Computers, just like your home office, can become a mess. Files everywhere, no system of organization and a hard drive that’s so gunked up and slow you have time to take a shower while your system loads. Well, give yourself a few hours and you can clean up your computer and have it zipping along. You’ll be organized and ready for anything that comes at you.

#1 Remove unused programs.
This step is easy but it can take some time. Programs can take up large amounts of memory and storage space. If you’re not using them, get rid of them. Each operating system is a bit different but the basic method is to get into your computer’s control panel and click on “add or remove programs.” As you scroll through the programs, simply uninstall those you’re not using. You may need to restart your computer after some programs are removed.

#2 Archive old files.
Chances are you have old files stored on your computer that you no longer access. However, maybe you don’t want to get rid of them completely. You have a couple of options. One is to burn them to a CD or DVD. Label it and store it in a safe place.

Another option is to purchase an external hard drive and store old files on that. You can also use a service that backs up your file or stores them for you. Note: Images, video and audio files take up the most space on your computer. Archiving them or storing them externally is a great way to save space.

#3 Organize your files.
Each person will have their own organization system. That being said, creating a series of folders and subfolders is generally the first step. Organizing your files doesn’t take much time once you have a system. Consider including not only the purpose of the file or a main category but also a date.

For example, if you’re storing articles you would label the main file: Your Business Name
Create a sub file: Articles
Create a sub file within that based on topic or date. Date probably makes more sense: August, 2009 for example. And make sure to name each file within the folder appropriately so searching for the content is quick and easy.

#4 Organize your bookmarks.
Just as you may have random files floating around your hard drive, you more than likely have a ton of bookmarks that are not organized in any particular way. Most bookmarking systems allow you to create folders for your bookmarks. This is great because it enables you to find them quickly and you can create more bookmarks without having to worry about scrolling through that long list of them.

To get the job done, simply click on “bookmarks” on your browser toolbar and choose the “organize” feature. This will allow you to make folders with logical names to store and organize your bookmarks.

#5 Defrag your hard drive and clean up your hard drive.
If you’re computer is still moving slowly, consider analyzing your system and defragging your hard drive. Defragging it essentially lets your computer organize things internally and make space. It doesn’t affect where you’ve placed your files and folders so don’t worry about losing anything. Once again, get into your control panel and look for “Disk cleanup” or analyze systems. It may be in your administrative tools as well.

Stick to your system. Once you’ve created a system for storing and organizing information, stick with it. This way you won’t’ have to do a major purge every couple of months. Your computer will stay clean and clutter free. You may never need one of those “As Seen on TV” programs promising you a computer that’s faster-than-new.

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Have you ever visited a URL and wondered what that little symbol was on the left hand side of the browser bar? It’s a favicon and you can generate one to help brand your website and your business.

What is a Favicon Exactly?

Favicon stands for ‘favorites icon’ and they’re little icons or graphics associated with a website and generally positioned to the left of the URL in your browser bar. Generally favicons come in a few basic sizes including:

* 16×16,
* 32×32,
* 48×48,
* 64×64,
* And 128×128

So How Do You Get These Little Icons to Attach Themselves to Your URL?

Well the easiest way to get one is to first use a Favicon generator. These handy little tools will help you convert an image, or your logo, into a favicon. You can also create your own favicon from scratch by drawing it with an icon drawing program.
The new icon will be saved as favicon.ico.  From that point you will save the icon on your computer.

Next, upload the saved image to the root directory of your web space. If you have a webmaster, send them the image so they can upload it into your root directory.

The last step is to add a line of HTML to the header of your web pages. You’ll want to position it between your and tags. It’ll look something like this:

<link rel="shortcut icon" href="http://www.yoururl.com/favicon.ico" />

This identifies your favicon to web browsers so they can display it whenever someone visits a page on your website.

The last step is to visit your URL in your browser and make sure the favicon is there. If not, double check your html for errors, clear your cache and cookies, and try again.

So Where Can You Find Favicon Generators and Icon Drawing Tools?

The tools I personally use are Adobe Fireworks to create the icon, then a free program called Icon Sushi to make my creation into a perfect icon file. If you don’t want to spend the money on a design program, you can always try Gimp – which is a free Photoshop-like program.

