Lifehacker 88 Tech Tricks to Turbocharge Your Day

Acknowledgments
Introduction
Chapter 1 Free Up Mental RAM

Hack 1: Email Your Future Self 2
Hack 2: Manage a todo.txt File at the Command Line
The Command Line Interface 5
Why Plain Text? 6
Install todo.sh 6
Using todo.sh 8
Create a Sortable, Searchable todo.txt 8
List Tasks with todo.sh 10
Prioritize Tasks 10
More Uses for todo.txt
Hack 3: Develop Your (Digital) Photographic Memory
Tag Your Photos on Flickr 12
Upload Photos to Flickr from Your Camera Phone 13
Your Photo Reference
Hack 4: Install Your Personal Wikipedia
What You Need 16
What to Do 16
You’re Ready to Go 18
Brief Wikitext Primer
Hack 5: Keep an Instiki Wiki Hyperlinked Notebook
Installing Instiki 20
You’re Ready to Go 22
Securing and Accessing Your Wiki
Hack 6: Take Great Notes 25
Method 1: Symbolize Next Actions 26
Method 2: Split Your Page into Quadrants 26
Method 3: Record and Summarize 26
Create Your Own Custom Note Paper

Chapter 2 Firewall Your Attention

Hack 7: Limit Access to Time-Wasting Web Sites 30Install the Invisibility Cloak 31
Set Which Sites Should Wear the Cloak 32
Customize the Script
Hack 8: Permanently Block Time-Wasting Web Sites 35
Windows 36
Mac OS X 36
The Result 36
Hack 9: Reduce Email Interruptions 37Shut Down Your Email Program 37
Set Your Client to Check for Messages Once an Hour 38
Hack 10: Split Your Work Among Multiple Desktops 39
Windows XP 39
Mac OS X 41
Hack 11: Build a No-fly Zone 42
Set Yourself up to Get into the Zone 42
Make Yourself Inaccessible 42
Work at Quieter Times and in Zoned-Off Spaces 43
Hack 12: Filter Low-Priority Email Messages 43
Filter Low-Priority Messages 44
Filter CC’ed Messages 45
Hack 13: Clear Your Desktop 46
Windows 46
Mac OS X 47
Hack 14: Make Your House a Usable Home 48
Create a Place for Incoming Stuff 48
Put Items You Need to Remember in Your Path 49
Stow Away Stuff You Don’t Use; Put Stuff You Do
Within Easy Reach 49
Strategically Place Items to Make Tasks Easy 49
Make Task-Based Centers 50
Leave Writing Material Everywhere 50
Set up an Inbox 50
Collaborate with Housemates 50
Hack 15: Sentence Stuff to Death Row 51
Hack 16: Drown out Sound with Pink Noise 51
Mac OS X 52
Windows 52
Hack 17: Keep Software from Stealing Focus 52
References

Chapter 3 Automate Repetitive Tasks

Hack 18: Automatically Back up Your Files 56
What You’ll Need 56
Configure the Backup System 57
Off-Site Backup 61
Hack 19: Automatically Defragment Your Hard Drive 62
Hack 20: Automatically Empty Your Digital Junk Drawer 65
Hack 21: Automatically Download Music, Movies, and More
Install and Run Wget 69
Mirror an Entire Web Site 70
Resume Partial Downloads on an Intermittent Connection 71
Automatically Download New Music from the Web 72
Automate wget Downloads on Windows 72
Hack 22: Automatically Email Yourself File Backups 73
Set up the Email Script 73
More on Emailing Yourself Backups 75
Hack 23: Automatically Reboot and Launch Applications 76
Automatically Reboot Your Computer 76
Automatically Launch Software or Documents 77
Automatically Start a Web Browsing Session 78
Hack 24: Automatically Log Your Progress in a Spreadsheet 79
References

Chapter 4 Streamline Common Tasks

Hack 25: Search the Web in Three Keystrokes 84
Hack 26: Quick-Launch Software Applications 85
Windows: Essential, Built-In Keyboard Shortcuts 86
Windows: Define Your Own Keyword Shortcuts 87
Mac OS X: Quicksilver Keyboard Commander 89
Hack 27: Save Time with Text Substitution 90
AutoHotkey Hotstring 90
Personalize the Script 92
Hack 28: Text Message Efficiently 95
What You Can Do with SMS 95
Quick Start Guide for SMS Beginners 96
Save Your Thumbs 96
SMS from Your Computer 96
Hack 29: Batch Resize Photos 97
Contents xiii
Hack 30: Send and Receive Money on Your Cell Phone 98
PayPal Mobile 99
Send Money to an Email Address 100
PayPal Alternative 101
Hack 31: Bypass Free Site Registration with BugMeNot 101
Hack 32: Speed up Web Pages on a Slow Internet Connection 103
Configure Your Web Browser for a Slow Connection 103
Block and Disable Bandwidth Hogs 105
Use Tabs to Load Pages While You Work 105
Work Offline Wherever Possible 106
Hack 33: Securely Save Web Site Passwords

