Tip #142: Make people sad now and happy later

People tend to remember more recent things better than more distant ones. Don't do something to avoid making someone upset now if you'll only end up disappointing that person later.

This comes up often when committing when you'll have something done. If the person asking you to do something wants it sooner than you can do it, you can either disappoint him now by saying you need more time or later by missing your deadline. If you miss the deadline, that's what he will remember. If you commit to a later deadline but then make that deadline, he'll remember that you did the job on time (and hopefully did it well since you had enough time).

Tip #141: If you're apologizing, don't make excuses

Think about the difference between these two sentences:

1. "I'm really sorry about that thing I did."
2. "I'm really sorry about that thing I did, but listen to this reason why I did it."

The first is an apology. The second is an excuse.

It's your call when and if you're going to apologize for something. But if you've decided to do so, don't sabotage yourself by turning the apology into an excuse.

Tip #140: Give people a deadline to respond to meeting requests

That way people's schedules won't have changed by the time you get the last response.

Tip #139: If you smell gas, call the gas company right away

They don't mind, and they're very friendly about it. Not having people die or houses blow up is a big priority for them. If you're at all uncertain whether you should call, do so and let them decide whether it's an issue.

If you're a tenant and your landlord says you don't need to call, call anyway.

If you're in Madison, the number to call is 608-252-1111.

Tip #138: Remember that you can have two web browsers open at once

For those of you who don't use tabbed browsing, this is a non issue.

Unless you have a really tiny monitor, you probably have more than one window open sometimes on your computer. Sometimes you'll put two things next to each other so you can see them both at once. If you're using two different web applications, don't forget that you can open each in its own window. It can be quicker to switch between windows than it is between tabs, and more importantly you can have them open next to each other.

Tip #137: On a road trip, pack your stuff

When you're going on a road trip, it can be tempting to just toss stuff loose in the car. If you do, though, it means your car is your suitcase. You can't easily bring everything into wherever you're sleeping and risk having something happen to it out in the car. Also, if the car dies and can't be repaired easily, it can be hard to get all your stuff where you need it to be.

Do the right thing #1: Keep reusable bags in your car

If you like to use reusable bags while shopping and have a car*, keep some bags in your car. Then if you end up at a store when you weren't planning to, you'll have a bag handy.

* - Yes, I know for plenty of people one or the other of those is true but not both.

Tip #136: If a police officer is pulling you over, stop in a safe place

Don't just pull over immediately. Signal the officer so he knows you saw him, turn off onto a side road or into a parking lot, and then stop. He won't have to worry about a car hitting him when he comes to talk to you which may put him in a better mood.

Tip #135: Don't make a field required unless you really need to

On a web form or in a database, some fields are really necessary. If you can get by without something consider not requiring it. If you have multiple fields for telephone numbers, for example, you shouldn't require more than one of them, since plenty of people only have one number to give you, and you don't want to put them in an uncomfortable position.

Tip #134: Opt out of catalogs

If you receive a catalog you don't want, call or email the company putting it out to tell them to remove you from their list. It's quite easy - most catalogs have a number printed on front or back cover. The company putting it out generally doesn't want to waste printing and postage on someone who explicitly doesn't want it.

This suggestion courtesy of Dwight B.

Doing the right thing

In a post a couple of months ago, I talked about the idea of having some rules here that aren't purely practical. Thus far, every rule I've posted on this site is something to help you be personally or professionally successful. While many of them also have positive effects on the people around you, they aren't based purely in altruism.

I'm going to include some ideas of ways to effectively make the world a better place. Unlike the other rules, which are intended to apply to anyone regardless of their personal ethics, these will by necessity derive from my personal sense of right and wrong. I'll label these posts so you can tell right away what it is and can skip it if you aren't interested.

I'll be interested to see what sort of discussion these spark. Please let me know whether you like them or not.

Tip #133: Have a corded drill

Cordless drills can be really handy, and it's worth having one around, but if you ever do work that requires a drill, it's good to keep one with a cord, too. It's frustrating when you get to the stage of a project where you need the drill only to find that you have to wait two hours for the battery to charge.

Tip #132: Go to the place that validates parking last

If you're doing a number of errands in an area where you have to pay for parking and one of those places validates parking
1. park in the lot for that place,
2. do all your other errands first,
3. do the errand at the place that validates parking, and
4. have that place stamp your ticket.

