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I realized the other day that my most best tips all seem to come in pairs, and I thought I’d pass them along.

(Today, an accompanying video I did about my business travel rules of two is up on Chris Brogan‘s ManOnTheGo.com web site.)

The Taxi Two-Step
Whenever I step out of a taxi, I now do two things: First, I look back at where I was sitting to make sure something didn’t slip out of my pocket (I’ve lost two cell phones this way over the years), and second I look on the outside of the cab for its taxi number, which I try to remember. I almost never have a need to be able to identify the taxi afterwards, but in the rare case when you need to, knowing the specific cab you were in can help. (In Las Vegas once, I left my MacBook Pro in the backseat. I didn’t know the specific cab I was in, so all I could do was hope that the cabbie was honest and returned it to the cab company’s lost and found; he did. As I was a flagged cash fare, he could have easily made off with it without any record of me being in his cab.)

Two Keys
When I check into a hotel which uses those magnetic-stripe cards as keys (don’t they all now?), I always ask for two keys, even though I’m the only person checking in. I stuff one card in my wallet right away as a backup. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve left the room without my key or lost one along the way. This little trick has saved me some time here and there.

Two Wake-up Calls
Some hotel chains, like the Fairmont, ask if you want two wake-up calls — usually spaced 15 minutes apart. I always opt for this, just in case I answer the first one then slip back to sleep (jetlag can be a bitch). I’ve almost always been awake and moving when the second call comes.

Two Oils
Studies have proven that certain scents can have an effect on our brains and I’m a huge believer in this. I always travel with two essential oils — rosemary and clary sage. Rosemary is known to promote better concentration, alertness, and a general sense of well-being. It’s a great oil to burn if you’ll be working in your hotel room on your presentation or a report. Just bring along a small tealight candle diffuser or a ceremic light-bulb ring to burn it. At night, I use Clary Sage, a rich, musky smelling essential oil which gives me a very calming sense of rest. Put ten drops of Clary Sage into a hot bath — it’s more of an absorption oil than a burning oil — soak in it for 15 minutes, and you’ll be asleep in no time.

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Live Twitter Reactions

Unedited live Twitter reaction to Tod Maffin’s Taking Crazy Back keynote at F5 Expo, April 7, 2010:

Blog Reactions

“Tod Maffin was incredible. This is the second time I’ve seen him speak and he outdid himself with a very raw and thought-provoking keynote. My biggest take-away was when Tod asked the question how we, as managers, can reverse the damage our multi-tasking demanding world is inflicting on employees.”
– Amanda

“Perhaps the thing that makes Tod’s talk so powerful is that he isn’t one of those individuals you see on pedestals who have overcome all obstacles with relatively ease. Tod is human. Tod is like one of us. The fact that he continues to struggle with his inner demons, makes him someone everyone can connect to.”
– Henry

Inquire About Having Tod at Your Event

About the Keynote

With depression rates soaring in the workplace, do we need a radical new way of providing mental health services to our employees?

Tod Maffin [bio] thinks so.

Once the founder and CEO of a multi-million dollar technology firm, Tod’s workload and always-on personality finally caught up with him and over the following years, he was crippled by a devastating depression and addiction — all the while struggling to appear to be productive to employers and colleagues, and happy and healthy to his friends and family.

In this provocative keynote speech, Tod will reveal to your delegates how this always-connected landscape has seduced all of us into endless multitasking and infinite email — all the while pretending that this increasing workload is the best thing for “productivity.”

In fact, this hyper-connected economy may be both destroying the productivity of workplaces and eroding the mental health of companies’ most valuable asset — their people.

Tod will outline his own bold strategy for bringing mental health discussion out of the shadows in a way that will challenge your attendees for years to come.

Tod’s story is emotional — at once funny and poignant, sad and hopeful. Nearly all audiences give him a standing ovation for his work on the podium. He has spoken for the Canadian Mental Health Association, universities, companies, and many more.

Over the last month, I’ve been undertaking a little project to simplify my living space. Part of that process has been to try to lower my living costs. Here are a few lessons in frugality I picked up that I thought I’d pass along:

You Don’t Need Paper Towels.
I’m a little embarrassed about this particular “revelation.” I’ve not used a paper towel in a month. And yet, I’ve done my windows, cleaned up spills, cleaned countertops, etc. Over the years, I somehow ended up with the erroneous belief that paper towels cleaned better. It’s not true. A couple of clean handtowels and rags work just as well. Besides being cheaper, you gain some storage space from where the paper towels took up residence.

