The Magic of DonorsChoose — Join Me and Reddit Co-Founder Alexis Ohanian for Dinner

DonorsChoose.org is the first charity named to Fast Company’s 50 Most Innovative Companies in the World.

I dislike most non-profits because — good intentions aside — they get little or no results.

DonorsChoose, on the other hand, is incredibly effective. In this month’s Vanity Fair, Melinda Gates describes them as “Kickstarter for classrooms.” Here’s her short article, which includes a photo spread by Annie Leibovitz. I make a guest appearance, which was a dream come true.

Here’s why I’m on their advisory board: To me, poor education is the root cause of most of our problems. DonorsChoose (DC) is helping to fix education.

This post launches a competition. If you’ve ever benefited from anything I’ve written, I’d kindly ask you to participate.

The four winners will get flown to dinner with me, Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian, and DonorsChoose’s founder, Charles Best. Roundtrip economy airfare to/from NYC is covered for all four winners.

Ready? Here are the details…

· TIMING: Monday, May 13 through June 3. This is a three-week campaign of goodness.

· PRIZES: The top two “fundraisers,” as well as two randomly chosen “donors,” will win dinner in NYC (or San Francisco) with Reddit founder Alexis Ohanian, DonorsChoose.org founder Charles Best, and me. Roundtrip economy airfare is covered.

· HOW TO WIN: There are two ways to win — roll the dice, or be master of your own fate.

Random shot:

Step 1: Donate to a classroom on my Giving Page here. For bonus points and good karma, share the link far and wide: www.donorschoose.org/tim

Step 2: Cross your fingers! Once the campaign ends, DC.org will select and announce two random winner(s) who donated to my page.

Master your own fate — make dinner happen:

Step 1: Create your own “Giving Page,” by choosing the “4-Hour Chef” category from this page.

Step 2: Add a picture, description, and classroom projects to your page. Choose whichever projects you like. This will automatically add your Giving Page to my Leaderboard.

Step 3: If you like, add the 4-Hour Chef widget (on the “Create a Giving Page”) to your website, etc.

Step 4: Fundraise! Do your best to get the most donors and/or the most money into classrooms. There will be two “master of fate” winners: 1) most money raised, and 2) most donors on your page.

###

Please note: This competition is about being resourceful… and not about how many resources you personally have. So, don’t be intimidated.

I’ve run online fundraisers in the past, and the McGyvers win more often than the Donald Trumps. Be bold and get creative.

Hope to raise a glass of wine to you soon

Go get it!

Tim

Posted on May 13th, 2013

View the original article here

8 talks about the making of movie magic

“Movies have proved to be the ultimate medium for magic,” says Don Levy in today’s talk.

A member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and former senior vice president of marketing and communications at Sony Pictures, Levy has always been fascinated by the sleights of hand that filmmakers use to create illusions. And he knows he is far from alone. In the 117 years since the Lumière Brothers terrified audiences with their Train Pulling Into a Station (1896), Levy explores how visual effects have evolved.

“With complete control of everything the audience can see, movie makers have created an arsenal of techniques to further their deceptions,” says Levy. “Playing with the world and our perception of it really is the essence of visual effects.”

But Levy knows that words cannot capture the goosebump-raising experience of seeing something wonderful on a big screen. So, with the help of the Academy, he created an exclusive video for TED showing the evolution of effects. This thrilling montage pairs similar clips from different points in the history of film — George Méliès’ A Trip to the Moon (1902) compared to 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968’s Academy Award winner for Visual Effects) and Avatar (Visual Effects Oscar winner in 2009), and the crowd scenes of Ben Hur (1925) contrasted with those in Gladiator (which won the 2000 Oscar for Visual Effects).

Watch Levy’s talk, which is a feast for the eyes and imagination. And after the jump, see seven more talks about movie magic.

Rob Legato: The art of creating awe
Rob Legato is the visual effects master behind Apollo 13, Titanic and Hugo. In this clip-filled talk from TEDGlobal 2012, he shares how he recreates events that actually happened — making them both more fantastical and more authentic at the same time. (Bonus: want to know Legato’s favorite visual effects? Check out the TED Blog post “An Oscar-winning visual effects supervisor picks the 5 movies that floored him visually.”)

