Dave Cheong created this  framework that consists of R only.

Life is a continuous process of discovery and learning. We only stop doing either of these when we die. At this very moment, you are discovering new things, experiencing interesting events, learning and growing constantly. For any given problem, challenge or goal, pause for a moment and identify which step you’re at. The great thing is you don’t have to start at the beginning of the flow. Just start applying the 10 R’s to Success based on where you’re at right now, irrespective of the problem.

1. Realistic

2. Realise

3. Recognise

4. Reframe

5. Respond

6. Review

7. Repeat

8. Reflect

9. Reward

10. Renew

More detailed information on each point is here

The Basics Level

2. I have a calendar which is always on hand.
5. I have an email program, set up the way I want it.
7. I always have a way to capture ideas and get them out of my head, in all contexts (notepad, laptop, voice recorder, etc.).
8. I have a place or places to keep Next Actions lists, accessible in the right context.
11. I have a list for tracking “Waiting For” items.
13. I have a folder marked “inbox” on my computer for downloaded files.
14. I have a tickler file or reminder system in place which is fun and fast to use.
16. I only have physical actions on my Next Actions lists–no multi-step projects.
19. I have dedicated physical office space set up.
22. My computer files are set up for maximum productivity.
23. I attend a weekly productivity group centered around the GTD methods.

Intermediate Level

26. I have been using the GTD system consistently for 3-6 months.
30. I consistently follow up on “loaned out stuff” and “stuff I’m borrowing.”
36. I always do my weekly review, scheduled for the same time weekly.
37. I have no unsorted papers anywhere besides my physical inbox, project files, and reference files.
38. I have a file cleanout day scheduled in my tickler file or calendar for once or twice a year.
40. I reconnect with my higher altitudes at least weekly, usually daily in the morning to keep me inspired.
41. My Master Projects List is regularly updated at least weekly.
45. When clearing my inboxes, I start at the top and take each item one at a time until it is processed (instead of skipping around to what’s easiest).
49. I know the Four-Criteria Model for Choosing Actions in the Moment by heart (p. 192), and actually work that way, or I have found something that works even better.
50. I have experimented with GTDGmail or some other productivity enhancing email software, and found what works best for me.

Advanced Level

51. I have been using the GTD system for 6 months or more, every day.
54. I have coached 3 people in successfully implementing GTD into their lives.
57. I don’t ever carry anything in my head that could be put into my system, and many times during the day I download ideas, next actions, and projects to my lists.
59. I always return phone calls within 24 hours, usually within 2-12 hours, with none lost or forgotten.
62. When I commit to doing something for someone, I completely trust that I will do it…or I’ll let them know ahead of time why I can’t complete it.
63. That low-level anxiety I used to feel around my “stuff” and my work is completely gone.
65. My paper filing system is completely up-to-date, always.
68. I can’t remember the last time something “fell through the cracks” in my system.
70. I get regular coaching from someone with at least 4 years experience with GTD.
71. I am familiar with the strengths and weaknesses of the GTD system because I’ve read and studied other productivity systems.
75. I can always say no with integrity, because I always know what’s on my plate and what’s important.

Mastery Level

76. I have been using the GTD system for 12 months or more, very consistently.
77. My system has been squeaky clean for over 6 months.
79. I have coached over 10 people in successfully implementing GTD into their lives, who have sustained their systems for over 6 months.
80. I easily arrive at all appointments 10 minutes early, well-prepared, with a calm and peaceful mind.
85. I exercise regularly according to an intelligent plan that is best for my body and is leading towards ever-improving health, strength, aerobic capacity, flexibility, and overall fitness.
88. I have a list of books for personal/spiritual/career development which I consistently burn through, perhaps by scheduling reading time at regular times of the day or week.
91. Project planning and mind mapping are as easy and automatic as breathing to me.
93. I’m surrounded by people who are as productive as me.
94. I have several mentors who are orders of magnitude more productive than me, whom I meet with regularly.
95. My living space is like a zen temple–everything accounted for, everything purposefully and consciously attended to.
97. I could, if I chose to, make a comfortable living teaching personal productivity–I have people asking me about it constantly, without me saying anything first.
98. I could write my own book on productivity…or maybe I already have.
99. I tend to reach my goals earlier and with greater ease than expected.

Test your own GTD Mastery level here

This method requires either a cell phone with camera or a normal digital camera. Photograph the document, email the image to qipit website for cleaning and then extract the text from this cleaned image using SimpleOCR, a free word-recognition software.

Here’s the complete instruction:

1. Place the book / newspaper / magazine page on a flat surface and photograph it. Keep a steady hand and make sure Flash is turned off else the final image may appear to be washed out.

