As this is Bravery Technologies & Innovations' (B.T.I.) first blog entry, I believe that we should address something we never seem to have enough of. Time. There's a reason why the over-repeated cry is "I wish there was (however many you need) hours in a day!" *facepalm* The issue isn't that you need more hours, you just need to utilize more of those hours. So without further ado, here is our top 4 list of time saving tips and programs!
Awesome Item #1: ManicTime
This program is what's called a "freemium," which is basically a budget-minded computer user's worst enemy. That isn't the case with this program though! I gave it a try and was blown away by how much time I spend on joke sites and Facebook in two days, even while I'm supposed to be working! It actually tracks your time on each application OR website, tells you when your computer isn't being actively used, and what documents you might be working on at the time. That's only the part that every version has!
It's also great for businesses that need to bill clients for each minute that they spend doing something. There's a server version that records the time spent on anything in a file or a folder, and then can create reports of that. So law firms, you might need to want this. Because of how epic this program is, I decided to put it at the top of the list. I also recommend it as the first thing to do because it's kind of really hard to change something if you don't know what's fully happening with it.
Awesome Item #2: Sublime Text 2
This is one of our personal favorites here at B.T.I. specifically for our coding process. The ways it saves time are really out-of-the-box and unique. It has a default theme that's extremely comfortable for the eyes at night by having a dark background and bright text. This makes it less often that you need to look away from the screen and rub your eyes and possibly get distracted. It enables a person to totally immerse themselves in their work, which we tend to do not too often.
The second way it helps save time, which any programmer/designer will absolutely appreciate for it's full value, is auto-complete. Not the kind of auto-complete that's annoying and not related at all, but it takes the file type you're working on and suggests what you might be typing that is part of that file type. For example, if you're working in PHP, and you type date(, it pops up with the date function. When you accept what it suggests, it inserts the full line of code with all the parameters, but with generic names. All you need to do is change the names to what you're working with! We can't count how much time and money this invaluable program has saved us, but let's just suffice it at saying a lot.
Awesome Item #3: Music!
For those who are music-oriented or have heard about the studies related with music and work, read this anyways. Everyone else, prepare to have your mind blown. Music that has little or no words in it is proven to improve productivity. For me personally, I like Dubstep and a modern classical symphony called Two Steps From Hell. Both genres have very little or no words when compared to all the other types of music out there. Still I think that modern classical is one of the best types of music out there for the workplace or to get you going on a project. Next time you're working, put your favorite artist on the computer and pop in those headphones. Just try it for an hour for two days and go back and forth between music and nothing, You'll notice a difference.
So this item, being that music has different effects on everyone and how they function with it, is basically immeasurable. Nonetheless, still worth a shot.
So this item, being that music has different effects on everyone and how they function with it, is basically immeasurable. Nonetheless, still worth a shot.
Awesome Item #4: Discipline
It does sound cliche, but it's true. I have learned that I have to set everything else on pause or schedule it for another day when I actually start working. It's a constant and never-ending exercise to make myself sit down and stay sat down for at least two to three hours and work just one thing. I've never met a person though that hasn't had that exact same issue. It is absolutely necessary though, and I'm sure freelancers in relationships can attest to this. I've had to (please don't kill me wife!) train my wife to leave me alone while I work late at home.
If you ever have the same issue with your significant other or family, sit them down for about two to ten minutes and explain to the best of your ability that when you're working at your set time, you are only working and not taking care of the house. Even if there's garbage that's overflowed, you're working. If your roommate needs to tell you about a massive zit on his back that he just popped, you are working, and probably don't want to hear about it anyways. Trust me, those ten minutes you spend with them are worth at least thirty-fold more in the near future, and you won't be stuck either vomiting your brains out over horror stories or cleaning up a garbage bag that ripped. It might save your life one day.
Well, that's our list of four awesome items for the initial post of B.T.I. and expect another post on Monday, June 10th, 2013. The main focus will be on "computer maintenance that doesn't require a degree." Ben will be typing that one, if I have any luck. In the meantime, I'm Jake, your friendly PC repairman and web designer, and ... I'm out of here.
Make sure you check out our website
Make sure you check out our website
No comments:
Post a Comment