There are many free generators available online. Simply search using the terms “favicon generator” and you’ll find a number of them. And if you want to draw or create one yourself from scratch simply search for “favicon drawing tools” or “icon drawing”.

Adding a favicon to your website is a wonderful way to brand your business. And it’s simple and easy to do. Have fun with it, research other favicons on your favorite websites and your competitors and get creative.

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I remember watching intensely as Steve Jobs walked out to introduce the iPad.  I also remember my hope sinking when I realized what it was… a big iPod Touch.  I was disappointed because I hoped it would be different somehow – video conferencing maybe?  An actual WORK tool?  Who knows… but what I did know, was that besides the larger screen, it was for all intents and purposes, a big iPod Touch.

Then… slowly… the emotion started to build again as bloggers started picking the new gadget to pieces.  Oh, the possibilities!  My insides started to tickle as I imagined holding the beautifully sleek and useful piece of technology on opening day.

I started counting the things I could do with it… read websites like they were newspapers, read books (oh, how bad I need to do-away with my ancient Kindle 2!), play games in HD, read email with great effects upon selecting and deleting an item… how was I going to live without this?

I wasn’t going to live without it.  I was now convinced I had to have it.

As an early adopter of technology, both web and the physical gadgetry, I can easily rationalize “needing” a piece of hardware.  I mean, each new thing that comes out it “supposed” to be better than the last great thing, right? While this is sometimes true, there is always room for some common sense.  And with this particular topic – I decided to inject some.

Reading books: one of the biggest new features from Apple, the iPad allows you to buy and read books.  I’ll be honest – it was easy for me to give up paper books for a Kindle.  It’s much more of stretch for me to give up the ease and readability of a Kindle for a glossy screen version.  Games:  I have PLENTY of things to play games on between an old iPhone 3G (which I don’t use anymore), PS 3, etc.  Apps galore: yes – the apps are probably going to be the one thing that make the iPad “worth” it for many, but when will that turning point be for me?

I’m one who’s seriously excited about the productivity and creative value of the rumored Microsoft Courier (See Engadget for a great overview).  I’d even hold the possibility of replacing my 3-month-old Blackberry 9700 for a new iPhone if the rumors of multi-tasking and a speedy processor are true.

It comes down to this:  what do you need a piece of technology to do for you and how much are you willing to spend in a given year for that technology?  We need to keep in mind that in 3 months, something else will come along and do one particular thing better than the iPad.  What if the one thing you need is mobile video conferencing?  You’ve just blown your load on a really cool iPad that doesn’t do the one thing you need it to.

For me, I need a place to brainstorm, clip notes, hold ideas and memories, check email and feeds – and I need it to be portable.  The new Courier holds those possibilities in a way that no other device does.

The iPad would not be a good investment for me, personally.  Is it a good one for you?

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Are you a Blackberry? I used to be until last year when I switched over to the iPhone 3g. I switched because of asthetics mostly, the web browsing is the nicest of any mobile device, and the application selection is, of course, by far the largest.

However, as I get deeper and deeper into my time with the iPhone, I continue missing things that I thought I could live without. For instance, as soon as I switched, I missed the ability to send emails from several different email accounts. Like many people, I manage all of my emails through a single Gmail account (so I only have one email account setup on my iPhone), but I need to be able to reply from a different email address. On the iPhone, this is next to impossible without major complication. And even if you get it to work – it sometimes doesn’t work, and worse yet, I’ve had to go back and reset it up because the settings were lost. I’m at the point now where I’ve just left it to the one email address, even though it’s not ideal.

I want my multiple addresses back.

Also, as great as all the applications are, the vast majority of them are games. I think I have 3 games on my iPhone – mainly time killers like solitaire and a couple basketball shoot-around games. I don’t want games on my iPhone and I don’t need them. Now, I understand why people do – and the iPhone provides a great game experience for a handheld device – but I just want to GET THINGS DONE.

I can’t do this without email that works how I want it to.

I love seeing the beautiful display of HTML email on my iPhone, I love knowing that no matter what I need to accomplish, that “there’s an app for that.” I love the smooth swipes and scrolls and the beauty that is the iPhone’s software. I just don’t love it enough to keep it.

