Top 5 Productivity Devices of 2011
I honestly want to make sure you are doing something every day and making progress towards making more money every single day you are online. That's why, since it's November now and Christmas is coming up, I want to share with you which items I use every single day to stay happy, get things finished and enjoy life...
Philips Hf3485 Wake-up Light Plus ($150)
http://youtu.be/BdboMtXfa9w
It's really important to wake up early and get as much accomplished in your business before noon. When I had days off in college, I'd sleep until 12PM to 2PM and not really get anything done on a typical day -- not good! But when I had to balance internet marketing and a day job, I found myself waking up early (5AM or 6AM) and I'd get more finished during that one focused hour than I used to do in a week.
Now that I am full time with internet marketing, it's even more important wake up early (and usually go running or swimming) so that I can hit the ground running every morning and have afternoons and evenings free to relax and unwind. Routine is important. I don't use the alarm clock function on this, but when I wake up, I reach over and turn on this light. It shines a very bright light that completely wakes you up and gets you ready to hop out of bed in just a few minutes.
Cuisinart SS-780 Coffeemaker ($169)
I'm not a huge coffee drinker, but I do like to make tea or hot chocolate and on occasion put some ice cubes in a mug and pour iced coffee. This machine is amazing. You put a cartridge on the top of the machine and it makes one cup for you at a time (you can adjust what size your "cup" is) then you just throw away the cartridge or "K-Cup." They make several flavors, my favorite is the Chai Latte. If the machine is off it takes about 3 minutes to warm up and then about 30 seconds to make a cup. If the machine is already on standby then it literally takes 30 seconds to make yourself a cup of coffee, tea, or cocoa and then you're back to writing some emails, making some products and generating some traffic.
G-SAFE 2TB ($560)
We all take backups for granted. It's not an exciting subject even though at some point or another we have all lost files we wish we could get back. I used to store all my files on my hard drive... bad idea. Then I tried putting things on a USB stick... also a bad idea. External hard drive... even worse! And Internet bandwidth is not yet fast enough where we can store 100% of our files online in the cloud (especially video), so here is the next best thing.
This is external hard drive that connects using USB2. If your computer has an E-SATA port then it will run even faster. But I store all my videos, products, articles, graphics, all my large files on this device. It holds two 2TB hard drives but what makes this special is it "mirrors" the data on both drives. It's basically a constant backup. So if one hard drive ever fails (it hasn't happened yet) you can slide it out, stick a brand new hard drive in its slot without even turning it off, and it will back up all your data to that 2nd drive.
iPad 2 16GB 3G ($579) & Logitech Zagg Keyboard ($102)
It takes a lot of willpower not to use my iPad at home to play games all day, but when I'm traveling it's a must-have. It's a lot more convenient than taking a laptop on the road: it's lighter, smaller, and the battery lasts a lot longer, and although it can't do 100% of the things a laptop can, it's pretty close.
When I travel, I put movies (sometimes internet marketing courses) on my iPad, I can browse the internet, play games, write emails to my list, use a word processor. But the biggest headache is the keyboard. I've tried a few iPad 2 keyboards and this is my favorite. It connects via Bluetooth so I can use this keyboard for my iPhone as well, it stands up and doubles as a case. It's also not too small which has been my complaint with many of these keyboards. I have used my iPad 2 and Logitech Zagg keyboard to write articles, emails, and sales letters from the plane.
Roku Player ($100)
If you haven't removed live TV from your home yet, I would encourage you to. Just the fact that I can't waste time flipping channels or watch reality TV gives me extra hours of free time every single day. If you're single or live alone then this is your motivation to make friends. If you have a family then this is your way to spend more time with them. But I'm not saying remove all TV, just live TV.
This box costs 100 bucks (one time payment) and plugs into your TV whether it's HDMI or Composite-RCA, and then connects to your home network over Wifi. It streams all Netflix movies right onto your TV. If you subscribe to Hulu Plus (7 bucks a month) then it streams about half of all Comedy Central, NBC, ABC, FOX. Whatever movies or TV shows aren't on there are probably available for you to buy on Amazon Instant for about 2 to 4 dollars. I consider this a far better (and cheaper) alternative to using cable TV.
I hope that gives you something to get yourself if you want to be more productive, someone who has a birthday coming up for a loved one for the upcoming Christmas season. What item do you use to make yourself more productive?
