Blogging on my birthday! Here are some gifts from me to you:

Lifehacker

When I worked a corporate job, most of what I learned about technology was “over the shoulder” learning – watching other people. When I started my own business, solo in my own office, I had no tech experts to observe. Thank goodness for Lifehacker! From the Lifehacker blog, I’ve gotten life-changing advise on technology and productivity, and even non-tech but essential skills such as how to quickly peel hardboiled eggs and make a chocolate cake in a coffee mug.

Paymo

Free, web-based time tracking. I’ve been using Paymo for more than a year now, after trying various other ways to log my hours. I’ve got to accurately track my time, both so I can bill clients correctly and so I can reliably estimate projects. I tried a couple of different systems – one was too unwieldy and one worked well until it lost an entire month’s data and lost my trust along with it. Paymo is flexible, versatile and dependable.

MindJet Mind Manager

It’s true what they say:  Their products are “visually connecting ideas, information, and people to set a new standard of productivity.” Mind mapping with MindJet helps me organize my thoughts and my work – I keep find more and more ways to use it.

David Seah

David’s blog truly offers better living through design. What he has designed are practical, not to mention beautiful, spreadsheets that greatly enhance my productivity. My personal favorites are the CEO Series and the Gantt chart spreadsheet. But his advise on productivity and life balance is sufficient reason to visit his site.

These sites have been gifts to my work and home life.  I hope they can be the same to you!