Matt Heinz, a frequent guest contributor to GeekWire, is president of Heinz Marketing, a Redmond-based sales & marketing firm. You can connect with Matt via email, Twitter, LinkedIn or his blog.
Good intentions don’t always lead to effective execution. And how you plan your workweek on a Sunday evening or Monday morning rarely reflects how things actually take shape. You may start Monday morning with a tight to-do list, a clear desk and Inbox Zero. But then other people show up. Start building your list of… Read More…
Editor’s Note: This is the first installment in a periodic column where we’ve asked Matt Heinz, who has been writing an occasional column on productivity for GeekWire, to answer questions on topics related to productivity, work/life balance and time management practices. If you have questions, email Matt directly or leave them in the comments below. When taking… Read More…
We have a specific, measurable set of objectives to drive our business in the New Year, plus I’ve developed with my wife a set of goals for our family in 2013. The 11 resolutions below sit somewhere in the middle. Most are work-related, but together they represent an effort to work smarter and more efficiently,… Read More…
Much has been written — including my last column on GeekWire —about why it’s important for new businesses and startups to keep from acting like big companies. But that doesn’t mean the startup environment is a model of efficiency and productivity. There are, in fact, several common startup characteristics that big companies should avoid to increase their… Read More…
The kind of big-company behavior we all hate – bureaucracy, slow decision-making, politics, stifled innovation – doesn’t just happen at big companies. It creeps into new businesses as well, with just a handful of people. If you don’t actively watch for it, proactively keep it out, and eject it immediately when you see the first… Read More…
Want to read more, but just don’t have the time? Let someone else read for you! It’s not crazy. There are a number of tools, most online and many for free, where someone else does the “heavy lifting” of reading everything, summarizing what’s most important and prescient for you. In just a few minutes, you… Read More…
How often does your morning live up to expectations? If you’re like me, you go to bed at night expecting great things and great progress by 10:00 a.m. Unfortunately, three snooze buttons later, with two different shades of blue socks on, the gym bag forgotten at home, rushing to your first meeting and already behind… Read More…
It’s hard enough to stay productive in the office or at your desk – with your full array of resources, hardware and professional creature comforts surrounding you. But when you’re away from your normal workplace – traveling on business, across town in meetings, or anytime you’re working while mobile – there are plenty of best… Read More…
Traveling is an exercise in wasted time. The lines, the security pat-downs, and the inevitable delays. Clearly you want your flight to leave on time, but if you use the time right, a flight delay can be an excellent way to catch up on work you otherwise might not prioritize. Do it right, and a… Read More…
You’ve heard it (or probably said it) many times before: “I can’t wait to get out of all these meetings so I can actually get some work done!” Meetings are critical to most organizations, but the vast majority of meetings you attend on a regular basis are too long, unfocused, unnecessary, or otherwise wasting your… Read More…
Whether you perpetually have hundreds if not thousands of emails in your inbox, or you’re coming back from a long weekend or true, “unplugged” extended vacation, you have a problem. It’s not realistic to declare “email bankruptcy” and start from scratch, but the last thing you want to do is waste your entire first day… Read More…
I love paper. I hate paper. Independent of format, print or digital, what I want is information at my fingertips when I need it, wherever I am. I want instant capture of ideas, to-do’s and notes (which for me still requires paper) but I want that paper to disappear as quickly as possible. Less paper… Read More…
We procrastinate for a variety of reasons. Fear. Intimidation. Laziness. Distractions. All reasonable obstacles. But if you’re prioritized your tasks and projects correctly, the work still needs to get done. I’ve found that procrastination can be the single-largest hurdle keeping individuals at all levels from being more productive and getting more done. It’s a silent… Read More…
Productivity too often can become more than a means to an end. If left unchecked, being more productive can simply make you feel compelled to fill additional time with more work. That’s a fine outcome if you need to (or want to) get more done. But balance – time away from work – is equally… Read More…
