While I’m not overly thrilled with my long-term bank Wells Fargo, mainly because of their recent assault of unexpected monthly fees across all of my accounts (I do all of my personal and business banking with them, including my mortgage), there are some things they’re doing very well…and that’s what the focus of this article is about.

Today I deposited a number of checks into both my personal and business checking accounts.  I got my checks lined up, signed, and added up the totals for each account so I could fill out my deposit envelopes when I got to the ATM machine.  It’s a routine, really.

I got to the bank and was disappointed to see that the envelope dispenser was empty.  No, wait…it’s not even THERE anymore.  What?  I walked around the ATM with a confused look, half expecting the new envelope dispenser to jump out of somewhere and bite me.  I’m sure I entertained at least a couple of on-lookers.

Eventually, I spotted a sticker where the envelope dispenser used to be.  This ATM no longer requires envelopes, it exclaimed.  I stared in astonishment.  Then I got excited to see how this might have been implemented…and immediately got distracted by my own pessimism about how this is probably something to benefit Wells Fargo and not me (like the plethora of fees I now pay).

So, off we go.  I insert my first first ATM card for the account I only have one check to deposit…I figure I’d better go easy on this new system until I get the hang of it.  I insert the check, sans envelope, and listen to it churn for a couple seconds.  Poof, there’s a snapshot of my check on-screen including the amount of the check.  Yes, it read a hand-written check perfectly.  I clicked the green confirm button, and got a receipt…WITH an image of the check on it. 

<blink> <blink>

Wow, that was cool.  Ok, let’s see what it does with 7 checks at once.  Stacked ‘em all up (you don’t have to insert them individually) and shoved ‘em in.  Listened to the system sort the checks and start sifting through them.  In all, it probably took 10 seconds for the entire process and I was staring at snaps of my checks and amounts for each on the screen.  I confirmed and got a receipt with, you guessed it, all seven checks printed with amounts. 

Awesome.

I have to give kudos to Wells Fargo for a VERY slick system.  Not only does it remove my pain of having to fill out (or even find) envelopes, do math, and lick an envelope…but it also saves a few trees along the way, by entirely eliminating envelopes.

Now, if they would simply allow me to deposit my checks by taking photo of them via my Wells Fargo iPhone app, like USAA Bank…I might have to do a little dance.  Take a look at a video demo of what USAA is doing below. 

How is your bank making you happy?

I recently had the pleasure gutting and organizing my garage a couple weeks back, and thought I would share my story.  In speaking with friends, family, and strangers about my adventure, I know I’m not the only one out there who’s collected far too much stuff to keep organized.

When I started, I had waist-to-chest high stuff all over the place and had to jump over items to get from one end of the garage to another.  When all was said and done, I gave away three truckloads of household stuff, another truckload of automotive parts, and filled up a 4’ H x 4’ W x 6’ L dumpster…to the rim.  I could have sold two or three of those truckloads (garage sale, Craig’s List, eBay, etc), but chose to give them away as I knew they were going to a good cause.

STEP 1 – Acquire Tools

1. Rent a dumpster.  Yes, you heard me.  Rent a dumpster.  You’ll be amazed at the motivation a big green dumpster in your driveway can deliver.  I kept mine for a week.  I used Dumpster.com (a Waste Management company).
2. Purchase storage shelves.  There is a lots of stuff available for cheap on-line…or you can do what I did.  I purchased plastic shelving stand-alone units that’re easy to assemble and move if necessary (note these are not the ones I bought, but they’re very similar).  I got a couple from Lowe’s (or try Home Depot, etc), and also got some freebee’s from a friend. 
3. Acquire small storage boxes to go on the shelves (plastic bins, cardboard boxes, whatever works for you).  Since I was unloading so much stuff, I was able to re-usable bins and boxes that were made available.  You may find as you unload stuff, you free up a number of boxes for re-use.
4. Acquire a permanent marker.
5. Build a spreadsheet in Excel or Google Apps Spreadsheet (or use an old fashioned pen and paper if that works for you!)  More on this later…

STEP 2 - Categorize

Empty your garage.  Put everything out on the driveway / yard so you can work with a clean slate.  You’ll likely have to move them in and out a couple times if this isn’t a one-day job (mine took about 4 days at a fairly relaxed pace). 

Categorize your stuff into four piles:

1. Stuff to sell
2. Stuff to donate / give-away
3. Stuff to throw away
4. Stuff to keep

STEP 3 – Downsize

Start throwing stuff away, start giving stuff away, start selling stuff, and start putting things away you’d really like to keep!

