Recently I came across this great TED Talk featuring David Pogue, identifying 10 time-saving tech tips that you may or may not have known about. It often drives me crazy when I see people not utilizing some of these, but even I found a couple of things in here that I didn’t know!

These time-saving tips will take you five minutes to learn and could save you thousands of hours in your lifetime. Well, maybe that’s a bit of an exaggeration. Or maybe not…

And in case you wanted something easy to come back to without having to rewind, here are all 10 of the tips from the video above:

Computers

1. Don’t use your mouse to scroll

You can use your Spacebar to scroll down a web page. To scroll up just hold the ‘shift’ key while hitting the Spacebar.

2. Navigate forms with ‘tab’ Key

You don’t have to click on each individual text area, just hit ‘tab’ to go to the next box when you’re finished.

Bonus: If you’re selecting your state from a drop down menu, simply type the first letter of your state to go straight to it (or keep hitting that letter until you get to your state).

3. Hold the Control key and press the ‘+’ to make things bigger

This works on all web pages and even in most computer applications. To make things smaller, just hold ‘control’ and press the ‘-’ key.

Smartphones

4. Press the Spacebar twice to automatically insert a period

No need to hit the ‘.’ at the end of a sentence, just hit that Spacebar twice and it will end the sentence for you.

5. Hit the ‘Call’ or ‘Send’ key twice to redial the last dialed number

If you’re using a non-smartphone, this will bring up a list of recent calls and you can just select the one you want to call back.

6. Skip the voicemail message by hitting the proper hot key

If you don’t want to waste your life listening to the same instructions on how to leave a voicemail over and over again, just hit the hot key to skip it. This is different for each carrier (thanks cell phone companies). Here’s the ones we know:

• Verizon: *
• AT&T: #
• Sprint: 1

Miscellaneous

7. Google shortcuts

• To find the definition of a word simply type “define” and then the word you want the definition for. The first thing you’ll see is the dictionary definition of that word. You don’t even have to hit ‘enter’!
• Check up on your flights by simply typing in the name of your airline and the flight number and Google will automatically show the status of your flight– again, no need to even hit ‘enter’!
• Convert values from one unit to another (ie. X inches to cm) by just typing it in the search box.

8. Four text basics

• Double-click a word to highlight the entire word.
• Don’t delete the word, just type over it.
• Double-click and drag to select in one-word chunks.
• Triple-click to select an entire paragraph

9. Eliminate shutter lag

Get rid of the pesky delay from when you hit the button on your camera to when it actually takes the picture by pre-focusing the shot. Half-click the shutter button to pre-focus, then fully press to take the shot.

10. Presentations

Press the ‘B’ key to black out the slides, then press again to bring slides back up.

Press the ‘W’ key to white-out the slides, then press again to bring slides back up.

Did you learn anything new? You can leave a comment by clicking here.

Luis is a marketing consultant in the city of Leominster Massachusetts  He’s got over 17 years of internet marketing experience and over 22 years of general business experience. Needless to say, he’s got plenty of wisdom to share. That’s exactly why I had to interviewed him!

Here are the questions I asked Luis in the interview:

• How did you get started in this crazy-awesome world of social media and marketing?
• What is your favorite social network?
• What is different about Google+ that stands out to you?
• What is your number one piece of advice for an aspiring Social Media Rock Star?
• How would you define the term engagement?
• What’s the most fun project you’re working on right now?

You can find out more about Luis by circling him on Google+ or visiting his blog, WebMarketingDude.com. I can guarantee you’ll find something of value if you’re looking to excel in the digital marketing space.

Next week I’ll be interviewing Kimberly Reynolds of SocialNotz.com! And in case you missed it, last week I had the chance to interview Larry Deane of Side Income Blogging– check it out here.

Is there anything you would have asked Luis about in the interview? You can leave a comment by clicking here.

Larry Deane is an entrepreneur, developer, and professional blogger. He is also constantly adding something of value to his online communities. I am so glad that he had the time to share some of his wisdom with us!

