One thing I'm sure to do is forget to take something when I run errands. You know, a return at Target (or the receipt), the key you need to get a copy of at Orchard Supply, the grocery list, etc.



My wife and I have established a system that consists of the following complex set of components:

• A box


• Dining room table (optional)
  
  

The box is on the dining room table near our front door. We place our car/house keys there and anything else we want to take with us. It's impossible for us to go very far without our car keys, since we run almost all our errands with the car. So placing the keys in the same box as where we put all of the stuff we want to take with us helps us "remember" those things.



It's not full-proof, of course. We could forget to put something in the box. However, we don't run many errands and putting things in the box over the course of the week gives us time to remember those things that we really need to deal with.



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From Growthink newsletter:



What does the first half of 2008 have to show for us?

• Record-breaking oil prices


• Unprecedented government bail outs


• Poor stock market performance

All signs point towards an extended slowdown in the economy. During these conditions, investors will find it extremely challenging to achieve alpha returns in the public markets. But that doesn't mean that you should be hiding your money under your mattress.



History has shown that recessions are a great time to launch new companies. In fact, 16 of the 30 companies whose stocks make up the Dow started during recessions. General Electric traces its roots to the panic of 1873. William Hewlett and David Packard founded HP during the Great Depression.



In 1982, the U.S. was in the midst of a recession and unemployment was at its highest since World War II. But just when the general investing public was panicking, private investors were planting the seeds of great investment fortune.



In that year, 5 new businesses were launched that are now worth more than $50 billion. Do you recognize their names?



Click here to learn which companies we're talking about...



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This one is hard to believe...

That "ding" you hear when you get an email collectively costs the United States $70 billion in lost productivity.



Hi-tech is turning us all into time-wasters

And to think that email was created to increase our productivity!



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