Working Smart

My Daily Reading List

I read a lot. Books, magazines, blogs, and especially the Web versions of newspapers.

I am often asked what is on my daily reading list. In addition to the Bible, here's my daily list of reading.

• 43 Folders
• The Unofficial Apple Weblog
• Marc's Outlook on Productivity
• C\Net News.com
• CNN.com
• DrudgeReport.com
• GoogleNews.com
• NewYorkTimes.com
• OfficeZealot.com
• Tennessean.com
• The Wall Street Journal Online
• USAToday.com

I do my reading in the morning before I shower or get dressed. I'm a morning person, so it's first on my list, along with a giant cup of Starbucks coffee.

I force myself to read fast. I spend no more than an hour reading through my list. (This doesn't include books, which I read at other times.) I save articles I may want to reference in the future in a “Research” folder.

By the way, these are all stored in a Safari Bookmarks Bar in a subfolder called “!Daily”. The exclamation sign insures that it sorts first in the list. When I am ready to plow through my daily reading, I click on the list and select “Open in Tabs.” Each URL is then opened in a Safari tab. You can do a similar thing in Firefox (available in Mac or Windows flavors) or even Maxthon for you Windows diehards.

Technorati Tags: daily, reading, workflow

An Example of a Great Presentation

Business presentations are rarely inspiring. More often than not, they are outright boring. This seems to be especially true if the presenter uses PowerPoint. (Ugh.)

That’s why I was particularly impressed with Steve Jobs’ presentation last week announcing the new iPod Video. Even if you don’t have any interest in the product, it is worth watching the QuickTime movie just to see a business presentation done right. Jobs’ slides are especially impressive. Like his company’s products, the slides are simple, uncluttered, and elegant.

I was also impressed by Jobs himself. He was relaxed, articulate, and genuinely enthusiastic. As a result, his message was contagious. I’m sure people left the room buzzing about what they had seen.

Technorati Tags: apple, keynote, mac, powerpoint, steve jobs, speaking