Categories: Articles

How I Work

I got a great email request from Kevin Behringer of Fly Over Marketing. He referred to a very interesting post on Micro Persuasion where Steve Rubel unveils how he works – what tools he uses, etc- You can read it here: How I Work. I have to admit that one of my favorite articles in magazines are the segments where they ask the experts what gear they can-t live without. Rubel agrees – his post was inspired by a Fortune Magazine piece.
So here-s the breakdown of how I work:
I simply can-t live without my BlackBerry 7290 (granted, I am dying to get my hands on the 8700 – hint, hint people at RIM). We don-t have a BlackBerry enterprise email server here at Twist Image, so all email sent goes to both my Outlook and my BlackBerry – which is actually fine for me. Three things I do with my Blackberry to make it more productive: 1. I use a very small font size (System 6) this way I can maximize the amount of email I can see on one screen without scrolling. 2. On the main window, I have moved around the icons to be in the order that I prefer and have hidden most of the ones that I rarely/never use. 3. I use NewsClip where I get all of my RSS feeds on the BlackBerry.
My BlackBerry content – all contact information, notes, tasks etc, are synced with Outlook. I also hardly use any form of paper. I take tons of notes on my BlackBerry – both little things (like Blog topics of interest and books I should pick up) to actual notes in meetings with clients and for writing full-on Blog postings. I got me some fast thumbs.
As for a computer, I don-t have a desktop. I live and breathe via my Sony Vaio VGN TX751P ultra-portable laptop. There are many drawbacks to this laptop (not such a great video or sound card and the onboard memory maxes at one gig) but the highs are much higher than the lows. This Vaio is super light (way under three pounds), ultra tiny and has unbelievable battery power (well over seven hours). I simply love it and treat it as if it were my child (yes, I know how sad that sounds).
When I get into the office, I plug the Vaio into a USB hub so I can sync up my BlackBerry, iPod and charge the M-Audio MicroTrack. I then plug the laptop into a Samsung 930B flat-screen and a Logitech cordless keyboard and mouse combo. I also have Logitech desktop speakers. It-s all very civilized and clean. My office is almost completely empty. I don-t keep files and I definitely don-t have any paper.
Besides Outlook, I use PowerPoint quite a bit and I would trade my right arm for my Logitech wireless remote presenter when I have to speak. It truly is best of breed. I love the built-in timer and the grip of it. It-s the perfect presenting tool for me.
For Web stuff, I-m one hundred percent giddy over Mozilla Firefox. I use the macfox II graphite theme and the only additional icons I have as add-ons are the del.icio.us ones. My starting pages are Google Reader, del.icio.us and Flow (the Twist Image system).
For Blogging, I use MoveableType. I usually write my posts in Word or on my BlackBerry first and then I cut and paste the text into MT. I tag stuff all day, so if nothing strikes me for a Blog post, I-ll hop on my del.icio.us and get inspired.
For Podcasting, I usually record with my Logitech headset directly into the Vaio. I record everything live using CastBlaster. I use K7.net for my audio comment line and I transfer the audio comments into MP3s using Audacity. I-ll sometimes use Audacity if I have to edit a sound file, but the truth is, I-m not great at it. I use PowerGramo to record my Skype calls and iTunes to handle my music, videos, etc-
I also do use a regular notebook once in a while – and I love the customized Twist Image notebook covers that we had made for them.
I hope some of this is helpful and I would love to know how you work. Rubel asks that if you Blog about How I Work to tag it with this Technorati tag: How I Work.

Mitch Joel

Mitch Joel lives at the intersection of technology, business transformation and consumer culture. He is the Executive Director of Next Era Institute, a strategic intelligence platform helping leaders understand the forces reshaping business, technology, culture and society. The Institute identifies which shifts matter, explores their wider significance and translates them into strategic direction and momentum. Mitch is also a globally recognized keynote speaker. He has delivered thousands of presentations across both B2B and B2C industries to organizations including Google, Walmart, LEGO, Shopify, Microsoft, Procter & Gamble and Unilever. Strategy Magazine has called him “one of North America’s leading visionaries.” Mitch built his career by working directly inside the waves of change that reshaped modern business. He founded and built a digital marketing agency that worked with some of the world’s largest brands and was later acquired by WPP, where he served as President of a firm operating in 25 countries with almost 3,000 employees. Mitch is the bestselling author of Six Pixels of Separation and CTRL ALT Delete, and the host of Thinking With Mitch Joel, one of the longest-running business podcasts in the world. His writing and commentary appear in outlets including Harvard Business Review, Fast Company and Inc. Magazine. He is a member of Dr. Marshall Goldsmith’s 100 Coaches and was named to the Thinkers50 Radar. Mitch also hosts Groove – The No Treble Podcast, documenting the oral history of electric bass players. Mitch is also Co-Founder of ThinkersOne, a platform that enables companies to bring personalized thought leadership from world-class experts into meetings, events and off-sites in focused 15-minute bursts.