Make Your Own Microwave Popcorn.
I love popcorn. Along with Shreddies and Corned Beef Hash (the canned kind), microwave popcorn has, sadly, been a staple in my diet. I’ve never liked popcorn that came from a hot-air popper (I find the consistency of hot-air popped popcorn stale). Turns out, you can make your own microwave popcorn with a paper bag. Put half a cup of popcorn in a paper bag and triple-fold it closed. That’s it! I assumed the fold closure would give and popcorn would fly everywhere, but that’s not the case at all — the fold holds the popcorn in tight. Who knew.

Kiss Cable Television Goodbye.
It’s been almost a month now since I dropped cable television.¹ I don’t miss the programming because I can still watch most of it on the web sites of the major broadcasters (Links to shows: Global TV, CBC, CTV). I’ve also gotten back in touch with some of my favourite radio shows via podcast like This American Life, The Ethicist, The Moth, On The Media, and plenty o’ CBC podcast lovin’. (Another nice thing about radio — you can walk around and do things while listening, which you can’t really for television.)

Rethink the Heat in Your Bedroom [insert dirty joke here]
I used to keep the temperature in my bedroom at 22 degrees, regardless of the season. I’ve since taken to turning the heat off entirely and, in fact, leaving the window wide open. I just started using a warmer duvet. Turns out the old advice of sleeping in a cold room is true — I do get a better sleep.

Eat What You Have
At the start of this simplification process, I vowed to not go grocery shopping for anything more than the essentials (milk, juice, bread, etc.) and that I would eat what I already had in my cupboards. My cupboards weren’t exactly bulging, but there were perfectly good items in there that I keep ignoring when doing the “what should I eat tonight” inspection. Tins of tuna, a box of Hamburger Helper, cans of chili, a bag of rice — I promised myself I would start eating these items away. It’s been a month and I still have plenty of them to go. As a result, my grocery bill is about a third of what it used to be.

What’s your best frugal tip?

1. When I called to cancel, Shaw said they would keep billing me until they could get a technician out to neuter my connection. If you argue long enough, they’ll stop billing you the day you request the service to stop. Which, of course, they should.

Tod Maffin and Malcom Gladwell have been selected as the two keynote speakers at the upcoming F5 Expo in Vancouver. Hear Tod’s story of how he went from being an always-on multi-millionaire dotcom executive to crashing into depression and addiction. A story of hope and recovery, with a lesson to everyone in the tech industry; Tod will outline his five key tools to surviving in the techno-busy lifestyle.

More about Tod’s keynote • Register Now

I thought I knew the right thing to do in the event of an earthquake — dive under a car or desk, right? Apparently, no. Not according to an email making the rounds, ostensibly from the Rescue Chief and Disaster Manager of the American Rescue Team International (ARTI).

Here in Vancouver, we live near a major fault line. We’re overdue by about 10-20 years for “the big one.” I thought I’d pass this along for anyone who lives in an area where an earthquake could occur.

Myth: You should dive under a desk or car when a quake strikes.
Reality: Most everyone who simply “ducks and covers” WHEN BUILDINGS COLLAPSE are crushed to death. People who get under objects, like desks or cars, are crushed. You can survive in a smaller void. Get next to an object, next to a sofa, next to a large bulky object that will compress slightly but leave a void next to it.

Myth: If you’re in a “weak-framed” building, like a wood building, get out as fast as you can. Try to find shelter in a more stable building, like something concrete.
Reality: Wooden buildings are actually the safest type of construction to be in during an earthquake. Wood is flexible and moves with the force of the earthquake. If the wooden building does collapse, large survival voids are created. Also, the wooden building has less concentrated, crushing weight. Brick buildings will break into individual bricks. Bricks will cause many injuries but less squashed bodies than concrete slabs.

Myth: If you’re in bed when the quake hits, roll under the bed.
Reality: Simply roll off the bed. A safe void will exist around the bed. Hotels can achieve a much greater survival rate in earthquakes, simply by posting a sign on the back of the door of every room telling occupants to lie down on the floor, next to the bottom of the bed during an earthquake.

Myth: A safe place to be during an earthquake is under a door frame.
Reality: Most everyone who gets under a doorway when buildings collapse is killed. How? If you stand under a doorway and the doorjamb falls forward or backward you will be crushed by the ceiling above. If the door jam falls sideways you will be cut in half by the doorway. In either case, you will be killed.

Myth: Take the stairs during a quake — never an elevator.
Reality: Never go to the stairs. The stairs have a different “moment of frequency” (they swing separately from the main part of the building). The stairs and remainder of the building continuously bump into each other until structural failure of the stairs takes place. The people who get on stairs before they fail are chopped up by the stair treads – horribly mutilated. Even if the building doesn’t collapse, stay away from the stairs. The stairs are a likely part of the building to be damaged. Even if the stairs are not collapsed by the earthquake, they may collapse later when overloaded by fleeing people. They should always be checked for safety, even when the rest of the building is not damaged.

