Hacking Away at Life

Here's another great tip from the Librarian in Black: Top 20 Free Applications to Increase Your Productivity, written by Kim Roach, a productivity junkie who blogs regularly at The Optimized Life.

The introduction states: "The Internet is loaded with free software, making it hard to know which ones you really need. This article will act as your guide to the top 20 free applications (web and Windows) for increased productivity. These programs will make your PC faster, stronger, and more productive."

The article appears on lifehack.org, a daily digest of pointers on productivity, getting things done, and lifehacks. What is a "lifehack," you ask? According to lifehack.org, the phrase describes any hacks, tips, and tricks that get things done quickly by automating, increasing productivity, and organizing.

Wikipedia spells it as two words -- life hack -- and says the term "refers to productivity tricks that programmers devise and employ to cut through information overload and organize their data." The lengthier description of the original meaning had so many words I didn't understand that I was glad the more current description made more sense: "Today, anything that solves an everyday problem in a clever or non-obvious way might be called a life hack. The term became popularized in the blogosphere and is primarily used by geeks who suffer from information overload or those with a playful curiosity in the ways they can accelerate their workflow." I guess I would qualify as a cross between the two; no geek, but definitely suffering from information overload, and curious about ways to accelerate workflow.