Eric Mack On-Line

Eric Mack On-Line www.ericmackonline.com http://www.ericmackonline.com/ica/blogs/emonline.nsf/ en-us Thu, 4 Sep 2008 07:15:00 -0700 Blood Sucking leeches Thu, 4 Sep 2008 07:15:00 -0700 (An alternate title could have been: "One more reason not to visit your sister in KL.")

Sept. 1, 2008
Dear Friends and Family,

Saturday morning marked our first encounter with leeches. Granted a 3-day weekend to celebrate Malaysia’s Independence Day, we were inspired to go for a hike in KL. Our task was to trek through the rain forest. Our reward would be a dip in the ponds above a local waterfall. The only challenge, beyond cardiovascular, was to avoid the teams of squishy tubular blood-sucking leeches that lined the trail.

It turns out that leeches are keen at sensing movement and are actually drawn to our carbon-dioxide rich exhalations. In the wettest parts of the trail, the leeches “stood” upright, dancing in our path…reaching towards us, desperately trying to throw themselves aboard our mud-soaked shoes. Once aboard, they would inch their way to softer territory. Sometimes, that meant they would climb up our legs. Often they would squirm their way between shoe and sock. Then, unbeknownst to us, they would gorge themselves on our nutrient-rich blood.

Eric Mack's personal blog

Originally posted on Eric Mack Online ]]> http://www.ericmackonline.com/ICA/blogs/emonline.nsf/trackback?open&id=blood-sucking-leeches http://www.ericmackonline.com/ICA/blogs/emonline.nsf/dx/blood-sucking-leeches Family Eric Mack http://www.ericmackonline.com/ICA/blogs/emonline.nsf/dx/blood-sucking-leeches?opendocument&comments http://www.ericmackonline.com/ICA/blogs/emonline.nsf/dx/blood-sucking-leeches (An alternate title could have been: "One more reason not to visit your sister in KL.")

Sept. 1, 2008
Dear Friends and Family,

Saturday morning marked our first encounter with leeches. Granted a 3-day weekend to celebrate Malaysia’s Independence Day, we were inspired to go for a hike in KL. Our task was to trek through the rain forest. Our reward would be a dip in the ponds above a local waterfall. The only challenge, beyond cardiovascular, was to avoid the teams of squishy tubular blood-sucking leeches that lined the trail.

It turns out that leeches are keen at sensing movement and are actually drawn to our carbon-dioxide rich exhalations. In the wettest parts of the trail, the leeches “stood” upright, dancing in our path…reaching towards us, desperately trying to throw themselves aboard our mud-soaked shoes. Once aboard, they would inch their way to softer territory. Sometimes, that meant they would climb up our legs. Often they would squirm their way between shoe and sock. Then, unbeknownst to us, they would gorge themselves on our nutrient-rich blood.

We were squeamish at first.. that is to say, we responded to the first few leech mountings with shrieks and cries of terror. As the hike progressed, however, screening each other for leeches became routine. We even became adept at “flicking” and disengaging the creatures from our shoes, legs, and in one hiker’s unfortunate case… his “nether regions.”

The leeches that were successful, hung on until satiated and then left as silently as they had arrived. Sometimes, our only knowledge of their comings and goings was the thin stream of blood running down our legs. Those that unwittingly hosted leeches on their feet went home with blood soaked socks, thus making the wounds seem much more impressive than they really were.

Well after we returned from the hike, showered and napped, I was still thinking about the leeches. My thoughts wandered from the leeches to our use of their name to characterize those we consider “free-loaders.” The real leeches didn’t take more blood than any of us could afford to lose. Their method of puncture, blood sucking and departure was painless. Beyond the sacrifice of a few stained socks, their comings and goings represented no great inconvenience. Though I am not sure how, I trust that these legless leeches perform a great function in nature’s web. Perhaps their human counterparts do to.

Xoxo
The Wandering Ross Tribe

Originally posted on Eric Mack Online ]]> http://www.ericmackonline.com/ICA/blogs/emonline.nsf/dxcomments/blood-sucking-leeches http://www.ericmackonline.com/ICA/blogs/emonline.nsf/dx/blood-sucking-leeches?opendocument&comments Interface Matters: On Total (e)Productivity In Lotus Notes Wed, 3 Sep 2008 14:32:00 -0700 Chris Blatnick, recently reviewed eProductivity and shares his thoughts on his experience from a design and usability perspective:

eProductivity is THE GTD solution for Lotus Notes. It has a very simple and intuitive user interface, one that stays out of the way until you need it. Since the GTD features are so finely integrated into the context of the work you do everyday, you immediately become more productive when using it. eProductivity avoids flashy functionality and complicated routines and instead quietly empowers you to perform your daily tasks faster and more efficiently. This is the hallmark of good software design, something the eProductivity team obviously knows a lot about. For those that want to greatly improve their performance, I can highly recommend eProductivity for Lotus Notes.

Full post: Interface Matters: On Total (e)Productivity In Lotus Notes
Eric Mack's personal blog

Originally posted on Eric Mack Online ]]> http://www.ericmackonline.com/ICA/blogs/emonline.nsf/trackback?open&id=interface-matters--on-total-eproductivity-in-lotus-notes http://www.ericmackonline.com/ICA/blogs/emonline.nsf/dx/interface-matters--on-total-eproductivity-in-lotus-notes Lotus Notes Eric Mack http://www.ericmackonline.com/ICA/blogs/emonline.nsf/dx/interface-matters--on-total-eproductivity-in-lotus-notes?opendocument&comments http://www.ericmackonline.com/ICA/blogs/emonline.nsf/dx/interface-matters--on-total-eproductivity-in-lotus-notes Chris Blatnick, recently reviewed eProductivity and shares his thoughts on his experience from a design and usability perspective:

eProductivity is THE GTD solution for Lotus Notes. It has a very simple and intuitive user interface, one that stays out of the way until you need it. Since the GTD features are so finely integrated into the context of the work you do everyday, you immediately become more productive when using it. eProductivity avoids flashy functionality and complicated routines and instead quietly empowers you to perform your daily tasks faster and more efficiently. This is the hallmark of good software design, something the eProductivity team obviously knows a lot about. For those that want to greatly improve their performance, I can highly recommend eProductivity for Lotus Notes.

Full post: Interface Matters: On Total (e)Productivity In Lotus Notes

Originally posted on Eric Mack Online ]]> http://www.ericmackonline.com/ICA/blogs/emonline.nsf/dxcomments/interface-matters--on-total-eproductivity-in-lotus-notes http://www.ericmackonline.com/ICA/blogs/emonline.nsf/dx/interface-matters--on-total-eproductivity-in-lotus-notes?opendocument&comments Does the world really hate Notes? I don’t think so Fri, 29 Aug 2008 11:36:56 -0700 ComputerWeekly column, Ian White, asks, "Does the world really hate Notes?"

