Work Hackery: 3 Sites and Extensions to Help You Focus and Get Things Done

As a student, I'm one of many who face that terrible problem of procrastination. Sometimes despite my best efforts, I sit on my laptop with my books open and agenda out, but nothing gets done. Luckily, I've poked around and discovered some great tools that help with creating a better work-flow and help me stay focused.

1. WorkFlowy

I didn't really understand what this was, or how it could help me, until I started using it. WorkFlowy is essentially an awesome list-maker, making it super easy to create multi-level lists and then organize, tag, or move everything around.

Like me when I first came across it, you might not really understand just how helpful this can be. When I started, I realized it was a great way for me to organize my writing process, dividing the paper or writing I had to do into ideas, brainstorming, and sources. I used it to begin outlining a story, and had a bullet which broke down into characters, settings, and plot. Each of those easily breaks down further, and it's super easy to navigate throughout all of your different lists.

Again, I highly recommend signing up and giving this a try, even if this doesn't sound helpful. Check out this brief intro video, which gives a better preview of how it works and will hopefully help convince you that it is as awesome as I think it is:

2. HabitRPG

For both gamers and non-gamers alike, I think it's safe to say it's always fun to get rewarded for doing something. Have you ever been to a site that gives you rewards or badges for doing different activities on it? Even if it was all virtual, you probably tried to get some of these rewards and enjoyed it at least a little.

Well, HabitRPG makes your to-do list and any habit building/breaking and turns it into a game!

By adding what you have to do (or any habits you want to build), you can begin to earn points and level up your character! Nothing like a bit of gaming to make your work go by a little faster!

3. Clearly

Evernote's Clearly is a browser extension which helps to clear away the "extra" parts of sites to help you focus on the content on the web page. The extension is great at clearing away distracting layouts and sidebars to help you focus on the article at hand.

I find this extension great when I'm on a site trying to read to learn something, but may be distracted by links to other articles on the same site. If you're letting yourself read something while you're "on a break", it can help prevent you from getting distracted and clicking from link-to-link and wasting more time than you meant to.


These three tools personally help me get through my to-do list and get stuff done. Have you tried any of these, and if so, what do you think of them? Do you have any tricks of the trade to help you focus on your work?

How well do you know your tech?

While it's no secret that these days, most of us are connected (some, almost constantly) with the help of technology, there's still a great difference in skill level from person-to-person. More specifically, different people are able to take care of or "hack" their technology to different degrees; while some people can edit right down to the programming running their gadgets, some people barely know that there's any way to take care of the "maintenance" involved in technology at all!

Personally, I feel that I'm at an intermediate level when it comes to this. I know the best ways to keep my laptop and phone running at its best, love looking into apps and "hacks" to make them do cool things, and in general I can help people solve most of the tech problems that they may be having. While I don't know a good deal of programming, I know enough that I can make the most basic of edits in a few things; I tend to avoid this unless I know exactly what I'm doing, or following a guide.

I'm not afraid to tinker with my gadgets, but I'm still quite cautious with any changes I make in order to avoid doing something that I may not be able to fix. When talking to my friends, I tend to avoid suggesting or attempting anything that I wouldn't think they could fix themselves.

On this note, how well do you know how to use your different pieces of technology? Are you great at taking care of and tweaking your computer, or are you great at customizing your Android or jail-broken iPhone? Do you avoid doing anything "fancy" so as not to break anything? Let me know in the comments!

How many ways do you communicate?

My mornings tend to start similarly each time: I reach over and check my phone for the time and for any missed messages while I was asleep. First thing upon getting out of bed, I open my laptop to check my email and say "hello" to my friends in a Skype message. Then I'm checking my email and Facebook until I get a text message asking if I want to get brunch with some of my other school friends, after which I finally get dressed and ready to begin my day.

All of this communication and planning, and I haven't even uttered a single word out loud yet.

Each day, it seems like we communicate in dozens of different ways. From texting with or talking on our phones, to instant or video messaging on our laptops, it's almost impossible not to stay constantly connected these days. It's interesting to see just how many different ways we use to keep in touch with one another.

Personally, I use Skype messages and texting the most. My local friends tend to keep in touch this way, and half the messages in my phone's inbox are asking if I'd like to join them for lunch or dinner. Skype is the way I keep in touch with my best friend who's states away. While I text him too, we prefer typing over the computer as it's a faster way to talk than texting on the phone. Of course, we'll video-call each other as well from time to time, but the point is as long as our laptops are open, we can instantly communicate with one another.