Beeban Kidron: The shared wonder of film
Human beings create identities through narratives. In this talk from TEDSalon London Spring 2012, British filmmaker Beeban Kidron — director of Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason — shares why she thinks it’s important for children to watch films, both new and old. “Cinema is arguably the 20th century’s most influential art form … [But] we are increasingly offered a diet in which sensation, not story, is king,” says Kidron. “If we could raid the annals of 100 years of film, maybe we could build a narrative that would deliver meaning to the fragmented and restless world of the young.”

James Cameron: Before Avatar … a curious boy
Director James Cameron created the incredible alien world of Avatar, and brought us all back to Titanic. In this talk from TED2010, he shares how a childhood filled with curiosity — at both the news of the late ‘60s and the science-fiction of the day — shaped the realities he’s creating now.

Jeff Skoll makes movies that matter
In this talk from TED2007, producer Jeff Skoll shines a light on another type of movie magic — the ability to make social issues come to life. He shares the vision of his film company, Participant Productions, behind An Inconvenient Truth, and why he’s compelled to use this medium for good.

JJ Abrams: The mystery box
Writer, director and producer JJ Abrams layers mysteries in his television series Alias and Lost, and in his big-screen reimagining of Star Trek. At TED2007, Abrams credits his imagination to his grandfather, who he calls the “ultimate deconstructor,” always intent on figuring out how things work.

Jehane Noujaim wishes for a global day of film
Can movies bring us all together? Yes, says filmmaker Jehane Noujaim, who made the powerful documentary Control Room. In this talk from TED2006, she accepts the TED Prize and shares her wish: for the world to learn more about each other through a day of collective movie-watching.

Franco Sacchi tours Nigeria’s booming Nollywood
Hollywood isn’t the only game in town when it comes to creating spectacle on film. In this talk from TEDGlobal 2007, Franco Sacchi shares the story of Nollywood, Nigeria’s booming film industry. These filmmakers, often with budgets of less than $10K, shoot their features guerilla-style, sometimes in as little as a week.

View the original article here

The Magic of Apprenticeship — A How-To Guide

In 1902, Einstein (far right) formed “The Olympia Academy” with two friends, who met to discuss books about science and philosophy. Three years later, Einstein’s Annus Mirabilis papers vaulted him to international fame.

I’m asked “How do I find a mentor?” all the time.

I’ve never had a good answer. The sad fact is this: people you want as mentors don’t want to view themselves as pro-bono life coaches. So what to do?

First, change the question. Perhaps it’s a cliche to say that when the student is ready, the teacher appears, but it’s a prescription in disguise. Here, the better question is “How do I become an ideal apprentice?”

The best treatment of apprenticeship I’ve ever found is in Mastery, the latest book by Robert Greene, author of The 48 Laws of Power. His writing on apprenticeship, mentor cultivation, and in-depth mastery of skills makes Mastery the perfect companion book to The 4-Hour Chef, in my opinion. It’s one of the few books I made time to read cover-to-cover in the last few months.

The below article explores examples of world-class apprentices and how you can emulate them. Once you do that, growth is a foregone conclusion.

The path to greatness is simple. It’s the path followed by everyone from Renaissance artists to the entrepreneurs of Silicon Valley. In writing my first four books, I immersed myself in the study these types of people–some of most powerful figures in history. Over the course of many hours of thinking, researching and writing on excellence–the last four years of which were dedicated to writing my newest book–I discerned an unmistakable formula for becoming the best…

Today I’d like to share the first in the journey to Mastery: how to begin an apprenticeship. Throughout history, it’s always been the way that Masters acquired their education. There are many different strategies for getting yours, but make no mistake: you cannot become great without mentors and masters to teach you the necessary skills of your chosen craft.