No. I think the world loves to complain.

As far as Lotus Notes is concerned, I run into folks that say they hate Notes as often as I run into users that say that they hate (insert product name here). (I even know Mac users that complain about their software. Shocking, I know.)

In my experience it often comes down to
a) no understanding of "What's in it for me?", or
b) lack of training - management simply said here's your new tool

How do we, the Notes community help fix this problem? I think we need to start by understanding the problem.

Many years ago, Zig Ziglar taught me that most people never ever change their mind. They simply make new decisions when presented with new information.

I've been able to show many a self-proclaimed Notes-hater new information -- a simple few things that they can do that will be personally beneficial to them -- and almost immediately they change their song about Lotus Notes.

It's that easy.

I've posted more thoughts about this on Notes On Productivity.
Eric Mack's personal blog

Originally posted on Eric Mack Online ]]> http://www.ericmackonline.com/ICA/blogs/emonline.nsf/trackback?open&id=does-the-world-really-hate-notes-i-don’t-think-so http://www.ericmackonline.com/ICA/blogs/emonline.nsf/dx/does-the-world-really-hate-notes-i-don’t-think-so Lotus Notes Eric Mack http://www.ericmackonline.com/ICA/blogs/emonline.nsf/dx/does-the-world-really-hate-notes-i-don’t-think-so?opendocument&comments http://www.ericmackonline.com/ICA/blogs/emonline.nsf/dx/does-the-world-really-hate-notes-i-don’t-think-so ComputerWeekly column, Ian White, asks, "Does the world really hate Notes?"

No. I think the world loves to complain.

As far as Lotus Notes is concerned, I run into folks that say they hate Notes as often as I run into users that say that they hate (insert product name here). (I even know Mac users that complain about their software. Shocking, I know.)

In my experience it often comes down to
a) no understanding of "What's in it for me?", or
b) lack of training - management simply said here's your new tool

How do we, the Notes community help fix this problem? I think we need to start by understanding the problem.

Many years ago, Zig Ziglar taught me that most people never ever change their mind. They simply make new decisions when presented with new information.

I've been able to show many a self-proclaimed Notes-hater new information -- a simple few things that they can do that will be personally beneficial to them -- and almost immediately they change their song about Lotus Notes.

It's that easy.

I've posted more thoughts about this on Notes On Productivity.

Originally posted on Eric Mack Online ]]> http://www.ericmackonline.com/ICA/blogs/emonline.nsf/dxcomments/does-the-world-really-hate-notes-i-don’t-think-so http://www.ericmackonline.com/ICA/blogs/emonline.nsf/dx/does-the-world-really-hate-notes-i-don’t-think-so?opendocument&comments Presidential Buzz Wed, 27 Aug 2008 23:34:13 -0700 Buzz Bruggeman is the most prolific social networker in the blogosphere, so I wasn't surprised when I learned of a grass-roots effort promoting Buzz for president!

I had no idea of the reach of this campaign: Billboards, Television (We don't watch TV), Taxis and... tattoos?

Well done, Buzz! Best of success to you!
Eric Mack's personal blog

Originally posted on Eric Mack Online ]]> http://www.ericmackonline.com/ICA/blogs/emonline.nsf/trackback?open&id=buzz-for-president http://www.ericmackonline.com/ICA/blogs/emonline.nsf/dx/buzz-for-president Blogging Eric Mack http://www.ericmackonline.com/ICA/blogs/emonline.nsf/dx/buzz-for-president?opendocument&comments http://www.ericmackonline.com/ICA/blogs/emonline.nsf/dx/buzz-for-president Buzz Bruggeman is the most prolific social networker in the blogosphere, so I wasn't surprised when I learned of a grass-roots effort promoting Buzz for president!

I had no idea of the reach of this campaign: Billboards, Television (We don't watch TV), Taxis and... tattoos?

Well done, Buzz! Best of success to you!

Originally posted on Eric Mack Online ]]> http://www.ericmackonline.com/ICA/blogs/emonline.nsf/dxcomments/buzz-for-president http://www.ericmackonline.com/ICA/blogs/emonline.nsf/dx/buzz-for-president?opendocument&comments What Are Your Favorite Personal Content Management Tools? Sun, 24 Aug 2008 20:14:56 -0700
Over the years, I have used and experimented with a variety of software applications to manage my stuff. I've explore applications from Adobe Acrobat to Zotero (a useful FireFox plug-in) and many in between, including two of my favorites: Lotus Notes and Personal Brain. I've also worked with a number of home-grown systems. Some of these I have scrapped, while others are still around. Every so often, usually when I am doing research or preparing to give a talk, I like to see what new or proven tools and methods are out there for self organization.

At the enterprise level, there are a multitude of content management systems competing for market share. At the personal level there are many tools that solve specific problems but few that appear to approach the problem of personal content management from a wholistic perspective of the knowledge worker. Perhaps one of the closest I've seen is The Brain.

I'm curious to know what tools or methods you use personally to organize your files, specifically, your documents on your computer so that you can organize and retrieve your information quickly.

Do you have a favorite information organization tool or system, or is your file system more organic?
Eric Mack's personal blog

Originally posted on Eric Mack Online ]]> http://www.ericmackonline.com/ICA/blogs/emonline.nsf/trackback?open&id=what-are-your-favorite-personal-content-management-tools http://www.ericmackonline.com/ICA/blogs/emonline.nsf/dx/what-are-your-favorite-personal-content-management-tools Eric Mack http://www.ericmackonline.com/ICA/blogs/emonline.nsf/dx/what-are-your-favorite-personal-content-management-tools?opendocument&comments http://www.ericmackonline.com/ICA/blogs/emonline.nsf/dx/what-are-your-favorite-personal-content-management-tools
Over the years, I have used and experimented with a variety of software applications to manage my stuff. I've explore applications from Adobe Acrobat to Zotero (a useful FireFox plug-in) and many in between, including two of my favorites: Lotus Notes and Personal Brain. I've also worked with a number of home-grown systems. Some of these I have scrapped, while others are still around. Every so often, usually when I am doing research or preparing to give a talk, I like to see what new or proven tools and methods are out there for self organization.

At the enterprise level, there are a multitude of content management systems competing for market share. At the personal level there are many tools that solve specific problems but few that appear to approach the problem of personal content management from a wholistic perspective of the knowledge worker. Perhaps one of the closest I've seen is The Brain.

