Salı, Aralık 16, 2008
Link / Muzik - Küçük melodik müzik/ses parçalari
Cep telefonunuz için bir kısa melodik bir şeyler arıyorsanız ya da bir sunumun içinde kullanmak için seslere gereksiniminiz varsa ya da işiniz müzikse ve değişik ülkelerden değişik tınılar duyarak ilham edinmek istiyorsanız işte siteniz http://www.soundsnap.com/
Icat - Ilk lazer topu
Uzayda geçen bütün bilim kurguların vazgeçilmez silahı “lazer” (topu, tabancası ...) : artık gerçekten var.
http://www.irconnect.com/noc/press/pages/news_releases.html?d=154600
Foto - Güney Kutbunda Günes Batisi
Güney Kutbunda Güneş 20 Mart’da batar, 22 Eylül’e kadar bir daha hiç görünmez ... bu fotoğrafdaki arkadaş ne yapıyor derseniz, tarih 4 Nisan 2008; güneşin batışı kaçmış, “nasıl kaçırdık batışı neyse bari alaca karanlık kuşağını kaçırmayayım tadını çıkarayım” diyor ... bu noktada yaklaşık 2 hafta daha sürecek alaca karanlık kuşağı :)
Bilgi - 35'den fazla zaman kazandirici taktik (Ing.)
Home
1. Kids Help Too. At the minimum, have kids do a quick tidy up 15-30 minutes before bedtime. This would include picking up toys, laying out tomorrow's clothes, and collecting anything they'll need by the door. For more kiddie help write down a list of all the chores that need to get done, and then assign them on a weekly basis on a family planning chart or white board. Depending on their age, kids can help to varying degrees with folding laundry, taking out the garbage, loading/unloading dishwasher, sweeping, bathroom cleanup, etc.
2. Weekly Routine Chart. Make up a template of your typical week and what everyone is doing at certain times. This way chores, homework, bedtimes, and more will run more smoothly because you can always refer to the chart. Excel or any other spreadsheet is a great tool for doing this. Or you could use a whiteboard.
3. Family Calendar. Have a family calendar posted in the kitchen where all appointments are scheduled to keep everyone on schedule, avoid overlapping appointments, and keep you from overextending with too many activities. Decide for yourself or as a family how many activities a week are manageable and cut back if you need to.
4. Choose a spot. Don't put your car keys or cell phone in a different spot each night after work. Choose a spot and make it a habit. There is nothing more frustrating in the morning than looking for the stuff you need. You WILL go nuts if you go through a scavenger hunt every single morning.
5. Know your routine. Similar to placing your keys and phone in a common place, learn what irritates you. If a messy kitchen kills you every morning as you pour your Cheerios, clean the kitchen the night before. The morning is not a time to struggle.
6. Reduce TV Time. Plan your TV watching. Only watch the stuff you love. And if you can afford it, use Tivo or similar DVR technology to save time because the commercials are cut out. Of course you can always try "No TV Nights" too. Give it a try and see all the time that opens up for you!
Laundry & Cleaning
1. Socks. Buy each person in the household 2 small mesh laundry bags. In one bag keep all the dirty socks. In the other all the clean socks. When the dirty sock bag is full then throw it in the laundry and then the other empty bag then becomes the dirty sock bag. Works especially well if all your socks are the same because then there's no need for matching.
2. Presort laundry using large mesh bags. Have one for lights and one for darks. When full all you have to do is dump it in the washing machine.
3. Wear Clothes Twice. Or heavens forbid, more than twice. This will cut down on laundry and utility costs.
4. Mopping. Use your bathroom garbage pail for mopping jobs. This way your garbage pail gets washed out every once in a while. Try this also with the kitchen garbage can as well if it is plastic.
5. Vacuuming & Sweeping. Arrange furniture so that the vacuum fits around corners. This way you don't have to move it every time you vacuum. Try not to store things on the floor so that you don't have to move them every time you clean the floors.
