Manilla, my fave site for managing bills/deals and contributing to their blog Manilla Folder, has a great New Year’s Toolkit with great tips on money, productivity, home organization and lifestyle. One of the Productivity pages offers 4 Free Apps That You Need This Year by Marc Karasu, Manilla.com. They are: Venmo, Manilla, Red Laser and FastCustomer. I will highlight FastCustomer today.
FastCustomer prevents you from having to waste time on hold with a customer service representative. All you have to do is text FastCustomer the name of the company you need to speak with or search for the company in the directory of more than 3,000 companies. Then, FastCustomer will call the company, wait on hold, and call you when the customer representative is finally available. And this is free. How? The companies pay to be listed on the service – it seems that waiting on hold makes people angry. Yay for the 3,000 companies on this site already. You can use the web or app. Learn more HERE.
Pure Wow also had a really cool technique/app to help with New Years resolutions to decrease procrastination. This one has my name on it! It is called the Pomodoro Technique.The Pomodoro Technique teaches you to be more effective with your time by breaking down big tasks into 25-minute increments.
They say:
The idea is that you can tackle any big job if you break it up into digestible pieces and the people behind Pomodoro have found that 25 minutes is the golden span of attention. After 25 minutes of work (called a “pomodoro”), you treat yourself to a five-minute break and keep on that cycle (25 minutes on, five minutes off) until the project in question is complete.
We recently tried the method while working on a PureWow story (sneak peek into the life of an editor). After downloading a Pomodoro app, we hit start and ended up working for two pomodoros in a row, which entitled us to a 10-minute coffee break. It’s astonishing how much you actually get done when you’re forced to stay focused–in our case, nailing the first three paragraphs without so much as glancing at our Twitter feed.
Ideally, the more you use this technique and learn how long various to-dos will take you, the more you’ll be able to plan your day based on 25-minute pomodoros. Our advice? Use it for big tasks, like that stack of thank-you notes or your impending dissertation (smarty pants).
Read more: Kick-Start Your Resolutions with the Pomodoro Technique | Tech + Tools | PureWow National
I think the idea of setting a clock for a bit of focused working time makes total sense in our ADD world. I am going to try this one!
If you use Google Chrome and tend to check social media or email all day long at work and want to curb the habit, check out Website Blocker. Dan showed me this when I was visiting the farm a few weeks ago. Basically, you pick the websites and set rules. For example, you can block Facebook from 9:00 – 5:00 or Yahoo E-mail from 10:00 – 3:00 and so on. You set the rules.
When I go back to work full time, this is the plug in for me!
So that you can stay productive, I have found some great online deals for you:
- Check out great spa/beauty deals in major metros on Lifebooker Loot – some with extra 25% or extra 20% or extra 10% off!
- Sign up for the Sierra Trading Post newsletter and get awesome deals on (last season’s/discontinued/overstock) activewear from your favorite brands in men’s, women’s and kids. They also have great shoes and boots and some regular clothes, as well. Today’s deal – save an extra 45% + 99 cent shipping on already discounted prices. (Also get extra discounts for liking them on Facebook.)
- Get up to 75% off on photo books and more from My Publisher with code WINTER75 through 1/13.
- Get 50% off on a 3 month subscription to Citrus Lane – a curated kids/babies box from Plum District – only $48 – great gift!
- I love these 50% off deals from Made Special: Personalized for Baby on Zulily (and lots of other great things for kids, moms and homes, too!)
- Get up to $75 off at ShoeBuy through 1/12.
- There are tons of great deals on healthy eats/workouts and more at Gilt City. (And if anyone needs a hotel in Chicago through 3/31/14 – the Thompson has killer rates through then via Gilt City and Amazon Local) Also Katie from KS Style has over 50% off on closet cleanse and personal shopping!
- Before you buy anything, check ebates –they have lots of doubled cash back and coupon offers!
Still Available:
- Vegan Cuts is ready to support your 2014 resolutions with their Healthy Vegan Starter Kit. They’ve put together a bundle of digital goods worth over $190 and are offering it up for just $19. Check out these amazing meal plans, eBooks, documentaries, and video tutorials available to you at an affordable price so you can make 2014 the healthiest and tastiest year yet! 7-Day Sale | $190+ Value | GF & Raw Options | 14 eResources
- Get 12 months of Bulubox for 50% off with code HEALTHYYOU
- Check out the great New Year’s Resolution sale at the Clymb for up to 70% off on gear for your favorite sports!
- Need some cute workout wear to help with those New Year’s Resolutions? Get 20% off at Ellie or 50% off your first outfit and free shipping from Kate Hudson’s Fabletics.
- Get $20 off your first Uber ride click here to sign up.
- ModCloth launched their annual 70% off sale today. Save big bucks on hundreds of cute vintage-style retro & indie clothing, shoes and decor. Everything is on sale – dresses, bags, accessories, outerwear and cute plus size clothes too, all at amazing prices. But once an item is sold out, it’s gone forever, so buy your favorite pieces now! Here’s a quick link to check out everything on sale right now.
That’s all for now! We have left the polar vortex! Thank goodness. The cabin fever was terrible. I am looking forward to some fresh air this weekend. How about you?
PS. Don’t forget my Power of Habit and PureFit Energy Bars giveaways!