Look at the image above. Majestic, isn’t it? He’s spreading his powerful wings and soaring across the sky, confident in his own ability to fly. But where does he get that confidence? No bird is born KNOWING how to fly; otherwise we’d see chicks fluttering all over the place as soon as they hatched.

The truth is simple, yet amazingly profound: every bird learns how to fly because it dares to fall.

When you think about it, it’s actually quite mind-numbing. Falling doesn’t just mean being hurt; for a young chick high up in a tree, falling means the absolute and final end. And yet it is willing to risk its very life to learn how to soar the skies.

I bet you’re never going to look at any bird again without a sense of awe, are you?

In your life, you may not have such a huge risk involved in any one move you make (and if you do, please don’t make that move simply because I told you to. I’d hate to find out I caused the death of one my readers). But you may have some secret goal or desire that you’ve been holding dear in your heart; a wish that you don’t dare express or reach for because you fear the consequences of failure.

Here’s what I think: you can only be considered to have failed if you’ve stopped trying to succeed.

There is nothing wrong in falling flat on your face the first time you do something. Many geniuses of our world have failed miserably during their first few attempts before succeeding in what made them famous in the first place. Thomas Edison, inventor of the light-bulb, once famously said: “I haven’t failed, I’ve found 10,000 ways that don’t work.” In fact, I highly recommend reading some other quotes of his here (and perhaps keep one or two of them near you as inspiration).

I wrote an article previously about how bad design is good for you (which you can read here ). While I wrote that in the context of design, the message is applicable across the board: failure is a much better teacher than success. Although I’ve never seen any proof of this, I’m absolutely certain that the ancient Greek civilization (and other cultures who celebrated learning) had no negative perception regarding failure. I think they would have seen it as a necessary step to learn something new. It’s just that in our present world, failure is seen as something bad, something negative, something to be avoided at all costs. While some failures are indeed bad, for the most part, failure is more profitable than success.

Every one of you is amazing. Every one of you is a phenomenal success waiting to happen. But that can only happen when you dare to be a phenomenal failure first.

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As I’m typing this, I’m behind in my tasks for 3 days. I’ve not slept in 24 hours, and sounds are slightly dulled. I also may or may not be dying from an overdose of caffeine.

When I first started managing my own time (after leaving a 9-5 job), I was doing regular daylight hours without problem. But I noticed that as time passed by, I was working later and later. I decided to switch to a night-time schedule. I would wake up at around 3 in the evening, have what might be referred to as lunch, get some miscellaneous tasks done, and then start work at around 10 in the night, until about 6 the next morning, at which point I’d have myself a good breakfast, relax for a little bit, and then head to bed.

It was the perfect life. I was at the peak of my efficiency, even more so considering how few disturbances happen at 3 in the morning. I could avoid working during the hottest times of the day (it can get pretty bad here, and the abundance of concrete around my house isn’t helping), and work when it’s nice and cool and quiet. My perfect environment. Anyone I needed to talk to was an email away, and I could interact with my family during the evenings anyway.

Problem is, I could never maintain it for longer than a week. The weekend would come and there’d be some plan made for the morning, and I’d force myself to stay awake for longer than I usually do. I’d then end up looking like something the cat dragged in. The cycle would be utterly destroyed, and I’d lose a day or two worth of productivity.

It also doesn’t help that my workload is very fluid; there are times when I’m free enough to relax and curl up with a good book, and there are times when I don’t have time to breathe. Don’t get me wrong, I love the job. I love the adrenaline rush of the deadlines and the last-minute scrambles. It’s why I got into this line in the first place. But the fluidity of it makes it challenging to plan a routine, especially where sleep is concerned.

If you were reading this hoping to find some pointers on how to manage your own time, I’m going to have to disappoint you. It’d be hypocritical of me to give tips on scheduling when I’m still finding solid ground. I CAN, however, tell you a few things I’ve learned along the way:

• Give yourself breathing space. If your brain tells you ‘but you can do more on that day, I think you can schedule a few more tasks in’, do NOT listen to it.
• Accept that life is like a giant out-of-control machine that’s throwing wrenches all over the place, and that chances are one of those wrenches is going to destroy your perfect, shiny, schedule.
• What works for everyone else may not work for you. And what works for you may not be what everyone else approves of.
• If you schedule, schedule EVERYTHING. Work, fun, social activities, family, even periods of stillness. Otherwise you can be certain that some things are going to fall to the side.
• The act of delaying one scheduled task to make way for another is not something that should be done lightly. If you get into the habit of it, it’s as good as not having a schedule at all.
• If your work is not finished within the time you’ve allocated, it is not a failure. It is simply a lesson learnt. Make a note of it, schedule in some extra time down the road (maybe the next day) to finish it, and if you’re doing it again in the future, remember to schedule more time for it in the first place.