I’ve been keeping a close eye on the upcoming Blackberry 9700 (Onyx) and 9900 (Pluto) – and I have to say that I’m excited to switch back to Blackberry this winter. It’s recently been discovered that the 9700 Onyx will most likely keep the Bold name (Onyx was just it’s development title). It’s essentially an upgraded Bold in a little bit smaller package than the original Bold 9000 model.

Then there’s the 9900 – thought to be a full-size Bold, but with a touch screen. No, not a Storm-type touch – think a normal Bold (keyboard and all) but the screen is also touch-sensitive. Slick. There hasn’t been any hands-on reports of the 9900 yet, though it’s thought to be coming to AT&T this year.

The 9700, however, has been seen and reviewed quite a bit lately. It’s thought that it will ship later this year with Blackberry’s new 5.0 operating system – which I’m sure will still be light-years behind the iPhone in elegance, but you know what? I bet I’ll be able to send emails efficiently again.

As a home business owner, web-worker and blogger… there are a handful of apps on my iPhone that I count on everyday. MOST of those are also available for the Blackberry. I don’t think I’m going to miss anything except the iPhone’s beautiful design. It’s possible that Apple might address the iPhone’s shortcomings for business in the next version of it’s software, but I’m not interested in waiting around to find out. I need to get stuff done, and to do that, I need my Blackberry back.

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I love paper.  There’s something about the silky-smooth pages of a Moleskine notebook and a high-quality pen that give me a warm and fuzzy feeling.  The Moleskine Volant mini is a relatively new (re)addition to the popular family of notebooks, and well-worth a look.

If you find yourself out and about and needing to make a quick note – maybe you should try turning the pages of a notebook instead of typing something into your phone.  The Moleskine Volant mini is 2.5″ by 4″ and has 56 pages – the last 16 which are perforatted for easy removal.  It’s a perfect pocket-companion for any of the Fisher bullet space pens.

Personally, there are many advantages to having paper available at a moment’s notice.  Whether it’s jotting a quick note-to-self, leaving a note to someone, or making an impromtu list — paper just works however you need it to.  With so many digital companions available (I use my iPhone for almost everything mobile), using paper regularly is a much needed break from the out-of-touch internet world.

Yes, it’s nice to use Evernote to keep all my notes in one location.  Yes, it’s great I can access my Toodledo lists from anywhere.  However, it’s a small notebook and pocket-pen that are the quickest to get an idea out of my head.  It’s a hand-written note to someone that they might remember you by.

I typically export all of my handwritten items to their correct digital place each day.  If I was digital-only, I would pass-up on writing down a lot of list items and ideas – I never have that problem with paper.

I think there’s a place for a physical notebook in everyone’s workflow, and with the Moleskine Volant mini – you really don’t have an excuse!

Do you use paper in your life?  Let me know how you manage it in the comments!

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Until digital products can completely recreate (and improve) the process of capturing information on paper – paper products are going to be with us.

I day-dream daily about what my future digital Moleskine notebook will look and feel like.  I kind of envision it as a Kindle, but with input/sync ability, less bulky, and a bigger screen.  But it’s just a dream… for now.

A friend and author, William Aicher, recently wrote about how he doesn’t like reading books anymore – the paper versions of them at least.  From a reader’s perspective I can see how this might be true.  He mentions font-adjusting and the waste of one-and-done books that essentially turn into shelf-decor once you’re done reading.  The Kindle, for readers, has changed people’s lives by leaps-and-bounds.

When will writers, sketchers, and thinkers have the same ability?

I’m not going to argue that there are products that exist already.  A couple popular ones are:
- LiveScribe SmartPen (use only with their paper)
- SolidTek DigiMemo (clipboard-like device that uses normal paper)

The problem, in my eyes, with these devices is that none of them gives a user the notebook-like ability we’re looking for.   I don’t carry legal-sized notebooks, and I don’t want to buy special paper. Here’s what I want to replace:

- Moleskine planner
- Moleskine journal
- Moleskine notebook/sketchbook/project book
- Screen with a look and feel of paper
- Sell pen-inserts instead of whole pens.  That way I can  use my own pen modified for a digital screen.

