Over the course of time, our greatest minds (some not so great) have given this question a lot of thought. There have been dozens of answers provided as a means to put finality on this discussion, and while some are very good (others very funny), they’ve not satisfied my thirst for more knowledge on the subject. I’ve been pondering this question myself for some time, and was recently reminded of the question by Andrew Eddie and his wonderful tweet.

But why am I not satisfied? There are several reasons:

1.  How do we know that the IO (immovable object) and UF (unstoppable force) even exist? If they don’t, then this question, and the answers, are not only hypothetical, but they are also a complete waste of time, since an answer simply does not exist.

2. If the IO and UF are actual entities that can be perceived, then why have previous answers not given the definitions of what these entities really are? Because they have not, there is no reason for me to believe that what they say is true, for any reason.

To give you my own answer to the original question, then, I must first respond to these two problems and give some credibility to my own statements. Consequently, because of the nature of the questions, I’ll have to answer them together. Get ready for a while ride.

They don’t exist. They do exist.

When tackling the problem of whether or not an IO and UF actually exist, I realized that they could not possibly be real, tangible, physical entities in our own Universe. The reason why is found in the very nature of what these objects represent.

An Immovable Object cannot be moved, so when science (fact) tells us that objects in our universe are continually moving, either away from or toward each other, then immediately our claim that the IO could be anything physical produces an unsolvable problem (is this the UF? hardly, it just means we can’t find the solution). But even if for some reason there was a physical object in our universe that was incapable of moving it’s mass from one position to another (though this breaks what we understand of physics to be true), then the simple fact that it is a physical object makes it something that we can change through whatever processes might change it (whether that be with something nuclear, or like a chisel).

We can safely bet that the IO is not something like a real physical entity.

In the same way, an Unstoppable Force would have to be something only realized either in another universe, or in some other unobserved way. It cannot be something ‘simple’ like energy, because energy is always shifting, stopping and changing into some other form. Energy is our best offering, though, since anything physical has the same sorts of limitations on it as our IO was seen to possess above.

If we take these observations at face value, then many people will say, “Then the entities do not exist, and so the question is without a point.” Ahh, yes, my friend, this is partly true. They do not exist in our physical world, but the realm of ideas and thought, they could exist very easily…. maybe.

An object, as it turns out, is not limited to being something that is seen or felt, but is something (in a general sense) that can be described. We can have an object of conversation, an object of our love or an object that we are longing for (a goal). An Immovable Object, then, can be something of an idea. The same goes for an Unstoppable Force.

Welcome to the way I think.

This pathway only opens doors to whole new riddles. For example, we cannot say that something like ‘language’ is either of these, since we know that there has only been language for a certain amount of time (indeed, at least since the universe began). If something exists only based on the creation or destruction of universes, then it is not very ‘immovable’ or ‘unstoppable’, is it?

By the way, I am taking out any question of whether or not there is a God or gods from this discussion. Though I do believe in the Christian God myself, it is not something of concern for people wondering the answer to this other great riddle, and would just help to confuse at this point, not help the hopeful wander. If God exists, then He would indeed be immovable and unstoppable – but if not, then we’ll go back to where I was a few moments ago.

So we understand that specific ideas cannot be either of these things – then what can?

Now that’s an interesting question. First, let’s get some other things straight: I cannot prove anything to you at all (which is why I am throwing an infinitely complex God out of the equation). Perhaps you are schizophrenic and don’t realize it, this entire physical universe is within the playground of your imagination. We exist because your mind says we exist, because you think you are feeling something when you reach out your hand. For all you know, pain is just something that your mind invented when it conceived this entire universe, and you are actually a god trapped in the world that you created.

To further prove my point, I ask this question; do insane people generally know that they are insane? No. The deceived think that they are being told the truth until proof of that deception is brought into the light. It is entirely possible that you are simply deceiving yourself (and we all know that the lies we tell ourselves and believe are the ones that are hardest to resign later on).

What all of this means, though, is that ‘facts’ in themselves, are not immovable either, even when they seem to be the likely choice. If the ‘fact’ that the Earth revolves around the Sun turns out be something of your imagination, then it is no longer a fact, is it? It’s an idea… and ideas can be moved, changed.