And for those of you who are new to the crazy world of scheduling, I have some sagely advice for you: you are going to make mistakes. You are going to overschedule. You are going to crash and burn. Repeatedly. And painfully. It’s part of the learning process, and you’ll emerge on the other side a better person for it. Trust me.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve some catching up to do.

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Do you have that one friend?

You know the one I’m talking about. The one that always complains and whines about everything, from airport delays to food service to his job. You’ve not heard him say anything good in a long time. Anything you bring up in a conversation is met with a barrier of scepticism. I’ve got a few friends like that, and I once asked one of them about their attitude. His response was that he’s been through a hard life and he’s known hardship that I couldn’t even imagine, and so the scepticism and cynicism are necessary walls of self-defence.

Absolute and utter bullshit.

Don’t believe what these people are saying for one second. No matter how hard one person’s life is, there are always a hundred people somewhere in the world who have it harder than they do. Heck, considering the economic state of the world, the famine crisis in Somalia, and the natural disasters sweeping through so many parts of the earth, you could bump that number up to a million and still be accurate.

And secondly, strength isn’t about showing your scars to everyone and attempting to impress people with how much you’ve been through. That’s showmanship. Strength is holding your head high with a smile on your face after you’ve been through hell, knowing that you survived it and you came out a better person. It’s knowing that you’ve dealt with something so severe, and now you can deal with 99% of what life throws at you without batting an eyelid.

When people claim that hardship made them bitter, remember this: hardship made them stronger. THEY made themselves bitter.

You don’t need to surround yourself with showmanship. It does nothing for you, and in fact witnessing the constant never-ending drama is exhausting. Cut them out of your life, and surround yourself with people who are positive. Positive energy is beautiful in the sense that it multiplies when you share it. I made the change a few years back and I was amazed at how much of a difference it made in my life. Now whenever I see negativity around me, I move to cut it off.

So if you’re one of my friends and you’re wondering why I suddenly unfriended you on Facebook, now you know.

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So to continue, here are 13 more websites to inspire us, and hopefully to trigger some little idea lightbulb in our heads!

Isle of Tune

Flash websites typically get an unfair advantage here simply because they’re capable of advanced visual animations that regular HTML can only dream about. That doesn’t mean the Isle of Tune is anything less that spectacular, though. The site allows you to design a road circuit with various objects, and then put a car on that road that triggers sounds as it passes by those objects. You can arrange the objects to create melodies, and in fact the site has some amazing samples. I’m not going to talk about my disastrous attempt at recreating Que Sera Sera.

Noteworthy Points:

1. Simply amazing programming. Not only are the features quite extensive, but the site never slows down even on the most complex layouts.
2. Light easy interface and easy learning curve makes this a fun site to visit, and to share with your friends.
3. The pointillism art direction style is fresh and catchy.

Tignes Winter Madness

Most winter or ski resort websites will show you nice pictures of pure white snow slopes, happy people, and warm fireplaces. Not this one. Tignes is a ski resort in France, and they take their tagline of “The Sportiest Ski Resort” seriously. This is actually a microsite for a contest promoting the resort, and it’s done in an adrenaline-laced action-packed way. I highly suggest you browse around the site, since this paragraph isn’t enough to highlight all the awesomeness packed into that one site.

Noteworthy Points:

1. Love the gladiator style theme, it’s almost superheroic (no roaring crowds? Meh.)
2. Loading screen as contest prizes, excellent marketing strategy to utilize loading times.
3. Loading was a little long.
4. .but the interior is worth it! I like the fast video effect, it does wonders for the adrenaline.
5. The games inside are pretty fun!

Nikon  – THIS DAY

Somehow I feel that Anthony Steward Head should be narrating this site. Nikon is a well-known photography brand, but more importantly, they’re considered the expert on lens. What better way to cement that than with a site that allows you to “view” the past?

Noteworthy Points:

1. I love the concept, and the implementation (it checks based on today’s date! Beautiful attention to detail)
2. The searching animations are just gorgeous. It really makes you feel like you’re time travelling.
3. The sombre tone seems almost like you’re travelling through space, instead of time, but it has a nice storytelling vibe to it.

PNC Christmas Price Index

Every year PNC comes up with a Christmas Price Index, which is essentially the cost of all the gifts in the song “The Twelve Days of Christmas”, including a comparison with last year. This site attempts to relay this year’s (or rather, last year’s) information in a highly visual way, and almost succeeds. While the individual gift animations are brilliant, long loading times and poor navigation guidance hamper the experience.

Noteworthy Points:

1. Very long loading time.
2. Nice idea for a preloader, but even the preloader took some time to load. Not good.
3. Did anyone notice the moose? Awesome attention to detail there.