Myth: Stay away from the walls and outer edges of buildings during an earthquake.
Reality: Actually, you want to be near the outer walls of a building, or outside of them if possible. It is much
better to be near the outside of the building rather than the interior. The farther inside you are from the outside perimeter of the building the greater the probability that your escape route will be blocked.

Myth: If you’re driving when the earthquake happens, stay in your car. Don’t leave your car for any reason.
Reality: People inside of their vehicles are crushed when the road above falls in an earthquake and crushes their vehicles; which is exactly what happened with the slabs between the decks of the Nimitz Freeway… The victims of the San Francisco earthquake all stayed inside of their vehicles. They were all killed. They could have easily survived by getting out and sitting or lying next to their vehicles. Everyone killed would have survived if they had been able to get out of their cars and sit or lie next to them. All the crushed cars had voids 3 feet high next to them, except for the cars that had columns fall directly across them.

* Bonus survival tip: If you’re in an office which has lots of stacks of paper, that paper does not compact. Large voids are found surrounding stacks of paper. It’s a good place to position yourself.

Embracing Unitasking for Better Productivity and Happier Living

Let’s just say this — there’s a very good chance you’re doing three things right now. Don’t think so? Think about it. You’re reading this, you may have some music or talk show on in the background, your eye darts over to your email, and so on.

It’s not your fault; that’s what today’s fast-paced, always-on worklife demands. And you either go with the fast-flow or you die. Right? Not always…

In this entertaining but informative keynote presentation (can also be adapted for workshop/seminar), Tod will show you how to be more productive, profitable, and satisfied with life by using a new set of skills designed to reduce your email, wrangle your voicemails better, and prioritze your day.

Some highlights from the presentation:

• Exploit proven streamlined email model that will save you at least an hour a day
• Learn how you are literally damaging your brain when you multitask
• Use more effective management strategies like Smart Delegation
• Learn why you feel sore all the time and the secret world of stress-induced sub-muscular contractions
• Gain a little space and “just be” without taking up yoga
• Use web services to priorize your day
• Learn how your brain simply can’t do more than one thing at a time (fun demonstration)

Check Tod’s availability for your event

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What They Say

“Tod Maffin was a runaway successful speaker. All respondents rated him a 3 out of 3 and comments were extraordinarily positive. Not only was he an outstanding presenter, but his personal story had a very strong impact.”
— Beth Evans, Minding the Workplace conference

“Thank you so much for your presentation in Calgary at The Conference Board of Canada’s Workplace Health Conference. Your presentation was really excellent! Your professional and personal messages are powerful, engaging and moving. You truly are a very gifted speaker and a resilient individual! It is a great pleasure to work with you.”
– Beth Evans, M.Sc., Director, Mental Health Promotion, Alberta Mental Health Board

“Your keynote presentation ratings reflected excellence with an overall evaluation of 5+ out of 5 and a standing ovation (which is in itself a rarity and speaks volumes).  Consistent feedback from delegates included, “Great information, giving us lots to think about”; “Awesome speaker, simply outstanding”; “Very impactful presentation”; “High impact, he’s incredible”; “Absolutely amazing speaker!”; “Excellent, thank you Tod for sharing so much value”; “Best speaker ever +”; “Excellent, motivational and excellent choice for this conference”; “Very much appreciated his presentation, courage, honesty”; “Awesome program with this amazing presentation”; and “Refreshing and thought provoking”
— Elizabeth Lengyel, Program Director, Conference Board of Canada

“Your presentation was awesome.  It has changed the way that I’m pursuing my career path regarding my family and friends!  I want to be a human “being” again!  Thanks a million.”
— Shanté Williams, Charleston County Park & Recreation Commission

Photo by white_duck

I turned my DVD player on last week for the first time in about six months. Only I didn’t really turn it on; I woke it from standby.

I knew these devices were consuming power while “on” (evidenced by the little stand-by light) but I never really knew how much. BC Hydro has published a nice little table of that consumption by an average home-office.

If you actually power down these devices by unplugging them, turning off the power back they’re connected to, or using their hard Power button on the back (of some devices, like many printers) you’ll save about $14 a year under the above scenario. Not tonnes, mind you, but in this economy, it all helps.

BC Hydro also has a pretty decent incentive for saving power — if you join its Team Power Smart program (free) and cut down on 10% of your power consumption over last year, they’ll cut you a cheque for $75. Cold hard cash: the world’s best incentive.