There is one single fact, though, that is universally true and quite unchangeable:

There does exist a fact.

Some would jump back to my previous conclusion that all facts could be bound within the ideas of a specific being, and therefore not necessarily true. They would say, “There may or may not be a fact.” But this is crazy-talk, since in stating that ‘fact’ you are, in fact, proving the fact that, “There does exist a fact.” This initial fact may only be talking of itself by stating that there is a single fact, but if there are multiple other facts, with all of those other facts being up for debate as to whether or not they exist, this original fact will still be true. For example, you alone can deduce from all of this two other facts: “I think therefore I am,” and “There are multiple facts.” If the second fact is true, then the third is as well.

Going back to Andrew, here the answer for your question – there is at least ONE truth – “There does exist a fact.”

This, my friends, is our infamous Immovable Object. And now onto the Unstoppable Force.

What one thing is, the other is not.

If an immovable object is that initial singular fact, then what is the unstoppable force? I suppose that we can jump to the conclusion very swiftly by saying a single word:

Ideas.

If ‘the fact’ is the only truth that we can prove, and is the only thing that is immovable, then the ‘force’ that is unstoppable’ would be exactly the opposite. If you are the only being that exists (based on the second fact) then the force is found everything that you think, which is continually shifting and moving. If we all exist, then this force has grown infinitely more violent, since each of our own minds is continually transforming and growing and influencing the rest of the world around us in a greater way than your own single mind can.

Even people with the strongest convictions can have their minds changed at some point – or at the very least can die, and therefore all of their thoughts erased completely, being transformed into nothingness (again, I’m leaving out the existence of a supernatural realm, such as heaven, from this discussion).

If ‘facts’ are immovable, then ‘ideas’ are exactly the opposite – unstoppable.

So now, after all of this time, we’ve finally answered our original two questions. 1. “Do these things exist?” 2. “What are they?” They do exist, and they are “There does exist a fact.” (IO) and “Ideas” (UF). Now, what happens when they finally meet?

What of these things meeting?

‘Finally’ is not the right word to use when asking this question. The nature of these two things tells us that they have existed long before any of us were around (if God exists, then it has been even longer!). I believe the question should be rephrased, “What happened when they met?”

I like to think it was the Big Bang or something equivalent. Even besides that, though, we can see that everything has happened throughout history because of these two entities colliding. As humanity strives to find what other ultimate truths there are, our ideas continually batter against that initial truth. We ask questions, and receive one solemn answer:

How did the Universe begin? There does exist a fact.

When was life created? There does exist a fact,

What is the meaning of life? There does exist a fact.

Is there a God? There does exist a fact.

What should I have for dinner? There does exist a fact.

Because our own interpretations of those questions is continually changing and evolving as we gain an understanding of other ‘known facts’, the only true answer that can be given us of any of those is that ‘There does exist an answer (a fact).”

And since that fact does not, in fact, give us an answer at all; we are left with ourselves. With wars, lies, religions, organizations, language, science, debates and cults. We communicate to try and uncover more of these ‘facts’, only to discover that none can be proven to use except the first three.

So, what happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object?

Everything.

At least, that’s what I was told last night by some friends before coming home, and so far it’s rung true. Have you ever noticed the awkward lull that occurs when there is a group of people (5 or more) having a long conversation? If you don’t know what I’m talking about, pay attention the next time you’re with your friends; you can’t miss it.

As it turns out, every time there is a strange silence, someone in the group will suddenly begin thinking about Abraham Lincoln. There’s no reason to, and the discussion hardly ever moves onto a topic concerning him… it just happens. My guess is that it’s a self-fulfilling prophecy; because you’ve heard this, you’ll suddenly think of him every time it happens (ever hear of The Game?). Of course, being the type of person that I am, I’ve been constantly thinking about our 16th President since learning this fact – awkward silence or not.

Thinking about the awesome things he did was probably what kept me partially sane today as I ran around the theatre again, preparing for the show that was about to start and getting myself ready for another show that I had promised to attend. If you hadn’t already caught me on Twitter or Facebook, I’m the house manager at Playhouse South for all three weekends of ‘Rent’, and it’s been quite an… unreal, experience. Not to say it hasn’t been fun, it’s just been hard.