Expedition Titanic

From the title, you’d be forgiven if you thought this was the promotional website for a sequel. Nope, thankfully, Jack stays dead here. Instead, this website is about the real-life expedition to raise the Titanic, the actual ship. And what a beauty the site is. The blue tones are an eyegasm if there ever was such a thing, and the smooth, asymmetrical scrolling really give a sense of depth to the site.

Noteworthy Points:

1. Water surface animations and asymmetrical scrolling items are a nice touch.
2. Brilliant usage of colour. In comparison, the typography is okay, nothing that great.
3. The usage of vertical scrolling to find out more (as you delve deeper into both the site and the sea, get it?) is a pretty awesome implementation of design thinking.
4. Please, no Jack and Rose jokes.

DDB Canada

When you’re one of the biggest ad agencies in the world, you know you need a website that’s up to snuff. DDB Canada knew this, too, and designed a website that seems almost alive as it scrolls. Add some brilliant bits of copywriting, and some large images (with a few subtle animations in the background), and you have a site worthy of an agency with attitude.

Noteworthy Points:

1. I like the usage of the preloader to promote themselves, but I think they could have done with a few more messages to scroll through.
2. Using your work as the main attraction of your website isn’t exactly new, but this layout still manages to keep it fresh.
3. Cute line thingies on the navigation. Childish, I know, but I still find them cute.

Grip Limited

And what’s an ad agency without a little competition? Fellow Canadian advertising agency Grip Limited isn’t about to let DDB get all the glory, and serves up a fantastic-looking orange-and-black themed site. While the colour scheme, animation, and copywriting should be given praise for what they bring to the site, the undisputed champion here is the typography.

Noteworthy Points:

1. Amazing layout. It actually somewhat reminds me of the upcoming Windows 8’s tile design, and it’s fantastically implemented. Kinetic scrolling, collapsible columns, drag-to-scroll, mousewheel scrolling, and even a pull-down menu for when you get overwhelmed.
2. A single unified colour scheme brings everything together in a bold, contrasting way, but it also can be overwhelming for certain columns.
3. Important, pertinent information (projects, clients, contact info, etc.) is shuffled in and mixed with fun facts about the company (pets, favourite vacation spots, even stripper names). It helps to add a human touch to the business, and exudes a more personal and welcoming aura to the client.

The Coney Island Experience

Any Andrew Lloyd Webber fans among us? If you like the Phantom of the Opera, you might enjoy this one. ALW’s sequel to the Phantom, “Love Never Dies” is set on Coney Island, and to promote it, this Coney Island Experience website was designed. The site features various interactive games around the beautiful yet slightly creepy funfair. Perfect for the Phantom’s new home, methinks.

Noteworthy Points:

1. Excellent usage of typography, it really stands out and helps to bring the design together.
2. Preloader is attached to the mouse. A nice touch.
3. Excessive loading times (a necessary evil for such visually intensive Flash sites). Each scene is breathtaking, but the amount of time required for each scene negates the impact.

UPDATE: Apparently the site has been taken down, presumably because the promotional period is over. A shame, really. Even more shameful is that instead of redirecting to the main site to prevent bouncing, they just let the page show a 404 Error. This does not make one happy.

AMD MUSIKPRODUKTION

And now for something truly different. Dutch music production house AMD Musikproduktion created a website that sells on its chief product: sound. The entire site is navigated using audio, providing for an eye-opening experience. Truly one of the most memorable sites I’ve seen in a while.

Noteworthy Points:

1. Completely audio-based copy. As the tagline reads, “lose the copy!”. It makes the site stand out, but not always in a good way. The first time I loaded the site, the phone ringing on my speakers was not a pleasant surprise.
2. Hilarious situational conversations (sitcons? ) used to introduce the site and the work. The one with his mother is especially priceless.
3. A single color scheme and some nice dynamic animations help to make sure that the visual doesn’t lag behind the audio for impact.

Hidden Heroes

Designed as a promotional site for the “Hidden Heroes” exhibition at the Vitra Design Museum, the Hidden Heroes site shows us everyday items that we take for granted, but are very much dependant on. Let’s face it, our lives would be very different if there were no such things as zippers.

Noteworthy Points:

1. Crisp, clean, design. Nice usage of typography and whitespace to avoid clutter, and to aid focus. I initially thought the site was Japanese, as this type of styling is quite typical of their sites.
2. Initial navigation is a bit unclear, but very unique. You actually select the items in the list that you’re interested in, and it only loads those items, greatly increasing the efficiency of the site’s load.
3. Sound effects add another nice layer to the experience. I think I’ve mentioned this before, but far too few sites utilize sound effects to add to their user’s experience. Tragic.

Dutch Horticulture (De Nederlandse Tuinbouw)

From what I understand, this site is designed to increase awareness and interest in the younger Dutch demographic regarding horticulture. I’m pretty sure that makes it the most awesome and elaborate non-commercial website I’ve seen in some time. The site shows a full-fledged 3-d island that houses the entire horticulture  industry, from production to marketing to research and development. Can’t understand a single thing in the site, but that doesn’t stop my jaw from dropping every time I see this site.