This needs to be about the same size as a large Moleskine (8″x5″), have selectable backgrounds for each page (blank, ruled, squared), separate internal notebooks/sections/tabs, separate planner, and most of all – super easy syncing with whatever I want.

Of course, the digital notebooks and planner need to completely and efficiently recognize my handwriting for syncing to my web calendar, Evernote, To Do list, etc.

Mike Rohde posted a little digital Moleskine concept that got me thinking about this (credit to him for the image used in this post).  The only thing I’m against from his post is the over-use of ports on the digital Moleskine.  I’d prefer to see this product be 100% wireless/Bluetooth – as close to the look and feel of a Moleskine as possible.

Honestly, I’m not sure why this item doesn’t exist.  I can see it being an easy sell at up to $300-400.  The fact is, the hardware is out there for this piece – but it’s the software for handwriting and syncing that hasn’t caught up yet.

But it will.  And when it does, I’ll be in line at Best Buy (or, more likely, virtually in line on Amazon).

I have to admit here that my use of digital products such as Evernote and Remember The Milk has made me use my Moleskines less and less.  The ONLY reason for this is that they’re accessible anywhere, searchable, and very easy to manage.  To accomplish the same feats in a paper-book would drive me nuts having to keep it updated and organized.

So now I primarily use Moleskines for ideas and planning, to do lists for the immediate future (today at work, for example), and some journaling.

The goal here is efficiency.  My belief is that this digital Moleskine would be able to replace many physical and digital products I currently use to record, list, or plan my days.

Until my ultimate device is available, I’ll be enjoying the feel of Moleskine pages between my fingers, paging through them to find what it was I was writing about last week, and stacking them on my shelves at home when I’m done with them.

What do you think?  Is this even something you’re interested in or am I in a fantasy land, hopeless and dreamy?

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With RSS feeds, Twitter, and all sorts of other instant communication, email still tops the list of the best broad-contact method marketers use to get response from their base of customers or fans.  My journey through different autoresponders has often landed back to GetResponse vs. Aweber.

The money is in your list!  So, it’s fair to say that choosing an autoresponder to use for your home business, website, etc. is probably one of the most important choices you can make.  I’ll give you one man’s opinion on the 2 most popular services, as well as a couple others I’ve used along the way.

Aweber vs. GetResponse

We’ll start and end with the big boys.  Now, there are other autoresponders out there, and I’ll mention a few at the end, but most of the people looking to start with an autoresponder, or find the right email management system to move into, are going to end up trying to choose between these two companies: Aweber and GetResponse.

Several years ago, when I started a (fairly strong) email newsletter geared towards hip-hop music, I signed up with Aweber.  They seemed to be the leader at that time, the price was decent (I think it was still $20/mo back then too), and it did what I needed it to do – easily.  I had about 5,000 subscribers on that list and it didn’t cost me anything to send out as many emails as I felt was necessary.

Then along came a problem.  A few months ago, Aweber changed it’s subscriber policy.  Here’s how the old and new policies compare:

Old: $19.95/mo for 10,000 subscribers plus $9.95/mo per additional 10,000 subscribers.  NIce, right?  Well the new one is: $19.95/mo for 500 subscribers, $29.95 for up to 2500 subscribers, $49.95 for up to 5000 subscribers, and then it goes up from there.

My old list would’ve been costing me $49 per month to maintain – not that there’s anything wrong with that at all – but the difference in those two pricing structures is amazing.  For someone with a 10,000 person list, the old price would’ve been $20 and the new price is $69.  That’s quite the jump.

That brings us to GetResponse.  I had tried their trial program years back when comparing to Aweber, and there was a reason I didn’t choose them: their system seemed overly complicated even for someone like me who knew what they were doing.  I can say without doubt, they’ve remedied this.  Although their service is loaded with options, they’re relatively easy to figure out even if you’re new – and if you are new, they have some nice help videos to get you started.

Here’s the other thing with GetResponse — their autoresponder pricing structure is still comparable to the good ‘ole days: $17.95 per month for up to 10,000 subscribers plus $4.95 per month for each additional 10,000 subscribers.

