How to Get Things Done

1. Reminders. Need a quick reminder that you have an appointment, or need to follow up on something later? Follow “timer” on Twitter, and send it a direct message with a reminder time and it will ping you at that time. For example: “d timer 30 pick up Chloe”.

2. To-do list: A couple of popular to-do services are on Twitter: Remember the Milk (on Twitter) and Nozbe (on Twitter). Follow them and send them direct messages to add things to your to-do list, or to check the items on your list.

3. Calendar. If you use Google Calendar (gCal), go to Twittercal, then follow gCal on Twitter and add events by sending direct messages to gCal. For example: “d gcal meeting with paul tomorrow at 7pm”.

4. Delegate. If you’re going through your to-do list or email and find a task that’s better suited for someone else, sending that person a direct message (assuming they’re on Twitter) can be quicker and easier than sending an email or making a phone call.

5. Follow up. The same applies to following up. I’ve done it a bunch of times — instead of opening up your email program, composing a new message, typing in the person’s address and the subject line, and then writing the email … you can just direct message them on Twitter: “d zen_habits don’t forget to answer my interview questions, you berk!”

6. Accountability with goals. Want some extra motivation to achieve your goals? Announce through Twitter or on your blog that you’re going to post your progress updates every day on Twitter. For example, if you’re trying to eat healthier, you can post everything you eat on Twitter. Trying to exercise? Post your workouts on Twitter. It’s great motivation, and you can get some support and encouragement from your Twitter friends.

7. Get info or ideas quickly. If you have a good Twitter network, you can ask a question and usually get a few responses quicker than many other methods. I’ve gotten website and service recommendations, ideas for a post I was writing, restaurant recommendations, people interested in a job, and more.

8. Do real work. It’s possible to do real work on Twitter — people have written stories or posts by writing them in little chunks in Twitter. It might be worth a try. But if that doesn’t work, my strongest recommendation is to turn Twitter off when you need to do some real work. Then, when you’re done, reward yourself with 10 minutes on Twitter.

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Chineese Break Dance

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Cruise ship stranded in ice

Courtesy : CNN

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½ a second before tsunami

The last picture! There are people who believe in God, there are others who don't believe, but we must understand that we are small when nature hits...

This picture was taken on the banks of Sumatra Island (the height of waves was of approx. 32 m = 105 ft). It was found saved in a digital camera, ½ years after the disaster.

We cannot know for sure, but very likely the one who took the picture is not alive any more (it was just a matter of seconds).
Today we can see the last image he/ she saw before ending life on Earth!

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Saregamapa 2009 -1

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Pilot's wife 'proud, grateful'

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Dog rescued from ice

Courtesy : CNN

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Tens of thousands lose jobs as recession bites

The grim news came from all around the world. In the United States, heavy vehicles maker Caterpillar said it would cut 5,000 more jobs in a bid to "deal with a very challenging global business environment."

The heavy construction machinery manufacturer had already said it was cutting 15,000 workers, most of which were announced in the fourth quarter of 2008.

In all, the 20,000 people who will lose their jobs amount to about 18 percent of the company's total workforce. Caterpillar currently employs about 113,000 workers.

"While it's painful for our employees and suppliers, it's absolutely necessary given economic circumstances." The news came as the company reported record sales and revenue of $51.3 billion for 2008.

In Europe more than 10,000 job cuts were announced. Dutch-based finance and insurance group ING said it was cutting up to 7,000 staff in an effort to help save $1.4 billion.

And Netherlands-based electronics giant Philips said 6,000 jobs would be lost worldwide in 2009 following quarterly losses of €1.5 billion ($1.9 billion), its first quarterly loss since 2003.

A spokesman for Philips, which employs 121,000 people around the world, told the Press Association it had not announced where the job cuts would fall, saying they would be decided on a "case by case" basis.

Philips' loss is worse than anticipated with analysts in a poll for Reuters.com expecting a net loss of just €1.2 billion.

"The development of our quarterly results reflects the unprecedented speed and ferocity with which the economy softened in 2008," Philips Chief Executive Gerard Kleisterlee said in a statement.

Philips' announcement follows similar news from its competitors, such as Japan's Sony, which warned it was likely to post a record $2.9 billion annual operating loss, and Samsung posting its first-ever quarterly loss.

Meanwhile Monday, Indian-owned Corus said it would axe 3,500 jobs, including 2,500 of its 24,000 employees in the UK.

The company said the measures would improve profits by more than £200 million ($273 million). Corus, part of the Tata Group which also owns Jaguar and Land Rover, has 42,000 workers around the world and says it will try to achieve the 3,500 cuts through voluntary redundancies.

The crisis in the steel industry has been caused by the downturn in the two main markets, construction and car manufacturing.

Steel prices, which had been driven to record highs by strong demand from China, have more than halved in the last year.