Chapter 5 Get Your Data to Go

Hack 34: Carry Your Life on a Flash Drive 110
Portable Applications 110
Useful Data to Store on Your Thumb Drive 112
Secure Your Drive 112
Using Your Thumb Drive 114
Hack 35: Run a Home Web Server 114
Step 1: Disable Other Servers or Firewall Software 115
Step 2: Install Apache HTTP Server 115
Step 3: Configure Apache to Share Documents 117
Step 4: Password-Protect Your Web Site Documents 118
Hack 36: Remote Control Your Home Computer 120
Step 1: Install the VNC Server 122
Step 2: Install the VNC Client 123
More Tips 123
Hack 37: Give Your Home Computer a Web Address 124
Step 1: Set Up Your DynDNS Account 125
Step 2: Set up Your Computer to Update DynDNS 125
Step 3: Give Your New Domain a Spin 126
DynDNS Options 126
Hack 38: Search the Web from Your Phone 126
Get Help 129
Test Drive SMS Search on the Web 129
Pre-Schedule Search Result SMS Alerts 129
Hack 39: Optimize Your Laptop 130
Extend Your Battery Life 130
Save Your Keyboard and Screen 131
Keep It Cool 131
Set Yourself up to Work Offline 131
Secure Your Data 132
Carry with Care 132
Back Up 132
xiv Contents
Pack Helpful Extras 132
Find a Hotspot 133
Hack 40: Back up Data to Your iPod 133
Encrypt Your Data 134
Take Your Software with You on the iPod 135
Hack 41: Turn Your Cell Phone into a Modem 135
What You’ll Need 135
Configure Your Cell Phone as a Modem 136
Keep an Eye on the Meter 138
Hack 42: Use Gmail as an Internet Hard Drive 138
Windows: Gmail Drive Extension 138
Mac OS X: gDisk

Chapter 6 Control Your Email

Hack 43: Craft Effective Messages 142
Composing New Messages 142
Replying to a Message 146
Hack 44: Highlight Messages Sent Directly to You 148
Color Me Blue 149
All Other Email Programs: Create a Not-to-Me Filter 149
Hack 45: Use Disposable Email Addresses 150
Web-Based Public Email Addresses 150
Multi-Domain Email Addresses 150
Hack 46: Decrease Your Email Response Time 151
Respond in Batches 151
The One-Minute Rule 152
Respond to Task Requests — Even When It’s Not Done 152
Don’t Leave It in Your Inbox 153
Hack 47: Empty Your Inbox (and Keep It Empty) 153
The Trusted Trio 153
What to Do 154
Keep It Empty 155
The Catch 155
Hack 48: Master Message Search 156
Search Criteria 156
Saved Search Folders 159
Hack 49: Future-Proof Your Email Address 160
DON’Ts 160
DO’s 161
Bottom Line 161
Hack 50: Script Repetitive Responses 162
Hack 51: Encrypt Private Email 164
How PGP Email Encryption Works 165
Configure PGP in Thunderbird 165
References

Chapter 7 Organize Your Stuff

Hack 52: Organize My Documents 170
AWord About the Windows XP Default Home Directory 172
Beyond the Big 6 173
Hack 53: Instantly Retrieve Files from Your Hard Drive 173
Google Desktop Installation 174
Configuration 174
Files Google Desktop Indexes 175
Search Operators 176
Hack 54: Overhaul Your Filing Cabinet 178
Give Your Paperwork a Spacious Place to Live 178
Limit One File Folder Per Hanging Folder 178
Choose a Simple, Logical Naming Scheme 179
Use a Label Maker 179
Purge and Archive 179
Hack 55: Choose Secure, Memorable Passwords 180
Don’t Use the Same Password for Everything 180
Remember 100 Different Passwords with One Rule Set 180
Hack 56: Securely Track Your Passwords 182
One Master Password to Rule All 182
Find and Use Your Passwords with KeePass 185
Hack 57: Tag Your Bookmarks 186
Getting Started with del.icio.us 186
Add a Bookmark 187
Tags, Not Folders 187
Navigating del.icio.us by URL 188
Other del.icio.us Features 189
Hack 58: Encrypt Your Data 189
Set up the Encrypted Volume Location 190
Store and Retrieve Files from the Encrypted Volume 191
Hack 59: Design Your Own Planner 193
Why Build Your Own Planner? 194
How to Assemble Your D*I*Y Planner 194
D*I*Y Planner Templates and Sizes 194
References

