I just got an email from a friend of mine who works at Google’s headquarters. He sent me a picture of their toilet controls at Google. This might be the most amazing thing I have ever seen.
click for a larger view
Remember The Milk Cheat Sheet
If you’re anything like me, you’re always looking for ways to do things faster. I’m on a never ending journey of becoming more effective and efficient in my daily workflow. One of the components of most people’s workflow is a task list. I’ve been using RememberTheMilk.com (RTM) as my task manager for a few years (excluding a brief experiment with Google Tasks) and I can’t imagine trying to be productive without it.
There are a TON of ways to add tasks to your lists, but one of my personal favorites is using a combination of their add tasks via email feature (you’re given a unique email address that allows you to add tasks) and a newer feature called Smart Add. It’s a trick I picked up from the book Bit Literacy. If I get an email that requires an action on my part, I’ll forward the email to RTM and just change the subject line to something that helps me remember what I’m supposed to do. The body of the text is attached to the task as a note, which is nice to have to get a context for the task.
The downside to this method for me has been I can’t easily remember some of the feature codes for Smart Add, which I like to use. They have a lengthy discussion on how Smart Add works, but I don’t need all that. I just need the codes. I fixed my little problem today by typing up a nice little cheat sheet that I tacked to my cork board. Now I’ll be able to have a little more control over my tasks via email and you can too. Just print out the doc or this blog post, cut the cheat sheet up to your preferred size, and you’ll be all set.
Enjoy!
RTM Smart Add Cheat Sheet
| ^ | Due Date |
| ! | Priority |
| # | List / Tag |
| @ | Location |
| * | Repeat |
| = | Time Estimate |
If you use RTM and you have a tip I’d love to hear it! Share in the comments.
iPad Quick Review
It took me three years to jump on the iPhone bandwagon, but I’ve already jumped on the iPad train. This thing is really, really cool. When I first heard about it from the Steve Jobs keynote I scoffed. I thought this was the biggest miss that Apple has done since the Newton, but I was wrong. This thing is awesome. It’s not quite a computer and not quite a smartphone, but it makes sense to me already. I think it will especially be a really big hit for parents with little kids, as there are already a bunch of apps for it and there will just be more and more that get developed.
If you’re on the fence about getting one, and you have the cash to burn, get it. It’s fun and elegant. It’s not perfect, but it’s still great.
And yes, I did write this post from the WordPress app on my iPad.
What the Church Can Learn from the Demise of the Print Industry
The days of people waking up to their morning coffee and opening up the morning paper are gone. I needed no further proof than when my dad recently cancelled his newspaper subscription, which was a sign to me that you can start writing the obituary for the printed newspaper (but I’m not sure where the obituary will end up when printed newspapers are gone). It’s been looming on the horizon for a long time, but the soaring popularity of Craigslist, cheaper more effective advertising with Google, and the recession that’s been going on over the past few years the death of the print industry has been significantly accelerated.
A recent blog post by Sam Rainer somehow made me see a connection between the print industry and the church. Sam’s post was discussing how some churches run on a much smaller percentage of their budget devoted to staffing than what is average in American churches. I’m not sure the two are related, but it kind of feels like there might be something going on in churches similar to what the newspaper and print industry has experienced over the past decade. Newspapers are dying quickly in our country as they’ve struggled to figure out how to maintain profitability when their traditional revenue sources (classified, ads, subscribers) disappear.
The church doesn’t live on advertising dollars, but it does need to re-think many things in light of how communication has changed. There are many ways for churches to cut back on traditional costs, but they would require a shift in thinking. For example, almost every church has physical offices somewhere on their property. This is what churches have always done, so it seems like it’s needed, right?
Well, in today’s broadband powered Internet age, I’m not convinced that it is. Church telephone numbers can be pointed to cell phones or services like Phonebooth or RingCentral that eliminate the need for a centralized system. Staff meetings can happen completely online through video chat services like Skype or TokBox. Starbucks can be a comfortable place for pastors to meet with church members throughout the week. There are many other ways churches could cut back on their overhead devoted to staffing, too.
The reason I see a connection between the print industry and the church is that in both instances things have become more and more decentralized and information has become more and more readily available. Pastors are no longer the only ones who have access to biblical research tools that previously only usuable by seminary graduates. Videos of sermons from outstanding preachers throughout the world are just a click away. And with the increase in the number of “internet campuses” that churches offer more and more people will be attending church in their pajamas in bed.
