Web Worker Daily |
| Posted: 01 Apr 2009 03:00 PM PDT Written by Simon Mackie.
ForceDo works just like any other online to-do list management app — users of Gmail Tasks and Remember the Milk should feel very much at home — except that when you set up a task you can estimate how long it should take to complete. When you start the task, you set the clock running. You can optionally set alarms to sound before the end of the task and when the time is up. The idea behind the app is that by heaving a timed deadline to work toward, you’ll be less likely to procrastinate or get distracted. You can also use ForceDo to measure the amount of time you take to complete your tasks. Here’s a quick screencast of ForceDo in action:
Personally, I think it’s a bit gimmicky, and as it’s a very basic to-do manager it won’t be suitable for GTD-devotees, although it does support multiple to-do lists. I’m not tempted to move from my current app, Tudumo, but if procrastination and distraction are ruining your productivity and you’re looking for a very simple to-do manager, you might like to give ForceDo a try and see if it works for you — it’s free. Thanks to WWD reader Dane Baker for the tip. Would working to a deadline with ForceDo force you to concentrate?        |
| Webless Web Worker? Have a Contingency Plan Posted: 01 Apr 2009 01:00 PM PDT Written by Georgina Laidlaw. Editor’s note: With this post we welcome Georgina Laidlaw to the WebWorkerDaily team. Georgina is a finance writer and editor who lives in Victoria, Australia. She divides her working time between home and employer’s offices.
Being a “webless web worker” is a challenge I deal with often, because I use a wireless Internet connection that routes through a series of repeater stations dotted along the six miles between my house and the service provider’s base station. In the last year, we’ve had a number of service failures, including the weather knocking towers out for days, as well as the usual minor technical faults. There are also times, particularly when it’s windy, when our connection can crawl. As a consequence, I’ve developed a few fallbacks for the occasions when I lose my vital connection to the web: Use portable devices. Of course, a web-enabled cellphone or BlackBerry is great for keeping up with news, blogs and email. But it can be a life-saver when you suddenly lose your Internet connection — you can use it to send that critical email or even write a blog post. Having said that, I wouldn’t want to spend days completing online research or writing book chapters using my phone. Have backup references handy. It’s all too easy to substitute physical references like books and CD-ROMs for their less bulky, at-your-fingertips online counterparts. That’s fine — until there’s no web. I always keep foundation references on my desk and a library of additional, particularly relevant or important information handy. Know your local web hotspots. The coffee shops, bars and libraries around here are fairly free and easy with their Wi-Fi, so one option for me is to focus on the work I can get done offline and then go out for a coffee to access the web. It’s restrictive, and it takes a bit of preparation, but it’s better than nothing. Phone a friend. I have friends who live nearby who have invited me to use their wired web connections if I need to. This can be a reassuring option if you have to rely on flaky wireless Internet like I do. These are all only temporary solutions, though. If our repeater station’s been damaged by high wind and will take days to repair, I just have to face up to the physical commute to the office. So, what would you do if your internet connection went down right now? Image by sxc.hu user Rybson      |
| Mindnode: Mind Mapping Made Manageable Posted: 01 Apr 2009 11:00 AM PDT Written by Imran Ali. I’ve found mind-mapping apps such as MindManager and MindView to be a little clunky and over-engineered. Sometimes, you literally want to sketch some thoughts quickly, with little concern for presentation or correctness. As luck would have it, I recently came across Markus Müller’s Mindnode, a deliciously simple mind-mapping tool that’s designed specifically for Macs. The free edition of the product does nothing more complex than allow maps to be constructed fluidly and quickly. There are no special notations or symbols, just click and drag to add and place nodes, and watch as MindNode colors them automatically, creating a simple, easy-to-comprehend diagram. The app also offers some useful integration with the underlying operating system. It uses OS X’s Spotlight search to enable the contents of a mindmap to be indexed, and you can also use Quick Look for visual previews. Mindnode allows maps to be saved in a whole bunch of graphics formats (TIF, PNG, etc) as well as in its own native format and, more interestingly, as OPML and HTML documents. This implies that the resulting maps can be imported into other packages for further — perhaps automated — manipulation and even CSS styling. Mindnode isn’t feature-rich; it has just enough features to fulfill its purpose elegantly. Even the Pro edition (just $15!), adds only a handful of useful additional features. There’s a place for the higher-end applications and services that we’ve covered previously, but it’s reassuring to know that simpler options exist. My only bugbear with Mindnode is the lack of a Windows or web edition. Come to think of it, it’d make a great iPhone app! Be sure to check out Aliza’s post, Mapping Your Work Madness, which contains some great mind-mapping tips. What mind mapping tools do you use?      |
| 5 Tips for Writing Web Workers Posted: 01 Apr 2009 09:00 AM PDT Written by Samuel Dean. The web has transformed many types of work, and there are legions of web workers who write online for much of the day. From bloggers like those of us here at WebWorkerDaily, to journalists who used to focus on print, to people who collaborate on business and marketing documents, the online medium has become a central gathering place for scribes. Over the years, I’ve accumulated many tips for mixing up my writing routine and writing more efficiently.