Kitchen
1. Eliminate cup clutter. Assign one place, say a tray, where everyone keeps their cup(s) during the day. At the end of the day, they go into the dishwasher. Also assign a place in the fridge for drinks that are not finished. One other method that helps is to have each person have their own cup with their name on it. This way there's no wasting of drinks and using multiple cups in one day.
2. Touch it once. Don't use a dish and then place it into the sink "to soak". Scrub it clean or put it right into the dishwasher. There is no reason to touch it twice!
Cooking
1. Garbage. Keep the garbage can right next to you when cooking or a bowl that you put all garbage into as you cook. Either way will eliminate walking back and forth to the garbage multiple times.
2. Weekly/Monthly Cooking: consider cooking once a week or once a month and freezing meals in meal sized portions that you can take out and heat up for quick dinners. This idea saves people time, money and makes watching your calories easier too. Here's link for some ideas: BetterBudgeting and FrugalMom.
3. Quick Breakfasts: Wake up 15 minutes earlier and prepare breakfast instead of waiting in line and paying extra at the coffee shop. Have a few favorite quick recipes that you can make and eat quickly or bring with you on your commute. A couple ideas are:
1. Oatmeal with cinnamon, nuts, and (frozen) berries which you can put in a plastic cup to go.
2. Ham & Cheese sandwich
3. Fruit smooth. Prepare the night before in blender and then in the morning take it out, blend, and bring it with you.
4. Or try this, list of 10 quick and healthy breakfast ideas.
4. Quick Lunches: some ideas:
1. Eat out. Not always the most economical, but if you are savvy you can find places that give a lot of food and maybe stretch one lunch into two, today and tomorrow.
2. Bring a frozen meal. This can be especially good if you are watching calories.
3. Bring leftovers. I always hesitate with leftovers but seriously, it's something to consider. There are not many foods that don't last in the fridge until the next day. If you are concerned, check out what Clemson U. has to say.
5. Quick Dinners -
1. Remember dinner doesn't have to be elaborate. Try breakfast items such as cereal or eggs for a quick light dinner, especially if you had a big lunch. Or simple sandwiches can be quick and easy meal.
2. Check out Cooks.com for quick dinner recipes.
6. Variety. Here's a quick way to keep meals from becoming hum drum: subscribe to Epicurious for new recipes emailed to you weekly. Use the ones you like and delete the rest. Enter your email in their Newsletter section.
7. Leftover Liquids. Things like extra lemons or homemade broth can be frozen for use later in recipes. The lemon juice can be frozen in ice cube trays for small portion usage.
8. Making Own Baby Food. Make healthy baby food and freeze it in ice cube trays. Examples are mashed peas, carrots, apples, pears, and more. By cooking baby food in batches you can save a lot of time and money on prepared baby foods. A great book on this topic is Super Baby Food by Ruth Yaron.
9. Consider Less Frying. Your kitchen will stay cleaner longer and you may keep an artery healthier.
Shopping
1. Online. Do as much of your errands and shopping online as you can such as grocery shopping and delivery services, Amazon Dry Grocery shopping (with free shipping over $25), and, obviously, many other stores. You'll save driving time, gasoline, and you won't be temped to buy things you don't need. It also allows you to find the best prices more easily.
2. Call Ahead. If you plan to go to a store to buy something that might be out of stock, call ahead to make sure that the store has it. Also call around to get the best price if it is a high ticket item.
Grocery Shopping
1. Categories. Write out your grocery list according to the major aisles in your grocery store. This will make in-store grocery shopping go much faster because you won't have to backtrack.
2. Planning. Plan your meals for the week before writing out your grocery list. If you wait until you get to the grocery store to think about meals you might end up buying more food than you need. Plus thinking at your kitchen table will be faster than in the store with so many distractions.
3. Master List. Keep a running grocery list on the fridge door at all times.
Work
1. Plan Your Day. Do this religiously and you'll be far more productive. Plan only as much as you can actually accomplish. Be realistic about time frames and do the most difficult and most important stuff first. Make a habit of doing this first thing when you wake up or at the end of the day.