Very hard.

Tonight was no exception. I just got home 20 minutes ago, and it’s now 2:45 AM. Granted, I stayed after to talk to some fellow volunteers for a while, but that’s still late, and I’m still tired. Tomorrow morning it all starts again, but in the early morning, and will last until at least 6 PM; when I will suddenly be granted the liberty to come home and work on paying jobs before going to sleep.

My friends, it looks like I’m going to be giving up on the night shift soon. I’m lonely, I’m bored, and quite frankly I’m annoyed that I can’t play music very loud, thanks to the sleeping dwellers in the house. I’m also not getting very satisfying sleep during the day, since the sun shines through into my bedroom at an angle that illuminates everything to the fullest (including my face).

Don’t let my complaints fool you, though. I am enjoying what life is throwing at me. The high energy that comes with managing a theater filled with  several hundred people is something that I’ve lived for. As I run to the back office to find a mop for cleaning spilled pop, I am stopped by a dozen guests who need help finding their seats, buying refreshments or turning in their ballots (for awards at the end of the year). I check to make sure programs are being made one minute, and then am rushed out to hand the driver some money to buy more ice.

It has made me come to greatly respect (and envy) the people who do this for a living. At one time in my life I would have looked at someone in my position and laughed, thinking they were just delegating all of the tasks out to others, and not doing the tasks themselves. Maybe I’m not doing the tasks, but tonight I had to make sure the dozen people under my lead were getting their work done the right way, and that takes a TON of energy.

What if the programs weren’t lined up? What if seats were double filled (we’re solving the ticketing issues)? What if we run out of water to sell to the guests? What if someone leaves staples on the stage by accident and a cast member steps on them (this happened tonight during the show – she played it off well).

What if our lights operator doesn’t show up?

Well… in that case, you learn how to run the lights 15 minutes before the show, and you learn it with a smile and excitement. Because everyone else is already doing something, and they’re counting on you to take responsibility for the house so that they don’t have to. It’s what I did last night, and until intermission I was not only in the tech booth running lights, but I was trying to figure out how I was supposed to open the doors fast enough to let people get to the bathroom, or find the ushers to take care of concessions.

I say all of this to make a very simple point more clear: I’m tired, and I think that I deserve to be. For any of you that are wondering why I haven’t been performing very well with my web development projects, this is the reason why. It’s still no excuse, though, and I made my commitment to you, too. So trust me, I’ll get to you as soon as possible.

To those of you whom I am not working for, or who might not be busy tomorrow (or next weekend): would you mind stopping by the theater and giving me a hand? It would make a tired man just a little bit less tired, and would make you the satisfied owner of a free ticket to see the show.

Interested? (I bet Abraham Lincoln would be…. )

Community, though, is quite a broad term these days and one that is frequently abused. The way that I use Twitter has changed from just gathering a following of people, but building relationships with those people who want to be a part of my community. Look at my twitter feed, and you’ll see that many times I am just chatting with other users or linking to their blog posts. I use Facebook to connect with people I know personally, and Twitter to connect with people I want to get a beer with; it’s as simple as that.

When it comes to the big-time Twitter memes, though, #FollowFriday is one that I have always avoided; even when I can see such a great value in a fun practice such as this. The problem, as pointed out by Paul Smith, is that many users are simply using #FF as a way to get new friends, spam their “favorites” or make themselves look more popular. It’s all but retained any of the meaning or value that it may have once had.

Therefore, I’m taking some ideas proposed by Paul Smith and Seth Simonds, and modifying them a bit to begin my own weekly “favorite” list called Connected Communities. Each week I’ll look at my favorite tweets and feeds to pick some of the more interesting things for you to see, as well as share a few people that I enjoyed talking to recently. I want to do this not because it makes me look more friendly, but because I believe the people that I list here can be valuable to you as much as they have been to me.