In 1718, Josiah Franklin decided to bring his twelve-year-old son Benjamin into his lucrative, family-run candle-making business in Boston as an apprentice. His idea was that after a seven-year apprenticeship and a little experience, Benjamin would take over the business. But Benjamin had other ideas. He threatened to run away to sea if his father did not give him the choice of where he could apprentice. The father had already lost another son who had run away, and so he relented. To the father’s surprise, his son chose to work in an older brother’s recently opened printing business. Such a business would mean harder work and the apprenticeship would last nine instead of seven years. Also, the printing business was notoriously fickle, and it was quite a risk to bank one’s future on it. But that was his choice, his father decided. Let him learn the hard way.

What young Benjamin had not told his father was that he was determined to become a writer. Most of the work in the shop would involve manual labor and operating machines, but every now and then he would be asked to proofread and copyedit a pamphlet or text. And there would always be new books around. Several years into the process, he discovered that some of his favorite writing came from the English newspapers the shop would reprint. He asked to be the one to oversee the printing of such articles, giving him the chance to study these texts in detail and teach himself how to imitate their style in his own work. Over the years he managed to turn this into a most efficient apprenticeship for writing, with the added benefit of having learned well the printing business.

—

After graduating from the Zurich Polytechnic in 1900, the twenty-one-year-old Albert Einstein found his job prospects extremely meager. He had graduated near the bottom of the class, almost certainly nullifying any chance to obtain a teaching position. Happy to be away from the university, he now planned to investigate, on his own, certain problems in physics that had haunted him for several years. It would be a self-apprenticeship in theorizing and thought experiments. But in the meantime, he would have to make a living. He had been offered a job in his father’s dynamo business in Milan as an engineer, but such work would not leave him any free time. A friend could land him a well-paid position in an insurance company, but that would stultify his brain and sap his energy for thinking.

Then, a year later, another friend mentioned a job opening up in the Swiss Patent Office in Bern. The pay was not great, the position was at the bottom, the hours were long, and the work consisted of the rather mundane task of looking over patent applications, but Einstein leaped at the chance. It was everything he wanted. His task would be to analyze the validity of patent applications, many of which involved aspects of science that interested him. The applications would be like little puzzles or thought experiments; he could try to visualize how the ideas would actually translate into inventions. Working on them would sharpen his reasoning powers. After several months on the job, he became so good at this mental game that he could finish his work in two or three hours, leaving him the rest of the day to engage in his own thought experiments. In 1905 he published his first theory of relativity, much of the work having been done while he was at his desk in the Patent Office.

—

From the time he was born in 1960, Freddie Roach was groomed to be a boxing champion. His father had been a professional fighter himself, and his mother a boxing judge. When Freddie was six he was promptly taken to the local gym in south Boston to begin a rigorous apprenticeship in the sport. He trained with a coach several hours a day, six days a week.

By the age of fifteen he felt like he was burned out. He made more and more excuses to avoid going to the gym. One day his mother sensed this and said to him, “Why do you fight anyway? You just get hit all the time. You can’t fight.” He was used to the constant criticism from his father and brothers, but to hear such a frank assessment from his mother had a bracing effect. Clearly, she saw his older brother as the one destined for greatness. Now Freddie determined that he would somehow prove her wrong. He returned to his training regimen with a vengeance. He discovered within himself a passion for practice and discipline. He enjoyed the sensation of getting better, the trophies that began to pile up, and, more than anything, the fact that he could now actually beat his brother. His love for the sport was rekindled.

As Freddie now showed the most promise of the brothers, his father took him to Las Vegas to help further his career. There, at the age of eighteen, he met the legendary coach Eddie Futch and began to train under him. It all looked very promising— he was chosen for the United States boxing team and began to climb up the ranks. Before long, however, he hit another wall. He would learn the most effective maneuvers from Futch and practice them to perfection, but in an actual bout it was another story. As soon as he got hit in the ring, he would revert to fighting instinctually; his emotions would get the better of him. His fights would turn into brawls over many rounds, and he would often lose.