2. Get Things Ready the Night Before. Prepare as much as you can to make mornings stress free. Set out clothes. Have bags packed and by the door. Make your lunch and have your breakfast chosen and partially prepared. Have a travel coffee mug ready. Put the coffee in the coffee maker.
Family
1. Toys. Have current toy bins and dormant bins. Only keep out a limited number of toys at any given stage. Then every 3 months or so rotate some of them. The dormant toys will seem like new and your house will be less cluttered.
2. Checklists. Make these for major outings. Type them into a spreadsheet or Word document and print out a few for future reference. Or only print as you need them. Some ideas:
o Babysitters Checklist
o Vacation Packing Checklist, Baby Checklist, Morning Checklist, Beach Visit Checklist
o Roadtrip Checklist, etc.
3. Purging. Have an area designated for things that are to go to charity. Every so often, bring the items over to your local goodwill or call to see if they have pick up service. By doing this as you go along, you won't have major purging to do later.
Social
1. Social engagements. Only attend the ones you really want to go to. It's ok to say no. It's your life and your time. Spend it the way you want.
2. Greeting Cards: Cut back on the number of cards you send out. If your life is hectic with family, let this go until the kids are older. It's about priorities. If it's something you really enjoy, then keep it up. But otherwise, consider using email instead for birthdays. Another idea for birthday cards is to send them in monthly batches when you pay your bills. Just check the next upcoming month and send the birthday cards early. Holiday cards can be a nice way to keep in touch with old friends and
family, so I would vote for keeping it. Consider putting all your contacts into an excel spreadsheet so you can easily print labels or if your contacts are in MS Outlook then you can mail merge them into a document for printing labels.
Computer
1. Find Files: Use Launchy or Google Desktop for finding any file, folder, or program that you need. These work much better and faster than windows explorer.
News
1. Subscribe to email newsletters or RSS feeds for just the information you like to read. Or consider a subscription to The Week which is a super concise wrap up of everything that happened that week. It is a very slim magazine with just the facts. Check it out!
Link - NASA Günes Sistemi
Detaylı Güneş Sistemi bilgileri videoları NASA’dan http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/index.cfm
Foto - Kar tatili
Bu haylazların okulu kar yüzünden kapanmayınca onlar da bunu protesto etmek için okulu kar ile kapatmışlar :)
Bilgi - Elestirileri Karsilamak (Ing.)
How to Take Criticism
Consider the source. You’re going to receive criticism from thousands of people in your lifetime. It’s important to remember that not all criticism is created equal. Determining the source of the criticism and the motivations behind it will help you know how to handle it. For example, Kate and I sometimes get criticism from people who read the Art of Manliness. Much of the criticism consists of “You are stupid” or “This is gay” or “I’m unsubscribing!” We just ignore this drivel. It’s not worth our time or energy to get upset that some random dude from the internet thinks we suck. However, if we get an email from a long time reader who has contributed to the comments on the blog, we’ll definitely consider their criticism.
If you think the source of your criticism isn’t genuinely interested helping your improve, take their criticism with a grain of salt. At the same time, be sure to honestly assess your critic’s point. Some people are too quick to write off criticism by saying, “They’re just jealous!” Maybe so, but be sure to thoughtfully evaluate the feedback before dismissing it.
Shut your trap and listen. Fight the urge to argue with the person or explain your mistake, and just listen to your critic. You’d be surprised what you can learn if you simply soak it in.
Don’t take it personally. Don’t take the criticism as a personal attack on you. Try to detach yourself as much as possible from your actions or work when receiving criticism so you can look at it objectively. This can be hard to do, particularly if you put a lot of time and effort into something. But trust me, if you make this a habit when receiving criticism, you’ll save yourself from a bruised ego.
Stay calm (even if the other person is being a complete d-bag). The goal in criticism is to keep as much of your emotions out of it as possible. Once you allow your passions to flare up, any hope of making the criticism constructive goes flying out the window. If your critic is being a complete jerk, staying calm can be hard to do. But be the better man. Let the other person do all their ranting and raving, while you sit there looking cool as a cucumber. When they’re done, kill them with kindness. Let them know you understand their concern and thank them for taking the time for bringing it to your attention.