I'm curious to know what tools or methods you use personally to organize your files, specifically, your documents on your computer so that you can organize and retrieve your information quickly.

Do you have a favorite information organization tool or system, or is your file system more organic?

Originally posted on Eric Mack Online ]]> http://www.ericmackonline.com/ICA/blogs/emonline.nsf/dxcomments/what-are-your-favorite-personal-content-management-tools http://www.ericmackonline.com/ICA/blogs/emonline.nsf/dx/what-are-your-favorite-personal-content-management-tools?opendocument&comments Thats right, Elguji is not a yoga position Thu, 21 Aug 2008 14:42:10 -0700 Bruce and team Elguji continue to make inroads with IdeaJam, not only with the innovative product they have created it is but for creativity in advertising. Here's a screen shot from the latest PlanetLotus banner ad:

I think Bruce's ad is a little misleading: You do not need to be a Notes or Domino shop to benefit from Elguji's IdeaJam technology. A simple vanilla Domino install (or even a hosted instance from a third party) is all you need. (I told Bruce not to include mention of Notes & Domino but he only listens to me when I blog in public, like this.)

At ICA, we use IdeaJam to track ideas that our customers would like to see in our eProductivity (a product that makes implementing David Allen's GTD methodology in Lotus Notes easy). So far, IdeaJam is working well for us. I think it's a practical application of Web.20, bringing customers into the middle of the feedback and design loop. We had our eProductivityJam site up and running in minutes. No product development management should be without a tool like IdeaJam.
Eric Mack's personal blog

Originally posted on Eric Mack Online ]]> http://www.ericmackonline.com/ICA/blogs/emonline.nsf/trackback?open&id=thats-right-elguji-is-not-a-yoga-position http://www.ericmackonline.com/ICA/blogs/emonline.nsf/dx/thats-right-elguji-is-not-a-yoga-position eProductivity Eric Mack http://www.ericmackonline.com/ICA/blogs/emonline.nsf/dx/thats-right-elguji-is-not-a-yoga-position?opendocument&comments http://www.ericmackonline.com/ICA/blogs/emonline.nsf/dx/thats-right-elguji-is-not-a-yoga-position Bruce and team Elguji continue to make inroads with IdeaJam, not only with the innovative product they have created it is but for creativity in advertising. Here's a screen shot from the latest PlanetLotus banner ad:

I think Bruce's ad is a little misleading: You do not need to be a Notes or Domino shop to benefit from Elguji's IdeaJam technology. A simple vanilla Domino install (or even a hosted instance from a third party) is all you need. (I told Bruce not to include mention of Notes & Domino but he only listens to me when I blog in public, like this.)

At ICA, we use IdeaJam to track ideas that our customers would like to see in our eProductivity (a product that makes implementing David Allen's GTD methodology in Lotus Notes easy). So far, IdeaJam is working well for us. I think it's a practical application of Web.20, bringing customers into the middle of the feedback and design loop. We had our eProductivityJam site up and running in minutes. No product development management should be without a tool like IdeaJam.

Originally posted on Eric Mack Online ]]> http://www.ericmackonline.com/ICA/blogs/emonline.nsf/dxcomments/thats-right-elguji-is-not-a-yoga-position http://www.ericmackonline.com/ICA/blogs/emonline.nsf/dx/thats-right-elguji-is-not-a-yoga-position?opendocument&comments Your Brain as a Success Coach for Getting Things Done Sat, 2 Aug 2008 07:37:00 -0700 Question: When you identify important projects, do you clearly define the successful outcome?
Do you clearly describe, either in the project title or description what success, even "wild success" will look like? If you are not doing this, you are missing out on perhaps the most powerful productivity tool available to help you accomplish your goals and dreams: your brain. In fact, if you don't regularly do this, you're leaving your brain in park, when it could be driving you to accomplish wild success.

Visualizing the Successful Outcome
Many years ago, David Allen shared with me that one of the first things he did when planning his first book, the best-selling, Getting Things Done, was to write the Wall Street Journal review of his book, first. He wrote the book review as he would like it to appear in print, even before writing the first chapters of his book. For many years, I've written my projects in the past tense -- as if they were "done" and I found that helped me to "see" done as the objective. I thought that David's example of writing a formal review of his book project was very clever and a powerful visualization tool, so I made note of it.

My Personal Application
When I set out to develop my eProductivity software, I followed David's recommendation and decided to write my own review. I decided to summarize the product in two sentences, each from the perspective of a different audience. eProductivity is built on Lotus Notes, so I decided that the Notes community would provide one perspective. Since eProductivity embodies many of the principles that I learned from David's book, I decided that the GTD community should provide the other.

Eric Mack's personal blog

Originally posted on Eric Mack Online ]]> http://www.ericmackonline.com/ICA/blogs/emonline.nsf/trackback?open&id=your-brain-as-a-success-coach-for-getting-things-done http://www.ericmackonline.com/ICA/blogs/emonline.nsf/dx/your-brain-as-a-success-coach-for-getting-things-done eProductivity Eric Mack http://www.ericmackonline.com/ICA/blogs/emonline.nsf/dx/your-brain-as-a-success-coach-for-getting-things-done?opendocument&comments http://www.ericmackonline.com/ICA/blogs/emonline.nsf/dx/your-brain-as-a-success-coach-for-getting-things-done Question: When you identify important projects, do you clearly define the successful outcome?
Do you clearly describe, either in the project title or description what success, even "wild success" will look like? If you are not doing this, you are missing out on perhaps the most powerful productivity tool available to help you accomplish your goals and dreams: your brain. In fact, if you don't regularly do this, you're leaving your brain in park, when it could be driving you to accomplish wild success.

Visualizing the Successful Outcome
Many years ago, David Allen shared with me that one of the first things he did when planning his first book, the best-selling, Getting Things Done, was to write the Wall Street Journal review of his book, first. He wrote the book review as he would like it to appear in print, even before writing the first chapters of his book. For many years, I've written my projects in the past tense -- as if they were "done" and I found that helped me to "see" done as the objective. I thought that David's example of writing a formal review of his book project was very clever and a powerful visualization tool, so I made note of it.

My Personal Application
When I set out to develop my eProductivity software, I followed David's recommendation and decided to write my own review. I decided to summarize the product in two sentences, each from the perspective of a different audience. eProductivity is built on Lotus Notes, so I decided that the Notes community would provide one perspective. Since eProductivity embodies many of the principles that I learned from David's book, I decided that the GTD community should provide the other.

For the Lotus Notes community, the most concise review I could come up with (after many iterations and variations) was this: "eProductivity: The Ultimate Personal Productivity Tool for Lotus Notes." This eventually became the marketing tag line and company mission. It is my hope that I have accomplished this and that people in the Notes community who evaluate eProductivity will tell us that we have accomplished this objective.