Filed in: Productivity
Subscribe
If you enjoyed this article, subscribe to receive more just like it.
Thanks much for the keyboard recommendation. That may well be the MIL’s Xmas present.
And we may well pull the plug on the TV and replace with a Roku. Can’t decide yet whether I want the GTech or a Synology DS211.
LOL I’ve got 3 kids under 4 so I don’t need that light. Statistically they’ll always wake me up at 6AM, and if they don’t then I probably need the extra hour of sleep =P
Awesome recommendations, Robert. I’d like to do the rooster test of the wake up light with my teenager and see if it will get him up for 8 AM classes without me crowing at him . . . LOL.
I’ve been looking for a good backup solutions as well. I’ll give this a try as I’ve done all the other ones you have listed and have been less than satisfied .. .especially since I now need to get years of family pictures off a remote network drive that won’t connect to my new router. I like the USB solution.
Thanks for giving us a glimpse of the nitty gritty of your success.
Theresa 😎
I don’t drink coffee, and I have no issue waking up in the morning.
I do LOVE the ROKU for sure because I use it!
And the other thing on your list I like is G-SAFE 2TB as I currently am only backing up manually once per week (which I should know better).
One thing you said that I agree with 100% is that waking up early and getting your body on a “regular schedule” makes all the difference.
Recently I stopped my #1 “bad habit” and have started to go to sleep before 11pm and have been waking up everyday between 5 and 6 am and I’m really loving it! You get a lot more done at that time of morning.
Also, P90X has really made a huge difference in my energy levels.
And Robert, I’ll withhold the pics I took of you and Lance a few weeks back … you’re welcome!
I really like the idea of the keyboard for the iPad for traveling. The laptop is becoming a real drag (just got back from a trip yesterday, and going on another in just 3 weeks)
The G-Safe 2TB is interesting and convenient if something goes wrong. I guess the only exposure you’d have is if there was an earthquake, flood, fire, etc. in your physical location that destoryed both computer and backup device. I’ll have to take a look at that… right now I’m using continuous online backup with Carbonite and haven’t found it to be a problem even with the big video files. It’s unlimited backup storage for something like $50/year. And I have restored from it, so it’s pretty reliable and easy. Having both onsite and offsite backups are probably the best combination for everyone, really.
Thanks for sharing these ideas! 🙂
Well, let’s start at the top and work our way down the list.
A friend blessed me with the gift of a Keurig single serve machine. I have not used it yet as I always make a pot of coffee first thing. Because I am not rushing kids, they are grown and gone, or myself out the door I have time to do that.
I have a 1TB external hard drive I use for constant backup. I understand about the mirror system and believe it is a good idea but the single HD will have to do until my Internet lifestyle becomes a secure reality.
As far as the I Pad goes I am sure it is a great tool but I still have a phone that doesn’t even have web access. I know I need to step into the 20th century, oh no, that would be the 21st century but I am happy with my cell phone and laptop. Perhaps when my Internet lifestyle becomes a consistant reality I will look at things in a different light but I am not so sure about that.
I do not watch TV more than perhaps 5 hours per week so I am not sure the Roku Player would help with productivity but I like the idea. My problem is my high speed Internet come with my cable TV package.
Well, there you have it. I hope I did not sound negative because I trylu believe each of these products has a place in the busy lives or regular people today. Perhaps not every product in every life but if you find one that helps you are miles ahead of the game.
Thanks for the infor Robert,
Clyde
I ditched coffee 3 or 4 months for yerba mate tea. Definitely a good move. Without a doubt I’m more productive. And my weekly lifting is noticeably better too. There are never any jitters.
But prep is a pain – you don’t want the water temp above 195. Am looking for a device that can tell me the water temp.
Those with the Roku – what do you do if you just want to veg out to a Simpsons rerun when you get home at the end of the day?
Clyde: I hear ya re:net/TV combo. But if you’ve got the customer service skills you should be able to drive a good bargain. When the economy went kablooie – and that is a technical term by the way – cable was often the first bill to be cut. The customer reps were given a lot of leeway to offer deals. My wife has bagged us a couple of good offers in the last 2 years.
