E26: The Very Best Online Tools We Use

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Episode Summary:

Listen to the full episode on iTunes (and please leave a rating to help the podcast reach more people): E26: The Very Best Online Tools We Use

In this episode we discuss the top tools we use on our computers (software, add-ons, apps, and websites).

Browser add-ons:

• • uBlock Origin or Adblock: Popular adblockers.

• • Firebug: If you like webdesign and you want to see code, you can use it.

• Last pass: Passwords.

Useful Websites:

• Noisli — Engineer your sound environment. (Ambient sound, not music). We use it a lot.
• Wikihow - surprisingly good tutorials that almost always work - when you want to learn something. Everything from how to write a book or a script, to setting up a router or leasing a car…… Excellent checklists you can use to get started with complex tasks.
• Academy of Achievement. Excellent long-form written interviews with famous Americans from different areas and industries.
• Have I been Pwned?  — see if your email has been stolen by hackers.
• Justdeleteme. — remove your email registration / account from the most popular online websites and software services. Big time saver if you want to do that.

Health-related websites::

• • Calculate BMI

• • Testosterone converter

• Examine

Basic financial:

• Inflation calculator
• Compound interest
• Shiller PE  | Goldprice  | Coindesk

Other websites:

• • Google Alerts — for your name, business, job search, etc…. Can be used cleverly if you spend 15 min to do a research for how to use it.

• • everytimezone.com - See what time it is all around the world.

• • whichdateworks.com -  find a date that suits everyone (multiple participants).

• • 10FastFingers — see what your typing speed is. If it’s slow. Say, under 50 words per minute, then you could practice for 10 minutes per day for a week and increase it to at least 70 wpm easily.

• Fiverr -  for cheap outsourcing. Works best for design, and basic chores.
• Youtube - avoid recommended videos/highlights. Bookmark your “subscriptions” page. Instead of youtube.com (Youtube > settings > my subscription >bookmark)

Software/programs: (and apps)

• Evernote (or OneNote) — which we both use for commonplacing. Listen to episode #22 about creating a review file to learn in detail.
• Zapier & IFTTT - automation. IFTTT is lighter. Zapier is more complex, but can be very useful for online business. You need accounts for both.
• Scrivener - writing structured long format documents/books
• Rescuetime — how you spend time on the computer. Useful until you notice a pattern.
• Gmail. (Advice: Keep multiple inboxes. And use gmail filters.) Use the different filters or inboxes as shortcuts on your smartphone too. (Avoid seeing all email at once).
• Undo-send. 30 seconds to cancel mistakenly sent emails.
• F.lux.  Natural screen light - instead of the blue light from laptop screen. Auto-adjust to when the sun sets in your timezone. And the phone app Twilight (android) - does the same for your phone
• Use no more than 3 screens on your phone. To avoid distraction/attention drain. If this is hard, you can do a quick 1-week test using the app QualityTime, it shows your app usage.
• Alfred for Mac: Quickly search your mac (much faster than spotlight). Great if you’re working with lots of documents and often need to change between apps and documents.
• CleanMyMac: Cleans up your mac from junk and duplicate files in just a few minutes. It can really make a difference in the speed of your mac.

- Oskar Faarkrog

We are right now creating the Future Skills Program which will be an online video course covering decision-making, career, and networking with weekly homework and evaluations.

* Why decision making and risk management? Because better decisions and risk management equal better finances, better relationships and an overall better life.

* Decisions are the foundation of everything you do and the outcome you eventually get.

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