2. Now upload that photograph to qipit.com via web or email. Qipit, a free service, will straighten the image and create a much cleaner and readable document from that picture.

Open the MyDocuments folder in Qipit.com and download that converted file as JPG by clicking the document preview icon.

3. To extract text from this JPG file, we will use a free software called SimpleOCR. The OCR software will recognize the words in the JPG image and generates a text file.

No matter what kind of job you’re applying for, you should go into the interview with your own strategy. Here are some ideas on how to be successful in a variety of different interview approaches.

How to behave in a behavior-based interview: This article from JobWeb.com gives job seekers insight into what they’ll need to know for a behavior-based interview. Competencies sought by the interviewer:
- Describe a situation in which you had to use reference materials to write a research paper. What was the topic? What journals did you read? (research/written communication)
- Give me a specific example of a time when a co-worker or classmate criticized your work in front of others. How did you respond? How has that event shaped the way you communicate with others? (oral communication.
- Give me a specific example of a time when you sold your supervisor or professor on an idea or concept. How did you proceed? What was the result? (assertiveness)
- Describe the system you use for keeping track of multiple projects. How do you track your progress so that you can meet deadlines? How do you stay focused? (commitment to task)
How to beat the stress interview: Stress interviews can be extremely taxing if you’re not prepared. This article gives you some helpful hints that can help you be more successful with this type of interview. A stress interview is where the employer lines up a bunch of interviewers (one at a time or en masse) whose mission is to intimidate you. The ostensible purpose of this interview: to find out how you handle the stress.
Post-interview strategies: Don’t let your interview strategy end with the interview. Use this article to help you find success even after the hard part is over. The hardest part (the actual interview) is behind you. But that doesn’t mean you can just wait around for the phone to ring. You’ve still got work to do that will further enhance your chances of getting that job!
Behavioral interviewing strategies for job seekers: This extensive article gives candidates everything they need to know about preparing a behavioral interview strategy. Behavioral interviewing is a relatively new mode of job interviewing. Employers such as AT&T and Accenture (the former Andersen Consulting) have been using behavioral interviewing for about 15 years now, and because increasing numbers of employers are using behavior-based methods to screen job candidates, understanding how to excel in this interview environment is becoming a crucial job-hunting skill.
Interview strategies: This article from The Princeton Review Inc. gives some great general tips for making a good impression at your interview. The golden rule for interviews is “Be Yourself.” Interviewers have been through all of this before, and they’re pretty good at spotting people who are putting on an act or reading from a mental script.
Case interview strategies: Case-based interviews are growing in popularity among employers, and candidates can get step-by-step advice on looking great in them with this article. The case interview is a discussion, between the interviewer and the interviewee, on a real or hypothetical business or non-business scenario. Through this process, the interviewer intends to assess the interviewee’s analytical and people skills in handling realistic situations. These interviews, while being most common in the consulting industry and in strategy consulting in particular, are not limited only to the consulting industry. You are liable to come across these interviews, from time to time, in other industries as well.

How memory works or Why we forget

Forgetting is normal and necessary. Your brain is bombarded with millions of bits of information every day. All of this information could not possibly be stored, nor is it important enough to remember for any length of time. The mind decides what information is unimportant and immediately disregards it. What your mind remembers is what you need to function. There are strategies to use that will increase your ability to remember important information.

Types of Memory

Sensory Memory – We are constantly processing information gathered through our senses. Through selective attention, your mind determines what of the huge amount of incoming information is important and ignores the rest. When you concentrate on your professor’s lecture or the discussion that is going on you use selective attention to deem this information important. Although sensory information is only kept in your mind a few seconds, by concentrating on a certain piece of information, you can transfer it to your short-term memory.

Short-Term Memory – Information in your short-term memory lasts only about a minute. When you meet someone and they tell you their name, chances are, an hour later, you won’t remember their name. By reciting and rehearsing information like names, lists or phone numbers, you can increase your retention of the information. Short-term memory is limited, however. The average number of items you can keep in short-term memory is seven. To remember larger amounts of information you must group it into common themes, memorize “chunks” of information at once, or use other strategies to improve retention.

Long-Term Memory – Once information is moved to long-term memory, it is integrated with existing information. If this integration is not successfully done, the information may get “lost” and will be harder to recall. Long-term memory is like a giant warehouse full of file cabinets. You take information you know and you place it in existing “files.” If there is no existing file and you do not create one by integrating like information, the information may be more difficult to recall.

