Category Archives: Misc

Q3 charity:water Campaign

07/02/2014 Mark Jacobsen Leave a comment

My third quarter charity:water campaign is now live! To date you’ve helped raise over $2,500 for clean water and in doing so helped over 300 people! I don’t know about you, but the fact that you can potentially save someone’s life for less then $9 just blows my mind.

Every day, 5,000 kids under the age of 5 die from water-related illnesses.

So, if you would like to help continue to help solve the water crises, please take a moment to consider a small donation. And remember, with charity:water’s 100% model your entire donation helps to serve the people who need it!

Please remember to subscribe to the newsletter or feed to stay up to date!

Disclaimer: Thoughts and opinions are my own, and do not reflect the views of any employer, family member, friend, or anyone else. Some links may be affiliate links, but I don't link to anything I don't use myself.

Misc, Productivity

The Single Easiest Habit Change to Improve Your Life Forever #1aDay

06/26/2014 Mark Jacobsen 1 Comment

This one thing has made a huge difference in my life. Find out about it by reading the full article here

Business

You’re Not Charging Enough. Charge More. End of Discussion. #1aDay

05/09/2014 Mark Jacobsen Leave a comment

One of the top lessons that have recently come out of the ShankMinds Business Masterminds is that people simply don’t charge enough. And you probably don’t, either.

I know I have this problem too, but over time I’ve learned to charge more. I know what I do is valuable, and should be compensated accordingly. Read Peter’s post and see if you disagree.

Read the full article here

Customer Service, Financial

The Internet Is About to Become Worse Than Television #1aDay

05/05/2014 Mark Jacobsen Leave a comment

Last week, an obscure but potentially internet-transforming document was leaked from the U.S. Federal Communications Commission. It revealed that government regulators are considering rules that would give big companies a chance to make their online services run faster than smaller ones.

Personally, the thing I like least about it is that it’s easy to see how small/new companies could get screwed and stifle innovation. The other thing that I had not though of until I read this is I trust the cable companies so little that I wouldn’t be surprised if they started “bundling” sites like they do with TV. I don’t need 100 channels! Of course, this is why I don’t have cable TV. Finally, the other thing you should be upset about is the cable companies “double dipping”. They’re already charging insane prices (because usually they have a monopoly in most areas other then major metros), and now they’re also going to start extorting the companies too – what, you didn’t think they’d actually lower your rates when they started charging the companies did you?… Comcrap-Warner wants it’s cake and to eat it too (see the video below – warning: language).

Read the full article here

Comcast Doesn't Give a F*CK from Tarik Ellinger

Life, Productivity

Concurrently process for maximum productivity #1aDay

05/02/2014 Mark Jacobsen Leave a comment

Christopher Penn makes a good argument for the separate concept of concurrent (or parallel processing) over the traditional single vs multi-tasking debate. Of course the key to success in concurrent processing is knowing how to split up the work without getting stuck in analysis paralysis. In that case, I would strongly recommend dropping down to single tasking instead of what most people seem to do.

Read the full article here

Productivity

Emails Are Not For Real-Time Requests (and Other Rules) #1aDay

04/29/2014 Mark Jacobsen Leave a comment

Here’s an article that’s been spreading like wildfire it seems, and while it raises an interesting idea it seems to forget that the reason people are contacting you like they are isn’t because they don’t know how to or what method to use. They don’t care about what’s convenient for you. They care about what’s convenient for them.

That’s not to say you have to use every communication method known to man or have notification turned on for all channels (for heaven’s sake, TURN OFF THE NOTIFICATIONS). Still, if you want to get a hold of me, please email. Just don’t be shocked if I don’t reply or it takes a while. We all have to set limits 🙂

Read the full article here

Books

Now Reading Atlas Shrugged

03/25/2014 Mark Jacobsen Leave a comment

Now Reading Ayn Rand’s Classic: Atlas Shrugged

It’s been a long time since I’ve started on a book that has been hard to put down. After hearing about this book for years I finally had someone get it for me off of my wishlist and I’ve been up every night until around midnight to 1am reading. At over 1000 pages it’s a long read but it’s a great story with a message I mostly agree with (so far). Of course there are a few things I’m not entirely on board with, but I’m interested to see how it all shakes out in the end. By far my favorite part is Francisco’s speech at Jim Taggat’s wedding about 35% of the way into the book. Right now I’m on John Galt’s radio address near the end and sadly it’s my least favorite part. Too long winded. If he wants to sell his idea to the world I say he needs to cut to the chase instead of blathering on. The mental image I keep getting is of the entire nation listening, and after about ten minutes just tuning out.

Still, this is one book I would highly recommend.

Anyone else out there read it? Thoughts? Please remember to subscribe to the newsletter or feed to stay up to date!

Disclaimer: Thoughts and opinions are my own, and do not reflect the views of any employer, family member, friend, or anyone else. Some links may be affiliate links, but I don't link to anything I don't use myself.

Productivity

Recline! Why “leaning in” is killing us

02/26/2014 Mark Jacobsen Leave a comment

I thought there were some good points in this article: Recline!.

Two of my favorites:

The general American tendency to think that “more time at work” equals “better work” is exacerbated by the All Crisis All the Time culture
When a workplace is full of employees who always lean in and never lean back, it’s full of employees who are exhausted, brittle, and incapable of showing much creativity or making good decisions.

Weekly Round-Up

Weekly Round-Up: 2/2/14 to 2/8/14

02/09/2014 Mark Jacobsen Leave a comment

The Weekly Round-Up is a once weekly collection of my #1Aday daily shares. Hope you find something of interest!

Mon 2/3
Melanie Pinola helps answer: How Should I Teach My Kids About Money? – http://bit.ly/1imvpoX

Tue 2/4
Melanie Pinola tells us: What Happens When You Tip: It Doesn’t Always Go to Your Server – http://bit.ly/1emPaxx

Wed 2/5
Thorin Klosowski gives us: Lessons from the Top: What We Can All Learn from CEOs – http://bit.ly/N1CyjX

Weekly Round-Up

Weekly Round-Up: 1/26/14 to 2/1/14

02/02/2014 Mark Jacobsen 4 Comments

The Weekly Round-Up is a once weekly collection of my #1Aday daily shares. Hope you find something of interest!

Mon 1/27
Hilary Stout says More Retailers See Haggling as a Price of Doing Business – http://bit.ly/Mk8hg6

Tue 1/28
Sarah Koppelkam @skoppelkam on How to Talk to Your Daughter About Her Body – http://bit.ly/1aFaQ7b

Wed 1/29
Tessa Miller answers the question: Do I Really Need to Log Out of Webapps? <- See the longer answer. - http://bit.ly/1nj5LEu

Thu 1/30
MMM @mrmoneymustache on The Low Information Diet – http://bit.ly/1npmxBX

Fri 1/31
Courtney Carver @bemorewithless says to Encourage Simplicity by Redefining Your Purchase Process – http://bit.ly/1kjq6am