For the GTD community, I came up with a slight variation: "eProductivity: The Ultimate GTD Implementation Tool for Lotus Notes." For those aspects of the product that were specifically designed with the GTD methodology in mind, this was my driving measure. It is my hope that I have accomplished this and that people familiar with GTD and Lotus Notes will, after evaluating eProductivity, tell us that we have accomplished this objective.

So far, the feedback has been extremely promising. Although no one has used the exact words I outlined in my outcome statement, many have come close. I take that as a positive validation that I'm on the right track.

How do you know what "done" looks like?
If you don't know what "done" looks like, then you will not only not know when you are done, but you will miss out on the ready help available to you from your most valuable and trusted resource -- your brain.

How does this work?
In my experience, writing my project definitions in terms of their outcome, creates a cognitive dissonance between what I have defined as done and the present reality. As a result, whenever I read that project statement (or in my case, look at the product logo and tag line) my brain has to subconsciously decide if it agrees with the statement. If it does, great. I'm done. If not, it usually identifies one or more things that I need to do to make the statement true.

A Built-in Personal Success Coach
It's quite easy to enlist your brain to define the next actions you must take toward success: all you have to do is craft a clearly defined outcome statement and read it. Immediately, your brain will decide if it is true or not. It may say, "Self, well done." Or, it may say, "Self, that statement's not entirely true because this is not done yet." If so, simply capture what has your attention on to an appropriate list and act on it. Shortly, you will be completing actions that are in alignment with your successful outcome and you will be accomplishing your goals.

This exercise of beginning with the end result in mind has been a powerful tool for me -- a productivity tool, even -- to help me in the decision making process. Whenever I had a decision to make about this project -- whether it was in design, architecture, features, programming, or budget -- I would ask myself "what decision can I make that will bring me closer to the two outcome statements I defined? There were times in the past years when I simply wanted to wrap up the current feature set and put the product out there, however, it did not meet my criteria for my successful outcome. So, we waited, and persisted, and continued working, learning, and refining until we are where we are at today.

I encourage you to think about creating one or more successful outcome statements for each of your major projects.

If you decide to try this, post a comment and let me know how your brain worked out as your personal success coach.

I think you will be amazed at the result.

Update: If you would like to see the result of my project, eProductivity, I invite you to watch the overview video.

Originally posted on Eric Mack Online ]]> http://www.ericmackonline.com/ICA/blogs/emonline.nsf/dxcomments/your-brain-as-a-success-coach-for-getting-things-done http://www.ericmackonline.com/ICA/blogs/emonline.nsf/dx/your-brain-as-a-success-coach-for-getting-things-done?opendocument&comments It happened... Sat, 26 Jul 2008 10:05:06 -0700
Eric Mack's personal blog

Originally posted on Eric Mack Online ]]> http://www.ericmackonline.com/ICA/blogs/emonline.nsf/trackback?open&id=it-happened... http://www.ericmackonline.com/ICA/blogs/emonline.nsf/dx/it-happened... Family Eric Mack http://www.ericmackonline.com/ICA/blogs/emonline.nsf/dx/it-happened...?opendocument&comments http://www.ericmackonline.com/ICA/blogs/emonline.nsf/dx/it-happened... 45th Birthday Cards

Originally posted on Eric Mack Online ]]> http://www.ericmackonline.com/ICA/blogs/emonline.nsf/dxcomments/it-happened... http://www.ericmackonline.com/ICA/blogs/emonline.nsf/dx/it-happened...?opendocument&comments The Buzz of ActiveWords is in Fast Company with Scoble Fri, 25 Jul 2008 09:35:00 -0700 Robert Scoble will interview my buddy, Buzz Bruggeman, CEO of ActiveWords, on www.fastcompany.tv today at 10:00 AM PST.

Buzz is always an interesting guy to visit with. To refer to him the CEO of ActiveWords is too limiting. Buzz is perhaps the best networker in the tech world - he's certainly the most prolific. (There are probably only 2-3 degrees of separation between Buzz and anyone in the tech world you'd want to meet.) I've had the opportunity to work with Buzz on several occasions as we share a common passion for all things mind mapping, GTD, and productivity.

Buzz and I first began talking about adding ActiveWords support for Lotus Notes several years ago. We finally did it and, with ActiveWords and eProductivity, millions of Notes Users can finally control the most productive aspects of Lotus Notes, from anywhere - even when Notes isn't running! I wonder if he will demonstrate or talk about ActiveWords and Notes on the show? (Hint to Buzz)

Anyway, here's the link to the live broadcast. I believe the replay will be up shortly, too.

Update: Here is a link to a PDF of my ActiveWords Wordbase
Eric Mack's personal blog

Originally posted on Eric Mack Online ]]> http://www.ericmackonline.com/ICA/blogs/emonline.nsf/trackback?open&id=the-buzz-of-activewords-is-in-fast-company http://www.ericmackonline.com/ICA/blogs/emonline.nsf/dx/the-buzz-of-activewords-is-in-fast-company eProductivity Eric Mack http://www.ericmackonline.com/ICA/blogs/emonline.nsf/dx/the-buzz-of-activewords-is-in-fast-company?opendocument&comments http://www.ericmackonline.com/ICA/blogs/emonline.nsf/dx/the-buzz-of-activewords-is-in-fast-company Robert Scoble will interview my buddy, Buzz Bruggeman, CEO of ActiveWords, on www.fastcompany.tv today at 10:00 AM PST.

Buzz is always an interesting guy to visit with. To refer to him the CEO of ActiveWords is too limiting. Buzz is perhaps the best networker in the tech world - he's certainly the most prolific. (There are probably only 2-3 degrees of separation between Buzz and anyone in the tech world you'd want to meet.) I've had the opportunity to work with Buzz on several occasions as we share a common passion for all things mind mapping, GTD, and productivity.

Buzz and I first began talking about adding ActiveWords support for Lotus Notes several years ago. We finally did it and, with ActiveWords and eProductivity, millions of Notes Users can finally control the most productive aspects of Lotus Notes, from anywhere - even when Notes isn't running! I wonder if he will demonstrate or talk about ActiveWords and Notes on the show? (Hint to Buzz)

Anyway, here's the link to the live broadcast. I believe the replay will be up shortly, too.