After a few years, Futch told Roach it was time to retire. But boxing had been his whole life; retire and do what? He continued to fight and to lose, until finally he could see the writing on the wall and retired. He took a job in telemarketing and began to drink heavily. Now he hated the sport—he had given it so much and had nothing to show for his efforts. Almost in spite of himself, one day he returned to Futch’s gym to watch his friend Virgil Hill spar with a boxer about to fight for a title. Both fighters trained under Futch, but there was nobody in Hill’s corner helping him, so Freddie brought him water and gave him advice. He showed up the following day to help Hill again, and soon became a regular at Futch’s gym. He was not being paid, so he kept his telemarketing job, but something in him smelled opportunity— and he was desperate. He showed up on time and stayed later than anyone else. Knowing Futch’s techniques so well, he could teach them to all of the fighters. His responsibilities began to grow.

Working the two jobs left just enough time to sleep. It was almost unbearable, but he could withstand it because he was learning the trade for which he knew was destined. One day Virgil Hill showed him a technique he had picked up from some Cuban fighters: Instead of working with a punching bag, they mostly trained with the coach, who wore large padded mitts. Standing in the ring, the fighters half-sparred with the coach and practiced their punches. Roach tried it with Hill and his eyes lit up. It brought him back into the ring, but there was something else. Boxing, he felt, had become stale, as had its training methods. In his mind, he saw a way to adapt the mitt work for more than just punching practice. It could be a way for a trainer to devise an entire strategy in the ring and demonstrate it to his fighter in real time. It could revolutionize and revitalize the sport itself. Roach began to develop this with the stable of fighters that he now trained. He instructed them in maneuvers that were much more fluid and strategic.

Within a few years he had impressed enough young boxers with his knowledge to set up his own business. Soon he left Futch to work on his own. He quickly established a reputation for preparing his boxers better than anyone else, and within a few years he rose to become the most successful trainer of his generation.

—

THE LESSON:

It is a simple law of human psychology that your thoughts will tend to revolve around what you value most. If it is money, you will choose a place for your apprenticeship that offers the biggest paycheck. Inevitably, in such a place you will feel greater pressures to prove yourself worthy of such pay, often before you are really ready. You will be focused on yourself, your insecurities, the need to please and impress the right people, and not on acquiring skills. It will be too costly for you to make mistakes and learn from them, so you will develop a cautious, conservative approach. As you progress in life, you will become addicted to the fat paycheck and it will determine where you go, how you think, and what you do. Eventually, the time that was not spent on learning skills will catch up with you, and the fall will be painful.

Instead, you must value learning above everything else. This will lead you to all of the right choices. You will opt for the situation that will give you the most opportunities to learn, particularly with hands-on work. You will choose a place that has people and mentors who can inspire and teach you. A job with mediocre pay has the added benefit of training you to get by with less— a valuable life skill. If your apprenticeship is to be mostly on your own time, you will choose a place that pays the bills—perhaps one that keeps your mind sharp, but that also leaves you the time and mental space to do valuable work on your own. You must never disdain an apprenticeship with no pay. In fact, it is often the height of wisdom to find the perfect mentor and offer your services as an assistant for free. Happy to exploit your cheap and eager spirit, such mentors will often divulge more than the usual trade secrets. In the end, by valuing learning above all else, you will set the stage for your creative expansion, and the money will soon come to you.

###

Did you like this article?

It’s just the first of a 6-part series on apprenticeship, provided exclusively for this blog by Robert. Here are links to the rest, all of which teach different lessons and approaches using real-world examples:

Part II
Part III
Part IV
Part V
Part VI

Robert’s Mastery examines the lives of historical greats like Darwin, Mozart, and Henry Ford and distills the traits that made the masters. It is an excellent complement to The 4-Hour Chef. Robert also authored the massive international bestsellers The 48 Laws of Power, Art of Seduction, The 33 Strategies of War, and The 50th Law.

Posted on November 12th, 2012

View the original article here

Works like magic

The New York Times has a short but thought-provoking piece on the benefits of supersition and magical thinking. This part particularly caught my eye:

For instance, in one study led by the psychologist Lysann Damisch of the University of Cologne, subjects were handed a golf ball, and half of them were told that the ball had been lucky so far. Those subjects with a “lucky” ball drained 35 percent more golf putts than those with a “regular” ball.