You’re busy and don’t have time to read a lengthy intro (especially in a piece about productivity). So let’s get right to it. Plenty of productivity gurus recommend an entire, complicated system to get yourself organized and working optimally. And in this series, we’ll get to many of those ideas and best practices. First, however, give… Read More…
Some of the most successful and productive people I know are lazy. They’ll tell you so. David Allen, author of Getting Things Done and the godfather of productivity. Lazy. He will tell you this at the beginning of his seminar. Seth Godin, who writes daily blog posts and has published four hundred books and continues to… Read More…
I’m sure by now your 2012 plan, budget and professional objectives are baked and ready to go. Ideally, some of those objectives are reflected in your personal goals and New Year Resolutions as well. But for those still writing goals and resolutions, as well as the rest of you, here are several collected from business… Read More…
Sure, you could give a nice bottle of wine or Scotch. But for the entrepreneur, geek or start-up junkie in your life (peer, colleague, family member or otherwise), consider something more relevant this year that can, even in a small way, help them professionally in 2012. The following eleven ideas are listed in relative order… Read More…
Twelve years ago, marketing was a primary recipient of the mountains of cash thrown at start-ups in an effort to grow fast. But over the past two to three years, I don’t see many new businesses that couldn’t bootstrap their marketing in their formative months or years. This thought alone will make many a startup… Read More…
Guest Commentary: I have a ton of work to do today. But I’m spending most of my day on the golf course instead. Today is the annual Washington Technology Industry Association (WTIA) golf tournament, and it’s an all-day affair. Pitch and putt contest in the morning, mid-day round of 18 holes, late afternoon meal and… Read More…
GeekWire Game Night is Back! Join us for this second annual event, July 10 at the Spitfire in Seattle. We'll be busting out the board games, including geek favorite Settlers of Catan, for this night of fun. Sign up before we sell out! Details and tickets here.
Messages from our GeekWire members. Become a Golden Geek or Super Geek to put your message on the home page for a year. See full list of member messages.
Have you checked out the GeekWire calendar yet? It’s your one stop shop for latest and greatest events taking place in the Pacific Northwest and beyond — meetups, hackathons, fan conventions, tech industry events and a whole lot more! Best thing of all, it’s self serve, so add your geeky event today!
Wondering exactly how Filter “fights for the users” and “de-rezzes overhead”? Fellow geek and celebrity tech vlogger Chris Pirillo dared to enter the Filter circuitry to find the answers! Here’s what he discovered in our core programming:
Join 300 tech executives, entrepreneurs, marketers and policy leaders at the 4th annual Privacy Identity Innovation conference, pii2013. Taking place September 16-18 in downtown Seattle, pii2013 will look at where innovation is heading and how businesses can better build trust with users in the data-driven economy.
Nothing kills your vacation buzz faster than worrying about how much work awaits when you get back. Use Smartsheet to coordinate everything that needs to get done while you’re gone, so your team can easily keep it moving along. You can even track progress right from your mobile device – poolside, of course.
UKTI is the international business development agency of the UK Government. We provide confidential and complimentary services for US companies looking to grow their global business.
Co-founder, Editor
john@geekwire.com | (206) 913-7926
Chairman
@jonathansposato
Co-founder, Editor
todd@geekwire.com | (206) 300-0265
Chief Sales Geek
sarah@geekwire.com | (206) 579-0581
Cultural Attaché
emily@geekwire.com
Staff Reporter
taylor@geekwire.com | (503) 347-8390
UPDATED: GeekWire 200, a ranked index of Seattle-area startups, uses publicly available data to identify the companies most popular and trending among key online communities.
GeekWire's iPhone App is Here: Download it today to read the latest tech news and features on the go, with Twitter and Facebook sharing, plus offline reading support.
GeekWire on Twitter: Follow @geekwire for real-time headlines, breaking news and updates from the GeekWire news team, plus selected highlights from the GeekWire Job Board.
![Seattle Sketch Comedy Month! [June] @ The Ballard Underground | Seattle | Washington | United States](http://2eq9hztv2wc1k6odx469m9znq0.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/215910-250-167x300.gif)
Most commented