Chapter 8 Kickstart Your Productivity

Hack 60: Make Your To-Do’s Doable 198
Finish Thinking Before You Start Doing 198
Chunk up Your Tasks into Five-Minute Actions 199
Get Physical 200
Include as Much Information as Possible 200
Essential Elements of a To-Do Task 200
Purge Your List 200
Keep an Auxiliary Someday/Maybe List 201
xvi Contents
Hack 61: Set up a Morning Dash 201
Get One Thing Done First 201
Park on a Downward Slope 202
Hack 62: Map Your Time 202
Your Ideal Time Map 203
Sub-Maps 204
Your Actual Time Map 204
Hack 63: Quick-Log Your Work Day 204
How to Keep Your Work Log 205
Hack 64: Dash Through Tasks with a Timer 209
Choose Your Timer 210
Adjust Your Dash 210
Employing Constraints 210
Timer Software Applications 211
Hack 65: Control Your Workday 211
Get Your Priorities Straight 212
Stop up Your Time Sinks 213
Make Post-Work Appointments 213
Wrap-up Alerts 213
Hack 66: Turn Tasks into Gameplay7 213
Make It to the Next Level 214
Earn Points 214
Collaborate, Compete, and Reward 214
Bribe Yourself 215
Time Yourself 215
Hack 67: Schedule Think Time 215
What You Need for Think Time 216
Creating Think Time 216
References

Chapter 9 Master the Web

Hack 68: Google Like a Pro 220
Exact Phrase with Quotations 221
Include and Exclude Words with + and – 221
Search Within a Site 221
Search Certain Types of Files 222
Calculations 222
Synonyms 223
Combine Criteria and Operators 223
Hack 69: Subscribe to Web Sites with RSS 224
How to Subscribe to Web Site Feeds 224
Other Popular Feedreaders 226
Dynamic Feeds 226
Hack 70: Quick Search Dependable Engines 227
Download Bookmark Set 228
Lifehacker Quick Searches 229
Hack 71: Extend Your Web Browser 230
How to Install a Firefox Extension 230
Recommended Firefox Extensions 232
Hack 72: Get 10 Must-Have Bookmarklets 234
Hack 73: Get Your Data on a Map 236Hack 74: Set Multiple Sites as [/b]
Your Homepage 238
Multi-Tab Homepage 238
Bookmark Sets of Tabs 239
Open a Set of Tabs 239
Hack 75: Access Unavailable Web Sites via Google 240
Hack 76: Take Your Browser Configuration with You 241
Hack 77: Find out About a Web Site 243
View Site Traffic and Related Information with Alexa 243
See What Others Are Saying About a Site in Technorati 244
View Past Versions of a Site in the Internet Archive 244
See What Sites Link to a Site with Google and Yahoo! 244
Hack 78: Have a Say in What Google Says About You 245
But I Already Have a Web Site 245
Get Your Domain 245
Author Your Nameplate 246
Find a Web Host 246
Link up Your Name Site 247
Hack 79: Capture Web Clippings with Google Notebook 247
Hack 80: Clear Your Web Browsing Tracks 249
Internet Explorer 6 (Windows XP) 249
Internet Explorer 7 (Windows Vista) 251
Mozilla Firefox 251
References

Chapter 10 Tune Your Computer

Hack 81: Save Your PC from Malware 254
Symptoms 254
Malware Removal and Prevention Tools 255
How to Clean an Infected System 255
Virus Protection 257
Web Browser Hijacking 258
Hack 82: Clean up Your Startup 259
Start Menu (Easy) 259
System Configuration Utility (Medium) 260
AutoRuns (Advanced) 261
xviii Contents
Hack 83: Undo System Configuration Changes 262
Create or Restore a Saved Point with System Restore 263
When System Restore Takes Snapshots 263
Limit System Restore’s Disk Usage 264
Hack 84: Truly Delete Data from Your Hard Drive 265
Windows 265
Mac OS X 266
Hack 85: Firewall Your Computer 267
Does Your Computer Need a Firewall? 267
ZoneAlarm Software Firewall 268
Control What Programs Can Connect to the Internet 268
Hack 86: Free up Hard Drive Space 270
Visualize Disk Hogs 270
Clean Your Entire System with CCleaner 272
Hack 87: Resurrect Deleted Files 272
How to Restore Deleted Files 272
Hack 88: Recover Files from an Unbootable PC 274
What You Need 274
Prepare Your Knoppix Disk 275
Set Your Computer to Boot from the CD or DVD Drive 275
Start Knoppix 276
Rescue Your Data

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