And now, to begin:

Jared Mahone

JaredMahone.com

Twitter: @JaredMahone

I first heard about Jared through a good friend of mine who took me to one of his concerts about a year and a half ago. Since then I’ve been a huge fan, and I listen to his music on a daily basis to get into the swing of things. He doesn’t just have a refreshing style, though, he also has some really cool ideas for progressing his career in 2010, including a weekly song writing subscription called Mixtape.

Jared not only does great music, but he also does great community. He’s someone that I feel open to chat with on Twitter. He replies by email to comments that are left on his blog, and he even added me as a friend on Gmail so that we could chat. And of course, his Mixtape subscription for just $20 is made entirely for his fans to get something great in return for their support.

Jonathan Acuff

StuffChristiansLike.net

Twitter: @prodigaljohn

When it comes to hilarious blogs, Jonathan has one that tops them all. A copywriter and new author from Atlanta, John likes to keep his reputation of being awesome by bringing some of the more interesting stereotypes of Christian culture out to the forefront in his blog and new book. He gets involved with his community by being active in the comments, recruiting guest posters from time to time and listening to what readers have to say to make their thoughts be heard.

But he’s not just a funny guy, he’s also intentionally insightful when it comes to the things of importance in life. I’ve quoted him many times in the past, and plan on quoting him many more.

“The Language of God”

By: Francis S. Collins

Seeing as how this book was written by the head of the Human Genome Project, I was initially drawn to the book how credible the author was, but continued reading when I saw that his insight was beyond what I might have imagined. Each time I turned the page I found myself thinking “Oh, he’ll use this argument next to prove his point” only to find myself blown away by some completely different revelation; one that went far beyond what I was giving the author credit for.

This book is not for the strictly religious, nor is it for the willfully ignorant anti-theist. It is, instead, for those people who are seeking to find a way to follow both the God that they have accepted as being real, and science which has solid facts to back up many claims. Everything from Moral Law to the Big Bang to evolution to religion is touched on in this book, and I would recommend it to anyone.

Miscellaneous Readings

Like I said before, I like to read a lot. Here are some of the latest articles from around the web that I’ve found interesting:

What happened to Ground Zero? via @arnied

Content Strategy is the Next Big Thing. via @copyblogger

“Buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo.” via @brianlayman

What Popular Bloggers Got Wrong (and how you can get it right) – Skelliewag

What if you were invisible? – Julien Smith

I feel like I’ve just stepped into a bad ‘90s horror film. The train station that I’m at is one of the creepiest places I’ve been, and I’m half expecting this man to reveal an axe from beneath his long trench coat just outside. It’s been raining all day long, and the night air has that strange foggy feel to it (without the fog). Looking out now I can see street lights that eerily glow in the night, but not even a single moth is fluttering around them in that familiar way.

The whole place seems ‘off’ to me – including the rusted metal structure out front that reveals the name of the station as “Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Plazza” and the strong steel bars that seem to be barricading the empty windows from something sinister and evil on the outside, or keeping the innocent victims from escaping a different evil on the inside. This isn’t just some weird idea that I’m getting… all the facts seem to point to a single scary truth; that this place is not the best place for the living to reside for any amount of time.

The discolored flooring doesn’t help matters at all, when you consider that cleaning up spilt blood could explain why the colors are all so faded.

With classic music from the ‘70s playing quietly in the background, I have no choice but to acknowledge my surroundings and get to know the other people that are with me in this torturous place. Clashing with the silent night and the placid music is the song of a small child playing in the lobby. Amongst all of the anxiety of the adults, this alone brings to my face a smile, but only lasts until a woman on the other side of the room screams out “Put a sock in that kids mouth, will ya?!”

With that, my worry has left me and I am left with frustration and anger towards her. The slippery-slope of my animosity only grows slipperier as she continues to complain about where the world is heading (to hell), how American politics suck and whether or not she will be able to sit in a seat next to the bathroom. I’d rather hear that child crying over that woman’s voice any day. Maybe this is how the blood stains got on the floor….

My frustration didn’t stop there. It turns out that not only am I in a station full of obnoxious people (there’s a man who likes to play really loud music, a couple who’s on a tourism kick and really proud to share the details, and the group of people staring at a soft spoken Muslim woman while commenting negatively on her and her faith), but my family is at the epicenter of all the noise. It begins with loud laughter and continues with the pestering of customer service people… all the way until we get into the train where, at 3:30 in the morning, I can hear their voices loud and clear over the sounds of silent sleepers all around me.