Update: Here is a link to a PDF of my ActiveWords Wordbase

Originally posted on Eric Mack Online ]]> http://www.ericmackonline.com/ICA/blogs/emonline.nsf/dxcomments/the-buzz-of-activewords-is-in-fast-company http://www.ericmackonline.com/ICA/blogs/emonline.nsf/dx/the-buzz-of-activewords-is-in-fast-company?opendocument&comments New tag-line for knowledge management professionals... Tue, 22 Jul 2008 22:30:44 -0700
My friend, Alan Lepofsky, has posted his thought on a new tag-line he thought up:

"If knowledge is power, then sharing knowledge is the ultimate power-trip"

I liked Colin Williams' comment that proposes a secret handshake for KM professionals: "Sharing is caring.".
Eric Mack's personal blog

Originally posted on Eric Mack Online ]]> http://www.ericmackonline.com/ICA/blogs/emonline.nsf/trackback?open&id=new-tag-line-for-knowledge-management-professionals... http://www.ericmackonline.com/ICA/blogs/emonline.nsf/dx/new-tag-line-for-knowledge-management-professionals... Knowledge Management Eric Mack http://www.ericmackonline.com/ICA/blogs/emonline.nsf/dx/new-tag-line-for-knowledge-management-professionals...?opendocument&comments http://www.ericmackonline.com/ICA/blogs/emonline.nsf/dx/new-tag-line-for-knowledge-management-professionals...
My friend, Alan Lepofsky, has posted his thought on a new tag-line he thought up:

"If knowledge is power, then sharing knowledge is the ultimate power-trip"

I liked Colin Williams' comment that proposes a secret handshake for KM professionals: "Sharing is caring.".

Originally posted on Eric Mack Online ]]> http://www.ericmackonline.com/ICA/blogs/emonline.nsf/dxcomments/new-tag-line-for-knowledge-management-professionals... http://www.ericmackonline.com/ICA/blogs/emonline.nsf/dx/new-tag-line-for-knowledge-management-professionals...?opendocument&comments Kit Kittredge: An American Girl Tue, 15 Jul 2008 09:47:04 -0700 This past weekend, our family went to see the movie "Kit Kittredge: An American Girl." Our two youngest daughters, ages 11 and 9 are big American Girl fans.
This is the first time this franchise has released a movie to the theaters. They have previously released videos straight to DVD. Several months ago, we watched the movie based on the "Molly" doll. The movie, set in the WWII era, was incredible. To borrow the colloquialism: We laughed, we cried. It was a well written and entertaining story that did more than entertain, it made the personal history of families who lived through WWII very real.

The "Kit" movie does the same thing with the Depression Era. For those of you who are uninitiated to the American Girl series, each doll represents a time in our nation's history - Josefina represents the early days of the southwest, what we in California call the "mission era"; Addy is a slave girl from the time of the Civil War; Julie represents the 1970's, and so-on. The various series of books, that go along with each doll, don't necessarily teach history through dates and facts, but through the emotions of a family, and especially a little girl.

Eric Mack's personal blog

Originally posted on Eric Mack Online ]]> http://www.ericmackonline.com/ICA/blogs/emonline.nsf/trackback?open&id=kit-kittredge--an-american-girl http://www.ericmackonline.com/ICA/blogs/emonline.nsf/dx/kit-kittredge--an-american-girl Family Eric Mack http://www.ericmackonline.com/ICA/blogs/emonline.nsf/dx/kit-kittredge--an-american-girl?opendocument&comments http://www.ericmackonline.com/ICA/blogs/emonline.nsf/dx/kit-kittredge--an-american-girl This past weekend, our family went to see the movie "Kit Kittredge: An American Girl." Our two youngest daughters, ages 11 and 9 are big American Girl fans.

This is the first time this franchise has released a movie to the theaters. They have previously released videos straight to DVD. Several months ago, we watched the movie based on the "Molly" doll. The movie, set in the WWII era, was incredible. To borrow the colloquialism: We laughed, we cried. It was a well written and entertaining story that did more than entertain, it made the personal history of families who lived through WWII very real.

The "Kit" movie does the same thing with the Depression Era. For those of you who are uninitiated to the American Girl series, each doll represents a time in our nation's history - Josefina represents the early days of the southwest, what we in California call the "mission era"; Addy is a slave girl from the time of the Civil War; Julie represents the 1970's, and so-on. The various series of books, that go along with each doll, don't necessarily teach history through dates and facts, but through the emotions of a family, and especially a little girl.

I think many movie-goers might have the misunderstanding that this is a movie for young girls obsessed with dolls. I would like to encourage you to think otherwise. While Kit is the lead in the movie, really, it is the Depressions and the plight of hobos that is the main story. While the young people in the theater obviously enjoyed the movie, there were a very large number of belly laughs and expressions of emotion coming from the adults.

I encourage you to give "Kit" a chance. I think you will be pleasantly surprised.

Originally posted on Eric Mack Online ]]> http://www.ericmackonline.com/ICA/blogs/emonline.nsf/dxcomments/kit-kittredge--an-american-girl http://www.ericmackonline.com/ICA/blogs/emonline.nsf/dx/kit-kittredge--an-american-girl?opendocument&comments The downard spiral of deproductivity Fri, 11 Jul 2008 11:38:42 -0700

Source: phdcomics.com. Via: re:Domino
Eric Mack's personal blog

Originally posted on Eric Mack Online ]]> http://www.ericmackonline.com/ICA/blogs/emonline.nsf/trackback?open&id=the-downard-spiral-of-deproductivity http://www.ericmackonline.com/ICA/blogs/emonline.nsf/dx/the-downard-spiral-of-deproductivity DeProductivity Eric Mack http://www.ericmackonline.com/ICA/blogs/emonline.nsf/dx/the-downard-spiral-of-deproductivity?opendocument&comments http://www.ericmackonline.com/ICA/blogs/emonline.nsf/dx/the-downard-spiral-of-deproductivity

Source: phdcomics.com. Via: re:Domino

Originally posted on Eric Mack Online ]]> http://www.ericmackonline.com/ICA/blogs/emonline.nsf/dxcomments/the-downard-spiral-of-deproductivity http://www.ericmackonline.com/ICA/blogs/emonline.nsf/dx/the-downard-spiral-of-deproductivity?opendocument&comments Freedom is never free (Revisited) Fri, 4 Jul 2008 10:00:00 -0700 Eric Mack's personal blog

Originally posted on Eric Mack Online ]]> http://www.ericmackonline.com/ICA/blogs/emonline.nsf/trackback?open&id=freedom-is-not-free-revisited-2008 http://www.ericmackonline.com/ICA/blogs/emonline.nsf/dx/freedom-is-not-free-revisited-2008 America Eric Mack http://www.ericmackonline.com/ICA/blogs/emonline.nsf/dx/freedom-is-not-free-revisited-2008?opendocument&comments http://www.ericmackonline.com/ICA/blogs/emonline.nsf/dx/freedom-is-not-free-revisited-2008 commentary on The Pledge of Allegiance:

Image:Freedom is never free (Revisited)

Red's commentary offers a glimpse into the meaning of these words and what it means to recite the Pledge as an American.

