The Basics of Organizing
By paul | August 25, 2007
What is the secret to organization? Below are the four pillars of organizing.
- Handle it
- File it
- Delegate it
- or Throw it away
That’s it. Please see my article on organizing for more details.
Dodging a Runaway Train in the Sub-Tropical Home Office
By Jeff Zbar | September 6, 2008
Hurricane Gustav. A near-miss. Tropical Storm Hanna. A nuisance. Ike. A freight train that seemingly is taking the southwestern line, and sparing those along the northbound tracks.
Life in the home office during hurricane season is part adrenalin rush, part roller-coaster, and part sheer fear.
It’s not enough that home officers have a family to worry about. Is school in? How soon will they cancel classes? Do we have supplies — ice, non-perishables, drinking water, batteries, sedatives for the dog — at the ready? Read full entry »
Topics: Personal Organizing | No Comments »
The Tablet That Changed My Life…
By Jeff Zbar | August 20, 2008
I used to work from my home office. I had my furniture, my organized space, all my productivity tools close at hand.
When we installed a wireless home network, I/we could work with the laptop from anywhere in the home — the den, the kitchen, our bedroom (though, in the interest of full disclosure, I’ve never worked from the patio — even though South Florida’s weather would allow for this wonderful escape, even in the dead of winter)…
Then I started using a tablet PC while we were on Home Office Highway, and almost a month later, it continues to change and evolve the way I do things. It’s been a real revelation and eye-opener on how enlightening and fun computing can be again.
Light and truly portable, the HP Compaq 2710p Ultra-Light Tablet Notebook PC (from around $1599) is a small-sized powerhouse. Faster than my workhorse HP Pavilion, it’s winning kudos all around — from family (who fought over using it and its nifty tablet / stylus capabilities). Its 12.1-inch screen, the sub-four pound size and generally lean design facilitated in-an-instant computing. It’s small enough to carry around the house, or hand off to Robbie so she can read an online article without having the feeling of an over-promised, over-sized “luggable.” Read full entry »
Topics: Personal Organizing | No Comments »
Staying Productive With So Much Good TV On
By Jeff Zbar | August 19, 2008
I’m no TV junkie in the home office. In fact, I don’t catch my first afternoon re-run until at least 3 pm, and primetime in our household doesn’t start until well after dinner.
Surely, I jest. In seriousness, except for 15 minutes of TV over lunch, the tube doesn’t come on in the household until deep into primetime (exclusive of the kids’ viewing habits, of course). It’s part of staying organized and focused in the home office.
But with the Olympics and the Little League World Series going head to head, I struggle to stay focused during the workday.
I’m Jeff Zbar, and I’m a recovering sports TV junkie. Read full entry »
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Two Weeks Down, Home Office Highway a Success - So Far…
By Jeff Zbar | July 21, 2008
When we departed on Home Office Highway, I’d wondered early on how successful I’d be working from an RV — and how successful my family would be living in the midst of a RV home office worker.
I’m proud to say, it’s been a success so far. Credit my own biorhythm, improved planning, making work a “shared experience,” and staying focused on the balance needed to make this happen.
I awaken early each day, while at home or on the road. So I’m able to work while the family sleeps. Realizing that I’m wouldn’t be working at 100% while on the road, I’m trying to be about 40-50% productive. So far, that’s been about the case. Read full entry »
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What’s ‘Balance’ on the Family ‘Workation’?
By Jeff Zbar | July 19, 2008
If you took a family vacation, and told your family you’d be bringing your laptop and BlackBerry along, would they roll their eyes and mumble frustrated rumblings under their breath? “And this is different from your home office HOW?” they might wonder…
Would they curse that they’re losing Dad or Mom — Again! — to work sessions on the road? Would they bemoan your addiction to the “Crackberry,” or roll their eyes everytime you powered up the tablet PC?
That could have been the case with Home Office Highway. Yet thankfully, everyone’s been on board (no pun intended) with this “Vocation Meets Vacation” RV experience. Read full entry »
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How’s Your Summer Vacation?
By Jeff Zbar | July 17, 2008
The Zbar family is an active bunch. We travel, see the sights, get on each other’s nerves (occasionally), and have a rich and rewarding live.
Reminds me of the message in the fortune cookie I once received. It read, “You have a lively family.” I saved that one.
It’s a life afforded, in part, by the home office / entrepreneur experience. I’m my own boss, so I can take off when I want, use technology to keep the business humming, and enjoy the spoils along the way. As long as my clients are happy, we’re good to go.
After all, vacations are the stuff life memories are made of. We shoot pictures of every little thing along the way. Read full entry »
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Work From Home? Can You Work From the Road?
By Jeff Zbar | July 14, 2008
Every year, my family takes a winter road trip to northern Ontario, and a summer trip to the Jersey Shore. While I work from home, I always take my home office on the road.
Can you?
Millions of Americans work 50 weeks a year to earn their coveted two weeks off. Few take those two consecutively for fear of, what…? Falling out of sync with the office? Losing touch with work, peers, clients and the flow of the office? Failure? Read full entry »
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Transforming an RV into a Home Office
By Jeff Zbar | July 13, 2008
When we started working aboard the “ZRV” for Home Office Highway, my intention was to create a home office I would work with and live in.
First, the workspace is not as spacious as my home office back, well, home. So I needed to get a printer that would fit the workspace. For that, I’m using an HP OfficeJet H470 portable printer. With a footprint of around 6-by-14 inches, it’s no space hog (it’s got Wi-fi and Bluetooth connectivity, too, which is great for an RV networked with several laptops all occasionally in need of printing).
I’m also working from an HP Compaq 2710p tablet notebook. With a 12.1-inch screen and a ton of processing power, it qualified as a power tool of the home office (and the Verizon Wireless broadband access card rounds out the package). Read full entry »
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Confessions of a Mobile Home Office Worker
By Jeff Zbar | July 12, 2008
I’m Jeff Zbar, and I’m a mobile home officer. Monday through Friday, and sometimes Fridays through Monday, I work from home.
And when my family travels, I work a little more. You see. I’m a mobile home officer. And nothing reveals this more than my current adventure: Home Office Highway. This three-week road trip is designed to reveal how an Internet jockey (I’m a writer who uses a laptop and broadband Internet connection to ply my trade) can work from anywhere — if he has a few simple tools. Read full entry »
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Double the productivity in half the time
By Jeff Zbar | January 10, 2008
Around the holidays, I made some purchases that would come back to nag me. First, I bought a TomTom One PGS device. Very cool. A highly recommended concept. Except my device kept needing to be reset (you know, where you straighten a paperclip and shove it in that tiny hole in the bottom). I also bought for my drum set a bracket — sight unseen – that I hoped would replace a bracket that had broken a month or three earlier. Guess what? It didn’t fit (Mr. Murphy apparently was billing overtime this season). So I had two returns to make. But the stores were miles apart — in different directions from my home. What did I do? I sat and pondered for a moment…
Topics: Time Management | No Comments »