25 Tools That Save Me Time And Money
June 7, 2010 by Sherman Hu
Filed under Productivity, iPhone
Here are some online/offline tools that make my life easier:
// Hardware //
>> Macbook Pro (http://apple.com/macbookpro/): Convenient plug and play. Lifestyle, media and business applications are all very intuitive. Saves me time, frustration and agony not worrying about the typical annoyances on a Windows machine. Generated thousands in revenue from leveraging audio and video apps (eg. iMovie, Garageband) for client projects and digital products. My Macbook Pro has saved me a boatload of time and frustration, along with generating me thousands in revenue from using its simple apps to produce end results that look amazing.
>> iPhone (http://www.apple.com/iphone/): I “don’t leave home without it”. Manages my email, instant messaging, social media (twitter, facebook etc), browsing, documents, productivity, lifestyle habits and more on this device. With version 4, I’ll leverage the 720p HD camcorder recording and editing, 5 megapixel digital camera, multi-tasking and even video chat to its fullest. As I’m developing iPhone apps, the new Calendar sync feature from within apps to the iPhone calendar is simply brilliant.
>> iPad (http://apple.com/ipad/): On my Christmas list, and see unlimited opportunities for time savings and convenience with this device. In addition, revenue opportunities as I develop apps for the iPad (and the iPhone).
>> Livescribe (http://www.livescribe.com/ ; $150-$170): Would a smartpen (that records handwriting and audio) and special dot paper that syncs to your computer and web account, so you can skip to any point in your notes to listen to the audio recorded at that moment be of any value to you? Need I say more? My 4GB Livescribe Pulse – with a full battery charge – recorded an all day workshop (about 8 hours) and still left me with one bar at the end of the session. Priceless.
// Documents //
>> Evernote (http://evernote.com ; free): From cloud to desktop to iPhone app, it acts as my second brain to brain-dump anything (text, audio, images etc) and it all syncs together. It will also OCR business cards so data is searchable via the Evernote apps. Free app, with premium account for multi-user sharing capabilities.
// Email //
>> Gmail (https://mail.google.com ; free): For email, I consolidate multiple Gmail accounts into Mailplane (for Mac). Strong spam filter, practically unlimited storage, available via any internet cafe and works like a charm on my iPhone.
// Instant Messaging //
>> Google Chat (free): By default, this instant messaging service is packaged with your Gmail account. It’s my preferred instant messaging service to communicate with my team and colleagues, as all chats are logged in Gmail for easy recall. In addition, Beejive (iPhone app, consolidates most IM services) works extremely well with GChat on my iPhone, giving me freedom to connect with my contacts while mobile. >> iChat and Skype (free): As I have teams and partners on different platforms, I do use iChat and Skype for video chat. iChat text chat is integrated into Beejive for mobile IM, but Skype isn’t, hence I don’t dislike using Skype now.
>> Beejive (iPhone app) or Meebo (iPhone app, free) are two apps on my iPhone that consolidate all my instant messaging contacts across most IM services. Push notifications alert me when a contact is attempting to reach me. Closing the app doesn’t terminate the use of the app, which is highly efficient.
// Time Management //
>> Pomodoro (http://pomodoro.ugolandini.com ; free): A Mac desktop application for managing time and focus, based on the Pomodoro technique (http://www.pomodorotechnique.com/). Helps maintain my focus on the project at hand.
>> Moleskine Planners (http://www.moleskineus.com ; $10-$20) I’ve graduated from the pocket, to the large to the extra large Moleskine for my weekly planning. My favorite is the Weekly Planner, either 12 or 18-months version (http://www.moleskineus.com/mcx51118w-moleskine-18-month-xl-soft-cover-weekly-planner.html). Love the tactile nature of Moleskine’s acid-free paper notebook, their back flap (for inserting receipts or notes) and black elastic band closure. The Weekly Planner+Notes format shows the week’s appointments at-a-glance on the left, complemented by a page for notes and ideas on the right. Couple this with Leo Babauta’s “3 Plan” (http://zenhabits.net/ztd-habit-3-plan/) and I’m rocking my week with productivity.
