Apple apps

Apple's App Store recently announced it had its 25 billionth app download.  According to Apple, there are over 500,000 apps in the App Store. Besides the obvious apps that help iPhone and iPad users use frequently accessed sites like Facebook, Netflix and Pandora, how does one figure out which of those 500,000 apps are going to be useful and worth the time to learn them or the money to download them?

No person can be an total app expert, so I try to get recommendations from trusted associates when I'm looking for an app to meet a specific need. When that fails, I do a search for recommendations, and can usually narrow down the field by looking at a couple of review posts on reputable blogs like CNET or Lifehacker.

Evernote's app.

So...in that vein, here are a few apps that I can recommend from personal experience using them on my iPad:

• Evernote: This is probably an obvious choice, but the iPad interface works great, and I use it every day for all my lists.
• Yelp: I like this app because it uses your location to give you reviews and information for businesses of all types that are in the area where you are, and it even tells you if they are currently open or closed.
• TurboScan: A simple, inexpensive scanning app that actually works. Don't expect the scan quality to be as high as if you were using your ScanSnap, but it's good for scanning on the fly.
• LA Times: The Los Angeles Times has just started a membership program where they are charging for online access to the paper. However, for the time being, mobile devices will still be able to access the site for free. So, if you don't want to pay for a membership, grab the app and read it on your iPad. The usability is great, too.

Workspace inspiration

I love the blog Unclutterer, and they have a weekly feature called Workspace of the Week that highlights unique or exceptionally well-organized workspaces, usually home offices. I love looking at how real people have organized their workspaces, as opposed to the ultra-perfect spaces you tend to see in magazines. If you are looking for some inspiration for your own workspace, I encourage you to check out their archives.

Screenshot from unclutterer.com

Review: Never Eat Alone

Never Eat Alone by Keith Ferrazzi was first published in 2005. I read it to discuss with my NAPO-LA book group, and found its advice about networking to be straightforward and applicable to any business or personal situation. The author is kind of a connections addict. He loves making connections and networking with people and has found it to be one of the most influential strategies for advancing in business and life. I liked the book's tone and organization, though it's hard to adjust to the bald fact that it's pretty much always who you know rather than what you know. Ferrazzi wants to empower you to learn how to get to know the people who can help you on your path through life.

I got the most out of the chapter on conferences. Ferrazzi argues that conferences are less about the content of the sessions or workshops or keynotes and much more valuable for getting face time with and getting to know people. Conferences do offer concentrated people-meeting arena, and it pays to go in having done some research on the other attendees and making a point of meeting and talking with those who you find fascinating or relevant to your fields of interest.

There were a lot of good take-aways from the book, and even though it was published before the Facebook/Twitter/social networking explosion, the principles still apply. Following up, being interesting, taking an interest in other people, being willing to ask for help as well as give help are all timeless concepts and well worth reminding ourselves about.

5 easy ways to get your inbox to zero

I'm constantly striving to have my unread emails total 0. It happens every day, but it takes daily upkeep. Here are five ways to make it easier to keep those unread emails at bay:

1. Unsubscribe, unsubscribe, unsubscribe. Anytime you find yourself deleting or archiving a newsletter or advertisement without opening it, take two seconds, open it and scroll to the bottom where there will be an unsubscribe link. Sometimes it's clearer than others where to click, but doing so and following whatever prompts appear will stop those types of emails from landing in your inbox in the first place.
2. Filter. You might want to keep statement notices, certain newsletters or list serve digests for future reference or reading, but you don't want them cluttering up your inbox until then. Set up a filter to label them and have them skip your inbox and go straight to a folder for later.
3. Post something like "No need to respond" at the bottoms of emails you send out that really don't require a response. 
4. Belong to a Yahoo Group or other list serves? Consider setting up a filter (#2) or switching your membership to a daily or weekly digest of email instead of receiving every message as it gets posted.
5. Turn off or reduce email notifications on your social networking sites liked LinkedIn or Goodreads. Do you really need to be notified about what your friends are reading every day or week? If you cared, you'd be on the sites and interacting there.

Do yourself a favor and stop your email overload before it starts, and getting to inbox zero will be much more achievable.

The Book of Household Management

Though the phrase "A place for everything, and everything in its place," may predate the publication of the book The Book of Household Management, it surprised me that the saying is generally attributed to the author of that volume, Mrs. Isabella Beeton. The book was published in 1861 and is a handbook for a woman running a household in Victorian England. It never occurred to me that the quote could be traced back to one person. It's a marvelous aphorism that holds up in any era.

"A place for everything, and everything in its place," must be her rule, in order that time may not be wasted in looking for things when they are wanted, and in order that the whole apparatus of cooking may move with the regularity and precision of a well-adjusted machine;—all must go on simultaneously.

~Mrs. Beeton, The Book of Household Management

You can download a free copy of The Book of Household Management in numerous formats from Project Gutenberg.