The 3 R’s of Memory

Reception – Be attentive and observant. This will help you receive important information more easily. Engage all of your senses. Look at the professor, listen to the lecture and discussion, and take notes. Ask questions if you aren’t clear about something. If you don’t understand, you won’t be able to remember. Survey before reading the material. If you know what the selection is about before reading, you will be more attentive to the information.

Retention – Make a conscious effort to remember what is being said. If you set goals for your performance and motivate yourself this will give you the incentive to remember. Become an active reader by highlighting and marking your text. Review your notes frequently to increase your retention. Recite your notes aloud when possible. By using both your visual and auditory senses, you will increase your retention rate. Do all your homework when it is assigned. Using information in and out of the classroom will help you remember it better. See the list of Memory Aids for tips on improving your memory.

Recollection – Organize your material before the test. Group tests, summaries, and notes according to chapters and similar topics. Make a list of important topics and what you should know about them. The week before the test set up a block of time (2-3 hours) to thoroughly review the information. Remember to take breaks when studying! During the test visualize your diagrams and flashcards to help remember the information. Use practice tests to study. Anticipate possible test questions and make up your own test or look at old tests if they are available from the professor.

Memory Aids

Mnemonics – rhymes, sayings or phrases that repeat or codify the information you’re trying to remember. HOMES – an acronym that stands for the first letter of each of the five Great Lakes Fall Back, Spring Ahead – this phrase helps you remember Daylight Savings Time Thirty days hath September… - this jingle helps you remember how many days there are in each of the twelve months.

Associate – Relate the information you’re trying to remember to something you already know. To help remember the three stages of memory (reception, retention, and recollection) you can associate the mind with a computer. By recalling the computer’s three processes (input, storage, and output) you will be able to remember the stages of memory.

Visualize – Drawing out pictures and diagrams makes the information easier to recall by visualizing the drawing while taking the test. When memorizing the names of bones in the body, draw a human skeleton and label the bones. During the test, visualize the skeleton and you will be able to remember the names.

Flashcards – Write key words or terms that you need to know on one side of an index card. Write the explanation or definition on the other side of the card. Carry these cards with you and review them as often as possible.

Academic Resource Center, Wheeling Jesuit University, 2001.

At the end of any given conversation, whether it’s with co-workers, employees, or customers, do you ever find yourself asking the following questions:
- “How many times do I have to tell them how it’s done?”
- “Why are there so many misunderstandings?”
- “Doesn’t anyone ever listen to me?”

If so, you’re not alone. In companies across the nation, communication breakdown is one of the main challenges managers deal with on a daily basis. As a result, they spend time restating their objectives to the same people over and over again, only to have the intended message still get altered or confused. Depending on the situation, communication breakdown can have severe consequences—everything from lost sales and profits to high employee turnover rates.

The warning signs of communication breakdown include the listener losing interest before you’re finished speaking, your being unable to get the floor at meetings, and doing all the talking during a conversation when you want feedback. If any of these things routinely happen to you during conversations, your communication efforts are not effective or efficient.

Traditionally, most business leaders have spent their time attempting to change the way others listen. This is an exercise in futility because the only element in any interaction you can change is your part of it. Those professionals who are motivated to adjust their speaking in order to get people to listen, develop better relations with staff, investors and customers. The result will be fewer misunderstandings and more success in the business. By making the following adjustments to your conversations, you too can experience the satisfying results of positive communication.

1. Stop talking
When someone talks incessantly, the listener naturally wants to tune out. Listening is an energy draining process, so forcing people to listen for long periods of time can wear them out. To motivate others, especially if you are the boss or key figure in a negotiation, be quiet and listen to others in order to discover what they are thinking. Stop talking long enough to capture the entire essence of what the other person is saying. Listen for the value the other person wants to add and incorporate that into your response.

2. Get to the point
Effective communicators don’t beat around the bush. They make their points clearly and accurately. To do so, start with a single sentence that notes your positive intent. Next, state the overall goal. Once you make your suggestion for action, follow it up with justifications. Often, but not always, ask for feedback on the idea and allow for brainstorming. Summarize all decisions and each person’s role with dated, specific, and measurable commitments.

3. Take a presentation skills class
By brushing up on your speaking skills, you can “even the playing field” with those successful but less talented colleagues who got where they are because of their excellent oratory skills. Most accomplished speakers take a class or review a book on presentation skills every few years to become more confident, persuasive, and effective.

4. Keep your tone neutral
During every conversation, speak to others as you want them to speak to you. Avoid sarcasm and other hostile behaviors. When you routinely humiliate, berate, or poke fun at others, they won’t listen to much of what you say or go the extra mile for you. Speak loud enough so that no one must strain to hear you, and speak with authority, so you’ll be perceived as more credible. As far as what to say, always remember to praise in public and criticize in private, each time addressing the behavior itself and not the person’s personality.