European stock markets finished the day higher with London's FTSE 100 up 3.9 percent, Paris' CAC 40 up 3.7 percent and the DAX 30 in Frankfurt 3.5 percent. Earlier, Asian markets closed down by up to about 1 percent.

In New York, the Dow, Nasdaq and S&P were helped by better-than-expected readings on existing home sales and pharmaceutical giant Pfizer announcing it has signed a deal to acquire the smaller drugmaker Wyeth for $68 billion.

According to early tallies, all three U.S. markets closed up but by less than 1 percent.

The Pfizer deal also means more job losses. The company said it would cut 10 percent of its staff and close five manufacturing plants. The company said it employed 81,900 staffers at the end of 2008, and had already cut 4,700 jobs in 2008.

Meanwhile, a survey by the U.S. National Association for Business Economics said companies will lay off more workers and hoard more cash during the next 12 months.

Most of the 105 economists polled said they thought the output of the U.S. would continue to sink -- from already historic lows -- this year.

"NABE's January 2009 Industry Survey depicts the worst business conditions since the survey began in 1982, confirming that the U.S. recession deepened in the fourth quarter of 2008," Sara Johnson, a NABE economist, told CNNMoney.com.

Elsewhere in the United States, home improvement retailer Home Depot announced it would cut 7,000 jobs and telecom company Sprint Nextel said about 8,000 jobs would go by March 31.

Each day is now bringing fresh bouts of bad news on jobs. Last week Microsoft said it would cut 5,000 jobs over the next 18 months, showing that even the biggest and richest companies are being hit hard by the recession.

Courtesy : CNN

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How to Become Unforgettable

A piece of being a Leader Without a Title involves being so brilliant, gifted and human at what you do that people cannot forget who you are. Your good name becomes tattooed on the minds and hearts of everyone whose lives you touch. Hoards of roving ambassadors tell everyone they know about the experience you created for them - and of your rare air genius. That's the space you need to play at. To succeed in business today.

4 Best Practices I teach to my clients that will help you get there:

1. Keep Your Promises. Trust lives at the foundation of every great relationship. And business is all about relationships. When people like you, they buy from you - and help you in all ways. By becoming impeccable with your word, trust grows wildly.

2. Be BIW (Best in World). Being excellent at what you do is just the price of admission in our globalized, uber-connected world. To succeed and be truly unforgettable, may I suggest that the standard you play at is The Best in The World. At my leadership seminars I sometimes run an exercise that begins with this question: "what 10 things would the person who is best in the world at what you do be doing on a regular basis that you are not doing?". Start your list.

3. Be Radically Ethical. The pristine reputation that took you decades to build could be torn down in 60 seconds of bad judgment. Seriously. Just watch the news these days and you'll get what I mean. To show leadership in business (and life) today, it's mission-critical to be radically ethical. No dishonorable move goes unnoticed. Decency wins.

4. Be fun. Whatever happened to fun? Stop taking life so seriously. Generate the ability to laugh - even at the toughest of times. You become unforgettable - and irresistible the moment you lighten up. And get that smile back on your face. Life's a short ride when you really think about it. Might be smart to enjoy every turn of it.

Courtesy :Robin Sharma

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20 Simple Ways to Get Happy

1. Practice mindfulness. Be in the moment. Instead of worrying about your checkup tomorrow while you have dinner with your family, focus on the here and now -- the food, the company, the conversation.

2. Laugh out loud. Just anticipating a happy, funny event can raise levels of endorphins and other pleasure-inducing hormones and lower production of stress hormones. Researchers at the University of California, Irvine, tested 16 men who all agreed they thought a certain videotape was funny. Half were told three days in advance they would watch it. They started experiencing biological changes right away. When they actually watched the video, their levels of stress hormones dropped significantly, while their endorphin levels rose 27 percent and their growth hormone levels (indicating benefit to the immune system) rose 87 percent.

3. Go to sleep. We have become a nation of sleep-deprived citizens. Taking a daily nap or getting into bed at 8 p.m. one night with a good book -- and turning the light out an hour later -- can do more for your mood and outlook on life than any number of bubble baths or massages.

4. Hum along. Music soothes more than the savage beast. Studies find music activates parts of the brain that produce happiness -- the same parts activated by food or sex. It's also relaxing. In one study older adults who listened to their choice of music during outpatient eye surgery had significantly lower heart rates, blood pressure, and cardiac workload (that is, their heart didn't have to work as hard) as those who had silent surgery.

5. Declutter. It's nearly impossible to meditate, breathe deeply, or simply relax when every surface is covered with papers and bills and magazines, your cabinets bulge, and you haven't balanced your checkbook in six months. Plus, the repetitive nature of certain cleaning tasks -- such as sweeping, wiping, and scrubbing -- can be meditative in and of itself if you focus on what you're doing.

