Simplify your Christmas by renting a living tree

Christmas is fast approaching and there are plenty of things to do. If you want to check something fairly major off your list, help the environment and bring the heavenly aroma of fresh pine into your home then rent your Christmas tree.

A company will take them out of the ground and stick them in pots. They’ll deliver it to your home where you can enjoy it through the holidays. Around New Year’s they’ll pick up the tree and plant it at schools, parks, churches, etc. that pay about $10 for them to do so.

The cost is $75 for the tree to be delivered and picked up, or you can save ten bucks and do it yourself. Not a bad deal considering what trees are going for nowadays.

Sounds like a perfect arrangement, but of course there’s a hitch: The company, Living Christmas Trees, is based in Portland, Oregon (my old stomping grounds) so if you don’t live around there you’re out of luck for the time being.

However, if you’d like to take matters into your own hands they do have a section on their site about suggestions of what to do if you live out of state. They even have franchising opportunities.

What do you think? If it were available where you live would it be something you’d do? Why or why not?

LivSimpl

P.S. Do you have any tips to simplify the holiday rush? If so, e-mail me at LivSimpl at gmail.

Results are in

According to a recent reader survey, 60% of you thought the post lengths were just about right with about 33% thinking I need to dive into the subject matter a little more. One person felt I rambled. (Dear, I’m sorry. I’ll try and keep it short. And do you still want me to pick up milk on the way home?)

Thanks to all who voted. I’ll try to dive a little deeper into things, but only as the subject permits.

As always, I’m eager for suggestions and tips so feel free to contact me either through the electronic mail (LivSimpl at gmail) or jump on Google Talk and say hi (same account).

Thanks for reading!

LivSimpl

Save your wallet: how to ski for free at Alta

For all of you fellow Utah-dwellers (or, if you live nearby and have always wanted to learn to ski) Alta Ski Area offers free skiing after 3:00 pm and equipment rentals for only $5.

I’ve been skiing a few times back in Oregon but I haven’t tried skiing in Utah because the cumulative cost of the lift pass and equipment rentals seemed prohibitive. Not to mention I’m not in good skiing shape (or any kind of shape for that matter) so the idea of paying for a full-day pass when I don’t have the stamina to ski all day seemed a waste.

Alta’s Ski Free After Three is a great opportunity for someone like myself to go up and give it a try.

And for you more experienced skiers, the lift includes access to some advanced runs, including Black Diamonds.

As expected, there are some restrictions: the pass is only good for one lift and the slopes are only open until 4:30. That being said, it still sounds like a great opportunity to save some money and enjoy an afternoon experiencing what Utah is famous for.

LivSimpl

Spend less time in Gmail with shortcuts

One of my huge frustrations when working on the computer is having to take my hand off my keyboard to do something with the mouse. Especially when that certain action could be done relatively easily using key commands.

Fortunately, when you are using Outlook or just about any other e-mail program, instead of removing your right hand from the keyboard, placing it on your mouse, clicking the “New” e-mail button and putting your hand back on the keyboard, you could simply hit Control + N.

Simpler and more efficient.

Of course, many other programs besides e-mail have keyboard shortcuts, some quite elaborate. (I’m thinking of Adobe InDesign where there’s a shortcut I frequently use which requires awkwardly mashing four keys simultaneously.)

Similar shortcuts available in Gmail. Just like you’d hit Control + N to create a new e-mail in Outlook, in Gmail you just have to hit “C” while viewing your inbox. Want to archive a selected message? “Y”. There are dozens of them, all of which can be viewed in a nice, semi-transparent window over your inbox by pressing Shift + / (or “?”, depending on how you look at it).*

Of course, you’ll have to enable shortcuts first by going under your Settings and then selecting “Keyboard shortcuts on”.

There’s a little bit of a learning curve, but once you have a few of them down you’ll be able to move through your e-mail much, much faster.

LivSimpl

*I think this functionality is being rolled out slowly. So if your account isn’t enabled for it yet you can go to this page for a complete list.

Last day to vote!

It’s the last day to vote on the LivSimpl poll regarding the length of my posts (see upper-right corner of the site).

And, as always, additional feedback is always welcome. Thanks to Peter for leaving a comment here. Peter, your gold-plated Moleskine notebook is in the mail.

Start working faster in the mornings

When I first get to the office it can take a little while before I really get going for the day. I can become distracted and spend too much time “getting settled” before I really start cranking on anything.

This is because I’m not mentally focused on what I need to do when I get to work.

I’ve found that if I figure out what project I’m going to start on the night before, having that tidbit of info in my head the next morning helps tremendously. I don’t have to get to work and figure out what I need to start on. I already know, and can sit down and get straight to work.

Sometimes sticking a post-it note to my computer with the name of the project I need to start on is necessary too.

Have you found yourself similarly dragging your feet when you first get to work? Do you have any other tricks to jump-start your productivity?

LivSimpl

What to do when email ceases to be productive

As an admitted tech junkie, I had a bit of a startling revelation the other day. It is in regard to e-mail.

The whole concept of information being able to travel anywhere in an instant still amazes me when I think about it. The fact that someone on an island in the middle of the ocean can send me an e-mail and it arrives instantly is pretty remarkable. I know that’s a really geeky thing to say but it’s true. Same goes for text and instant messaging.

Naturally, I feel the need to respond to these communications just as fast as I receive them. That’s the whole point, right? And in a corporate environment it’s pretty much expected.

Besides, knowing myself, if I don’t respond quickly I’ll forget.

Because of this I tend to keep a very close eye on my e-mail. I have it set to check for new mail every minute and when I see that little yellow envelope…wow…for some reason I can’t focus until I find out who caused it to show up.

Then one day I decided to quit my e-mail program.

I didn’t minimize it, or hide it. I quit it completely. It was no longer open.

Here’s my thinking behind the rash move:

• E-mail had ceased to be a productive tool. Instead, it had become a distraction.

• I reassured myself nobody was going to care, or even notice. I don’t think anyone is waiting around for me to respond instantly – they don’t even know if I’m in my office. Waiting a half hour before I respond isn’t a big deal.

• If it’s important enough, they’ll call.

So now I close Outlook while I’m working on a project. When I have a break I open it, check e-mail, respond, and close it again. In fact, now Outlook is probably closed as much as it’s open. It’s proven to be a huge time-saver in that I can focus and really dig into a project better than when the little yellow envelope was staring me down.

Does anyone else do something similar? How often do you check your e-mail? Let us know in the comments.

LivSimpl

P.S. I’ve posted a similar idea about turning off your cell phone.

Thanks to Yale (yes, the school) for the image.