5. Reduce your speaking accent
When listening to someone who has a thick accent, people routinely miss 10-30 percent of what is said. If you are completely fluent in English but still have people asking you to repeat yourself, taking a presentation skills class that focuses on accent reduction is a wise career move. It’s your job as the speaker to be a clear communicator, especially since others won’t work to understand you. Additionally, listeners can become embarrassed when they have to continually ask you to repeat yourself. Instead, very often they’ll nod and smile, and then ask each other afterward, “What are we supposed to do?” But there is no reason to lose your accent entirely, as a charming accent differentiates you from the group and is part of your persona. However, with information and videotaped training, even a couple of days of coaching can improve comprehension by 80 percent.

Being an effective communicator is the best way to get others to listen to what you say. Since few people enjoy repeating themselves multiple times or the resulting consequences of not getting important messages understood, improve your communication skills so that listening is not a burden for others. The result will be that listeners will hear and comprehend you each time you speak.

Dr. Reesa Woolf
Public Speaking Coach

Website: Http://ConfidentSpeaking.com

Here are 77 tips related to knowledge and learning to help you on your quest. A few are specifically for students in traditional learning institutions; the rest for self-starters, or those learning on their own. Happy learning.
Health

• Food for thought: Eat breakfast. A lot of people skip breakfast, but creativity is often optimal in the early morning and it helps to have some protein in you to feed your brain. A lack of protein can actually cause headaches.
• Reduce stress + depresssion. Stress and depression may reduce the ability to recall information and thus inhibit learning. Sometimes, all you need to reduce depression is more white light and fewer refined foods.

Balance

• Take a break. Change phyical or mental perspective to lighten the invisible stress that can sometimes occur when you sit in one place too long, focused on learning. Taking a 5-15 minute break every hour during study sessions is more beneficial than non-stop study. It gives your mind time to relax and absorb information. If you want to get really serious with breaks, try a 20 minute ultradian break as part of every 90 minute cycle. This includes a nap break, which is for a different purpose than #23.
• Change your focus. Sometimes there simply isn’t enough time to take a long break. If so, change subject focus. Alternate between technical and non-technical subjects.

Perspective and Focus

• Focus and immerse yourself. Focus on whatever you’re studying. Don’t try to watch TV at the same time or worry yourself about other things. Anxiety does not make for absorption of information and ideas.
• Turn out the lights. This is a way to focus, if you are not into meditating. Sit in the dark, block out extraneous influences. This is ideal for learning kinesthetically, such as guitar chord changes.

Recall Techniques

• Listen to music. Researchers have long shown that certain types of music are a great “key” for recalling memories. Information learned while listening to a particular song or collection can often be recalled simply by “playing” the songs mentally.
• Use acronyms and other mnemonic devices. Mnemonics are essentially tricks for remembering information. Some tricks are so effective that proper application will let you recall loads of mundane information years later.

Visual Aids

• Every picture tells a story. Draw or sketch whatever it is you are trying to achieve. Having a concrete goal in mind helps you progress towards that goal.
• Learn symbolism and semiotics. Semiotics is the study of signs and symbols. Having an understanding of the symbols of a particular discipline aids in learning, and also allows you to record information more efficiently.

Verbal and Auditory Techniques

• Stimulate ideas. Play rhyming games, utter nonsense words. These loosen you up, making you more receptive to learning.
• Laugh. Laughing relaxes the body. A relaxed body is more receptive to new ideas.

Kinesthetic Techniques

• Write, don’t type. While typing your notes into the computer is great for posterity, writing by hand stimulates ideas. The simple act of holding and using a pen or pencil massages acupuncture points in the hand, which in turn stimulates ideas.
• Use post-it notes. Post-it notes provide a helpful way to record your thoughts about passages in books without defacing them with ink or pencil marks.

Self-Motivation Techniques

• Give yourself credit. Ideas are actually a dime a dozen. If you learn to focus your mind on what results you want to achieve, you’ll recognize the good ideas. Your mind will become a filter for them, which will motivate you to learn more.
• Set a goal. W. Clement Stone once said “Whatever the mind of man can conceive, it can achieve.” It’s an amazing phenomenon in goal achievement. Prepare yourself by whatever means necessary, and hurdles will seem surmountable. Anyone who has experienced this phenomenon understands its validity.