There’s a desperate need for churches to continue to refocus and reshape who they are and how they manage their resources. We have the most important message the world needs to hear, so we need to do whatever we can to ensure that we offer that message in as effective and efficient way possible.
Image by just.Luc
Four Ways to Be More Consistent in Your Bible Reading
Let’s face it. Most of us are not as disciplined in our Bible reading as we should be. We’ve heard over and over to “Read your Bible and pray every day” since as long as we’ve given our lives to Christ, but we still struggle to read God’s Word as often as we should. We know that the Bible is a major part of our spiritual nourishment, but it’s all too common that we realize one day that we can’t remember the last time that we actually read the Bible for ourselves.
I know that feeling all to well. As a minister, you would think that I’ve been a super-human, high-powered, professional holy man since the day I jumped out of my mother’s womb. But the reality is that I’ve struggled to be consistent in this area most of my adult life. I get distracted way too easy. Life makes me tired. And I’ve struggled much more than I’ve done well.
That’s changed a lot over the past couple years. I can honestly say that this year and last I’ve been the most consistent in my daily reading than ever before. In fact, I’ve read the Bible every single day so far in 2010. I’ve learned a few things that have really helped me become consistent, so I thought I’d share those here. Here are a few things that have worked for me and I think they could help you, too.
Find a rhythm that works for you.
There are a few people that I know who get up extremely early in the morning (when Jesus might still be asleep) to spend time in prayer and Bible study. When I hear people talk about this my first reaction is to feel guilty. That seems like the thing that all of us should do if we really love Jesus. But the reality is that early mornings don’t work best for everyone. It may be that you need to start doing that, but what’s most important is to find a rhythm of Bible reading that works best for you.
The majority of the time that I read the Bible is at night right before I go to bed. There are days that I’ll find time in the middle of the morning or afternoon to get in the word, but I tend to read before bed most of the time. If you’re a night owl like me, maybe reading the Bible then is the best time for you.
Make it a priority.
This may be the most important thing I’ve done. It’s easy to come up with a litany of excuses about why we’re not being consistent in our reading, but the most likely reason is that we haven’t seen it as being all that important of a thing to do. Excuses like, “We’ve heard most of the important stories before.” “The Bible hasn’t been available to read for everyone for most of history, so why bother today?” “Life’s so stressful with work and the kids that the last thing I need to do is add another thing to my to do list.”
Whatever the excuse is the reality is that we’re not making it a high priority in our everyday lives. Until that happens any excuse will seem like a good one.
Follow a plan to read the whole Bible.
From what I can tell, there are two ways that are really popular for reading the Bible but aren’t really the best if you’re struggling in being consistent. One is to just open up the Bible randomly to a page and start reading. All of Scripture is inspired, so I’m bound to find something valuable no matter where I start, right? Well, that is true, but if you don’t have a plan in place to read through the whole Bible you’ll probably just skip over some less than fun sections (Leviticus/Numbers for example).
The other way that I hear of people doing is reading straight through from Genesis to Revelation. I’ve never done this and it’s likely that I never will. My wife, Brea, is doing this now and I really admire her for it, but there are a number of other ways to read the Bible that I have found to be easier to to follow than this plan.
The best source for reading plans I have found is from YouVersion. They have over twenty plans to choose from. Not only that, YouVersion can be accessed from your browser or you mobile device (they even have an iPhone app, too). On top of that, you can choose how short or how long you want it take to make it through the plan. Oh, and they also have an option to add accountability partner to help keep you on track! Those are some great options!
If you prefer to read your print bible you can check out some printable plans over at the Blue Letter Bible website.
Give yourself some grace.
Even if you follow my previous tips, you’re likely to miss a day or two (or more) over the course of your reading. If this happens to you realize that this just confirms your need for grace and forgiveness from Christ and learn to give yourself some grace. Satan loves to make people feel guilty, and if you feel guilty about not reading your Bible you’ll be less likely to read your Bible, which is what is making you feel guilty in the first place. It’s a vicious cycle.
Those are just a few tips that I’ve got. Do you have any success stories or struggles to share in your Bible reading? Share in the comments!
[image via eye2eye]