But maybe I’m comparing apples to oranges?  Maybe GetResponse’s service just isn’t as good as Aweber’s?  I’ve heard compelling arguments regarding Aweber’s delivery rates – they’re supposedly over 99%, which is amazing.  I’ve also heard that GetResponse’s are around 98% – no too shabby either.  Feature-wise, both services offer almost everything you need to run multiple autoresponders from one account; easy templates, form creation, contact management, and much more.

A plus for Aweber is they have a really well-done system (email parsing) for integrating into different shopping carts.  For instance, you can usually set in shopping cart software the email addresses to notify of a sale… well, Aweber will give you an email address to forward sales to and it can parse out the user’s email address and name and add them to your list (for many services).

On the other side, GetResponse actually has a public API which allows developers to create integration with the GetResponse system very tightly.  I don’t know if this is new or what, as I’ve had a hard time finding anyone who has integrated with GetResponse yet, but this could be a huge thing for someone who wants to custom integrate their autoresponder with their shopping cart, membership system, blog member system, forum, and anything else you can think of that involves a name and email address.

In the end, I emailed Aweber and asked if I could move back to their old plan (I had previously left Aweber for ListMailPro, see below).  They declined, so I switched to GetResponse and I think I’ll be with them for the long-haul.

The GetResponse vs. Aweber Result

Based mainly on price per subscriber, I’ve chose to go with GetResponse.  All the other tools I need are there, and I really like the fact they have the developer API available to use when necessary.  I know that some readers may be die-hard Aweber fans, but it’s probably also true that those same readers have been grandfathered-in to the old pricing structure.  If those same people were about to sign up new, it would be a tough pill to swallow thinking about your list growing up into the thousands and then ten thousands.

Other Autoresponders I’ve Used:

iContact – This is a good autoresponder if you’re looking for the basics.  It’s clean and very easy to use, but didn’t have much of anything as far as integration into other software.
ListMailPro - This is a php script, and a very, very good one.  It’s loaded with features – almost any feature you could want. I used ListPro for about 4 years with no problems, but what I’ve determined is this:  I’d rather spend money every month on a company who manages white-listing, delivery, and email law for me — I don’t have the time or desire to do that.

As a side note, the music company I work for manages a 500,000+ email list using a $100,000+ server along with thousands in monthly maintenance and bandwidth costs.  I’ll stick with GetResponse for now. ;)

What autoresponder do you use?  Which have you tried? Which one are you leaning towards?

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Anytime you can customize something to meet your individual needs, the results are sure to be improved.  Just about everybody would benefit from improved results in their lives and that is where the productivity formula comes in.  The greater number of life’s little interruptions you can manage at the moment as they come along, while still progressively moving forward on your target project, will increase productivity and success.  With that in mind, let’s look at these self help tips to put a productivity formula in place for you.

You must have a clear plan.  Are you daily tasks leading you somewhere, or are they simply getting you by?  Take some time to review your long term projects and goals.  Your daily task lists should be the product of those bigger projects being broken down.  If your daily tasks are not leading you toward your bigger picture, start over.  Make every task count.

Organize and prioritize.  You have reviewed your goals and made sure that they are supported by your daily tasks.  Prioritizing those tasks will keep you on schedule and help keep you from putting your energy and time in the wrong places.

Be good to your body and mind and give them a break.  We know that they perform better when provided with adequate rest and stimulation, yet we continue to abuse them.  Take a walk or get up and stretch.  Your creative juices will get flowing again and you will never miss the few minutes you sacrificed.

Eat lunch.  Again, take care of your body.  Just because you are working through lunch, does not mean you are producing good quality work.  Appreciate the difference and give your body the fuel it needs to recharge and get the job done.

Track progress and recognize your own achievements, no matter how small.  You will be motivated to continue and achieve more success.

Deal with as many of the unexpected interruptions that you can, as they come.  They usually just take a minute from what you are doing, but will turn into hours of daunting work if neglected.

It does not matter whether you are working on a big budget project at work or cleaning out your garage at home.  Things need to get done.  The completion of that work is productivity.  Creating a productivity plan for you will put you on track to reaching your maximum success in life, work, and beyond.

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