Noteworthy Points:

1. Amazing 3D graphics (although it does tend to look a bit low-res at times)
2. Voice-powered information and sound effects add to the user experience.
3. Loading times are a bit heavy, but not surprising considering the amount of data involved.

Moguls & Movie Stars

Ah, old Hollywood. I don’t know about you, but I personally believe that the golden years of Hollywood are behind us. But that doesn’t mean it’s gone forever, as TCM’s “Moguls & Movie Stars” website allows you to see the history of Hollywood with photos, videos, an interactive studio map, and a timeline that reels through over 80 years of film history. The site’s beautiful sepia tones and classic styling help to enhance the overall experience.

Noteworthy Points:

1. Beautiful sepia colour scheme and typography, as well as camera flicker lines help to set the mood.
2. Beneath the aged look, however, lies a smooth and fast navigation. Well laid out, too.
3. Doesn’t just promote the series, but also packs trivia and information. Helps to increase user interest.

AXE BODY SOAP

AXE has never failed to entertain when it comes to their promotional material, and this site is no exception. Instead of simply coming out with a product page for their new men’s body soap, they created an entire character called “The Last Sansuke” (read about the Sansuke here). With interactive movies, stories, and information, AXE transforms a simple product advertising into a mockumentary that’s definitely worth looking at.

Noteworthy Points:

1. Hilarious preloader
2. Nice overall use of Flash graphics to speed up a site that would otherwise be heavy with video.
3. Awesome drop-style clock at the bottom.

I’d love to hear what you have to say regarding these 13 sites. As usual, if you know of a site that you think deserves to be on this list, let me know about it! Until then, ciao!

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Don’t get me wrong, I love that you’re reading this. But if you’re anything like me, you love to read article after article on motivation, productivity, personal development, and other topics you’re interested in, instead of actually doing something related to those topics. We’d like to call it research, or motivation, but the truth is we’re just procrastinating. And sometimes we need someone else to tell us to get our butts out of that chair, and actually walk the talk. And that, my dear reader, is where I come in. So today, I want you to do at least one of these things:

Do one action to further one of your goals

Interested in improving your design skills? Stop reading design tutorials and actually DO one of them, right now. Been trying to save up? If you already have a account for those savings, transfer a small amount into there, right now. Want to get a better looking garden? Dig a hole, plant a seed. Yes, right now.

Those of you who are familiar with articles on motivation tips will no doubt realise that this is similar to the concept of “the first five minutes”, where you tell yourself to do the smallest beginning action (or time period, thus the name) of an otherwise daunting task, to get the momentum going. While this is of course a wonderful side benefit, my aim here is to just get you to do SOMETHING. Whether or not you continue to do the rest of the task is up to you, but it’s important that you don’t just sit around doing nothing but wishing about it.

Make a plan, and share it

Leo Babauta of Zenhabits (and many other bloggers) will no doubt agree that the best way to commit yourself to a goal is to tell someone about it. And when you step back and think about it, that’s actually a perfect first step. Simply telling someone something doesn’t require much effort, but once you’ve said it, you’ll realise that “Crap, there’s no backing down now. I have to do this.” And that kind of commitment is not something you can back away from or abandon easily. So in addition to the original reasons of why you’re pursuing this goal/plan, you now have an extra layer of motivation on top to get you going.

Do you have a plan that you’ve been mulling about recently? Do you have an idea that you want to pursue? Let me know about it in the comments, and you’ll be on the first step towards realizing your plan. Plus, there’s the bonus factor of me thinking that you’re awesome for being so brave.

Connect with the Moment

Hey, just because you have a few minutes doesn’t always mean you need to be running around conquering the world. Sometimes you can just indulge in the luxury of having a few moments to connect with the world around you. I’ve written about this before, and it’s moments like these that I find are the best to put this concept into practice. Don’t mistake it for doing nothing. Instead of passively sitting in your chair and letting information from this article (or your Facebook page, as I’m sure some of you are doing now) wash over your eyes and brain, I want you to actively pay attention to everything around you. Develop a sense of mindful awareness of the little things that are happening around you. I feel it’s good to do this every once in a while to keep a sense of perspective in your life.

Make these 3 things a natural reaction

I want you to bookmark this page, and read it every once in a while. Whenever you feel like you’re just reading an online article for the sake of reading, whether it’s this one, or any others, I want you to do one of these 3 things. These little actions will build up, and one day, you’ll be amazed at just how much you’ve accomplished by making this a habit.

Until then, off with you. Get to work on it!

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Productivity is a good thing. More productivity = better.

That’s what we’re taught. And here in this blog, I preach the same message. I talk about squeezing every possible minute out of your day, and about maintaining your peak efficiency for as long as possible to get as much done. I talk about keeping a clear view of your goals and objectives to motivate you through the hard days and prevent you from slacking.