Use the permanent marker to put a number on each box.  Use your spreadsheet to keep track of what each number represents.  For example, the box with a “1” on it contains your high-school keepsakes.  The box with the “2” on it has your important documents.  When you move something from one box to another, you don’t have to actually re-write anything on the container…you simply change your spreadsheet.

Additional Tips for Success:

Have a friend come over and evaluate what you plan on keeping.  It’s in your best interest to pick a friend who’s actually well organized and lives a clutter-free existence!  Don’t cheat and ask the friend who has more stuff than you do!  This person will help put a non-biased opinion on what you should keep or get rid of.

Take photos of memorabilia you are struggling to throw away but can’t really see the need to keep them in a box.  For example, I took photos of all my old trophies as a kid and they now rotate in my screensaver with all my other photos.  It’s a nice reminder, and a kept memory…but without the clutter!

Tell all your friends you’re undertaking this project.  There’s nothing like a little peer pressure to keep you motivated to complete your project.

I’m living in glee right now, by the way.  There’s nothing like reclaiming what’s rightfully yours (your garage) so that you can actually use it for something beneficial…you know, like your CAR.  This was an immensely gratifying project for me, and well worth the time spent on it.

Good luck!

EDIT 2009.05.30:  I've tested with SugarSync successfully, and have heard that Live Mesh works as well.

I just started messing around with OneNote the other day, and I have to say it's pretty impressive.  The ability to cut/paste, annotate, tag, and organize just about anything in any way is something I wasn't expecting but was pleasantly surprised to see.  <tips hat to Microsoft on this one>

One of the biggest criteria I have for just about any application I use these days is mobility.  I want to be able to use it at home, at work, on my phone, and on the web.  Simply put, I want it synchronized anywhere I am.  Some of the applications I use and share today:

• Email.  I have my own mail server and connect to it using IMAP from Thunderbird, Outlook, my iPhone, and the web.
• File Sharing.  I use Dropbox to maintain a small group of files that I need to access anywhere, anytime via multiple PCs, my iPhone, or the web.
• Bookmarks / Favorites.  I use Xmarks (previous Foxmarks) to synchronize all of my favorites, across browsers or operating systems, on all my PCs and on the web.  Ultimately, these also get sync'd to my iPhone via iTunes.
• Feed Aggregation.  I use Google Reader to gather the multitude of feeds and searches that I follow.  Available on the web from any PC and on my iPhone.
• ...and now, after some messing around and testing, it seems I've come up with a solution for Note Taking.

Granted, I'm likely not the first person to do this...but hey, ya never know!

So...the trick is determining what to do with OneNote across the Internet.  How can you share it amongst geographically dispersed PCs?  Well, if you're trying to share it within your organization, OneNote will allow you to collaborate across a file share or other domain-type resource (built-in functionality).  But, if you're trying to share with a personal computer, a work computer, or a friend's computer in Timbuktu...you need an external solution.  That solution for me was Dropbox.

Dropbox is an application that you attach to a particular folder on your PC and it will syncronize it with the web and any other PC attached to this folder.  It's got good security, speed, and not too much overhead on your CPU.  When you make changes to file, particularly large ones, it will only push out the difference (as opposed to the entire file) - thus saving on time and bandwidth.

How do we go about connecting these two?  Below is a pretty straight-forward step-by-step for setting up OneNote to work over a Dropbox file share.  I've been using this between home and work for a week or so now, and it's been great.  The beauty of it, is you can collaborate with the other person...and within a few seconds of making a change on one PC, it will be seen on the other PCs!

Step 1:  Install Dropbox on PC #1

(http://www.getdropbox.com)

Step 2:  Install OneNote on PC #1

(http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/onenote)
OneNote is a part of Office, so you may just have to "enable" it if you've already got Office installed

Step 3:  Open OneNote

Step 4:  Create a New Notebook

Step 5:  Name Your New Notebook

Give your new Notebook a name.  Aside from the name displayed in OneNote, this will also become a sub-folder within Dropbox. 

Step 6:  Set Folder Location to a Dropbox Folder

Most Vista users will have a Path structure similar to this for Dropbox.  I've decided to put it in my "Private" Dropbox folder, and created a "OneNote" folder to include any and all of my OneNote Notebooks.  Also note the circled portion, with the "My Shared Network" folder being created.  This is the name chosen in the above step.