I asked Larry Deane the following questions in the interview:

• Where did your journey in social media/marketing/web design/development begin?
• How has your faith shaped the way you interact with social media and blogging?
• What is the best piece of advice you have for an aspiring social media rockstar?
• What is your favorite social platform to be on?
• What is the most fun project you are working on right now?

It is definitely refreshing to talk to Larry about everything he is involved in. You can tell he has a lot of experience in what he does. From his online presence to rockin’ a banjo, Larry Deane is a force to be reckoned with!

You can follow Larry here on Google+ or his personal blog.

If you missed last week’s interview with Peg Fitzpatrick be sure to check it out here. Next week I will be posting an interview I did with Kimberly Reynolds of SocialNotz.

If you could ask Larry Deane one question about social media/blogging what would it be? You can leave a comment by clicking here.

“I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” – Jesus

Jesus is Exclusive

Jesus makes a bold statement here. Nobody gets to God the Father unless they go through him. Nobody.

The book of Acts also provides a supporting statement:

“And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” Acts 4:12

No other name. Think of any of the other religious leaders you’ve heard of. Yep, if the Bible is true, those guys can’t help you. Only Jesus.

There’s one road. It’s narrow. It’s not easy. But it’s so worth it.

For further reading, I recommend this article on The Resurgence.

Jesus is Inclusive

This statement at first look is extremely exclusive. Jesus excludes all other means of getting to God– there are no other roads. At the same time, Jesus is entirely inclusive because all are welcome (John 3:16).

For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” Romans 10:13

Nobody is excluded from God’s grace. Jesus’ sacrifice was sufficient for all who ask to receive it.

For the love of Christ controls us, having concluded this, that one died for all, therefore all died;  and He died for all, so that they who live might no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf. 2 Corinthians 5:14-15

As with any gift, it can’t be enjoyed unless it is received. Therefore it is available to all who willingly receive it.

If there were any other way…

…then Jesus didn’t need to die. If our justification before God could be accomplished in any other way– be it good deeds, meditation, giving things away, morality– then Jesus had no reason to die.

Paul says it this way,

“I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness comes through the Law, then Christ died needlessly.” Galatians 2:21

If there were any other way, then Jesus died for nothing. But there was no other way, and that’s why he did it.

Have you ever heard anyone try to tell you that, “all religions lead to the same place”? You can leave a comment by clicking here.

This is part of the Killer Tribes 2013 series. You can find the rest of the posts in this series here.

This was one of the breakout sessions at Killer Tribes 2013. Tripp Crosby is a comedic writer, director, actor and producer. When he’s not making gut-busting videos with his partner in crime, Tyler Stanton, he’s running his own video production company.

This was a very different side of Tripp that I didn’t know existed! Below I’ve recorded the major points in his talk about being self-employed.

1. If you want to make money the easy way, get a job.

Entrepreneur Myths:

• You’ll only ever do what you love doing.
• You’ll do more of what you love doing.
• You’ll work less and play more.

2. Even though you’re self-employed, work as though you are not.

3. Respect your system – whatever it is.

“Being 70% committed to your calendar is the same as being 0% committed.” -Tyler Stanton

You have to know how much time you have.

Schedule margin – Allow for some wiggle room in your schedule.

Schedule content consumption – A time that you “sharpen your ax” so to speak.

4. Value yourself

You have to decide how much you’re time is worth.

Stick to whatever you decide.

Show discounts when you can.

Ex. We’re doing [this], [that], [this], and we’ll just do [this part] for free.

Avoid discounts. Yes, that seems to completely contradict the above statement.

5. Invest in your process, not just your craft.

Processes keep things efficient, consistent and profitable.

Tripp also allowed for a Q & A session that was quite good. You can download the full audio of the Killer Tribes 2013 Conference here.

Which of these points can you most relate to? Which ones do you not understand? You can leave a comment by clicking here. 

And as an added bonus, here’s one of my favorite Tripp and Tyler videos:

You’re welcome.