This week I published an article on Lifehacker about a fantastic blogging tool: Windows Live Writer. I covered the why, the how, the tips, and the recently released new features.

Today I’m attending BlogPotomac, where many DC area bloggers, social media stars, and geeks will gather in the illusion that the rest of the world is like them to share insights with one other.
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Batching is the main reason I get anything done…and the principle that underlies AwayFind (the application I’ve been building for the past six months).  Darren Rowse wrote an excellent article on that topic today and I highly recommend checking it out.

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We all get glued to our computers. How do you limit your time there? Got any tricks?

I posed these questions on Ask MetaFilter and received a number of helpful and interesting responses. This post is a summary with highlights of techniques and tools for walking away from your computer when you need (or want) to.

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Today I’m presenting at the TECH cocktail Conference in Chicago, and the following is a guide to the timesaving material that will be discussed.

Whether you’re viewing this from the conference or just stopping by from elsewhere, I hope this will serve as a resource for:

1. Time-saving software tools
2. Tweaks to win back time from popular applications
3. Techniques for manufacturing time every day

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I know your secret because it’s mine, too: even busy, hard-working people finish everything they need to.  We (well, if you’d call me hard working) get to a point where we could do more work, but no deadline or emergency has tied us to our desks.   The best thing in this circumstance is to leave work and do something else.

The fact that I have to spell this out and even write this post is the problem.  Face it: many of us are little worker bees who don’t feel right about taking a break during traditional business hours.

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Though it’s the best time of the year to be outside here in DC,  fresh air comes in many other forms.  Surrounding yourself with that is what keeps me breathing easier–and generally sane.  So what the heck am I talking about–and how do you find it?
 

Fresh air for me has many names,

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Some books feel like they’ll never end, but they all have a last page. The web never ends. Finality is elusive when there’s always another link to click and mailbox to check. And the more social and prolific you become, the worse the predicament.

Today I want to offer you some limits–some that have helped me and others with which I still struggle. Monitors may get lighter and cheaper every year, but the weight and toll of the backlit universe they materialize has grown out of control. It’s time to get away.

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The following is a short video that explains why I created AwayFind (and touches on how to batch your email). I delivered this as a presentation to the School of Blogging Conference in Chicago (under the parameters of 20 slides presented in 5 minutes). I hope you’ll enjoy this, and will participate in the private beta. Feel free to skip to 0:42 for the meat of the presentation…

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This weekend’s School of Blogging Conference in Chicago will be very productive; after all, there’ll be many there who write about personal growth and productivity.  I’m anxious to see how everyone does at practicing what they preach.

Below are some great articles by each of these excellent writers (so if you’re not attending, check them out!), an open invitation to get together with them and others in Chicago, and a nifty map for those who are attending.

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Three quarters of the meetings that “merit a face-to-face” really don’t. It’s not “telecommuting” (that’s so 1997) and it shouldn’t even be called “working remotely”–it’s just WORKING. I’m putting my foot down and removing any distinction. Working from home has greatly improved my business, my sanity, and my life. So I’m opening up the kimono here on my tools. No, you don’t need to come in, you can read this from anywhere in the world.

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