The results are from a 2010 study that looked at the effect of ‘lucky charms’ and good luck superstitions on performance, finding that they genuinely increase our ability to complete self-directed tasks through increased self-confidence.

It’s a fascinating result in light of the typical skeptical response that ‘lucky charms don’t work’ because in many cases they do. Importantly, however, they have their effect on tasks in which our own skill plays a significant part rather than those where random outcome is the prime factor.

In other words, they’d help you at poker but not at roulette.

And if you want to know more about how we acquire supersitions, Tom’s recent article for BBC Future breaks it down.

Link to NYT ‘In Defense of Superstition’.
Link to BBC Future article on supersitions acquisition.
Link to locked study.

View the original article here

Getting Things Done with the Magic of Flow Concierge

Ever have something that you know you need to do, but just don’t want to take the small amount of time to do it? Have tasks that are so menial that the thought of taking the time to do them is almost offensive? Well, that’s a little harsh, but you get the drift.

We have so many things to do in a day that we can get pretty backed up. We all know that delegation is a great way to take some of life’s todos off of our platter, but sometimes we don’t really have anyone to delegate to.

Enter the pilot program, Flow Concierge. Flow is the group project/task application that is simple, effective, and just darn beautiful to look at and use. They are rolling out a new feature that you can use to delegate tasks to a “Flow Concierge”.

You can basically ask your Concierge to do anything that can be done online; look something up, compare things, answer a question, etc. What they can’t do is anything physical (“go feed my dogs”), create content or writing from scratch, offer legal advice, or do anything that involves paying for something. Anything else is fair game.

So, I had a magical experience (yes, in the Steve Jobs sense of the phrase) with Flow Concierge today. It showed me just how powerful and awesome having a mini “virtual assistant” would be.

My wife SMS’d me asking when her warranty for her MacBook was up (the bottom of it is falling apart). When I got the message a thought also hit me, “oh, boy. Our 2 year (marriage) anniversary is next week, too. What to do, what to do?” I had already been accepted into the Flow Concierge pilot so I thought I’d give it a go.

First task: “when is my wife’s MacBook warranty no longer valid (then gave them her serial number.”

Second task: “is there anything fun to do this weekend in the Erie, PA area?”

I then assigned the task to the Flow Concierge that is now built into my Flow interface. Then I went about my other work tasks that I had to get done.

About two hours later when I was clearing out my personal email inbox, I saw that my Flow Concierge had updated my tasks with a comment and then made a final answer and marked them as complete. I found out that my Wife’s MacBook warranty is sadly not valid (oh, the horror!) and that there isn’t really that much to do this weekend in Erie, Pa (other than go to the Philharmonic, which will work for our anniversary).

To say that it was like magic is sort of an understatement. Yes, finding these things myself would be easy enough, but I didn’t want to take the time to do it in the middle of the day. Rather than blow it off until later when I don’t have any energy, I simply delegated to someone that had the energy and time to do it.

This is a seriously awesome addition to a task app that is already excellent and the geniuses at Flow should be proud of themselves for such a great idea and implementation.

One of the biggest things that I can see as a drawback going forward is the potential price of the Concierge service after the Pilot program. There would be nothing worse than using this in Flow and then one day they announce that it will be very expensive. Or, even worse, Flow could just cancel it all together.

The service does seem to be “too good to be true” so far, but hopefully it gets baked into the full Flow product.

Flow is a pretty awesome tool to manage your projects with a team or otherwise and the new Concierge pilot program makes it that much more awesome. To be able to delegate menial tasks that will take 3 – 10 minutes of your time throughout the day can add up quick in the grand scheme of things.

If you have a Flow account, try to get into the Concierge pilot program by checking out this link. You will be glad you did.

(Photo credit: Flow logo via Flow)

View the original article here

Get happy: New TED Book on the mystery and magic of smiling

How can something as simple as a smile be so deceptively complex? That’s the mystery and magic explored in Smile: The Astonishing Powers of a Simple Act, a new TED Book by Ron Gutman about the sensation and science of the smile. From the broad beaming grin of a toddler to the oily smirk of a used car salesman, smiles convey an enormous range and depth of emotions. Grins also have radically varied meanings in different cultures, as the author learned during his many worldwide trips to explore the complicated but ubiquitous act of smiling.  We recently spoke with Gutman about his book.

