Really ‘Get Stuff Done’.
No matter how much we all want to love it, I’m sure most of us know how flawed ‘GTD’ is. It’s essentially busy work to keep us from doing busy work, and all it has ever done for me is make my life harder and more complicated. That is not to say many of the concepts in the system are great, cause they are and if you’ve been following the productivity blog circuit for a while, you will know how many others have just taken the things that they like from the system and created their own versions. See ZenHabit’s ‘Zen To Done’.
Because we all know about the ‘Myth of Multitasking’, I personally follow a very simple set of rules, well 1 rule. I map out no more than 5 of the major things (usually only 3) I want to accomplish in a given day and I do them, one at a time, until they are DONE. Because my day job is in design and web development and I’m a blogger, most of my tasks are computer and internet related, so as I mentioned in a previous post, my favorite web app to manage my to-do list is ‘NowDoThis’. Otherwise, a simple pen and paper work just fine. We all have alot more than 5 things that need to get done in any given day, but this list is designed to cover the major things. The stuff that will make you feel accomplished at the end of the day when you have completed them all.
‘5 Things a Day’ is simple and has helped me be more productive than ever before, while having more time for the other things I want to do in my life. Sounds way to easy, I know. But try it for a week or 2. You’ll be surprised how much you actually get done in a single week.
3 Quick Questions: AJ Vaynerchuk
3 Quick Questions is a new interview section we’re starting here at 29things.com. Our first interview is with AJ Vaynerchuk, co-founder of PleaseDressMe.
1. From what I gather, your the idea man behind pleasedressme, could you fill us in on how the idea came about and what got the ball rolling?
The idea really came out of nowhere. Joe (another co-founder along with me and Gary) and I were discussing ideas for another t-shirt site we were working on. Joe said something in particular about our other project that sprung my idea to start this new one. We both agreed it was our new top priority.
2. I saw on twitter that you posted how pleasedressme is causing you to loose sleep (in a good way!). Are you surprised at how quickly and well received the website has become over the last couple days?
Yes and No. Gary, Joe and I always knew we could build a great service that would attract a lot of eyeballs. That being said, I think the site is doing a little better than any of us thought :)
3. How has your brothers [Gary Vaynerchuk] success on the web influenced you?
Influenced me a ton. I started to get involved when he did and to have been there for his ride has been fantastic.
PleaseDressMe.com
Cool and creative t-shirts are one of the hottest trends on the web these days. I personally spend countless hours jumping between Threadless, Busted Tees, and about a half dozon other sites looking for awesome shirts. Internet business superstar & WineLibary TV host Gary Vaynerchuk, his little brother AJ, and Digg.com’s Joe Stump launched a great new site this week called PleaseDressMe which allows you to search the top t-shirt sites all at once by keyword, tags, color, and price. I like making stuff I do on the web simple and easy; add on beautiful, functional design and I’m sold.
![My dream home. 384 square feet of beautiful design [weeHouse]](http://24.media.tumblr.com/3wCgUPJcIdhgzxkuyOqMWtpd_500.jpg)
My dream home. 384 square feet of beautiful design [weeHouse]
29things: Why Tumblr?
Simplicity. Design. Productivity. Tumblr is the 29things tagline in a blog platform. It fits my personality perfectly. It comes with minimal features, but is highly customizable. Sure, there are no ‘categories’ but I can easily tag posts and create a space in the sidebar and link the tags, and poof! Instant categories. I don’t feel obligated to create long-winded articles, which is the reason several blogs I’ve started before have been abandoned. Tumblr makes blogging fun and easy, as well as catering to mine and my readers short attention span. Who needs all those bloated, useless ‘features’ anyway.
NowDoThis.com: A Minimalists To-Do List
I’m a huge fan of GTD, but usually find that most of the web apps, and software available just makes life more complicated. NowDoThis.com takes the complication out - and is by far the most simple, yet most useful to-do app I have found. Started by William Cotton and Vimeo founder Jakob Lodwick, NowDoThis makes to-do easier by displaying a single task at a time and you cannot move to the next task until you are done.
It is as simple as going to NowDoThis.com, typing in your tasks, and save. You can edit tasks on the fly, add items, and best of all - no signup, login, or passwords. Just type it and do it.
I usually sit down in the morning, open NowDoThis in my firefox sidebar, and type in the 5 or 6 most important tasks that I need to get done in any given day and I don’t move on to the next task until I’ve completed the current one. In the last few weeks, I have found that I am more productive than ever, even with my extremely short attention span.
Ten Reasons Small Spaces Are Better Than Big Ones
1. Everything is at your fingertips.
2. Theyre cozier.
3. They clean up faster.
4. They allow you to live with less of everything - simplicity & economy.
5. A small space allows you to experiment more with different design ideas.
6. They get you outside more.
7. They put you more in touch with your neighbors/community.
8. They are cheaper. They put more money back into your life.
9. Small spaces require more imagination.
10. Small spaces create momentum. They force one to make decisions, at home as well as in life
web design screenshots: beautiful and simple, from design to concept.
A Brief Message
29things is a blog about lifestyle design, productivity, and entrepreneurship. Life is amazing and I don't want to spend 1/3rd of it in a cubicle. We are the architects of our existence.
