Last Friday morning I found myself standing outside of an Ohio Best Buy with my mother in law, waiting with a couple hundred other bargain hunters.
But, I have to admit, I wasn’t looking for gifts for family and friends. I was shopping for me! I got a new monitor for my computer.
I have a laptop, but I have recently become a HUGE fan of having a second monitor.
I first saw this being done when I had my fellowship last spring. Then over the summer I watched the “Last Lecture” by professor Randy Pausch, and he recommended the technique too. I’d heard about how much it helped people in their work (anywhere from 9-50% more efficient!), and since time is something I don’t have a lot of, I decided to give it a try (the Black Friday half off price didn’t hurt- $99 for a 19′ LCD flatscreen!).
And now that I’m back home and have had it plugged in for a full 24 hours, I’m hooked!
I keep my calendar and to-do list open and available. And I can have several windows open at the same time AND be able to see and read them! Kicks butt on lit reviews – I can keep articles open on one screen while writing about them on another. I can write blog posts on once screen and use the other to look up useful links, like this one.
So, if you haven’t made out your wish list yet, I recommend adding a monitor to the list. There are lots of guides online for how to add one. I use a Mac laptop, and all I had to do was plug it in. Depending on your operating system, there may be a few other things you need to do.
So, I’m off. My efficient self needs to get some writing done. Last week of classes this week!!!
Mom Goes to Grad School 