Looking around, I know I'm not the only one who's this connected, and I know these aren't the only ways to keep in touch. Even with Skype, which I usually use just on my laptop, I find that sometimes I log into it on my phone as well, blurring the lines between my "computer" and "phone" communications. I see people using services like Snapchat or HeyTell to talk to one another, and even social game apps like Words with Friends or Ruzzle have chat areas where players can talk to each other.

I use texting and Skype messaging the most because it seems that through those two means of communication, I can reach the entirety of my friends. I think though that some people use these other programs and apps because they're more "fun" and add something you can't get in a "typical" conversation.

I know I'm almost dependent on these as well. Without Skype and texting, communication with my friend would be quite slow since I can't just walk over and visit him to talk. Getting lunch or dinner with my friends would be a game of knowing friends' schedules and preferred time to eat. And while it wouldn't mean the end of the world, in this day and age of instant gratification, it'd certainly feel slow.

But that leads me to ask, what's a "typical" conversation these days? Are text messages as typical as face-to-face talking, or perhaps even more so? What about Snapchats and HeyTells and everything else? What ways do you use to communicate every day, and why do you use them versus other means? How would your day change if these means of communication were taken away? Any other thoughts on how you communicate using today's technology?

App Review: Ruzzle

For today's post, I'm going to be reviewing the popular game called Ruzzle, available on Android and iPhone/iPad/iPod Touch. This fast-paced and addicting word game is similar to Boggle, as you play by trying to find as many words as you can on a 4x4 grid. Each game consists of three two-minute rounds where players try to score as many points as possible, and the winner is whoever gets the most points by the end of all three rounds. 

Ruzzle's Login Screen

After downloading Ruzzle, you can choose to register for an account either with a username and a password or to sign in using your Facebook account. If you create an account with a username and password, you can connect to Facebook later so that you can play with your Facebook friends. 

Once you've logged in, you will see a list of games where it is your turn to play (under the "Start New Game" button), an overview of how many achievement's you've earned, and a list of games where it is your opponent's move. Underneath this, you will also see a list of the outcomes of past games (not pictured in screenshot).

 By pressing the orange "Start a new game" button, you will be able to begin playing. You can choose to play by entering someone's username (first option) against your Facebook friends or Twitter followers, or a random opponent. There is also a practice mode, if you want to try the game without any opponents.

When it's your turn to play a round, you will see a screen similar to this when you start to play. Here, it's my turn on the third round, and you can see both my score and my opponent's for each round as well as the score for each of us on the bottom. Your opponent's score for any round will remain hidden until both of you have played in that round. From here, you can choose to either play the next round, resign, or chat with your opponent by tapping the speech bubble in the top right.

Now game-play begins! You have two minutes to find as many words as you can and get the highest score possible. Select words by tapping the first letter and then dragging over the other letters in the word, releasing over the final letter. Letters in each word must be adjacent (that is, touching on any side or diagonal), and each letter can only be used once per word. Here I drew lines illustrating the path to play the word "Note" in this game.

The Ruzzle board when play begins.
The timer is at the upper left, and your score is  top-center.

Lines showing the path to play the word "Note"

Once the round is over, you will see the number of words you played along with their point score. If your opponent has already played that round, you will also see a list of all the words they found that round. Any word in grey is a word that only one player found. When you press "Done" you'll see the score screen again, and if it's the end of Round 3, whether you've won or lost.

List of words found by each player,starting with the highest-scoring.

The final score of a game, with the option
to challenge your opponent to a rematch.

In Ruzzle, it is important to remember that its the amount of points scored that determine the winner, not the amount of words. So your strategy could be to find as many words as quickly as possible, or to try and find longer, more valuable words. Also lookout for the letter tiles with double or triple letter scores ("DL" or "TL") and tiles which double or triple your word score ("DW" and "TW"). The amount of these tiles increases which each round, so generally you'll earn more points per round as the game progresses.

Some other areas of Ruzzle worth checking out could be the Settings and Help window where you can adjust different settings, go over the tutorial, or upgrade to the premium version of the game if you have the free version; the Account Settings window where you can adjust your account information or the image used as your Ruzzle profile picture (this is the "Account Settings" button under Settings and Help; and the Achievements window, where you can see both the achievements you've unlocked as well as how to unlock the ones you haven't.