Ask clarifying questions. Make sure you’re on the same page with your critic by asking clarifying questions. Clarifying questions are particularly important if your critic is giving vague or ambiguous criticism. For example, if your critic tells you your report isn’t clear, ask them where things start to get murky and suggestions on how it can be improved. By asking questions, you create dialogue between you and your critic, which in turns fosters co-operation and an atmosphere for mutual improvement.
Take ownership of your mistake. When someone brings a legitimate mistake to your attention, don’t get on the defensive and start making excuses for it. Take responsibility for your actions. Many young men today don’t want to own up to their mistakes. They’re always putting the blame on something or someone else. These men will be stuck in eternal mediocrity because they will never accept their need for improvement. While denying your mistakes can keep the heat off for a moment, it will greatly impede your personal progress in the long run.
Change your perspective on criticism. Instead of seeing criticism as humiliating or embarrassing, view it as an opportunity to improve yourself. Winston Churchill had this to say about criticism:
Instead of avoiding criticism, seek for opportunities to be criticized. You’ll find that getting feedback from an outside source will stretch your talents and abilities.
Thank your critic (even when they handed your butt to you). Always thank your critic. This can be difficult. No one seriously wants to say, “Thanks for showing me that I was wrong!” But swallow your pride and sincerely thank your critic. They took the time to sit down with you and point out areas where you can improve. The least you can do is say thanks.
Eski Foto - Boks Okulu
1925 yılında ABD’de zenginler klubü içinde bir boks okulu (aynı zamanda eskrim de öğretiyorlarmış) ... o zamanlar daha zenciler köle olduğu için beyazlarla aynı anda aynı okula gidemiyorlar, oysa bir kaç yıl sonra ortalıkta beyaz boksör kalmayacak
Pazar, Aralık 07, 2008
Grafik / Link - Karsilastirmali Istatistikler
Bu sitede Türkiyenin de bulunduğu karşılaştırmalı istatistikler grafiklerle gösteriliyor, örneğin kişibaşına düşen gelir ile işsizlik karşılaştırması şehir şehir yapılıyor, bilin bakalım OECD’nin en fakir yöresi ancak en genç nüfusu kimde http://stats.oecd.org/OECDregionalstatistics/indexTL2.html
Tasarim - Modüler masa
Bir tasarımcının sitesinden; tamamen modüler bir masa tasarımı, masa üzerinde birşey kalmasın diyenler için
ink / Bilgi - Kullanabileceginiz 100 uygulama-site
The 100 Tools Can’t Live Without
Everyone has their go-to bag of tricks that they can’t imagine functioning without. This list represents exactly that, but on a much larger scale. Clearly, there’s no way you’re going to have 100 different tools you can’t live without, but you can use this collection to find solutions that you’re sure to get hooked on.
Powerhouses
Many of the tools on this list address a few specific needs. The tools in this section are far too ambitious for that.
- Panthius: This ebusiness suite is a a headache eraser for freelancers. Use it to manage customers, sales orders, purchases, information and lots more.
- Netvibes: Bring everything together in one place with Netvibes. You can get your email, feeds, gig boards, messaging and lots more on this start page.
- Help Me Work: Take the headache out of the up-and-down life of a freelancer with Help Me Work’s service. They look after your taxes, billing, benefits, and a lot more.
- FreelancerPanel: What can’t you do with FreelancerPanel? Keep track of invoicing, communicate with clients, manage your website, and stay on top of your time with this awesome tool.
- Firefox: As a busy freelancer, you don’t have time to mess around with anything less than Firefox. This ultra-handy tool saves you the trouble of worrying excessively about browser security, and more importantly, lays the foundation for what seems like unlimited add-ons designed to make your life easier.
Gigs
Without work, your livelihood ceases to exist–you can’t get more essential than that. These resources will help you find work to keep going.
