 11th April 2008.

• The Scotsman has an article discussing how anxiety is just a normal reaction. It looks at the increasing attitude for over-medicating and over-diagnosing. While there is no doubt that for some people anxiety can develop into a disorder which can be debilitating, there seems to be a lot of people who just assume anxiety (and fear, unhappiness, etc) are automatically bad. We are humans, not robots. Let’s hear your thoughts!
• Who says you need eight glasses of water a day? At this blog I’ve always been an advocate of regular water consumption to improve your general wellbeing, but this article brings up some interesting points. For instance, much of our water needs can actually come from what we eat. It even covers the history of the hydrotherapy craze. How much water do you drink? Do you think it brings any benefits?
• If you are a fan of Moleskines, Put Things Off has the ultimate guide to the famous brand! Nick discusses what they are, why you should have one and what types are available. The post also comes with a ranking system that determines how addicted you are to Moleskines. Personally, I had a fairly successful experiment with a Moleskine but because I tend to scribble ideas down a lot, I just couldn’t come to terms with being scruffy in such an expensive notepad! I have an extensive collection of Moleskine hacks for those who are into that sort of thing.

Over the last year my diet has greatly improved. Gone are the days of binge drinking, snacking and takeaways every night (such was the life of a student). While I’ve certainly not become some super fit, salad eating health freak, I am now much more aware about what I eat and it has been one of the more successful lifestyle changes I’ve developed. Below I’ve described how I put my habit building suggestions into practice. Why not share tips from your own experiences?

Last week I talked about trying to find the right balance with whatever you do, whether it be with your work and home life, or your productivity and leisure time. Because balance is such an integral part of how we live our lives I believe it deserved a greater look so I began writing this post. However, in researching the issue I came across an interesting correlation between my balance and why I occasionally fall off the bandwagon…

This is a very cool animated video about procrastination by the Royal Academy Of Fine Arts… but will you be procrastinating if you choose to watch it? Think about it. Either way, it’s a really good illustration of what it’s all about and how it can lead you to get zero things done. I bet you’ll all be able to relate to it.

Organize IT recap for 04th April 2008

• I promise not to mention this again for a while, but just in case anyone has missed it, you can now catch me on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter. If you have accounts on any of those sites please do get in touch! I’m really hoping to increase the interaction between me and the readers.
• Speaking of social networking, there is also the whole topic of instant messaging. Whether you enjoy talking to people on Digg or you just use Live Messenger to keep in touch with friends, this guide covers eight tips you can follow so you don’t become that annoying IM guy.
• Next week I will discuss my latest productivity thoughts and how I feel I’ve come full circle. In the meantime Scott Young has written a post about how excessive focus on being productive can make you a robot. I talked on Monday about having the right balance and this is a good example.
• I came across this post on Twitter (one unexpected benefit of it has been in finding great links). It’s about British pub etiquette for tourists. Coming from the UK, it’s both interesting and scary how much of it I can relate to. Fascinating reading all round in my opinion.