If you have never heard it, I invite you to watch this video from July 4, 2002.

Here's something else to think about: Freedom is never free.

Whether at the physical or spiritual level, the freedom that we enjoy today came at a great cost.

This Fourth of July, let us give thanks and remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice on our behalf.

Originally posted on Eric Mack Online ]]> http://www.ericmackonline.com/ICA/blogs/emonline.nsf/dxcomments/freedom-is-not-free-revisited-2008 http://www.ericmackonline.com/ICA/blogs/emonline.nsf/dx/freedom-is-not-free-revisited-2008?opendocument&comments eProductivity Preview Update for July 1, 2008 Tue, 1 Jul 2008 09:24:00 -0700 eProductivity preview program continue to pour in. We decided to increase the # of preview kits we will offer to 200 so that everyone that completes the application will be able to participate.

It's been interesting to read the forms that people have filled out to learn who uses Windows (99%) and who uses Mac (< 1%) and which versions of Notes folks are using. (Lots of activity in Notes R6.x and R8.x) and what challenges people face trying to get things done in Lotus Notes. I'll have lots to share as times goes on.

Meanwhile, I'd like to offer a special thanks to the bloggers that have picked this up, and I encourage you to visit their blogs:

Michael Sampson:
eProductivity for Notes is About Ready To Go ... Eric Has a Special Offer

Chris Blatnick of Interface Matters:
eProductivity for Lotus Notes...Want To Be Way More Efficient?

Stephan Wissel:
Procrastinator Professional and (e)Productivity

Ben Poole:
Do you want to get things done?

Oliver Starr of GTD Times:
Eric Mack to Launch eProductivity: your chance to get a preview in this post

(If I have missed anyone, please let me know. If you are a GTD or Notes blogger, let me know and I'll add you to our pre-launch list.)

I am preparing the preview kits and
Eric Mack's personal blog

Originally posted on Eric Mack Online ]]> http://www.ericmackonline.com/ICA/blogs/emonline.nsf/trackback?open&id=eproductivity-preview-update-for-july-1-2008 http://www.ericmackonline.com/ICA/blogs/emonline.nsf/dx/eproductivity-preview-update-for-july-1-2008 eProductivity Eric Mack http://www.ericmackonline.com/ICA/blogs/emonline.nsf/dx/eproductivity-preview-update-for-july-1-2008?opendocument&comments http://www.ericmackonline.com/ICA/blogs/emonline.nsf/dx/eproductivity-preview-update-for-july-1-2008 eProductivity preview program continue to pour in. We decided to increase the # of preview kits we will offer to 200 so that everyone that completes the application will be able to participate.

It's been interesting to read the forms that people have filled out to learn who uses Windows (99%) and who uses Mac (< 1%) and which versions of Notes folks are using. (Lots of activity in Notes R6.x and R8.x) and what challenges people face trying to get things done in Lotus Notes. I'll have lots to share as times goes on.

Meanwhile, I'd like to offer a special thanks to the bloggers that have picked this up, and I encourage you to visit their blogs:

Michael Sampson:
eProductivity for Notes is About Ready To Go ... Eric Has a Special Offer

Chris Blatnick of Interface Matters:
eProductivity for Lotus Notes...Want To Be Way More Efficient?

Stephan Wissel:
Procrastinator Professional and (e)Productivity

Ben Poole:
Do you want to get things done?

Oliver Starr of GTD Times:
Eric Mack to Launch eProductivity: your chance to get a preview in this post

(If I have missed anyone, please let me know. If you are a GTD or Notes blogger, let me know and I'll add you to our pre-launch list.)

I am preparing the preview kits and will send them out in batches of 25 as the completed applications are received. I plan to send the first batch tomorrow morning.

Some folks wrote with questions, e.g. what versions of Notes?, will I get a free trial?, etc.. I refer you to the eProductivity Preview Invitation which has all of the details. (Be sure to scroll down the page as there is a lot to read.)

Thanks, I look forward to posting great news, soon.

Eric

Originally posted on Eric Mack Online ]]> http://www.ericmackonline.com/ICA/blogs/emonline.nsf/dxcomments/eproductivity-preview-update-for-july-1-2008 http://www.ericmackonline.com/ICA/blogs/emonline.nsf/dx/eproductivity-preview-update-for-july-1-2008?opendocument&comments 24-Hour Preview of eProductivity for Lotus Notes Thu, 26 Jun 2008 17:00:00 -0700 eProductivity™ for Lotus Notes®

As you may know, we completed the eProductivity beta program in early January, 2008 and for the past six months we have been doing pilot programs with various companies around the world. Now, we are getting ready to share eProductivity with the public. (I know, it's been a long time.)

People in the pilot program tell us that they recover up to 30-minutes each day in time spent processing their email or managing their projects and actions. They also love the Weekly Review Coach that we have built into eProductivity. I think it's the ultimate GTD® implementation tool for Lotus Notes; however, don't take my word for it. I'll leave that for you to decide. I’m about ready to push the GO button and formally launch the commercial version of eProductivity.

Before I do, I want to make sure that our end-user download and evaluation process is easy to understand. I’ve decided to invite the first 100 people that respond to participate in a 24-hour preview of eProductivity.

If this sounds interesting to you, read on…

Eric Mack's personal blog

Originally posted on Eric Mack Online ]]> http://www.ericmackonline.com/ICA/blogs/emonline.nsf/trackback?open&id=24-hour-preview-of-eproductivity-for-lotus-notes http://www.ericmackonline.com/ICA/blogs/emonline.nsf/dx/24-hour-preview-of-eproductivity-for-lotus-notes eProductivity Eric Mack http://www.ericmackonline.com/ICA/blogs/emonline.nsf/dx/24-hour-preview-of-eproductivity-for-lotus-notes?opendocument&comments http://www.ericmackonline.com/ICA/blogs/emonline.nsf/dx/24-hour-preview-of-eproductivity-for-lotus-notes eProductivity™ for Lotus Notes®

As you may know, we completed the eProductivity beta program in early January, 2008 and for the past six months we have been doing pilot programs with various companies around the world. Now, we are getting ready to share eProductivity with the public. (I know, it's been a long time.)