- JibberJobber: This tool does job seeking, and it does it well, but it goes even farther, offering a way to manage relationships with customers, prospects, and more. Be sure to take advantage of its available integration with Skype, Gmail, LinkedIn, and other popular services.
- Contracted Work: Find loads of projects in different industries on this site, and use their escrow service to make sure you get paid.
- Guru: Find work in a wide variety of different job categories on Guru, one of the most popular freelance job sites online.
- Professional On The Web: If you’re a professional web designer, put your portfolio up on this site to get connected with people who need your services.
- All Freelance Work: Get independent jobs on this site, then use their system to get rated, manage your projects, and more.
- Get A Freelancer: Find customers all over the world that are looking for your service on this site.
- Web Pro Jobs: Whether you’re a designer, copywriter, or marketer, you can find lots of jobs for web profressionals on this board.
- Freelance Switch Jobs: Freelancers in the fields of writing, designing, and programming can find gigs on this job board.
- Job Pile: Get an aggregated list of freelance posts from popular job boards on Job Pile.
- GoFreelance: Browse freelance jobs in loads of different fields on this site. You’ll have thousands to choose from.
- Sologig: Get connected with freelance, consulting, and contract jobs on Sologig.
- Freelance Job Search: Bid on projects in your area and price range on this site.
- iFreelance: Bid on thousands of projects and get advertisement on this site.
- Writerlance: With Writerlance, you can browse and bid on hundreds of projects.
- Elance: Post yourself as a professional on this job board, and you’ll get connected with jobs for the web, writing, support, and more.
- Craigslist: Craigslist will give you access to a wide variety of gigs in your area.
Organization & Task Management
Does staying on top of everything leave you feeling frazzled and helpless? Take control with these tools.
- Spongecell: Use this intuitive online calendar app to schedule your time and get reminders via text message.
- Priorganizer: For most people, online to-do lists get gunked up with stuff that you intended to do, but just never felt were important enough to actually devote time to. With Priorganizer, the tasks that fall by the wayside don’t get in the way, because you can structure it based on priority.
- TimeXchange: Although primarily designed for businesses that need to keep track of timesheets for employees, TimeXchange can help you identify clients that suck time and which ones need more of your attention.
- Toodledo: Toodledo makes the list for one simple reason: because you can add it as a sidebar in Firefox. For anyone whose work is primarily browser based, this extension is a lifesaver.
- Tweeto: Organize and stay on top of your tasks and projects, even offline, with Tweeto.
- TodoBot: If you chat with clients on AIM frequently, you probably find yourself constantly switching back and forth between your IM and to-do list. Use this tool to send yourself to-do items straight from AIM.
- Stikkit: If you’re not the to-do list type, use Stikkit’s virtual post-it notes to keep track of tasks and ideas.
- SantexQ: Use SantexQ to manage projects, keep track of time, stay on top of tasks, and more.
- Online Alarm Clock: It’s so simple, yet so effective. Give yourself a certain time in which to finish a task, and set your alarm on this site to back it up.
- Remember The Milk: Remember The Milk is great for freelancers that are spread out in lots of different directions. With this simple tool, you can create separate lists for each of your clients and prioritize tasks by color.
- Jott: Need to remember to do something, but you’re nowhere near your online to-do list? Leave yourself a transcribed message that’s sent to your email, and you’ll be able to add it when you get back online.
Communication & Sharing
If you can’t connect with your clients in some form or fashion, your business does not exist. Get with them over the phone, online, and more with these essentials.
- Gmail: Of course–Gmail. This perennial favorite is organized and really good at banishing spam. Plus, you can always use it with email from your own domain.
- eFax: You may loathe the old fashioned fax machine, but there’s a pretty good chance your corporate clients are still living in the past with this dinosaur. Make sure you can accept and send facsimilie communications by using this web-based fax tool.
- WordFast: If you’re working with international clients, a translation tool is essential. Check out this one that’s compatible with any language supported by Word.
- ClearContext: Use ClearContext to wade through the muck and get to the good stuff in your inbox. This system organizes email, identifying important senders and color coding everything.