Today I’m going to talk about why I stress so much on productivity. Growing up in an Asian country, it’s a common thing to see businessmen running around getting deals pushed, contracts made, and ideas sold. Sadly I’ve also noticed many times that these people are still working while gobbling down a quick dinner, or while they’re driving, or even while they’re half asleep.

I told myself when I grew up, I wasn’t going to be like that. I instead preferred to look at how the Buddhist monks view life. Every moment of life is precious, whether or not you gain something from it. Every breath you take is a miracle, whether or not you are aware of it. I found that on the occasional moments where I stopped to smell the roses, I was amazed at how beautiful the world is around me. And that’s what I aim for nowadays. I want to squeeze every last drop of productivity from my working hours, so that I can completely immerse myself into the moment when I’m not working. I want to slowly savour the flavours of the food I’m eating. I want to enjoy the sound of running water. I want to enjoy the company of the people around me, and truly listen to what they’re saying, and help them in any way I can.

And that is the point of my unusually short post today (this post sounds a little weird when I read it back to myself, but I think it’s partly because I’m not used to writing short articles. Hopefully this gets better soon). Connecting with the moment that you’re in is as important as getting everything done, because at the end of the day, life, and the living of it, should be your ultimate goal.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I think I shall go enjoy a nice relaxing nap.

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theCubes part 2 by DivineError

Ah, the 3D cubes wallpaper. It’s a well-abused trend, and sadly very few attempts turn out nice. DivineError’s take on it, however, is brilliantly balanced in terms of color, size, and flow. I love how even though they’re structured cubes, he manages to make it look fun and even a tad silly (or is that just me?)

The Pinksplosion Wallpaper by emciem

Perhaps something slightly less cubical, then? Emciem uses a well-proven method for creating dynamic images: use one neutral tone (gray), and one bold tone (pink). I’m a particular fan of this because I like my wallpapers to be minimal (makes it easier to see icons).

Think Again by mushir

Typography wallpapers tend not to top my favourites list, since it’s rare to find one that you can appreciate for a long time. But in the interest of being fair to all tastes, I’m tossing some in here . Mushir’s ‘Think Again’ is a charming typography wallpaper that uses a nice color palette that isn’t too loud or too chaotic. I’m not crazy about the use of Myriad Pro (if I’m guessing correctly, that is), and it’s hard to figure out if I’m supposed to be able to read something from this, but otherwise it’s a solid first attempt.

Christmas Imperfection by DivineError

Another winner from DivineError, I found this one to be irresistible. It’s perfect for the upcoming holidays (and if you’re not ready for a Christmas wallpaper, there’s a non-festive version available here), plus it’s hilarious. If you take a look around his DeviantArt gallery, you’ll also find plenty more scenarios that involve this poor little guy and his misfortunes.

Laser Beam by Jason-C

I was browsing through Jason-C’s gallery, and among all the images, this one drew me in immediately. And if I had to pick one thing about this wallpaper that I like, that would be it: it draws you in with its fantastic sense of depth and perspective. I think it’s supposed to be a mirrored surface, but even if you don’t see it it still looks amazing.

Typographic World Map by vladstudio

Among all the wallpapers I’ve featured here in this post, this one is without doubt my favourite. And this is especially peculiar since I’m not into typographic wallpapers in the first place. I think it’s because he’s used the copy in such a visual and impressive way that it’s almost graphical rather than typographical. Add in the lovely sepia palette, and you have a fantastic wallpaper that screams attitude. It also reminds me of World War II, for some reason.

- E N T H U S I A S M - by For-Certain

I have to admit, I picked this one because of the quote. In case you can’t make out how to read it, it’s as follows: “At moments of great enthusiasm it seems to me that no-one has ever made something this beautiful and important.” That being said, the wallpaper itself is a beautiful work of dramatic lighting and colour choice. The slight 3D effect that the shadows supply helps to add strength and drama to the piece.

- R E V O L U T I O N - by For-Certain

Looking at my choices, I think I’m slowly starting to become a fan of typographic wallpapers . For-Certain is certainly (heh) not helping, with another fantastically dramatic piece. “The Art and Design Revolution”, as it spells out, is something that I feel very strongly about and I look forward to every time it happens in my life. Those darkened borders (are those burn effects? Watercolour effects? I have no idea, but they look lovely) heighten the drama, and the color combination he used is unorthodox, but works beautifully.

Country house by bigusfilm

One look at this wallpaper and it’s immediately apparent why it made the list. Sometimes Mother Nature likes to show that she’s the best designer there is. That being said, I’d only use this wallpaper if I wasn’t going to have any icons on my desktop.