People in the pilot program tell us that they recover up to 30-minutes each day in time spent processing their email or managing their projects and actions. They also love the Weekly Review Coach that we have built into eProductivity. I think it's the ultimate GTD® implementation tool for Lotus Notes; however, don't take my word for it. I'll leave that for you to decide. I’m about ready to push the GO button and formally launch the commercial version of eProductivity.

Before I do, I want to make sure that our end-user download and evaluation process is easy to understand. I’ve decided to invite the first 100 people that respond to participate in a 24-hour preview of eProductivity.

If this sounds interesting to you, read on…

How the 24-hour preview will work:
1. Sign up for the 24-hour preview of eProductivity
2. Next week, I will send the preview kit to the first 100 people that respond.
3. You will be asked to share your feedback and initial impressions.
4. I will send a free evaluation key to those that respond with detailed feedback.

If you want to experience eProductivity for yourself and you are willing to help us get ready for the public launch, I hope to hear from you.

Eric Mack

PS. I appreciate that it takes time to review a product and write up feedback about your user experience. For the people that choose to send us detailed feedback with comments, I will enter them into a drawing for free licenses of eProductivity.

Originally posted on Eric Mack Online ]]> http://www.ericmackonline.com/ICA/blogs/emonline.nsf/dxcomments/24-hour-preview-of-eproductivity-for-lotus-notes http://www.ericmackonline.com/ICA/blogs/emonline.nsf/dx/24-hour-preview-of-eproductivity-for-lotus-notes?opendocument&comments Disaster in the Philippines; life is precious Sun, 22 Jun 2008 10:30:00 -0700 disaster in the Philippines this weekend as a deadly Typhoon Fengshen unleashed strong winds and heavy rains that caused great destruction, leaving tens of thousands stranded on rooftops. The death toll is high and the the fate of the passengers on the ferry that capsized remains unknown.I received a text message yesterday from my friend and client, Pastor David Sumrall or the Cathedral of Praise telling me that they had been without power for the past 14 hours. Water in the streets is many feet deep.

I have grown attached to the people of Manila as I had the opportunity to serve them last year as I delivered an eProductivity conference. The people I met are resiliant and have a strong sense of community and service, even in the midst of trials and storms. (Seems like we are all in storms these days... How's your faith?). In all, I know that God is in charge and our faith remains unshaken even though the storms rage around us. Life is precious and we know how long our time on earth will last.

My prayers go out to the people of the Philippines and the COP community and those affected by this Typhoon. I'm sure that as things stabilize, Pastor Sumrall and his staff will organize opportunities to minister to those in need and I pray, too, that this will be a time of great testimony as people experience God's love through the service of the COP community.
Eric Mack's personal blog

Originally posted on Eric Mack Online ]]> http://www.ericmackonline.com/ICA/blogs/emonline.nsf/trackback?open&id=disaster-in-the-philippines-life-is-precious http://www.ericmackonline.com/ICA/blogs/emonline.nsf/dx/disaster-in-the-philippines-life-is-precious Philippines eProductivity Conference Eric Mack http://www.ericmackonline.com/ICA/blogs/emonline.nsf/dx/disaster-in-the-philippines-life-is-precious?opendocument&comments http://www.ericmackonline.com/ICA/blogs/emonline.nsf/dx/disaster-in-the-philippines-life-is-precious disaster in the Philippines this weekend as a deadly Typhoon Fengshen unleashed strong winds and heavy rains that caused great destruction, leaving tens of thousands stranded on rooftops. The death toll is high and the the fate of the passengers on the ferry that capsized remains unknown.I received a text message yesterday from my friend and client, Pastor David Sumrall or the Cathedral of Praise telling me that they had been without power for the past 14 hours. Water in the streets is many feet deep.

I have grown attached to the people of Manila as I had the opportunity to serve them last year as I delivered an eProductivity conference. The people I met are resiliant and have a strong sense of community and service, even in the midst of trials and storms. (Seems like we are all in storms these days... How's your faith?). In all, I know that God is in charge and our faith remains unshaken even though the storms rage around us. Life is precious and we know how long our time on earth will last.

My prayers go out to the people of the Philippines and the COP community and those affected by this Typhoon. I'm sure that as things stabilize, Pastor Sumrall and his staff will organize opportunities to minister to those in need and I pray, too, that this will be a time of great testimony as people experience God's love through the service of the COP community.

Originally posted on Eric Mack Online ]]> http://www.ericmackonline.com/ICA/blogs/emonline.nsf/dxcomments/disaster-in-the-philippines-life-is-precious http://www.ericmackonline.com/ICA/blogs/emonline.nsf/dx/disaster-in-the-philippines-life-is-precious?opendocument&comments Meet me at ILUG 2008 Mon, 2 Jun 2008 17:36:07 -0700 ILUG 2008 Conference.

Ian and I look forward to hanging out with Bruce, Ben, Ed, Alan, and many others. If you plan to attend, send me an email or find me. Ian and I will be there wearing our way cool white eProductivity logo shirts.

This year's conference promises to be a great one with many speakers and the opportunity to network with key folks in the Lotus Notes community. I'm also excited to have been invited to be one of the speed geek presenters; I plan to show off some productivity tools for Lotus Notes. 12 presentations in 1 hour. Should be fun.

Each year the ILUG organizers outdo the previous year's conference. This year is no exception; as part of their marketing & promotion campaign Paul Mooney arranged for Aer Lingus to temporarily paint their entire fleet of aircraft with the ILUG Shamrock so that we would get into the ILUG spirit as soon as we took off...

It will be a fast trip but I plan to make it a productive one. If you plan to attend let me know. Time permitting, I'll also try to blog a little.
Eric Mack's personal blog

Originally posted on Eric Mack Online ]]> http://www.ericmackonline.com/ICA/blogs/emonline.nsf/trackback?open&id=meet-me-at-ilug-2008 http://www.ericmackonline.com/ICA/blogs/emonline.nsf/dx/meet-me-at-ilug-2008 Lotus Notes Eric Mack http://www.ericmackonline.com/ICA/blogs/emonline.nsf/dx/meet-me-at-ilug-2008?opendocument&comments http://www.ericmackonline.com/ICA/blogs/emonline.nsf/dx/meet-me-at-ilug-2008 ILUG 2008 Conference.

Ian and I look forward to hanging out with Bruce, Ben, Ed, Alan, and many others. If you plan to attend, send me an email or find me. Ian and I will be there wearing our way cool white eProductivity logo shirts.

This year's conference promises to be a great one with many speakers and the opportunity to network with key folks in the Lotus Notes community. I'm also excited to have been invited to be one of the speed geek presenters; I plan to show off some productivity tools for Lotus Notes. 12 presentations in 1 hour. Should be fun.