6. Just say no. Eliminate activities that aren't necessary and that you don't enjoy. If there are enough people already to handle the church bazaar and you're feeling stressed by the thought of running the committee for yet another year, step down and let someone else handle things.

7. Make a list. There's nothing like writing down your tasks to help you organize your thoughts and calm your anxiety. Checking off each item provides a great sense of fulfillment.

8. Do one thing at a time. Edward Suarez, Ph.D., associate professor of medical psychology at Duke, found that people who multitask are more likely to have high blood pressure. Take that finding to heart. Instead of talking on the phone while you fold laundry or clean the kitchen, sit down in a comfortable chair and turn your entire attention over to the conversation. Instead of checking e-mail as you work on other projects, turn off your e-mail function until you finish the report you're writing. This is similar to the concept of mindfulness.

9. Garden. Not only will the fresh air and exercise provide their own stress reduction and feeling of well-being, but the sense of accomplishment that comes from clearing a weedy patch, watching seeds turn into flowers, or pruning out dead wood will last for hours, if not days.

10. Tune out the news. For one week go without reading the newspaper, watching the news, or scanning the headlines online. Instead, take a vacation from the misery we're exposed to every day via the media and use that time for a walk, a meditation session, or to write in your journal.

11. Take a dog for a walk. There are numerous studies that attest to the stress-relieving benefits of pets. In one analysis researchers evaluated the heart health of 240 couples, half of whom owned a pet. Those couples with pets had significantly lower heart rates and blood pressure levels when exposed to stressors than the couples who did not have pets. In fact, the pets worked even better at buffering stress than the spouses did.

12. Scent the air. Research finds that the benefits of aromatherapy in relieving stress are real. In one study people exposed to rosemary had lower anxiety levels, increased alertness, and performed math computations faster. Adults exposed to lavender showed an increase in the type of brain waves that suggest increased relaxation. Today you have a variety of room-scenting methods, from plug-in air fresheners to essential oil diffusers, potpourri, and scented candles.

13. Ignore the stock market. Simply getting your quarterly 401(k) statement can be enough to send your blood pressure skyrocketing. In fact, Chinese researchers found a direct link between the daily performance of the stock market and the mental health of those who closely followed it. Astute investors know that time heals most financial wounds, so give your investments time -- and give yourself a break.

14. Visit a quiet place. Libraries, museums, gardens, and places of worship provide islands of peace and calm in today's frantic world. Find a quiet place near your house and make it your secret getaway.

15. Volunteer. Helping others enables you to put your own problems into perspective and also provides social interaction. While happy people are more likely to help others, helping others increases your happiness. One study found that volunteer work enhanced all six aspects of well-being: happiness, life satisfaction, self-esteem, sense of control over life, physical health, and depression.

16. Spend time alone. Although relationships are one of the best antidotes to stress, sometimes you need time alone to recharge and reflect. Take yourself out to lunch or to a movie, or simply spend an afternoon reading, browsing in a bookstore, or antiquing.

17. Walk mindfully. You probably already know that exercise is better than tranquilizers for relieving anxiety and stress. But what you do with your mind while you're walking can make your walk even more beneficial. In a study called the Ruth Stricker Mind/Body Study, researchers divided 135 people into five groups of walkers for 16 weeks. Group one walked briskly, group two at a slow pace, and group three at a slow pace while practicing "mindfulness," a mental technique to bring about the relaxation response, a physiological response in which the heart rate slows and blood pressure drops. This group was asked to pay attention to their footsteps, counting one, two, one, two, and to visualize the numbers in their mind. Group four practiced a form of tai chi, and group five served as the control, changing nothing about their lives. The group practicing mindfulness showed significant declines in anxiety and had fewer negative and more positive feelings about themselves. Overall they experienced the same stress-reducing effects of the brisk walkers. Better yet, the effects were evident immediately.

18. Give priority to close relationships. One study of more than 1,300 men and women of various ages found that those who had a lot of supportive friends were much more likely to have healthier blood pressure, cholesterol levels, blood sugar metabolism, and stress hormone levels than those with two or fewer close friends. Women, and to a lesser extent men, also seemed to benefit from good relationships with their parents and spouses. Studies also find that people who feel lonely, depressed, and isolated are three to five times more likely to get sick and die prematurely than those who have feelings of love, connection, and community.

19. Take care of the soul. In study after study, actively religious people are happier and cope better with crises, according to David Myers, Ph.D., a professor of psychology at Hope College in Holland, Michigan. For many people faith provides a support community, a sense of life's meaning, feelings of ultimate acceptance, a reason to focus beyond yourself, and a timeless perspective on life's woes. Even if you're not religious, a strong spirituality may offer similar benefits.

20. Count your blessings. People who pause each day to reflect on some positive aspect of their lives (their health, friends, family, freedom, education, etc.) experience a heightened sense of well-being.

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