// Backup //
>> SugarSync (https://www.sugarsync.com/ ; free – $25/m) At present, my favorite remote file backup and sync service (for both Windows and Mac). I especially enjoy designating specific folders/files to my team without the annoyance of transferring large files via FTP.
// Image Editing //
>> Skitch (http://skitch.com/ ; Mac), Picturesque (http://www.acqualia.com/picturesque/ ; Mac) and Fireworks (http://www.adobe.com/products/fireworks/) are my 3 most used image editing applications on my Mac. Quick, easy, and I love the results from it.
// Mindmapping & Flow Charts //
>> Mindjet (http://www.mindjet.com/ ; Windows and Mac) and Omnigraffle (http://www.omnigroup.com/products/omnigraffle/ ; Mac) are my two favorite mind mapping and flowcharting tools. Easy to use, I’ve created mindmaps for my team and for my products as add-on value.
// Screencasting & Tutorial Documenting //
>> Screenflow (http://www.telestream.net/screen-flow/overview.htm ; Mac) and Screensteps (http://www.bluemangolearning.com/screensteps/ ; Win & Mac) are my two favorite apps for creating tutorials and documentation for my team, products and clients. These apps have saved me a huge amount of time to train others, and has also helped me generate thousands in revenue in product sales and consulting jobs.
// Web Publishing //
>> Wordpress (http://wordpress.org ; free) is my blogging and website publishing platform of choice. Couple this with WooThemes (http://wordpresstutorials.com) and you have a simple-to-deploy website that looks amazing that the search engines love. Plus, you have freedom and control to publish whatever and whenever you want, and not be held hostage by your web developer ever again.
// Accounting //
Just the thought of accounting makes me cringe. To make my life easier, I use Freshbooks (http://www.freshbooks.com/) for online invoicing, time tracking and expensing, and Shoeboxed (http://www.shoeboxed.com/) to send them my receipts for scanning and organization.
// Project Management //
>> Basecamp HQ (http://basecamphq.com/) is a lifesaver for project management, collaboration and tasking with team members and partners. Couple it with the many Basecamp iPhone apps and you can be on top of your projects and team in your office or while mobile. My iPhone app developer, partner and I currently use Basecamp to collaborate iPhone app ideas and designs, sharing images, milestones and communicate without the use of email.
What about you? Care to share any tools that save you time and money in your business?
Tilt Shift Generator App Demo For Easy Image Editing
December 19, 2009 by Sherman Hu
Filed under Productivity, Video, iPhone
Takayuki Fukatsu (@takayukifukatsu, ArtAndMobile.com), a brilliant Japanese iPhone and Flash designer and developer, created Tilt Shift Generator to help us easily create ‘toy camera’ images.
Tilt Shift Generator is available as an iPhone, web-based and Adobe Air desktop app. Take your pick.
In this 2:38 min video demo below, I modify a colorful royalty-free stock image, turning it into a colored black-and-white image with additional effects (contrast, saturation, blur and vignetting). Check out this demo, try out the app, and would appreciate your feedback. Also would like to see what kind of images you’ve modified with this Tilt Shift Generator 
Sample of edited image after Tilt Shifting
7 Productivity Boosters For The Office Or On The Go (NMS004)
September 24, 2009 by Sherman Hu
Filed under Featured, New Media Simplified Ezine, Productivity, iPhone
In today’s issue, tips to create a low-stress workspace. How to declutter and gain control of your home. Easily organize the paper in your life. Time your tasks and run reports with a simple web tool. Read your Google Reader in an email-like app. 9 ways to stay organized with GCal. And 14 productivity apps with push on the iPhone.
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7 Productivity Boosters For The Office Or On The Go
Let’s begin with productivity boosters for your office, then we’ll move on to resources for on the go.
1. 10 Ways to Relaxify Your Workspace
If you want to create a low-stress and relaxing work environment to boost your productivity, here are 10 suggestions for creating a more relaxing workspace:
http://shermanlive.com/go/10relaxify
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2. Declutter & Gain Control Of Your Home
FlyLady has helped 500,000+ people gain control of their homes and life with simple and achievable systems to keep clutter away and bring peace to your home and family.