A few minutes ago they finished their game of ‘Who can make the most noise lifting and lowering their seats’, and the only thing left for them to do now is talk about how excited they are that they get to ride a train. I sit here and type-away at my computer, watching as a young couple makes their way into a bathroom into the back. [Note to self: It’s difficult to open a bathroom door with one hand and try to hold onto lotion with the other, while sucking face and groping around in the dark with the earth bumbling around at 60 mph beneath you.] But why should I object to their choice activities? Maybe that angry woman will get a good show and loosen up a bit.

After all of this, I’m starting to think that the guy with the axe might be a pretty good alternative to the embarrassment, frustration, anxiety and anger that are building up inside of me.

Thus, Day 1 of my trip to New York begins.

UPDATE: Looks like those kids got caught. Three attendants (what would you call them?) were able to open the bathroom door a bit quicker than the frantic lovers were able to do previously. Classic.

It’s now 3:57 AM, and I have a 15 hour trip ahead of me. I’m going to sleep.

9:32 AM – I think I can understand the reason why that young couple wanted to have some fun earlier. The restrooms on this train are big enough to comfortably fit half a dozen people, let alone two. Maybe that college girl I saw would be interested in examining them in more detail with me…

Only kidding, but these restrooms are huge!

Until next time. Fin.

An article that they wrote today is on a topic that has really been interesting me the last few months. With a nice little graph and their usual stunning display of knowledge of the interwebs, they’ve given us a good image of what our computers are looking like these days; concluding that our most popular applications are ancient when considering the youth of the web. Two big examples: Microsoft Word (which dominates it’s market) has been around for 27 years and Photoshop (which IS it’s market) has been in use for 22!

Curiosity is engaged, though, when we look at the latest four applications (on their list) that have been developed for our computers; Safari, Skype, Firefox and Chrome. What do these four have in common?

They’re all tied intimately to the internet, and they’re all huge.

No doubt, Safari doesn’t have as great a market share as it once believed it would (it’s already been passed up by the new kid Chrome). But when you look at the numbers of users for each of these, you’ll stand back amazed at how far they’ve come. Logging into Skype just now, I can see that there are 22 million other people logged in, and Firefox is at 1.3 billion downloads of their software (since 2004)

Take a look at usage statistics for web applications and you’ll see a growing trend: everyone is moving to the web. With the arrival of Google Docs, Facebook, Aviary, Dropbox, Twitter, Picasa and YouTube we see more and more people moving their lives completely onto the web. I personally use my desktop only as a means to store files temporarily until I either delete them or move them to an online backup source somewhere (no doubt to various places).

Here’s a list of what some software and hardware developers have been doing lately to reflect this shift:

Palm

[Founded: 1992]

Throughout the ‘90s, Palm became a company that people everywhere were in love with. They developed good products (Palm Pilot) that were the iPhones of their time (and in fact, provided a good starting point for later companies to work with). In 2009, the Palm Pre was released to Sprint customers which promised an impressive webOS with plenty of features to get people connected to the internet (and to give the company the boost they needed to stay afloat). I’m using the Pre myself, and have everything synced between my Google, Facebook and LinkedIn accounts.

Microsoft

[Founded 1975]

Microsoft is a name known by millions (billions?) around the world as a company that has provided a computer system that people could use on a regular basis for whatever reason they might think of. It still holds a steady grip on a huge  percentage of the market, but in the last decade has started to look a bit moldy on the edges as core components of their systems were compared to the advances by the competition.

To get back on track, Microsoft has been re-ordering themselves and moving more and more to the web. By the Holiday Season of 2010, they’ll be releasing their new Windows 7 Phone, which shows off some really cool web connectivity features. They’re in talks with Yahoo about powering their search service with Bing (released in 2009) and they’re developing a Google Docs and Zoho competitor by bringing Office 2010 online for customers to use (and I’m sure you’ve heard of the Windows Live services?). They’ve seen what kind of power the internet can bring them through the success of Xbox Live, and now they’re moving full-force into the game.