Why is smiling so important? 

Smiling is central to what makes us human.  We’re the only species that smiles, and we do it from birth.  It has an immense impact on how we feel, because smiling triggers our biological pleasure receptors. It also positively impacts how others see and perceive us, and can be a powerful way to improve social situations. Best of all, smiling is important because it’s natural, always available, and easy.

How long have people been researching the act of smiling?

In the book I mention a French neurologist Guillaume Duchenne, whose research in the mid 1800's was focused on the different types of facial expressions, including smiles. Duchenne created an extensive catalogue of smiles and other facial expressions, but found one in an entirely different class from all the others. He called it the “genuine” smile—the smile that arrives spontaneously and reflects pure delight.  Duchenne also inspired Charles Darwin to conduct research into smiling. Darwin detailed the early smiling behavior of his own children and wrote the facial feedback response theory, which noted that facial expression intensified emotion, and the suppression of facial expression lessened emotional response.

You’ve traveled the world quite a bit talking about this. Have  you discovered cultural differences in relation to smiling?

When you are in a new place, where you don’t speak the language and don’t have a knowledge of the cultures and customs, you’re left with what’s universal and what transcends the things that make us different. Smiling is one of those great unifiers. Still, it’s still subject to regional norms.  Different cultures are more or less accepting of smiles in different situations.  For example, in the United States, smiling at strangers is commonplace.  In some other countries, however, smiling at a stranger might arouse suspicion.  But, generally, we’re all likely to smile for the same reasons: we’re happy.

Does a smile have to be real to be effective? The nervous counterfeit smile of Miss America, for instance, seems to go a long way. 

Smiles are highly effective in activating the reward mechanisms of our brains, so even forced smiles, the so-called “social” smile, can be effective at communicating. But they don’t offer the truly great effects that genuine smiles.  The full spectrum of the benefits of smiling are found in real, genuine, big smiles.  These are the ones that make us feel great inside, and make others around us smile. They make us look not just friendly in the eyes of others, but also competent.  As studies examining the health and well-being benefits of smiles show, the real benefits are reserved for real smiles.

Can someone smile too much? I’m thinking of the creepy smirk of a used-car salesman. 

There’s no such a thing as too much genuine smiling.  The beautiful thing about smiles is that we are hardwired to detect smiles that are genuine and smiles that aren’t.  We know that we can trust genuine smiles, but we don’t have the same feelings about fake smiles. There’s a bunch of research that I’m mentioning in the book that shows how we detect the authenticity of  smiles, and they’re mostly based on mimicking the smiler to experience the same feelings and emotions she/he does. So smile much, smile often, and smile genuinely.

Smile: The Astonishing Powers of a Simple Act is part of the TED Books series, which is available for the Kindle and Nook as well as on Apple’s iBookstore.

View the original article here

Experience the magic of Richard Dawkins’ reality

If living in Richard Dawkins’ world is to live without an omnipotent creator, to explain life’s most wondrous mysteries with scientific fact, is it also to live in a world devoid of beauty and magic? No, says Dawkins, in his newest book, The Magic of Reality: How We Know What’s Really True, which makes its U.S. debut today in print and as an app.

Illustrated by Dave McKean, The Magic of Reality is Dawkins’ first book targeted toward both children and adults, providing scientific answers to many of humankind’s most basic questions: What is reality? What is magic? When and how did everything begin? Are we alone? Why do bad things happen? In this volume Dawkins uses principles of the natural sciences to show children (and remind adults): “The truth is more magical — in the best and most exciting sense of the word — than any myth or made-up mystery or miracle.”

Check out the U.S. hardcover edition or experience the interactive iPad app, filled with animations, experiments and games for children.

Watch Richard Dawkins’ TEDTalks >>

View the original article here

How a Simple Bag Became a Magic Organizational Tool

Have you ever showed up at a meeting and realized you forgot to bring the right paperwork? Or nipped out to the library only to realize one of your overdue books is still sitting at home?

