What I will do within emacs:

• Read my email (gnus and gmail)
• Use twitter (via twittering-mode)
• Search in Google and basic browsing (within w3m)
• Search in MathSciNet (with a modified version of bibfind.el)
• View PDF's (through the emacs23 native doc-view)
• Open images (emacs 22.3 and up, I think)
• Chat through Jabber (in Google chat, with jabber.el)

• Checking some websites (mostly javascript based), buying online and similar. I'll use Chrome as usual for this.
• So far, answering mails through multiple accounts: it can be done through gnus but I have not configured it yet (in 30 days I guess I can do it).
• Writing in this blog: can be done, but I don't want the hassle.
• Checking facebook, but could be done through w3m (elisp native web browser) and the mobile site. I'll just do Facebook at night, occasionally.
• At least for now, reading RSS. I'm very happy with my iPod Touch for this task, buy may consider doing it with the Ben Nanonote and gnus (for example) when I'm more comfortable with it.

• The Art of War: ebook formatted, tex source and A6 booklet format
• How to Live on 24 Hours a Day: ebook formatted, tex source and A6 booklet format

\documentclass[9pt,openany,final]{memoir}

\usepackage[pdftex]{graphicx}

\usepackage[english]{babel}

\usepackage{xcolor}

\usepackage[latin1]{inputenc}

\usepackage{wrapfig}

\usepackage{fix-cm}

\usepackage[pdftex, colorlinks=true, linkcolor=black, urlcolor=blue {hyperref}

\usepackage[activate={true,nocompatibility}]{microtype}

\usepackage[paperwidth=9cm, paperheight=12cm, hmargin={1cm, 1cm}, vmargin={1.2cm, 0.8cm}]{geometry}

\widowpenalty 3999

\clubpenalty 3999

\makeoddfoot{ruled}{}{}{}

\makeevenfoot{ruled}{}{}{}

\makeevenhead{ruled}{\footnotesize \emph{\rightmark}}{}{\footnotesize\scshape The Art of War, \thepage}

\makeatletter

\makeoddhead{ruled}{\footnotesize \emph{\rightmark}}{}{\footnotesize\scshape The Art of War, \thepage}

\copypagestyle{chapter}{plain}

\makeevenfoot{chapter}{}{}{}

\makeoddfoot{chapter}{}{}{}

\pagestyle{ruled}

\emergencystretch=\maxdimen

\hyphenpenalty=10

\hbadness=10000

\setcounter{errorcontextlines}{999}

\definecolor{gray}{gray}{0.77}

\definecolor{darkgray}{gray}{0.4}

\definecolor{black}{gray}{0}

\setlength\beforechapskip{-10pt}

\setlength\midchapskip{5pt}

\setlength\afterchapskip{10pt}

\makechapterstyle{plroman}{

\renewcommand\chapterheadstart{\vspace*{\beforechapskip}{\color{darkgray}\centering\MakeUppercase{\fontsize{0.7in}{0.7in}\selectfont\romannumeral\thechapter} \par\nobreak\vskip1\midchapskip\hrule\vskip0.5\midchapskip}\color{black}}

\renewcommand\chapternamenum{}

\renewcommand\printchaptername{}

\renewcommand\printchapternum{\centering\MakeUppercase{\fontsize{1in}{2in}\selectfont\romannumeral\thechapter}}

\renewcommand\chaptitlefont{\huge\centering\color{black}\vskip0.5\midchapskip\vskip0.5\midchapskip}

\renewcommand\afterchapternum{}

\renewcommand\afterchaptertitle{\vskip0.5\midchapskip\vskip\midchapskip\hrule\vskip\midchapskip\vskip\midchapskip\vskip\midchapskip}

}

\chapterstyle{plroman}

\renewcommand{\cftchapterfont}{\scshape\mdseries}

\renewcommand{\cftchapterleader}{\dotfill}

\renewcommand{\cftchapterpagefont}{\scshape\mdseries}

\renewcommand{\chapternumberline}[1]{\hspace*{-5em}\vbox{\hfil\hsize=7.5em\MakeUppercase{\mdseries\romannumeral#1}.\ \hfilneg}}

\renewcommand{\cftchapterbreak}{}

\pagestyle{ruled}

\begin{document}

\include{taow}

\end{document}

1. Read it over quickly. Note down tools I don't know or I need to refresh. If there are interesting references, note them down for reading
2. Find out the unknown tools, if needed to understand what is done in the paper.
3. Read again quickly.
4. Write down over the first page of the paper the interesting theorems or tools used.
5. (Optional) If a deep understanding of the paper is needed, read again slowly, checking coherence. Note down on the margin key ideas (interesting transformations, relationships with other problems, obscure references).
6. (Optional) Write down a mind-map or scheme of the article if a deep understanding is needed.

Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try Again. Fail again. Fail better.

Samuel Beckett

Want to be a winner? Change your mindset

The road to wisdom? Well, it's plain

And simple to express:

Err

and err

and err again,

but less

and less

and less.

• Review your work day at the end of the day: Where did you waste time? Who interrupted your work flow? What file wasn't in the correct place? Write this down and make a plan to not fall for the same tomorrow.
• Keep up with your field: Keep updated with your field news. Read the most current developments, splitting longer articles or books for several days.
• Finish/Keep up your side projects: Pick one of your side projects (your blog, your book, your new language) and either finish it working a little each day, or keep up with it. In the long run, even 5 minutes daily can be a big difference in a huge project.

• Will you learn some new technique with this project? You can then apply it later, and the hetter you perform in this project the more confidence in your future abilities ou will be.
• Will you show the results to someone? This may end up in new related opportunities, new relations, new projects.
• Will it look good in your resumé? If it does, it may land you a better job... where you are required to do it again.

1. Have just one hour of questions. By University requirements we need to have at least one hour of presence in our office, to allow students to come by and ask. The first step is to have an hour and just an hour. When the hour is over the questions are over. Even better if you have to go somewhere when it ends.
2. No random appointments. If someone drops an email asking for an appointment to ask just a question, answer No. And then ask them to write the question down in an email.
3. No random questions. If someone drops by asking for 10 minutes, answer No. If they ask when you will be available, make it as long as you can (which usually is true), and get them to send questions by email.
4. No code. I won't look code unless it is extremely necessary. If someone drops by in my scheduled time and has tried her best to find her error – i.e. if she has a clear written overview of how the algorithm works, how her code works, has checked previous functions, is not leaking memory and so on – then I will have a look at her code.

1. Parkinson's law says that a task will grow to fill any time available. And student questions are no different. Make them come with a well thought question. Get them to do some work.
2. 9 out of 10 questions can be solved in a 5 minutes written answer, whenever you feel like you have the time. Also, putting the question in writing usually means they have to think it over. Then they can solve the problem and don't send the email. If they do, then they can read my answer over and over until they understand what I tried to say (yes, some stuff is better explained in a blackboard, but...).
3. This is what I most want to avoid, saying No is then the best answer. Then it goes back to point 2.
4. There is a breed of students that think that learning is an osmotic process. They just sit, the teacher solves stuff and they learn by Sponge Bob's magic. Unless you fight with your code, you won't be able to do it alone.

• Amazon.com: You already know Amazon... You can buy more stuff there, but no free international shipping.
• The Book Depository: You can only buy books here... But the prices are really competitive, and has free international shipping. I've bought my last 5 books from here, as you don't need to think about shipping rates buying is just going there and buying one book. No need to plan those 5-10 books boxes to spread the fees.

How can this help your overall productivity?