 Overall, Ruzzle is an addictive app worth downloading. You can download it for free or purchase the premium version which will remove ads and give you access to your Ruzzle statistics. Given its current popularity, you will find no shortage of opponents to play against and the short, two-minute rounds are perfect for those moments where you need a quick break. Hope you've enjoyed this review of the game!

Download Ruzzle: 
Android: Free Version | Premium Version ($1.99)
iOS: Free Version (Premium version can be bought in the app for $2.99)

A new semester, a new beginning

Hello again everyone! I've taken a bit of a hiatus since the end of my last semester, but I'm here to give another "welcome" message to all of you as I begin the new school year!

As you might be able to guess, this blog is a place for me to talk about anything "tech," from apps and gadget reviews to websites and how-tos. I own an Android smartphone and an HP PC so my posts may tend to be directed towards the two platforms, however I do also own an iPod Touch so some things like iPhone apps may be mentioned as well for you Apple folk. =)

I welcome suggestions for anything you guys might like to learn or read about, so if there's any relatively accessible tech-related thing you want me to check out, just let me know!

Hope you enjoy what you read here!

A follow-up

So this is where I'm supposed to discuss the responses I received from my last post. However, I did not get any (feel free to change that!) so this post won't be very exciting. =(

I feel that, in defense of having no comments on my previous post, my blog is near the bottom of the class blog-roll and I think we just tend to click on links near the top in general -- I realized I did -- and that's probably the main reason why. I can't blame them, I think it's just natural.

Also, the length of my previous post may have been a bit long and scary for some...I was hoping the dividers would help, but perhaps it still just looked like too much text.

If anyone comments I'll definitely update this post to mention what other people have, so keep checking back!

What's YOUR favorite piece of tech, site, or app?

December is here, and with that the holiday season is fast-approaching. Soon, it will be 2013 (assuming the dreaded 12/21/12 is a hoax, of course), and with that the metaphorical new beginning that accompanies a new year will arrive.

But before we turn our sights to what's to come, I want to take some time to think about that which has affected us in this previous year. In particular, what in the tech-world has made the biggest impact on you over this year?

Are there any sites or services which have become a part of your daily routine? How about a tech-gadget that you can't leave home without? Or maybe there's an app you find always open on your phone or tablet?

I want to know what's made its impact on YOU! Let me know in the comments below!

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For me, my biggest change came over the summer when I got my first smartphone, an LG Lucid running Android. While I used my iPod Touch extensively before as my "poor man's smartphone," having a real smartphone has changed how I do things:

• I can actually connect to and use my apps without explicitly needing wi-fi as I did when I used my iPod Touch. This way I can, say, connect to and use my Evernote account at almost any time.
• I don't have an excuse to get lost or not be able to fact-check that argument (this may or may not be a con rather than a pro!)
• I can use my social apps like Facebook and Instagram without needing to find a wi-fi network and take the time to sign into it.

Strangely, I've found that even now I forget I have access to all of these apps at any time--perhaps I have gotten so used to being restricted to wi-fi I've effectively trained myself away from thinking, "I want to take a picture of this and share it on Instagram!"

As for sites that have impacted me this year, I must say that without a doubt Gmail and Google Calendar have changed how I organize my day. I've set Gmail to effectively check all of my email, and after an initial set-up of many different filters it's a pretty painless process to check my mail and find exactly what I'm looking for. By using color-coded calendars I've managed to keep track of all of my different college classes and their assignments, and it's great to visually see what's due and when in the calendar view that way. At the very least, it's saving me during finals time this semester!

Finally, I've got to hand it over to Evernote as my "app" choice. I've tried a few different apps to keep my need of writing down small pieces of information in check, and Evernote wins mainly because I can use it anywhere. Whether it's via the site, its Windows program, or my smartphone app, I can access and store information no matter where I'm at. It's not a perfect program, but it's hard to argue with something I can use in almost any situation--even if I'm offline, I can store apps locally until they can sync.

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Well, there you have it, my thoughts on the tech that has affected me most this year. Feel free to ask any questions if you want to know more about any of the items I've mentioned, and let me know in the comments below what tech has made the biggest impact on you this year!