Each year the ILUG organizers outdo the previous year's conference. This year is no exception; as part of their marketing & promotion campaign Paul Mooney arranged for Aer Lingus to temporarily paint their entire fleet of aircraft with the ILUG Shamrock so that we would get into the ILUG spirit as soon as we took off...

It will be a fast trip but I plan to make it a productive one. If you plan to attend let me know. Time permitting, I'll also try to blog a little.

Originally posted on Eric Mack Online ]]> http://www.ericmackonline.com/ICA/blogs/emonline.nsf/dxcomments/meet-me-at-ilug-2008 http://www.ericmackonline.com/ICA/blogs/emonline.nsf/dx/meet-me-at-ilug-2008?opendocument&comments What gets in the way, when implementing GTD in Notes? Tue, 27 May 2008 08:30:00 -0700 what gets in the way, when implementing GTD in Lotus Notes.

If you currently use, have tried using, or are considering using Lotus Notes as your GTD implementation tool, I hope you will post your thoughts...
Eric Mack's personal blog

Originally posted on Eric Mack Online ]]> http://www.ericmackonline.com/ICA/blogs/emonline.nsf/trackback?open&id=what-gets-in-the-way-when-implementing-gtd-in-notes http://www.ericmackonline.com/ICA/blogs/emonline.nsf/dx/what-gets-in-the-way-when-implementing-gtd-in-notes GTD Eric Mack http://www.ericmackonline.com/ICA/blogs/emonline.nsf/dx/what-gets-in-the-way-when-implementing-gtd-in-notes?opendocument&comments http://www.ericmackonline.com/ICA/blogs/emonline.nsf/dx/what-gets-in-the-way-when-implementing-gtd-in-notes what gets in the way, when implementing GTD in Lotus Notes.

If you currently use, have tried using, or are considering using Lotus Notes as your GTD implementation tool, I hope you will post your thoughts...

Originally posted on Eric Mack Online ]]> http://www.ericmackonline.com/ICA/blogs/emonline.nsf/dxcomments/what-gets-in-the-way-when-implementing-gtd-in-notes http://www.ericmackonline.com/ICA/blogs/emonline.nsf/dx/what-gets-in-the-way-when-implementing-gtd-in-notes?opendocument&comments Productivity Countdown Fri, 23 May 2008 15:43:51 -0700 I usually do OK tracking individual actions and small and medium sized projects. These are items for which I can easily envision the completed state - I know what "done" will look like and I know I will mark these complete in a few days or weeks. Sometimes, however, I have projects where the completion date is not days or weeks ahead but months or years ahead. I find those harder to keep in front of me. Even with regular review, I sometimes find it hard to keep a sense of time about a project that is off in the distant future.

As I prepare to launch eProductivity, a GTD implementation tool for Lotus Notes, I need to keep one or two key milestones in sight at all times. Specifically, we have a few big milestones - things like "launch web site" or "Prepare for meeting with David" or "Deliver presentation to IBM" that we have been working on for many months or in the case of the product launch, several years.

Several months ago, I watched a NASA Shuttle mission video and I was inspired by their countdown clock and their mission elapsed clock. I decided that I needed my own countdown clock, so I decided to create one for myself.

Starting with a countdown clock mechanism that I purchased on-line, I created a custom clock face and built five eProductivity countdown clocks. I set each one to the date of a key milestone. I kept one clock for myself and I sent the other four to key people on my team. Now, I have a tangible reminder of the event and the time remaining to complete. I've had the clock on my desk for a few months now and it's been a
Eric Mack's personal blog

Originally posted on Eric Mack Online ]]> http://www.ericmackonline.com/ICA/blogs/emonline.nsf/trackback?open&id=productivity-countdown http://www.ericmackonline.com/ICA/blogs/emonline.nsf/dx/productivity-countdown eProductivity Eric Mack http://www.ericmackonline.com/ICA/blogs/emonline.nsf/dx/productivity-countdown?opendocument&comments http://www.ericmackonline.com/ICA/blogs/emonline.nsf/dx/productivity-countdown eProductivity Countdown Clock

I usually do OK tracking individual actions and small and medium sized projects. These are items for which I can easily envision the completed state - I know what "done" will look like and I know I will mark these complete in a few days or weeks. Sometimes, however, I have projects where the completion date is not days or weeks ahead but months or years ahead. I find those harder to keep in front of me. Even with regular review, I sometimes find it hard to keep a sense of time about a project that is off in the distant future.

As I prepare to launch eProductivity, a GTD implementation tool for Lotus Notes, I need to keep one or two key milestones in sight at all times. Specifically, we have a few big milestones - things like "launch web site" or "Prepare for meeting with David" or "Deliver presentation to IBM" that we have been working on for many months or in the case of the product launch, several years.

Several months ago, I watched a NASA Shuttle mission video and I was inspired by their countdown clock and their mission elapsed clock. I decided that I needed my own countdown clock, so I decided to create one for myself.

eProductivity Countdown Clocks for my team - notice dancing Ian?

Starting with a countdown clock mechanism that I purchased on-line, I created a custom clock face and built five eProductivity countdown clocks. I set each one to the date of a key milestone. I kept one clock for myself and I sent the other four to key people on my team. Now, I have a tangible reminder of the event and the time remaining to complete. I've had the clock on my desk for a few months now and it's been a fun reminder of an event that I am looking forward to. The key question "What's your next action?" keeps me focused on the little things that I need to accomplish to achieve my goal.

It's been a fun way to get things done.

Originally posted on Eric Mack Online ]]> http://www.ericmackonline.com/ICA/blogs/emonline.nsf/dxcomments/productivity-countdown http://www.ericmackonline.com/ICA/blogs/emonline.nsf/dx/productivity-countdown?opendocument&comments Happy 37th Birthday, Ian Sun, 18 May 2008 15:46:25 -0700
Eric Mack's personal blog

Originally posted on Eric Mack Online ]]> http://www.ericmackonline.com/ICA/blogs/emonline.nsf/trackback?open&id=happy-37th-birthday-ian http://www.ericmackonline.com/ICA/blogs/emonline.nsf/dx/happy-37th-birthday-ian Eric Mack http://www.ericmackonline.com/ICA/blogs/emonline.nsf/dx/happy-37th-birthday-ian?opendocument&comments http://www.ericmackonline.com/ICA/blogs/emonline.nsf/dx/happy-37th-birthday-ian

Originally posted on Eric Mack Online ]]> http://www.ericmackonline.com/ICA/blogs/emonline.nsf/dxcomments/happy-37th-birthday-ian http://www.ericmackonline.com/ICA/blogs/emonline.nsf/dx/happy-37th-birthday-ian?opendocument&comments