Personally, my wife & I are happy to be part of her audience and working through her systems to be clutter-free.
Get clutter-free and gain peace of mind with FlyLady:
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3. Easily Organize Receipts, Biz Cards & Paper Stacks
Do you have piles of receipts, stacks of business cards and reams of paper all over your office?
In my world, I’m trying to get rid of as much paper as possible, and all I want is the info on it.
Enter NeatCo with their NeatReceipts & NeatDesk scanners and software using patented OCR and parsing technology to read and extract key information from your papers, and even PDF docs.
It then organizes, exports and securely stores the data in an easy-to-use database system.
They have desktop and mobile scanners, and software that accommodate Windows and Mac users.
Organize your life with NeatReceipts & NeatDesk:
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4. Time Your Work Tasks and Run Reports Easily
As a freelancer or consultant, you may have the need to track your time on client campaigns.
As an entrepreneur focused on productivity, you may want to track how long tasks are taking to
complete.
Or you may request your outsource staff to track their time on your work.
SlimTimer is an easy and no-cost, web-based solution to make easy work of this activity.
You can create named tasks, share them with co-workers and those you report to, or need
reporting from.
Open SlimTimer, click a task to start the clock, and click again to finish. Close the browser when you’re done. And you can run and export reports to CSV, subscribe to its RSS feed, and even email it to a colleague.
Check out this slim but effective timer app:
http://shermanlive.com/go/slimtimer
:::
5. ReadAir Makes Reading RSS Feeds In Email-Like App
If you’re reading your RSS feeds in Google Reader, this Adobe AIR app – ReadAir – allows you to read your news in an email-like interface.
If you already have a long series of tabs open in your Firefox or Safari browser, and would like your reader open in a separate window, check out ReadAir:
http://shermanlive.com/go/readair
:::
6. 9 Ways To Stay Organized With Google Calendar
A smart calendar program is essential to improved efficiency, organization and time-savings.
Consistently adding your appointments and events relieves the stress on you to remember everything you need to get done in a day.
Using Google Calendar (GCal) and its many features for reminders, tasks and shareability make it a unique and effective app for business owners.
Here’s 9 ways to organize life/biz using GCal:
http://shermanlive.com/go/9gcal
:::
7. 14 iPhone Productivity Apps With Push Notification
With PUSH notifications on iPhone apps, you instantly get notified when breaking news happens or your IM app pings you when your VIP peeps are looking for you.
From this list, I have and use Beejive and Toodle-do to connect with my team and clients, along with organizing my business & personal tasks.
Discover these 14 productive PUSH apps now:
http://shermanlive.com/go/14pushapps
:::
That’s it for this issue, my friends. Thank you for reading, and you can share your feedback and comments below or via Twitter.
If you liked this first issue, why not forward it to your friends, colleagues, family and anyone else that you think might enjoy it. Thank you for your continued support.
Until the next issue, here’s wishing you much health, happiness, prosperity – and productivity,
Sherman Hu
Flixwagon iPhone App Video Links To 12Seconds.tv
December 19, 2008 by Sherman Hu
Filed under Video, iPhone
When you record a video on your Flixwagon iPhone app, it’ll post to your channel on 12Seconds.tv. Firstly, you’ll have to add your Flixwagon details to your 12Seconds.tv account.
Note that at this time, you’ll need to have a jailbroken iPhone to install Flixwagon via the Cydia Installer.
Here’s a quick 12 second video I recorded on my jailbroken iPhone that linked to my 12Seconds.tv channel.
Flixwagon Video on 12seconds.tv
1st Snowfall This Season – Created by 12Seconds iPhone App
December 18, 2008 by Sherman Hu
Filed under Video, iPhone
Hey peeps, this 12 second video was created using the 12Seconds iPhone app, combining 3 photos taken from my iPhone, and my short audio recording. Merry Christmas!
[iPhone] Enjoying 1st snowfall this season on 12seconds.tv
