Well… intellectually stronger.

A few days ago, a buddy of mine asked me something like “Tim, what websites do you visit a lot?”

I answered with a few of the more popular one off the top of my head, but there were many more I forgot to mention.

In honor of this question, here is a quick list of my top ten most frequented websites.

These websites will help you increase your productivity, save time, and just make you smarter overall.

They are in no particular order, so don’t let placement have any affect on your trial.

1. RescueTime – This website provides you with a lightweight app that records and graphs how you spend your time on your computer. Taking small “quicky” breaks can often turn into a 20 minute excursion to read an article on SlashDot or check out the latest on Digg. RescueTime will allow you to see exactly how you spent your time and will even send a weekly report to your email.
2. Skype – Skype isn’t really a website, but I decided to include it anyway. Instead of using a landline of cellular phone to reach people you talk with often, use Skype. For a small fee, you can call anyone in the world from your computer.
3. DumbLittleMan – A great source of 15-20 weekly articles with emphasis on how to get the most from your life. Examples include 20 Things I’m Glad Life Taught Me and 9 Ways to Have A Better Day Than Yesterday.
4. Zen Habits – ZenHabits is about “achieving goals … and successfully implementing good habits.” Some examples of the type of content you’ll find there is: 12 Pratical Steps for Going With the Flow and Top 20 Motivation Hacks.
5. LifeHacker – A very frequently updated blog with tips on increasing your productivity. A few examples: Improve Your Vision at the Computer and How to Avoid Impulse Shopping.
6. Google Reader – If you do not yet use a feed reader, start. Instead of individually visiting all your normal blogs, just subscribe to their feeds. This’ll put all the articles you like into one neat little location for quick and easy reading.
7. StevePavlina – One of the forerunning personal development blogs on the internet today. Steve talks about ways to master your time management, nurture motivation to reach your goals, and how to develop balance within your life. Steve has written articles like 10 Reasons You Should Never Get a Job and 30 days to Success.
8. HowStuffWorks – HowStuffWorks houses tons and tons of articles about how pretty much anything you can imagine works. Ever wonder how exactly an automatic transmission works? How about how exactly a digital camera works? If so, this site is for you.
9. 43folders – 43folders provides many methods to “improve efficiency and get things off your mind” as well as “ideas about modest ways to improve your life and reduce stress.”
10. LifeHack – A life hack is “any hacks, tips and tricks that get things done quickly by automating, increase productivity and organizing.” Some of my favorite articles are 10 Tricks to Get Your Writing Started and 5 Ways to Deal With Irresponsible People.

Well, there you have it.  Try visiting a few of these websites daily or a few times a week and let me know if you’ve learned anything!

Photo by striatic

I use more than one computer: I use my desktop computer for anything while I’m in the house, and my laptop for anything while I am out - usually for taking notes at a class.

If you are like me, an SSH Server on your desktop computer will make your life a lot easier.

Here’s what setting up an SSH server can do for you:

• Minimize the number of steps required to access “outside” data from my “inside” computer.
  • This means you can save time by getting to your work faster. Instead of throwing files on a USB drive, sending through email, or sharing a directory on a network, all your files will instantly be accessible.
• Minimize the amount of data actually stored on the “outside” laptop.
  • You’ll never have to worry about sensitive data on your laptop again. If your laptop is stolen, there will be relatively nothing valuable on it. It will all be on your SSH server.
• Maintain only one single copy of the data.
  • Find yourself rummaging through different versions of work because of all the copying that comes with working on two computers? A personal SSH server will keep one, and only one, copy of your data, so version control is no longer a necessity.

Here’s a How-To to get it running:

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Most people who have used dual monitors will immediately attest to the large productivity improvement they provide.

Most others, who have never had the opportunity to try out dual monitors, know a fellow or two that have doubled their desktop real-estate. These people have probably thought to themselves “Hmm… that’s a nifty setup, but is it really that useful?”

These days, setting up an additional monitor on a Windows system is easy-as-pie and there are thousands of tutorials to get it going with most Linux distributions. Just click here for a list of dual monitor setup tutorials for Windows and the more popular Linux distributions.

Since the time factor and difficulty factor of the setup of dual monitors have all but been eliminated, the only remaining barrier between you and the world of multi-monitors is money. Monitors are on sale all the time and for the amount of increased productivity you’ll achieve, the price can almost be considered negligible.

If you are still uncertain about how much productivity would really be gained from having an additional monitor, I’ve compiled some ways that dual monitors can increase productivity.

Action Screen & Reference Screen: This is how I refer to my screens while I’m working. Whether you are programming, writing a paper, responding to emails, or chatting with a co-worker about a current project, it is often necessary to have more than one window open. Of course, this is achievable with one monitor, but no one likes to resize, squeeze, and fit multiple pages on one monitor like some evil Microsoft jigsaw puzzle. Most of the productivity increases from dual monitors spawn from this “action” and “reference” screen mindset.

Dual monitors allow me to work on one screen and open reference materials, chats, or webpages on the other. Not only does this save the time involved with minimizing and maximizing various windows, but it also lets me focus. The work is always on my screen, always in my view. This leads me to…

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Have you ever had a project proposal to write up by noon? Maybe a 5-page paper due tomorrow at 8 A.M.? Got writer’s block? Sometimes there just isn’t enough to write about.

If your current piece has a page-minimum, here is a little known trick to employ in your everyday Microsoft Word to get the job done quicker.

Increasing the size of your font and increasing the size of your margins are worth trying, but the savvy reviewer will notice these shortcuts quickly. Something they won’t be looking for is an increased period size.

By increasing the size of your periods, an 8-page paper can become a 10 page paper without a single additional word.

Here’s how to do it:

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