There is a simple way to end this confusion: Tote Bag Organizing.

It’s a fancy name I made up to describe how I keep papers for separate activities together so that I always have what I need by grabbing the appropriate box or bag.

A few years ago, all the charities I subscribe to started sending me tote bags. While some of them were converted into reusable shopping bags, I had a few that weren’t suitable. I threw the papers for a Girl Scout meeting into one and forgot to unpack it…and realized how handy it was to have everything together.

I was no longer scrambling before the meeting to make sure I had everything; and when I needed paperwork that was handed out at the last meeting I knew exactly where to look.

No, you can use whatever container or other organizational tool best suits your contents. In some cases it might be better to have a smaller or larger container.

For example, I have started assuming the primary leader role for our Girl Scout troop in preparation for next fall. This means I have to lug supplies back and forth; so a banker’s box takes care of that. Inside will be a plastic folder for our paperwork that I can remove and take as a single unit when we go on a field trip.

For a meeting I attend monthly where I need a notebook and pen and a place to keep papers that need to be returned, I use a poly envelope with a closure.

I also routinely use poly binder dividers with pockets to keep papers together for short-term projects. These live in a container on my desk and get put into the activity bag as needed. An example: the reservation sheets, requirements and meeting information for the Bridging ceremony that will take my troop from Brownies to Juniors.

It is easy to put these modules together.

Gather everything you would need for the activity.Put it in a designated container.Add a writing tool and a notebook or paper.Subdivide as necessary. (see below)

After you set up the tote bag, take it to your activity. When you come home again, remove anything that has to be dealt with. Take care of these items and put things back in the bag that will be needed for the next time.

If something should come up during the week, make a note and slip it into the bag. If you receive mail that is relevant, put it in the bag.

Before your next venture to your activity, add what you need, such as books or paperwork.

Sub-divide as necessary. For activities where you may not need everything all the time, have a way to quickly remove those items. For example, my Girl Scout paperwork, which is required whenever we take an off-site trip, is in a separate pouch so that I can take just that when we go on a field trip.

If you need to do something with that activity at home, work out of the tote bag, and keep everything together.

For my treasurer gig with a local non-profit, I keep a folder for papers, the checkbook and spare supplies in a sturdy bag and add the books we talk about at our weekly meeting.For my Girl Scout papers, I have an old briefcase to keep all the papers in order, along with a package of crayons, extra paper and spare pencils.For my Girl Scout Leader meeting papers, I have a binder pencil pouch that has a notebook inside, a pen, and our tracking slips.For the library, I keep a bag with books and batteries to be recycled (our library accepts these). When a book is not being read, it lives in the bag.For choir we have a small bag with our folders, extra pencils and facial tissues.For the class I am taking, I have my notebook, and the text book stays inside of the bag, but may be removed before class if I know I won’t have to use it.

Using these tote bags has kept me on track. I always have what I need right at my fingertips, and I haven’t forgotten to return a library book for months.

Do you have a great way to organize activity items? Share below.

LJ Earnest is a computer programmer by day, writer all the time. Using the principles of productivity and simplicity at SimpleProductivityBlog.com, she helps people get through the stuff they have to do so they can get to the stuff they want to do.

View the original article here

The Magic of Thinking Big

Dr. David J. Schwartz, an expert on motivation, will help you sell better, manage better, earn more money,and -- most important of all -- find greater happiness and peace ofmind.The Magic of Thinking Big gives you methods and a programfor getting the most out of your job, your marriage and family life,and your community. He proves that you don t need to be an intellectualor have innate talent to attain great success and satisfaction -- butyou do need to learn and understand the habit of thinking and behavingin ways that will get you there. Believe you can succeed and you will Cure yourself of the fear of failure Think and dream creatively You are what you think you are Make your attitudes your allies Learn how to think positively Turn defeat into victory Use goals to help you grow Think like a leader Publisher: Simon amp Schuster 1987 Author: Dr. David J. Schwartz Format: 320 pages, paperback ISBN: 9780671646783

Price: $14.95

Click here to buy from Amazon