Apple

[Founded 1976]

Apple has been around almost as long as Microsoft has, and through it’s roller-coaster ride of success and failures, it is beginning again to build a name for itself. This company is very similar to Palm (and very unlike Microsoft) in that it is both a hardware and a software company.  This may actually be one reason why they’ve had some difficulty moving more of their services to the web (remember the MobileMe disaster?) but with recent updates that may be changing.

The iPhone and iPad are boasting net connectivity, and using app developers to help bring more people over to their side. With iTunes, iBooks and yes, (an improved) MobileMe, they’re really starting to makes some leaps with the power provided by the web. And of course, they’ve made a browser that isn’t too shabby either (Safari).

Google

[Founded 1998]

A lot of times when thinking about Google, we like to put it in the same category as the above companies. After all, these days they are developing software (Google Chrome, Picasa, etc.), operating systems (ChromeOS and Android), mobile devices (Nexus One) and of course are giving us a load of online applications that are taking us from our desktops to the web browser.

The difference between this company and the others, though, is that it isn’t a newcomer to the web – it IS the web. The others are trying to catch up with them in this race, and unfortunately (for them) because of the position of Google, they cannot do anything but be required to connect to Google apps using their own systems (Examples: Palm Sync, Official iPhone Apps, various Microsoft software). I suppose they can choose not to connect to Google if they want to… but if they do, they lose.

The End of the Age

In the end, Pingdom said it perfectly. The web is quickly becoming the “proverbial meteorite that finally wipes out the domination of the old desktop application dinosaurs.” And it’s a good thing, too. I look forward to the day when phone service providers are actually global wi-fi providers, when computers are just a browser linking to secure servers, and when everything that I do online is synced to a single location for easy browsing later. It may be the end of the (desktop application) world, but just as the loss of the dinosaurs gave way to the evolution of mammals into the beings we are today, so the extinction of these ‘dinosaurs’ will give us a way into an awesome future.

Be good while I’m gone.

But of course, you should read this interview as well.

1. While I’d love to endorse OLX simply because of how shiny and new it is, what are some reasons why I should choose OLX over the competition?

We feel have a differentiated product, business model and global presence. Specifically:

· Product: We made it easier to include pictures and videos in your listings, we added cool search features especially in real estate and cars, we built a fantastic mobile version and we gave users tools to promote their ads on Facebook & Twitter. We also implemented neat scam control ideas.

· Business model: Most other sites charge for real estate and job ads in certain cities. We felt it was better to be 100% free in order to have as many listings as possible.

· Global deployment: In most countries newspapers still dominate classifieds and charge an arm and a leg for them ($200+ for very small ads!). This limits their usefulness to high valued transactions. Free is magical as it allows users to find roommates, babysitters or whatever else they might need!

2. Would you say that OLX has a different vision for what they see as their target market?

Our target market is basically everyone 18 and over – we are a tool to make people’s lives simpler!

3. Even some of the greatest business ideas have failed because of the huge shadow cast by early competitors. Can you share any plans for what the future may hold for OLX users and why (or if) you feel you will come out on top in that future?

We are committed to remaining free forever – I can’t think of any other site who is willing to make this commitment. We are also committed to building the best product in the market.

4. If you had the opportunity to tell everyone in the world one thing about OLX and why they should use it, what would you say?

The site is free, fast, local and has everything you need!

Thanks for your time, Fabrice (and Brenda, who got me the connection)! Best of luck to you and your company.

To the rest of you, check out OLX and tell me what you think in the comments!

I guess this means that I have succeeded in switching. I wake up around 2 PM, go to work at 10 PM and stay up and work effectively (for the most part) until 6 AM. In a future post I’ll be able to share some of the awesome benefits I’m experiencing that I didn’t realize would happen when I started, for now I’ll just stick to transition tips, though.

1. Drink Lots of Fluids

I think that the number one thing that is keeping me awake and helping to ease the transition is the drinking of a lot of fluids. Coffee, tea and energy drinks have been added to my list for obvious reasons, but I’ve found it’s also important to keep drinking a lot of water and fruit juices (apple juice is amazing).

