The headline’s not meant to sound exotic.  The surprise for me was how much I’ve relied on technology and the web to plan the trip I’m now on.  I want to share some quick tips that have been surprisingly effective.

If you plan to travel domestically or abroad, I hope this will save you some money and help you travel lighter…while still staying connected (if you’d like). If you have other tips to share, I’d enjoy them, too!

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I’m frequently asked if I prefer Gmail or Outlook Exchange, but I happily use both. Today I posted a thorough comparison on Lifehacker, but the following is how and why I use both.

Not only will this explain how I use Gmail and Outlook, but it’ll describe a fair amount of my workflow with email and social media.

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I’m overwhelmed with ideas from the Information Overload conference this week.  In an effort to reflect, I’ve listed some of the major stats and themes discussed for managing too much stuff.

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If you can do it in two minutes or less then just get it out of the way.  This is at the center of most approaches to dealing with tasks and emails.  In the next 45 seconds I want to remind you of its power.

When you read your new email do you read all the messages once and then go back through them?  I do it, too, sometimes—but it’s the death of getting things done.  So here’s a reminder…

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Above you’ll find a video from Jonny’s Partay, where I was interviewed on Wednesday, July 9 at 9pm.

There’s a bit of talk about AwayFind, some news about DC, and of course much of what I’ve been up to. From lifehacks to batching email to mobility and travel, hopefully this’ll keep you entertained.

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Blogging, Twitter, social networks, RSS, videos… at a certain point this stuff is no longer just fun—it takes real time and can feel like real work.

So when your hobby morphs into a job, do you work harder or take a step back?

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This week I published an article on Lifehacker about a fantastic blogging tool: Windows Live Writer. I covered the why, the how, the tips, and the recently released new features.

Today I’m attending BlogPotomac, where many DC area bloggers, social media stars, and geeks will gather in the illusion that the rest of the world is like them to share insights with one other.
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Batching is the main reason I get anything done…and the principle that underlies AwayFind (the application I’ve been building for the past six months).  Darren Rowse wrote an excellent article on that topic today and I highly recommend checking it out.

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We all get glued to our computers. How do you limit your time there? Got any tricks?

I posed these questions on Ask MetaFilter and received a number of helpful and interesting responses. This post is a summary with highlights of techniques and tools for walking away from your computer when you need (or want) to.

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Today I’m presenting at the TECH cocktail Conference in Chicago, and the following is a guide to the timesaving material that will be discussed.

Whether you’re viewing this from the conference or just stopping by from elsewhere, I hope this will serve as a resource for:

1. Time-saving software tools
2. Tweaks to win back time from popular applications
3. Techniques for manufacturing time every day

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