Fantasy Island by celsojunior

Vector wallpapers typically get a bad rep because a lot of vector wallpaper artists don’t bother to put effort into getting the details right, which always makes the vector look half done. This wallpaper defies that, by going into impressive detail with the tree and the island. Balance it out with some nice sparkly bits at the back, some clouds for atmosphere (see what I did there?) and a nice citrusy orange to help make the silhouette stand out, and you have a winner.

Radar Wallpaper by minimanjapan

COLOURS! This wallpaper makes me feel all happy inside, simply because I love rainbow-themed art. The flow of energy in it is also amazing. I especially love how the colours start as separate bands on the left, before converging on the right.

PEACE wallpaper by punkdbydaniels

If you’re a fan of statement pieces, this one’s for you. PEACE by punkdbydaniels is a simple, almost minimalist piece, but the message is clear. I also love how instead of just hiding the parts of the words that don’t fit into the PEACE letters, he’s used differing layers of opacity to fade them out, almost as if they were clouds.

Twitter typographic wallpaper by jez’

For those of you who really, REALLY, like Twitter. I can’t quite decide if I like this one or not. I love the colour theme; combined with the font choice it reminds me of old printing plates. However, that much wording on my desktop? Not sure if I’d be okay with that. What do you think?

Typographic Rain by Vladstudio

I know, I know, it’s another typographic wallpaper from someone who claims not to like them. But how could I resist! Vlad’s adorable wallpaper uses only typographic characters to create an adorable visual of a little person caught in a storm. There’s even a little asterisk to represent the sun, complete with a subtle background gradient to suggest so (although I didn’t get it at first). I also love the lowercase ‘b’ used for the shoes, they actually look like boots!

Teardrops by hyper2

And speaking of rain (or at least water), Teardrops by hyper2 rounds up our collection. This wallpaper comes in a pack with several sizes, all of which are available in these two colour variations showcased here. I couldn’t quite decide which one I liked better so I put both up . I love how it’s detailed enough to  make it lively, but not so detailed to make it cluttered.

That’s all, folks!

Yep, list’s over! Of course, there will be more list posts in the future. I’ve already got about 5-6 planned, and if you have a particular list you want me to feature, please let me kn0w. Also, if you know any wallpapers that deserve some love, send me a link. If I find something I like, it goes up in the next wallpaper post (along with a second link provided by the voter, meaning you, as a little incentive).

Till then, let me know what you think about the ones above in the comments below!

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Look at your average day. When you add up your daily work routine, the miscellaneous errands to run, and everything else that you have to maintain in your life, 24 hours doesn’t seem NEARLY enough. But we’re painfully aware of people like Richard Branson or Steve Pavlina who manage to get so much done in their lives, without sacrificing their health, their family, or the simple pleasures of their lives.

And even if you think that these people can do it because they can make money work for them, I’m sure you’re familiar with at least one person who manages to get so much done in a day and yet go back and make dinner for the kids, etc. It’s not like they have a 25th hour in the day. These people are just very good at getting things done and controlling their routines.

But fear not! Time management is not a genetic trait, but rather a skill that can be learned, and honed to mastery. So today I’m going to show you the 5 rules of productivity that will help you become a productivity ninja, blasting through your to-do list with ruthless efficiency.

Rule #1: A Productivity Ninja must be Focused

No matter where you are, chances are that as soon as you sit down to work on something, you will be interrupted. If you’re at the office, it might be your colleague or a phone call from a client. If you’re at home, the doorbell might ring, or you could get a call from a friend instead.

Guess what? It happens to everyone. Yes, everyone. The trick is not in preventing it from happening, but in how you deal with it. Make it very clear to the outside world that you will tolerate no disruptions. Put a sticker on your door saying that you’re busy (you could even write a particular time that you’ll be free). If you are working at home and have kids, train your kids to obey certain rules. If they see that sticker on the door, they’re not allowed to disturb you unless it’s extremely important (this might take a few tries, but they’ll get the hang of it). Also, put your phones (both mobile and landlines) to silent / answering mode if applicable. 99% of calls that you get are probably non-urgent anyway. If you feel uneasy at missing that 1% of calls that might be urgent, change your ringtone to something very subtle, like a minor beep, and set your voice message to say “if you need to get in touch with me urgently, call repeatedly”. That way, if you hear multiple beeps, you know the call is urgent. That’s the system I use when driving, so I know that I have to pull over and take this call.

Another major step you can do is to pull the plug. No, I’m not asking you to kill anyone, I’m referring to your metaphorical internet cable. This is especially applicable if you’re doing something non-internet related, like writing a blog post (I’m actually doing this right now. It’s a little unnerving without all the email and chat beeps, but it means I’m more focused). How imperative is your Twitter feed anyway? You can certainly survive without the internet for an hour, and if it’s a minor task that you just need to focus on, that may be more than you need.

Finally, a special one for those of you working from home like myself. If you’re not expecting visitors or some sort of mail, ignore the doorbell. It’s probably just a serial killer anyway. Or even worse, a telemarketer.