The Zen of Writing. In my post “12 Top Zen Apps to Keep You Focused,” I covered tools, including many word processors, that remove distracting interface elements when you’re at the computer so that you can focus on what you’re writing. You’ll find lots of good tools for a calming writing experience there, with some great suggestions from our readers in the comments. You’ll find even more zen writing tools in Leo’s post on minimalist word processors. A Way With Word. If you use Microsoft Word a lot, it helps to take advantage of time-saving efficiency tips. You’ll find a large collection of good ones in this post. One of these I use all the time: If you need to step away from a document but want to have your cursor sitting right where you left it when you return, you don't have to leave your document open. Go ahead and close it. When you reopen it to resume editing, hit Shift+F5 to take your cursor back to precisely where you were. Walk Around. This isn’t purely a tech tip, but boy is it important to me while writing. Writing takes a lot of mental energy, and it helps enormously to get up and get the blood flowing at regular intervals. Many of the most revered writers who ever lived followed this as a best practice. Nabokov wrote most of his many novels standing at a lectern, handwriting. Hemingway did this too, including a lot of pacing. We just ran this post about building a standing desk for writing on your feet. Automate Tasks. Most people who write every day can benefit greatly from automating repetitive tasks that they perform. If you use Word, definitely get to know how to create and use macros for creating scripts that can automate tasks. Also learn how to save and reapply styles. If you’re a Firefox user, you can also create macros for writerly tasks you perform within the browser, such as loading favorite news sites or blogs that you look at each day. In this post on OStatic, you’ll find a visual step-by-step guide on how to use the iMacros Firefox extension and create your first macro. Write From the Center Out. This is a tip that can really help eliminate writer’s block. When I used to write a lot of news posts, I would put a quote I got from a source in a blank document, write a piece of analysis above it to frame the quote, and then insert a transition sentence right after the quote. Boom, the news story already had a feel to it and some direction even before its official beginning, with no labor over an earth-shaking lead sentence. Try it. Share your writing tips in the comments.      |
| Simple Bookkeeping, Easy Tax Prep Make Outright Really Shine Posted: 01 Apr 2009 07:00 AM PDT Written by Scott Blitstein.
While there’s no shortage of accounting programs available, with varying levels of complexity and pricing, it can be difficult for a small shop to find the right solution. Focusing on ease of use and integration with other web apps, Outright is a great choice for web workers. In reality, the accounting needs of the average solo web worker are usually pretty modest. Record the money in (income) versus your money out (expenses) and be prepared to pay your taxes when they’re due. At its core, Outright is a basic web service designed to allow you to easily track your expenses and income. Using a familiar check register interface, you enter in transaction details and get quick and simple access to the general health of your business. As a member of the Small Business Web initiative I wrote about recently, Outright integrates well with FreshBooks, the invoicing app, and Shoeboxed, the receipt organizer (both also SBW members). In fact, it is when used in conjunction with these other apps that Outright really stands out. While it has all the right things to make data entry easy, like auto-complete and keyboard shortcuts, nothing could be easier than having your existing invoice and expense data imported automatically. When connected to your Freshbooks or Shoeboxed accounts, all transactions are updated nightly and even maintain a link connection so you can get to the original source quickly. There are some challenges with this integration, though. For example, Outright exclusively uses the categories from Schedule C but since Shoeboxed doesn’t have that limitation, there are instances when it is necessary to manually re-assign a category to synced records. I think the folks at Outright don’t stress enough the tax preparation angle when describing the usefulness of their service. With email reminders when quarterly payments are due, estimated payment amounts and a really handy Schedule C printout, using Outright just for the tax preparation functionality alone might make great sense. If you’re already using Freshbooks or Shoeboxed, then getting an Outright account is almost a no-brainer. But even if you’re not using these apps, then Outright is still a very good choice for basic expense and income tracking. oDesk integration was also recently added, and I imagine support for other apps is coming soon, so it might be a good idea to check in occasionally and see if they are supporting your app of choice. Outright is free during the beta period and works wherever you have a browser and Internet connection. How do you manage your books?      |
If you have a problem with procrastination, you might like to try novel to-do list app 
What would you do if your web connection went down right now? You might have a fairly reliable web connection, but faults and maintenance inevitably leave each of us without web access some of the time. If you rely on the web to work, it’s important to have a contingency plan in place.
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