- Box: Share files online with your clients using this simple tool.
- CoreBlox: Anyone who provides technical support will find CoreBlox essential. With this tool, you can provide case management, downloads, a searchable knowledgebase, and lots more.
- FlyUpload: For easy, simple file sharing, check out FlyUpload. You can send up to 2GB and share links, too.
- Salesforce: Get this platform for CRM success. Use it to increase sales, customer service, relationships, marketing, and other essentials.
- SpamSieve: Spam is a mess. Clean it up with this junk mail zapper.
- Senduit: So what happens when you have a file that’s too big to email? Unless you’re willing to hop in your car with a CD, you’re stuck with a pretty frustrating situation, but a file sending service like Senduit can save you. This tool lets you send files of up to 100MB at a time.
- Skype: If you have long-distance clients, colleagues, or suppliers, your phone bills can rack up huge charges pretty quickly. Skype takes a load off, making these calls significantly cheaper, or even free, plus you don’t have to be tied to a land line.
- Highrise: Manage your contact with “cases” that organize everything you’ve got going on for that particular case in emails, to-dos, files and more.
- Copernic Summarizer: If when reading client emails you find yourself thinking, “blah, blah, blah…Can we get to the point?,” Copernic Summarizer is for you. Cut to the chase and use this program to highlight the key points in any message.
Mind Mapping
If you’re like most freelancers, you’ve probably got what seems like a million ideas and thoughts about your business floating around in your mind. Get those brainstorms out of your head and into something concrete with these mind mapping tools.
- FreeMind: Create mind maps with lots of functionality using this tool. It works great with Word, web links, and Outlook.
- CMap: Go beyond mind mapping and get into concept mapping with CMap. It lets you draw a line between relationships and ideas and label them.
- NovaMind: NovaMind’s mind mapping software uses graphic text, link lines, branches, and bright colors to create an attractive map of your thoughts.
- Skrbl: For low-tech mind maps that you can draw on your own, use Skrbl to-you guessed it-scribble out your thoughts online.
- MindManager: Visually capture and organize your ideas with MindManager.
- Bubbl.us: Put your ideas into bubbles in order to create an attractive and clean brainstorm.
- Thinkature: Banish the multitudes of sticky notes full of thoughts from your desk, and put your brainstorming online with this useful mind mapping tool.
- iMindMap: Put your ideas out on branches that replicate the non-linear way your brain thinks.
Money & Legal
Financial and legal issues are perhaps every freelancer’s least favorite things to work on. These tools will help you get paid, save on accounting fees, and best of all, keep you from burying yourself in paperwork.
- Mint: This new tool is really easy to use and set up, and it’s a great way to put all of your accounts together. You can use it to see where exactly your money goes and plan what to do with it in the future.
- Quickbooks: Unless you’re some sort of accounting geek, you probably get a little nervous about all of the financial documentation that’s involved in business transactions. Employ Quickbooks, and you’ll have one handy place to corral everything in.
- Less Accounting: Get paid, and do it easier with Less Accounting. This app offers a simple way to send, track and manage invoices, plus conduct simple CRM tasks.
- Nolo: Need some quick legal advice for your business but don’t really want to spare the time or the money to get in touch with a lawyer? Find answers to your common legal questions on Nolo.
- Creative Commons: For creative freelancers, copyright protection is a must. Set how much or how few restrictions you want on your work.
- Blinksale: Send invoices online with this handy tool. You can also use it to create recurring templates and keep track of your invoices and purchases.
- XE: Freelancers with overseas clients know that a good currency converter is a must-have. This tool does just that with accurate calculations and up-to-the-minute rates.
- Business Credit Card: Whether you’re waiting on clients to stop dragging their feet on payments or could use a little extra capital, a good business credit card is essential when you’re in a pinch.
- Escrow: Save yourself from non-paying clients by requiring that they place funds in escrow.
- Freelance Switch Rates Calculator: Trying to figure out how much to charge for a job? Give this calculator a whirl.
- MoneyManager: Track transactions that you make away from your computer with this reporting tool.