Tip #131: Don't assume people want advice

It's an easy mistake to make; I still do it again and again. Someone tells you about a problem she's having, and you tell her what she should do to fix it. Sound familiar?

It's hard, but this is often the wrong thing to do. People talk to their friends to get support more often than advice, and when they want advice they usually explicitly ask for it.

If this causes you as much trouble as it causes me, there's a trick that might help. Recast the situation so that your problem isn't whatever is troubling your friend. Your problem is the fact that your friend has come to you for support. The solution to your problem, then, is to be a supportive listener and a good friend.

Tip #130: Don't order deluxe pizza unless you really want to eat it yourself

In general, the more toppings there are on a pizza, the more chances you have for each person to dislike it. If you have a bunch of friends helping you move and you order one meat lover's pizza and one veggie lover's pizza, nobody will be particularly happy. If you order one plain cheese and one pepperoni or sausage, everyone will be satisfied.

Ordering a crazy pizza is fine if there's someone you're positive will like it, of course.

Tip #129: Make people set their own deadlines

Whenever possible, ask someone to set her own deadline instead of setting it yourself. It's a more powerful commitment, and she might surprise you by picking an earlier date than you would have.

If she picks a later date than you want, push back and ask why she needs so long. It might be because she has something else going on you didn't know about, and he might not have told you about it if you'd just set a date yourself.

Tip #128: Don't second a motion you don't support

If someone makes a motion in a meeting that uses Robert's Rules or something similar, don't second the motion just to be nice. The point of requiring a second for a motion is that at least two people should support something before the group takes time to discuss it. Not only is it more efficient to remain silent and not second it, it may well be nicer not to subject him to an all-versus-one debate followed by a doomed vote.

Tip #127: For weekend car rentals, find a place that's closed on Sundays

If you need to rent a car on Saturday and return it on Sunday, use a location that isn't open on Sunday. Odds are you'll want to have the car more than 24 hours, and if you exceed that at all you'll have to pay for the extra time. It doesn't take long before you're paying for a second full day to have a car from noon Saturday until six Sunday. If the place where you get it is closed on Sunday, they won't know when you actually return it. Even if the daily rate is a little bit higher, the total you'll pay is a lot lower.

Tip #126: Don't give someone a phone number you don't want her to use

Often someone at a business will ask you for a phone number.  If you're most people, you give her your mobile number. She asks for a second number, likely because the computer has a field to enter it in.  If you don't want to be called at another number, don't give it to her.  

It's simple: if you give her the number, someone from that business might use it.  Even if there is a field where she can make a note not to use that number, the odds aren't great of the next person down the line reading that note.  Just decline.  If she insists - likely because it's a required field - and refuses to enter the same number twice, give her a fake number.  The 555 prefix can be handy for this.

Tip #125: If the family doesn't want flowers at a funeral, don't send flowers

It's become increasingly common for the family to request donations in lieu of flowers at funerals. If they do so, for goodness sake, respect their wishes. This one should really be a no brainer.

Tip #124: Use Evernote

Taking notes is important - at meetings, while troubleshooting, whenever - and figuring out the best way to do so is hard. Paper isn't searchable and is easy to lose. A folder full of text files is kind of disorganized, and it can be challenging to find things in it. Some of the software out there is great, but some of it has enough overhead that using it can be a task unto itself.

I've been using Evernote for a number of years, and it's proven to be the ideal solution for me.

• There isn't any overhead to making a new note. You just hit Command-N or Control-N and start typing.
  
• It indexes all your notes, so you can quickly search for things later.
  
• You can sync all your notes to the Evernote server. There are clients for OS X and Windows and for every mobile device I've heard of, and there's a web client for when you're not at your own computer.

It isn't perfect. While the Mac and Windows clients are great, the iOS ones still leave a bit to be desired. Overall, I'm still happy with them because they let me carry around my library of over 2,000 notes.

If you already have a solution that works well for you, I'd love to hear about it in the comments. If you don't have one yet, I'd suggest taking a look at Evernote.

Tip #123: Mop first with just water

When you're mopping the floor, do a round with warm water first before using soap. A lot of stuff will come up without soap, and that way you 1) don't waste soap and 2) don't have to work as hard to pick up all the soap from two rounds.