Supplemental Techniques

• Read as much as you can. How much more obvious can it get? Use Spreeder (#33) if you have to. Get a breadth of topics as well as depth.
• Learn another language. New perspectives give you the ability to cross-pollinate cultural concepts and come up with new ideas. As well, sometimes reading a book in its original language will provide you with insights lost in translation.

For Teachers, Tutors, and Parents

• Use information pyramids. Learning happens in layers. Build base knowledge upon which you can add advanced concepts.
• Apply the 80/20 rule. This rule is often interpreted in dfferent ways. In this case, the 80/20 rule means that some concepts, say about 20% of a curriculum, require more effort and time, say about 80%, than others. So be prepared to expand on complex topics.

For Students and Self-Studiers

• Teach yourself. Teachers cannot always change their curricula. If you’re not being challenged, challenge yourself. Some countries still apply country-wide exams for all students. If your lecturer didn’t cover a topic, you should learn it on your own. Don’t wait for someone to teach you. Lectures are most effective when you’ve pre-introduced yourself to concepts.
• Collaborate. If studying by yourself isn’t working, maybe a study group will help.
  Parting Advice
• Persist. Don’t give up learning in the face of intimdating tasks. Anything one human being can learn, most others can as well. Wasn’t it Einstein that said, “Genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration”? Thomas Edison said it, too.

The other tips are here: oedb.org/library/college-basics/hacking-knowledge 

John Trosko talks about a great way to keep meetings short at his blog, Organizing LA.

There he suggests removing seats from a meeting room and hold the meetings standing up.

Click here for the article: John’s article.

A famous blogger Steve Pavlina has written a good article on how to achieve almost impossible goals; basically, you need to get into your own character:

Select one of your goals or intentions, especially one where your progress has been disappointing.  Now ask yourself if a person with different character attributes would be more capable of achieving this goal than you are.  What kind of person would find your goal easy to achieve?

Ask yourself the following questions:

* What would a person with more self-esteem do in my situation?
* What would a person with more courage do in my situation?
* What would a person with more self-discipline do in my situation?
* What would a person with more confidence do in my situation?
* What would a person with more compassion do in my situation?
* What would a person with more gratitude do in my situation?
* What would a person with more centeredness do in my situation?
* What would a person with more flexibility do in my situation?
* What would a person with more curiosity do in my situation?
* What would a person with more resourcefulness do in my situation?
* What would a person with more wisdom do in my situation?

Achieving Goals by Improving Your Character [StevePavlina.com]

Make personal goals and find others to share and work toward these goals with you at Life Tango, a collaborative goal-setting community

Want to lose some weight? How about travel to Europe, learn Spanish, or spend more time with your family? Once you write down your goals at Life Tango, you can explore the community to find other folks who share the same interests, and then invite these people to help you along your journey.

I am sure you know about Mind Mapping concept.

It is used for organizing your notes and information in a non liniear format. This is believed to be more effective as both parts of your brain are used.

If you want to try it on a computer, you may look at this free program FreeMind or use the following free online service: www.bubbl.us for your brainstorming.

The concept is pretty basic: you write your thoughts in bubbles, which you can then connect to other bubbles, eventually creating as complex (or not) diagram as you could possibly want. It’s a great way to quickly jot down and map your ideas; and you can create as many of these as you want.

Anxiety robs your brain of space it needs to compute complex problems

SAN FRANCISCO - Worrying about how you’ll perform on a math test may actually contribute to a lower test score, U.S. researchers said on Saturday.

Math anxiety — feelings of dread and fear and avoiding math — can sap the brain’s limited amount of working capacity, a resource needed to compute difficult math problems, said Mark Ashcraft, a psychologist at the University of Nevada Las Vegas who studies the problem.

“It turns out that math anxiety occupies a person’s working memory,” said Ashcraft, who spoke on a panel at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in San Francisco.

Ashcraft said while easy math tasks such as addition require only a small fraction of a person’s working memory, harder computations require much more.

Worrying about math takes up a large chunk of a person’s working memory stores as well, spelling disaster for the anxious student who is taking a high-stakes test.

Although test preparation classes can help students overcome this anxiety, they are limited to students whose families can afford them.

Ultimately, she said, “It may not be wise to rely completely on scores to predict who will succeed.”

While the causes of math anxiety are unknown, Ashcraft said people who manage to overcome math anxiety have completely normal math proficiency.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17243349/

As for myself I know that it may be a problem for you plan your day. Apparently there are two approaches for this task.

• You can devote some time in the end of your day to wrap everything up and think about what you are going to do tomorrow.
• Alternatively, you can get up a bit earlier and plan your day in the morning - set priorities and list the things to be done.

A good article on this issue is here.