- PayPal: PayPal goes beyond eBay by allowing you to accept electronic payments from anyone, even using credit cards.
- CCH Calculators: If you want to get down to the nitty-gritty numbers of taking on a new venture, or figure out the profitability of working with a certain client, take these calculators for a spin.
- Freshbooks: Perhaps one of the most difficult parts of freelancing is invoicing and getting your clients to pay. Freshbooks promises to make billing “painless,” and offers a way to track both invoices and time easily.
Travel
Hitting the road to meet with clients may leave you feeling a little harried and out of your element. Get back to good with these tools.
- TripIt: Email TripIt your travel plans, and they’ll build a master itinerary with your plans that’s printable and shareable from anywhere.
- Bear Trap Guide: If you’re visiting clients on the road, the last thing you need is to rack up a speeding ticket on the way. Avoid speed traps with this guide.
- FlightStats: Use FlightStats to get up to date information on your flight, so you’ll always be able to let your clients know if you’ll be running a little late.
- AirPower Wiki: So you’ve gotten hooked up with some airport WiFi. Great, but what happens when you drain your laptop’s battery? Locate an outlet in loads of major airports with this wiki.
- PublicRoutes: When you’re visiting clients in a big city, public transportation is often the best way to get around. This tool maps out routes for public transportation, so you can get there quick without taking a cab.
- Travel Rewards Credit Card: Travel gets expensive, so a good travel rewards program is essential if you want to save a little money on getting from point A to point B.
- Points.com: If you’re going to earn travel rewards, keep track of them in a handy tool like this one.
- AboutAirportParking: Find the best airport parking lots on this site, plus delay and security times for the airport at the same time.
- TripWiser: Micromanage your travel time using this tool.
- Google Transit: Plan public transit trips in 20 popular regions with this cool Google tool.
- Farecast: Save yourself some travel cash by using Farecast to find the right time to buy your airfare.
- Trippish: On a road trip, weather can make a big difference. Use this app that studies the weather forecast to let you know when it’s a good time to leave.
Learning
Even if you think you’re a genius, chances are you could stand to learn something from others. Get ideas for streamlining business, attracting clients, and more with these blogs and news outlets. We’ve also include a couple tools that make reading these resources a little more handy.
- Freelance Switch: Freelance Switch keeps readers up to date on the latest resources and developments for people who work freelance.
- FreelanceVenue: Get advice, tips, and a heads up on available jobs on this blog.
- RSS2PDF: Your online time is valuable, so turn your RSS feeds into PDFs and read them later when you’re offline.
- All Freelance: Get helpful tips on taxes, finances, working at home, and more on this blog.
- Web Worker Daily: This blog is aimed at freelancers whose work is web-based, like bloggers and developers.
- Chief Home Officer: If you’re in a home office, read Chief Home Officer for tips on how to stay sane and improve the way you work.
- Entrepreneur.com: Visit Entrepreneur to get hooked up with some awesome resources and some of the best small business articles online.
- Freelance Parent: Learn how to handle freelancing and parenting at the same time on this blog.
- Ninja Freelance: Stay on the “cutting edge” of freelance news and articles with this blog.
- Coroflot’s Creative Seeds: Learn how to find creative work and get advice on freelancing on Creative Seeds.
- Working Solo: Working Solo is a great information source for freelancers, and it’s chock full of resources.
- WorkHappy: Stay on top of the latest apps and other resources for freelancers on this site.
- Contract Worker: Contract Worker has some great ideas for making work better, highlighting interviews and useful tools online.
Documents
Whether you’re sharing your writing or giving a presentation, these document tools are essential.
- Qlipboard: Create online slide presentations in which you can record your own voice with this free tool.
- CutePDF: Print nearly any Windows application to PDF with this app that can be installed as a printer.
- CZ Document Converter: If you’ve got a bunch of documents in Word that need to get converted to PDF before you send them off, use this batch document converter to automate the process and make it easier.
- RapidoWrite: Freelance writers can cut down on repetitive text with this tool.