Step 7:  Set the Type of Sharing You'd Like to Have

My understanding is that the option I've chosen here allows multiple people to make changes to the Notebook simultaneously.  This is where the magic is.  Even if you have OneNote open on multiple PCs, changes on one will cause Dropbox to send updates to other machines.  When the other machines get updates, OneNote will make adjustments and display those changes on-the-fly.  It can take a few seconds, but it certainly works!  Of course, if you only use one of them at a time it will show the updates when you open at the other PC.

Step 8:  Repeat Steps #1 and #2 on your Second (Third, Fourth, etc...) PCs

Step 9:  Open the Shared Dropbox Folder on PC #2 (3, 4, etc...)

Step 10:  Start Taking Notes!

It's really pretty much that simple!

Now if I could only get OneNote working on my iPhone...I would be the happiest guy ever.  Is that weird?  If anyone has any thoughts on a better note-taking application (with similar features to OneNote) that might be available on the iPhone, I'd be interested to hear them...currently, that's the only drawback for me on this solution.

It's rare that I run across an article that makes me want to link it in my blog directly.  Normally, I'll Digg it, or Tweet it, or put it in my Shared News, or something similar so it shows up in my LifeStream (the side-bar to the left).  However, this one deserves special mention. 

It's a list of 32 applications that you, geek or not, might very well find useful in some form or another.  I use about 40% of these on a regular basis.  If the list wasn't enough, they also provide 10 more "honorable mentions" and a final application that will install them all for you automatically. 

It includes applications for Directory Visualization, Ripping DVD / Blu-Ray, PDFs, Virtualization, Gaming, File Syncrhonization, Search, Encryption, IP Telephony (Voice Over IP), CPU / GPU Specs, Media (music, video, photo, audio, image), File Transfer, Secure Password Storage, Productivity, Anti-Virus...and the list really goes on.  It's very much worth a look.

Maximum PC's 32 Totally Essential (and Free) Applications for PCs

The one application I disagree with...or, better yet, I simply use another...is the Photoshop replacement.  They recommend Gimp, I use (and have used for some time) Paint.NET. 

Image (and story) Credit:  Maximum PC

We live in a very distractable world.  Email, Instant Messanger, Cell Phones, Home Phone (if you still have one), Text Messages, Desk Phone.  No matter where you are, you can be interrupted.  Sometimes in more ways than just one...  How many times has this happened to you:

• You're on a call at your desk, and another call beeps in.  You have to ignore it, as...you're on another call.
• Your cell phone then rings.  Again, you can't answer...and you scramble to find it and mute it so the person on the other line isn't annoyed.
• Meanwhile, your desk voicemail lights up...and if you're really cool, an email with that voicemail pops into your inbox.
• Your Instant Messanger starts lighting up (why are you looking at that while you're on a phone call anyway?)
• That cell phone voice mail finally alarms letting you know you have a voice mail.
• Soon after, a text message comes in from the same person saying, "Call me".  Really?  I had no idea.  <grin> 

Ok, that probably hasn't happened to all of us at that extreme of a scenario, but we can all certainly relate to bits and pieces of it.  These interruptions come at any time of day, and sometimes at very inopportune times (since when did the bathroom lose it's sacredness?!)  This interruption-mania doesn't even take into account the (literally) hundreds of Social Networks many use as distractions...Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, LinkedIn (and that is barely the tip of the iceberg).  How is it that we get anything done?

Are we handling this new found immediate gratification and communication at our fingertips well?  I suppose it depends on where you spend most of your time.  The majority of my day is spent at work, like many of you.  In most cases interruptions are quite counter productive to, well...productivity.  Don't get me wrong, interruptions also have benefits...and I'll get into those...the ones in immediate focus are those you have (apparently) no control over.  But...you do.

I was sparked into this post by an entry at the Manager-Tools blog that briefly discusses the concept of "toast".  These are the little pop-ups that slide their way into your vision located in the bottom-right of your screen.  IM's, emails, whatever...little pieces of toast coming out of the toaster that you can't help but look at.  Don't kid yourself, most of you will probably look at one while reading this post.  Frankly, if you haven't been distracted away from this post by one of them...I'd be surprised!  The irony that Manager-Tools brings forth is a nice play on words..."If you're paying attention to the toast, you're toast."

How many times have you been in a meeting, formal or not, where the person speaking simply stops mid-sentence to focus on their PC or phone?  How many people in meetings are typing away on their Smart Phones, clearly oblivious to the conversation around them?  Have you noticed while having a conversation with someone on the phone that they occasionally drift away...clearly focusing on something else at the same time?  How many times have you caught yourself pausing in the middle of something to look at a piece of toast on your screen?  Don't kid yourself, it likely happens more than you even realize.