Rule #2: A Productivity Ninja must be Prepared

Anyone who has cooked or baked before can attest to this: there’s nothing worse than running to the store for ingredients to make something for later that day, only to realise mid-recipe that you forgot one more ingredient. While your scenarios may not be as urgent, the fact remains that making a checklist can put you on an efficiency overdrive. In fact, I’ve talked about my adoration of checklists before. Lists help you establish a birds-eye view of the things that you have to accomplish before you actually get into the trenches. It can help you plan the most effective plan of action, and, if you’re particularly tight for time, can help you assess which tasks to postpone (or even cancel altogether). Tasks can also help you assess what materials you’ll require for your day. This is particularly useful if you’re doing a car-trip to various stops, and you need to bring certain items (like that broken watch that needs repairing, those DVDs that need to be returned, or some documents for the bank).

If you’re like me and carry your world in your smartphone, then there are some fantastic apps out there to manage your lists. Remember The Milk (RTM) is a well-known and well-lauded online system, with apps for the iPhone, iPad, Android OS, and even Blackberries. Personally, I like something a little more robust, so I go for ToodleDo. For other systems and apps, here’s a handy little list: 25 To Do Lists to Stay Productive.

Another essential skill for being prepared is time assessment. I will freely admit that I am an absolute disaster here (it’s actually one of my resolutions this year). Being able to estimate the amount of time taken for a task is a tricky cocktail of intuition, skill, and experience, topped with a considerable helping of sheer dumb luck. To help people like you and me get better at it, though, there are some fantastic systems and tools. First of all, eyeball a timeline for each task. You’re probably going to be way off the first few times, but you have to start somewhere.  The Pomodoro system is a good way of starting this. It divides your work time into chunks with breaks in between (by default, it’s a 30-minute work session followed by a 5 minute break). If it’s a big task, try and break it into minor tasks and assign it to multiple pomodoros (each section of work time is referred to as a pomodoro). If you have a bunch of minor tasks, group them into one pomodoro. Check the Pomodoro website for a bunch of apps and programs that allow you to track your time. Of course, you don’t have to use the Pomodoro system, but I find it’s a good system to start with, before you build on it to create a system that suits you.

Secondly, keep a log of your performance. Did you finish all your tasks under the estimated time? Or were they always overdue? Were there any particular factors that caused this? Log everything, and review your logs regularly. It will help you build an understanding of the way you work, from an external perspective. Also remember to reward yourself if you finish your tasks under the allotted time. It can be something as lavish as a shopping trip, or something as minor as 10 minutes with your favourite book. Scale it up or down according to the gravity of the task that you finished.

Stay tuned for the next post for the remaining three rules to become the ultimate productivity ninja. Until then, I wish you complete success in taking control of your day, ninja-style.

Have something to say? I’d love to hear about it. There are different kinds of ninjas from all over the world so I’m sure you’ll have your own techniques and rules. Share them with us and let us how amazing you are.

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And really, whatever you feel about black and white, it’s highly unlikely that you’ve lived this long without seeing some color. Barring aside being colorblind (which, as far as I know, only rules out certain colors, not all of them), the eyes of every man, woman, and child who can see has, at some point, feasted on the green of nature, the blue of the sky, and the bright, electric yellow of a lemon.

What about in design? The usage of color to convey meaning and emotion in design is an age-old tradition that still reigns supreme as one of the top guiding principles during the design process. Think about it; when you show a mock to a client, what is he most likely to comment upon? When you ask him what he envisions the design to be, what non-abstract description first comes to mind? Because color is one of the most primitive of design elements, it is also one with which your client feels most comfortable.

‘Hue’ are you working with?

It’s amazing how much your favorite color can tell about your personality. In fact, I sometimes use the “what is your favorite color” test to judge my clients in terms of working together, and methodology. He likes red? I can be more creative with my approaches. Brown? He appreciates history, and would like a design that respects it. Bright orange? He’s trying way too hard to fit in with the young and peppy crowd. So try it sometime, and see below what your client’s personality may be like.

Two notes I have to mention here:  Firstly, this is based on a mix of general color psychology as well as my own experiences, and is not based on scientific research or facts. Use a generous helping of common sense when applying anything from this article. Your client choosing red doesn’t mean you should only come up with acid rock themes for his dental clinic. Secondly, I’m referring to the client as male (‘he’,’him’,’his’, etc) purely as a matter of convenience. It goes without saying that the same rules may apply to female clients.

Red

As mentioned, your client leans towards being adventurous. He will appreciate you being energetic in your presentations, and using strong visual cues (show me your jazz hands, people!) during your discussions. As for designs, he likes it when you take bold approaches (note: I say bold, not wild.), or attempt a slightly riskier approach that sets his business apart from his competition. On the other hand, this client may be caught up in the heat of things, and choose the one that speaks the loudest to him, instead of to his customers. And while this is common sense for all clients, this type of client means that you have to get things in writing as much as possible. Predict changes of mind, and lots of them.