- NoteSake: Put an end to scribbled meeting notes with this app. Put them online, and make them searchable, printable, and organized.
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Bilgi - Yöneticiler için 10 kural (Ing.)
10 Management Lessons
By Ryan Allis, author of Zero to One Million
Over the past five years, as iContact and Virante have grown, I've learned a lot about managing people. A business amounts to little without the people behind it. The two most important things I look for when hiring are initiative and work ethic. I cannot overestimate the importance to the eventual success of your business of bringing on good people. But once you have hired these good people, how do you manage them?
I certainly admit that I have much left to learn about leadership and management, but here are a few tips that might be helpful:
Have a vision and communicate it. Make sure you clearly communicate your vision for the company. No one follows a leader who cannot communicate the way in which the company will succeed. The future of all your employees is tied closely to the success of your company. Make sure they believe in your company, what it stands for, and its products and services, and make sure they know that the hard work they are putting in now will payoff.
Show respect. Treat people, including your customers, suppliers, partners, and employees, with respect at all times.
Share your success. Make sure your employees share in the success of your company. As the company is able, provide additional benefits such as health care and dental coverage, a stock options plan, and a 401(k) plan. As your employees' skills and abilities grow, reward them with fair compensation. Finally, consider incentivizing your top employees and managers with ownership in the company. Few things can make a person work harder than a piece of the action.
Don't be too serious. Make the business environment fun at times. While being professional and taking things seriously is important, nothing can beat the effects of a companywide midnight round of bowling after you reach an important milestone, a lunchtime pizza party once a month, or a spontaneous Nerf-dart duel.
Work with your employees. Make sure the employees see you there and working with them. No one likes to work hard for someone who doesn't work hard him -- or herself. Especially early on, be the first to arrive and the last to leave whenever possible.
Keep your door open. Whether or not you have your own office yet, keep your "door" open. Make sure your employees and managers know that you are approachable at any time about any problem they are having.
Listen. You have built a great team and are paying top dollar for it. Hold meetings with your management team at least every other week. Also have frequent informal ad hoc discussions with your partners, managers, and employees. Get their feedback, discuss the business and its strategy, and inquire every so often if there is anything that is frustrating them that you can help with. A few weeks ago I had a quick spur-of-the-moment meeting with the lead developer for iContact. After inquiring whether he had any job frustrations, it came out that he felt he was working in an environment in which he became distracted too often. We quickly devised a solution whereby he would work at home four hours a day until we could move into a larger office where the development team could work in a separate room, away from the distraction of the sales and support team. This small change has doubled the developer's productivity.
Build relationships. Without understanding at least the basics of what is occurring in an employee's out-of-office life, it can be hard to connect with the person on a professional level. One tactic I've used successfully to get to know each employee personally is to take the person and his or her significant other to dinner the first evening of their employment. It serves as a way to celebrate the occasion as well as learn a little bit about the employee that would not come out in interviews or through reading a resume.
Commend more than you criticize. Too many business owners (and I have been guilty of this as well) speak to an employee only when he or she has done something wrong or something that has negatively affected the company. While constructive criticism and appropriate guidance have their place, if you seem to only condemn and never praise, your employees will quickly either dislike you or show apathy toward their jobs. Continual properly placed praises can be as powerful in getting quality results from employees as a large pay raise. Many people thrive on peer and superior recognition just as much as on money. Instituting an employee-of-the-month award and a quarterly performance review can be extremely valuable to your company.
Consciously build a culture. At iContact, we truly are a family. In fact, we call ourselves the iContact Family. When someone is moving into a new house or needs a ride home from the airport, we're there to help. We believe in building people up, not tearing people down. We put people first and have respect for the individual. We believe that we should work hard and be innovative, yet maintain a balance in our lives. We believe in not letting balls drop, and that we're all working together on the same mission. We have foosball and Ping-Pong tables in our office, free sodas, Bagel Monday, and monthly birthday celebrations and Outstanding Performance Award ceremonies. We have a young, dynamic, fun, and innovative culture. It exists because we have consciously built it.
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