Fluids not only help physically with hydration (for getting oxygen through your blood stream), but they also give you something to think about, other than the fact that you’re really tired. Having to get up once every couple of hours for a new drink, like to make tea or pour coffee, also breaks the concentration and gives me a minute to ‘stretch’ my eyes. I’ve even gone to the gas station to pick up a drink so that I could get out of the house for a bit.

Tonight, I tried a fruit-juice run, and I love it. Haven’t felt this awake all week (though it could be more that I’m getting used to the switch than that the fruit juice is working). Some people claim that apple juice helps pretty well, but that may just be a rumor.

2. Schedule Showers for Night-Time

This has been my sleep-savior every night so far. At around 4 AM I start getting increasingly tired, and at first I couldn’t figure out what to do to snap out of it (the first couple of nights I just slept off the fatigue, lol). Then I found a trick: if I switch my showers to sometime around 4 AM, it gives me a 20 minute window to get my mind off of my computer screen or papers and onto other things, like a mirror or shower wall.

The warm water also increases the blood flow, which means that oxygen is getting around more efficiently (to my brain), which wakes me up a bit. By the time I’m done, I feel clean, my mind feels refreshed, and I’ve stopped yawning.

3. Play Background Music

My first night I thought that this would be a good idea, but I did it all wrong by playing instrumental music. While this helped me concentrate on my tasks pretty well, it also made me extremely tired. It simply wasn’t engaging enough to make me stay awake.

Now I put my Zune Library on shuffle and listen to any number of the 3000 songs I’ve purchased recently. If something comes on that I like, it gets me excited, and songs that have faster tempos cause my heart rate to go faster. Also, if at some point a song comes on that I know the words to, I can stop for a few seconds and sing along, which if you haven’t figured out already, helps me to break my concentration for a second (long enough to get refreshed).

Lately I’ve been listening to a lot of Ernie Halter, The Script, and my old roommate, David Story.

4. Stretching, Running, Breathing.

It feels kind of funny running in a circle in the middle of my living room, but when it’s 20 degrees outside, I feel that it is well worth the strange feeling. Running, stretching and breathing exercises really help with staying awake. Seriously (and it might help get you in shape too! Double Win!).

Running gets a bit of adrenaline going, plus increases the heart rate. Stretching gets out the tight spots in your body and leaves you feeling refreshed. Breathing exercises are helpful for getting as much oxygen into the body as possible – which gets rid of yawns (again, that’s pretty important).

5. Get Some Sleep!

I know I said four in the title, but this one should go without saying. This article isn’t just about how to stay up all night long, it’s about transitioning to a night-shift work schedule. To be a successful transitioner, your best bet is to get a full day of sleep. Don’t be the hero and skip out on a day of sleep, that’s not healthy.

If your body is tired, it is saying that it needs rest… that means you need to rest. If you want to just stay up for one night, then this obviously won’t work (just catchup on your sleep as soon as possible afterward). But if you are planning on staying up every night for a while, then you need to make sure you aren’t up during the day.

And with that, I am now going to get to sleep myself. Do you have any tips to add to this? Have you tried any of these and had similar (or different) results?

So really, who are you? Leave a comment below. I want to know more about you. I want to write more about the things you are interested in. Share a link to your own website, talk about your business a bit, introduce yourself to the world.

Now’s your chance 40 people. Whoever you are… let’s chat.

Here’s my list of small changes that are helping to make me a more productive person.

1. Time Management with RescueTime

What happens to a lot of people when they start trying to develop a more efficient lifestyle is that they immediately jump to tracking where their time goes and trying to figure out ways to cut out the time-wasters. They use time-sheets and advanced software to keep everything in order, and for the most part this is a great idea.

The problem comes when we start to spend more time managing ourselves than we do actually working. The time management software and tracking processes that we go through act more like the time-wasters than something that is helpful.

I am a self-proclaimed time management addict. To solve this problem, I’ve installed a simple software called RescueTime, which runs in the background on my computer at all times. Taking 30 seconds every so often to write how much time you spent on a task is 30 seconds not well spent. With RescueTime, the software tracks and analyzes that time for you, and gives you a weekly report so that you can see what things you are doing the most.