These are distractions that pull us all away from directing our focus at the person who's kindly requested our focus. 

There's a cost associated with this type of activity.  In some ways it's directly financially tangible, but in others it's more indirect.

1. Lowered morale of those left waiting because something that can likely be dealt with later is given higher priority, leaving them with the feeling that you believe your time is more important than theirs.  As a manager, this would be an awful situation to put yourself into.
2. Opportunity cost of those waiting for the key stakeholder to return their focus.  How much of their collective time could have been spent on something productive, how much does idle time cost the company...or you if it's your company?
3. Despite how good you think you are at multitasking, you're going to miss something.  Sooner or later, it's going to be something important.  You're going to regret not paying full attention to those around you who need your full attention, and you'll be left dealing with a loss of #1 and #2 (morale and cost) all over again.
4. How long does it take you to get your train of thought back once you've finished your distraction?  Once you finally remember to get back to it, you have to get your brain back into that mode.  This rings especially true for software developers, project managers, or others who have to focus on the short-term as well as the future simultaneously.  To clearly do your job, you thrust yourself into a virtual world where you plan and make a long-term solution happen.  It's surprising how long it can take to get you back into that mindset.
5. Learning is usually compromised by distractions.  I apologize for not having direct citings, but I've read about a few studies that show that learning while multitasking is much less efficient.  The bottom line (to what could be an entire topic by itself) is that distracted learning may allow you to make similarly accurate decisions on occasion, but you may not fully understand why it's the right decision to make.  This is due to the way your brain ends up processing the information you're learning and ultimately storing (or not storing) it in long-term memory, as there are very different methods used during focused and distracted learning.

So, back to the most common types of communication many of us use...  Are they being used correctly in your environment?  Part of eliminating distractions has to do with the people around you.  If someone calls your cell phone every time they need something, regardless of how important it is, that can be a bit of a distraction.  In my estimation, a call to the cell phone is typically the sign of a very important item....but it may not be used that way by others.

Below I've listed, by order of my perceived priority, the most common types of communication available to us in the workplace.  It should be noted that there are always valid exceptions to any rule, especially this one.  I can't say enough about how important in-person communication can be to a productive working environment.  Just because it's listed as #1 on my list doesn't mean that you should never contact someone in person unless it's vitally urgent.  There are many other circumstances at play here, and there is no black-and-white definition on how communication should happen.  This is merely meant to be a framework or guideline for prioritization of communication.

Aside from prioritizing each communication type, I've also included a few bullet points on how this type of communication should likely be used.

1. In Person
   • Requires face-to-face collaboration
   • Quick or substantial discussion needing immediate attention
2. Cell Phone Call
   • Requires substantial discussion
   • Requires immediate attention
   • Is tied for #1 if the person calling does not have the ability to quickly find you in person
3. Desk Phone Call
   • Requires substantial discussion
   • Important but can wait until you're at your desk
4. Text Message
   • Requires quick question / answer
   • Relatively urgent answer required
   • Could arguably be placed at #3, but I put it here because it's usually a shorter communication
5. Instant Message
   • Requires quick question / answer
   • Important but can wait until you're at your desk
6. Email
   • Requires substantial information to be shared
   • Requires documents or other files to be shared
   • Can wait until you're in front of your computer
7. Everything Else
   • Low priority

This is all fine and good, but what do I do to enforce this?  How to I keep these distractions at bay so I am not constantly distracted?  For this list, I'm going to start from the bottom up.  The least urgent items get first attention here.