Orange

This client’s mantra can be summed up in two words: “natural energy”. If you’re working with him on a project related to health products, or a fitness lifestyle, or anything to do with health and fitness and nature, you’re in luck: chances are his lifestyle already has some of those elements in it. When talking to this client, dial up the positive energy, be sure to smile, and give a firm handshake. He likes people that are on the go, so don’t drag. His mantra also extends into his choice of designs, where he likes layouts and visuals that have a strong flow and energy in it. Don’t get fooled with all the positive energy, however; this client is not perfect. He is likely to say that he likes several of your designs, and that he wants to integrate it all into a big happy positive…mess. Arm yourself with arguments on why things like white space and typographic balance are vital to the quality of your design, and continuously impress on him what his customers may think of it.

Yellow

Sunshine! Buttercups! Bright yellow boots! The ubiquitous smiley face! Having a dash of yellow in your life never fails to brighten your spirits, and having a client who prefers yellow can have the same effect. Like his orange brethren, positive energy is a large part of his life, and perhaps even his work. Unlike his orange brethren, the aggressive, go-getter energy isn’t. That’s not to say that this client is lazy, but he is likely to be more passive about things. He’s the type of person that appreciates breathing space, so you can be a bit more spacious in your designs. There may be also a preference for sans-serif fonts over serif, but this should probably be dictated more by suitability for the project rather than his taste. The key here is to remind him about the importance of the design attracting viewer attention. Also of note, he may tend to think that viewers see a design as a whole, and you will need to impress the importance of a proper visual flow to him.

Coming Soon!

In my next post for this series, I’ll cover the cool trio of green, blue, and purple. White, black, pink, and brown are also down the line. If you have any colors that you want discussed here, let me know!

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I came across this video a while back. It’s a story about two mothers dealing with their individual tragedies during the 911 attacks in USA, and how they reached across an unspeakably large divide to connect with each other. I always meant to share it with you guys, but somehow the right context never showed up. I’m still not sure this is it, but the video got me thinking about my take on forgiveness.

Memory lane is a rocky road.

Around that time, I happened to come across someone from my childhood. Most of you won’t know this, but during my childhood, I was somewhat of a victim of bullying. I say somewhat because in hindsight, my case wasn’t nearly as bad as that of other children that I’ve read about, but nevertheless there was a lot of pent-up hate in me. Anyway, I came across one of the bullies, now grown up and taking a class with me in college. He recognized me, and after a few awkward glances, came over and introduced himself. He then stunned me by apologizing for all that he had done when he was younger.

I have to admit, I was torn between forgiving him, and wanting to see how many times I could kick him in the nuts before someone pulled me off of him. Reluctantly, I chose the former. We said our niceties and I went home after class. At home, I realised that I was still thinking about the bullying, and that meant that I’d yet to truly let it go. Deciding to try a different approach, I closed my eyes, recalled every bad memory I had of being bullied, and let it go. No fuss, no drama. I just let it float out of my chest.

If you’ve read this far, you’re probably expecting a nice fluffy paragraph of how I felt lighter, and I smiled more, etc. Heck no. What I got was an adrenaline rush that lasted 22 hours and a permanent grin on my face. Crazy, right?

Wait, what?

I’m not making that up, I swear. And when you sit down and think about it, it makes perfect sense. Forgiveness is a three-part scenario. The part we’re most familiar with is the 2^nd part, where the burden of our negative emotions and grudges lift, and we become more peaceful. But there’s the 1^st part which I think is even more important, and it can be summed up like this:

Whether or not you choose to forgive someone is your decision. The POWER to make that choice lies with you.

You have to choose to forgive someone before you can forgive them. And being aware of that choice, that simple yet profound state of being, gives you the power to gather all your hurt and pain and cast it aside. Someone else may have inflicted this pain on you, or caused you to develop these emotions, but it is by your hand and your will that they are cleansed.  This, my dear reader, is the amazing power of pre-forgiveness.

And then what?

Ah, now there is that void where the hurt used to be, the great expanse of neutral land in your heart where your grudges used to fester. This is where post-forgiveness comes in.  You can choose to gloat in victory, to celebrate your magnanimity. You can choose to continuously remind yourself of this day, where you were a better person in the face of all that hurt and pain.

Or, like Phyllis and Aicha in the video above, you can use that power to reach out and touch someone. You can inspire someone to let go of their own hurt and pain. You can inspire someone else to forgive. Even if you don’t understand what they’re going through at all, you can send them a message saying “Forgiveness isn’t weakness. It’s strength. And you have the potential to be strong.”

And that, after much rambling, is my message to you. So go forth and be strong.

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