be more productive…

being a ybp is all about not only staying on top of your game, but actually being ready to change the game when opportunity arises. i wanted to hit you guys off with a few tips and tricks, hardware and software related, that’s gonna give you a leg up in the corporate hustle.

first off, get a jump drive. i mean, you don’t even need a big one. you don’t need to carry it on your neck. but if you have a purse, carry a backpack, roll with a suitcase, or even on your fancy keychain…get one. there are SO many uses besides just having a backup of your résumé on it. sometimes you’re traveling and need to print files. it’s a lot easier and cheaper to get on a client computer, friend’s device and transfer some files to print at fedex kinkos or screenz than it is trying to get your laptop to boot. even better, get a jump drive with a built-in memory card reader, get a card for your handy pda (because i know all of you folks carry a blackberry or smartphone) and swap all you like.

second, stop using adobe reader to open pdf’s. it wastes resources and it takes FOREVER. use this. as a matter fact, browse this website for some other software that can help you.

third, only use IE if you need to use it for your business intranet sites. use mozilla firefox for EVERYTHING ELSE. if you haven’t heard this, then welcome to 2006. firefox is like those silly mac commericals….they aren’t prone to as many viruses, there are alot more slicker extensions, and although IE7 and vista will have this feature, you can get your tabbed browsing on TODAY. if you hate popups, viruses, worms, and anything you else you can’t see…use firefox. some good extensions are ‘no script’, gmail extension, and faster fox. for the ‘no script’, be sure to read the documentation. it basically disables scripts from running on websites you visit. this includes javascript, flash, java, and some forms of php. the thing is, these elements can insert malicious stuff on your computer. then again, some of the flash and javascript stuff you need to watch youtube, use facebook, etc. all you have to do is click the little ‘no script’ icon and you can pick and choose which sites you trust to use scripts. cool, eh?

last, but not least, get a few email addresses. when you sign up for stuff, don’t have it go to all one email address. i know this sounds ’simple’, but it really helps to have a junk email address, a ‘newsletter’ email address, and a ‘real’ email address. i’d stay away from aol and hotmail. if you need gmail, find a friend who has one and they’ll invite you. once you’re in, make as many accounts as you like.