• Everything Else
  • Social Networks and other items do not require immediate attention in 99% of the workplaces.  I'm sure there are some organizations that thrive by using these systems, but for most of us they're nothing more than distractions.  Disable all alerts to your email, to your phone, or to any other place.  Turn them off.  Look at these sites on your lunch break or when you're at home.  Do not allow these sites to dictate when you should be doing something...you own your time.  If you need something specific, by all means, go for it...just don't get caught up in their notification loops.  These sites selfishly want you coming back, don't forget that.
• Email
  • Turn off your pop-up toast!  You'll be amazed how much more productive you'll be with this one simple modification.  Email is low priority, and if you get as many emails as I do in a day...that constant pop-up will keep you from ever getting anything done.  Here's a quick tutorial on how to disable Outlook 2007 pop-ups.  A little Google Searching will likely find you where to change options in whatever mail client you use.
  • There are many recommendations on how often you should check your email.  For me, this depends on what kind of project I'm working on.  If I need to sit down and grind on something uninterrupted for a while, it may be a couple hours before I get to it.  In most cases, once an hour is probably good unless you have nothing else going on (lucky you).  For some, once every 30 minutes would be OK.
  • If others are using email as high-priority in an organization that doesn't function that way, politely ask them to contact you using different methods if it's more urgent. 
  • Turn off email notifications on your phone.  There is rarely a need for this.  People grow to hate their Smart Phones because they say they can "never get away from work" because of them.  The reality is, most of these comments are based on constant harranging due to email notifications.  Turn them off and look at email when you want to, not when it wants you to.  Smart Phone life can be good!
  • If it helps you, politely ask people to start CC'ing you on things that you just need to be aware of.  This is another layer of productivity that'll help you find the important items in your inbox quickly...when you do decide it's right for you to get to your inbox.
• Instant Message
  • Again, turn off the pop-up toast!  Turn off the blinking task bar items.  Turn off any other creative "look at me" notifications the IM clients provide.
  • Don't allow people to write novels in IM, and don't allow this inflectionless quick communication to lead to misunderstanding.  It's meant for quick question / answer solutions.  If you're going back-and-forth with someone, pick up the phone and have a 2 minute conversation and get it over with instead of banging on your keyboard for 15 minutes (and being distracted all along the way).
• Text Message
  • Get comfortable with putting your phone on mute.  Do it regularly, in particular when you cannot be bothered due to an urgent in-person or phone conversation.  Granted, a text message should be used for relatively urgent communication, but some things are more urgent than others.
  • Much like IM, do not attempt to have long and productive conversations over Texting in a short period of time and without distraction.  Use the other fancy feature on that phone...the phone!
• Desk Phone
  • Turn the volume down and choose a more appealing ringer if you have that option.  I'm not saying to ignore this communication tool, that would be counter-productive.  However, turning it down and/or using an amicable ringer is less alarming and startling to your thought process.  You will be able to field the call and get back to your groove quicker if you didn't jump out of your seat or become irritated by that annoying ringer sound.
• Cell Phone
  • The same desk phone ringer suggestion applies here.
  • Additionally, much like the text messaging suggestion...get familiar with your mute button.  Turn that ringer off when appropriate.
  • See the phone email notification section under Email above...turn these off!
• In Person
  • If you're one of the lucky ones with an office, shut your door.  This signifies that you're busy and only urgent items will result in a knock on the door.
  • If that isn't enough, and you really need privacy, put a sign on the door that says something to the effect of, "Please do not interrupt unless you are on fire."  You may choose your words more wisely if you wish.  <chuckle>
  • If you have the option to work at home, that's always a solution.  I will warn, however, that in many cases the remaining communication tools will increase in their use due to you being out of the office.
  • Finally, one of the simplest and most effective forms of getting yourself some focus time is to politely tell your employees and/or coworkers that you have to focus and would appreciate if interruptions could be avoided.  This one really works wonders (as long as you're not asking that every day!)

Are distractions ever a good thing?  After reading this article (assuming you've even gotten this far), you may believe I think they are pure evil.  Not true.  Distractions are good, and can be good if used correctly.  Here are a few reasons how they can be beneficial:

1. If used on your terms, meaning, you initiated the distraction on your own because you needed to hit the mental reset button.  Get up, stretch, walk around a bit to get the blood flowing again.
2. If you've been struggling with a problem for some time and are fighting to get to a solution, step away for a while.  It's amazing how our minds can keep working on a problem subconsciously, and in many cases that subconscious thought will result in a successful solution...sometimes when you least expect it.  Sometimes sleeping on a problem is even better, as you'll wake up in the morning refreshed and occasionally with a new solution that your sleeping mind helped devise.

Some will ultimately argue with these views.  One argument that I've heard many times is, "I have to keep up on my inbox or I'll get too far behind."  So, they focus on it on-the-fly to keep it from queueing up.  I disagree with this mentality because I don't believe these people realize how much productivity they lose in distraction time (I was one of those people, by the way).  Jamming through all your emails on a 60-minute (or even a 30-minute) basis is a great way to focus on email and get it cleaned up.  Meanwhile, the other projects you've been working on don't suffer because you've neglected them due to email distractions.

If you don't agree...I'll only ask you to give it an honest shot.  I have been, and on occasion still am, a distraction junkie.  I live in the same world you do.  But, in making some subtle changes in how I manage distractions I've become more productive...and really, a lot happier.  Oh, and I still get more than my share of good, clean, positive distractions in!