Hey Robert,
Pretty cool stuff tho’ not a good time. Glad to see my external hd wasn’t that bad an idea (IF you only have one) or course I WILL buy the one shown here or something similar when the funds allow. I’ve been manually backing everything I own to 2 hd’s for a while. And it has to be done 1 at a time so it’s a major time drain. Still not nearly as bad as email or other similar things tho’ I’m also working on cutting down those tasks as well.
Thanks for the cool post.
Chris
Great post on these products. Perspectives in the UK Slightly different.
I like the idea of white-light but I prefer something a little gentler. Alarm Radio waking up to Classic FM, followed by feed-the-dog,followed by glass of cold water and a smoothie. That generally wakes me up.
Coffee. I’m an addict. These new fangled pod-ules are great. My daughters bought me an Nespresso machine last Christmas and I live by it. It has around 16 different kinds and strengths of coffee including 4 types of decaff. (I don’t understand decaff. Can someone explain WHY? it’s like Yoghurt. I just don’t understand it. Girlie stuff)
Backup? I like the idea of mirror image raid drives. At the moment I use multiple USB2 externals and with a Mac, the inbuilt program “Time Machine” backs up every hour.
TV? I watch a fair bit in the evening with SKY+ for time-lapsed stuff. Expensive but I’m looking for a better way, and free-view is not good quality in my very rural area.
IPad – strange – i got a new ipad2 and its useful for surfing but I can’t quite get over not having hard drive storage. You can’t actually do much actual computing with it. I said recently, If I had to lose either my iPhone or iPad, I would choose to lose the iPad
Blessings
Leonard
Some very cool ideas….
Love the ipad keyboard idea for when i treat
my better half…
Any cool keep fit machines from home??
Any cool resources for getting your own ebay/amazon
store front up and running for Christmas??
Cheers
Shaun
Dave,
I know your wife is better looking than me so she must be smiling at the right person or she is simple a better negotiator than I am.
I received an offer from the local phone company for the phone/internet/dish combo which guaranteed me the same speed as I am getting through cable at a greatly reduced price. I call Comcast to see what they would do and they would not budge. I told them I had been a customer for over 20 years and if they could not match the price I would move my business. They said: We are sorry to see you go. Problem is we live in a place where we do not get good dish reception so my wife did not want to change.
Maybe your wife could call back for me?
Clyde
When it comes to productivity its Robert Plank, just shared this post with my facebook friends..
Thanks
I’m not a TV guy, never got into reality TV, and about the only time I put it on is to watch some golf or hockey.
I dig my Cuisinart coffee maker, although I’d rather wean off coffee if noting other than for health reasons.
And I’ve never ever had a problem with waking up. Most times I am up about 5:40 every morning only because something in my head says to get up, even though I routinely go to bed about 11pm.
All told though, these are good products for the vast majority of folks.
Robert, you really gave an outstanding webinar recently about using time management to become successful in IM.
That was one of the better classes I heard this year – and I have spent at least 500 hours listening to IM material in the last 2 years.
Hello,
I like the idea of the 2TB mirrored backup and I like Gabrielles comment about Carbonite. The 2TB system is a little pricey. Does anyone have a cheaper alternative?
Have a great day!
Eric
Nice post!
I really like the G-safe mirrored backup also and will grab one when funds allow.
As for the Roku, I opted for a Logitech Revue and Google TV mainly for streaming Netflix, but I like that it has Chrome built in. By having Chrome (albeit a stripped down basic version) it opens the web up for a lot more streaming content. The wife likes streaming music from Pandora on the much better TV speakers.
No coffee here, I prefer my caffeine in the form of Mt. Dew!
Great post and great idea:-)
I hate getting up early – but you are right, it needs to be done to get things done and a routine us very important. You should getting a dog to the list. Since we got a puppy kelpie I have to get up early to take him for a walk then the coffee etc…
Hi, Robert. Just got your email with link to this article. Great article indeed, but I want to sat that first video don’t work – youtube account terminated. Please, change the video. Thanks!
Cool, thanks. I just had a quote to retrieve data from a failed NEW external HDD – $450!! I”ll be out hunting down one of these raid drives soon…
I don’t know how I found your site, but I’m so glad that I did!
What great content you have on your site. I love it!
Such quality and professionalism is a breath of fresh air.
I’ll definetly be coming back for more… and often!
Thank you so much, (two thumbs up)!