As an example, I spend about 4 1/2 hours a week in Gmail. By knowing how I spend my time, I may be able to cut back that activity by an hour, or even more. The company also has a blog where they write articles about Time Management and business, like this one on reasons why Facebook continues to redesign its interface.

2. No More Statistics Widgets

I love opening up Mint to see what visitors have recently come to the site, but this has eaten up many precious hours every month that could be spent elsewhere. One of the biggest culprits was a Statistics Widget that sat on my desktop and gave me the latest count of unique visitors. Without any hesitation, every 30 minutes I would stop what I was doing and go check that little widget for changes. If even one new visitor had appeared since the last time I checked, it was time to open my browser and see where they came from, how long they stayed and what pages they read.

This just simply isn’t going to be healthy for my work ethic, and so I’ve recently decided to remove the widget and hide the browser bookmark from immediate view. I still love checking my statistics, but only once a day when I first get started (to see how things went while I was asleep). By removing any mentions of the software from my view, I’ve also kept it from my thoughts.

3. Cleaner Desktop with Fences and Color

To confess another sad addiction that I have been plagued with, I like to change my desktop backgrounds. After a while, I just get bored with looking at the same image for a long time, and so I feel a desire to change it. Recently, though, I made a discovery that is pretty priceless – solid colors don’t get boring at all. In fact, since I’ve changed my desktop background to a solid color I’ve completely forgotten about it every time I have to look there (rather than pausing to look at the beautiful background, or thinking about some other image I should change it to).

With a solid color background, it leaves me free to use a software called Fences to organize the remaining icons into groups for easy browsing. I have two fences right now – “Quick Links” and “To Do”. Each other them houses several folders or files that I either need quick access to or need continued reminders to do something with them. When I’m finished with an item, I put it away in another folder that isn’t on my desktop. 5 seconds to copy a file is worth it when the alternative is to continually be baffled by why an old file is left on the desktop.

4. The Tablecloth is No More

Remember when I shared with you that I was starting to use a tablecloth on my computer desk to keep things looking clean? Well, it worked great for about a week, and then I started to get paranoid over spilling something on it and getting it dirty. By the time that I had shifted it around to hide the dirt (a process which involves taking everything off of my desk and replacing it) I knew that I was wasting time on something that was unnecessary.

I no longer have a tablecloth, and now feel completely free to spill whatever I want on my desk as often as I please.

What this little thing has taught me is that if I change something in my surroundings and I start to think about it more than a few times a day, then I’m taking my focus away from my work, and that is exactly what I DO NOT want to do. Another example of this is a small piece of art on my wall which I hung crooked (on purpose). I’m constantly thinking about turning it (so now it’s time to do so).

5. Checking E-mail Twice a Day

So I haven’t honestly gotten to this point yet in my day, but I can see myself moving in this direction. Since switching to third-shift I’ve found that there are really only two times a day that I need to check my email. Once at 4 PM when I wake up (because everyone was asleep when I sent out the emails in the night) and once at around 11 PM when I am in the middle of my work.

Each time that I check them, I try not to work on any projects that take more than 5 minutes to finish. I complete the task (or look up some information), send the reply, and archive the email so that it is no longer in my inbox. Priority emails that will take more than a few minutes are added to a ‘To-Do’ folder which shows me how many messages are in there. Then later, when I start my work ‘night’, I open that folder and get to work on the projects that are most important.

The trick here is to keep focused on one task at a time and mix them up to keep my mind fresh. If my list includes writing three articles, developing a new website and giving tech support to customers in the Forums, I write one article, give tech support, write a second article, develop the website and then finish by writing the third. I don’t want to get bored or burn myself up during my work hours.

Since no one replies to those emails from the time I send them (12:00 AM) till the time I am finished with my work that morning (6:00 AM) I am free to ignore my email completely and work on the tasks that require my attention.

Of Course, There’s Always More

This list is far from complete, but it’s a good place to start. I’ll be making a lot more changes over the coming weeks as I focus more and more on ‘cutting down the steps’ to get jobs done faster. Do you have any tips for me or the other readers here?