Today, I interviewed Gina Trapani, who was featured in issue 3 of Personal Branding Magazine. She is always a delight to speak with and is as resourceful as they get.
Gina Trapani is a tech writer and web developer based in San Diego, California by way of Brooklyn, New
York. She is the lead editor of Lifehacker.com, a daily weblog on software and personal productivity, and the author of Upgrade Your Life: The Lifehacker Guide to Working Smarter, Faster, Better (March 2008). As a Sun-certified Java programmer, Gina builds Firefox extensions and web sites. Her writing has appeared in Popular Science, Wired, Women’s Health, PC World and Macworld magazines. The Wall Street Journal Online profiled her and her work has also been mentioned in Time Magazine, Newsweek, The New York Times, Wired and PC Magazine. She is #7 on the top 25 Web Celebrities list by Forbes.
1. Does everyone need to upgrade their life?
Well, you know what they say: if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. But, if you feel like there just aren’t enough hours in the day, or you’re weary of being snowed under by email, tasks, appointments, a blinking voicemail box, and buzzing gadgets, then an upgrade may be in order. I’ve found that most “power users”–folks who are super comfortable with technology and who have it deeply embedded into their day—do tend to suffer from a sense of overload and overwhelm. My book is primarily for them.
2. How does your new book help people manage their personal brand, across email and other common tasks?
Being on top of your game is the best kind of “branding” you can do, because honestly? Most people are not. Most people let email slip through the cracks, or say they’ll get back in a week and don’t, or drop the ball on that task you talked about doing in that meeting two months ago. When you follow up, when you’re responsive, when you’re on time (even early!) delivering on your deadlines–even when you pre-empt being late with a “Hey, I said I’d get this to you today but I turned out to be busier than I expected. How’s Tuesday instead?”–your co-workers and colleagues and clients will be impressed and only want to work with you more. You’ll become known as responsive–and therefore responsible–and dependable and effective and indispensable.
3. Do you feel everyone needs to know the basic “survival” routines on the web now? Do you feel your book is a requirement for the digital age?
Everyone’s level of engagement on the web is different, so the skills each person absolutely needs differs, too. In terms of survival, there is a low level of literacy absolutely required just to stay safe from identity thieves and malicious software online. From there it becomes a matter of managing the rate of information that flows into your day. I’d say my book is required reading for anyone who wants to fast-track past the part where they have to figure out the best ways to get common computer and online tasks done, and just benefit from the knowledge of folks who have been immersed in digital culture and communications for years now. Through Lifehacker.com, I’ve had access to a huge community of very knowledgeable people, and the book came out of my conversations with them on-site.
4. What are the 3 most significant tips you share in your book?
The first must-have hack in the book addresses how to deal with the constant flow of email into your inbox every day. For any office worker (or freelancer, for that matter), sane email management is the most important skill you can have when it’s a primary way you communicate.
Second is the chapter on “tricking” yourself into getting the tasks on your to-do list done. It’s so easy to sabotage ourselves into procrastination and dread–even around the work we enjoy!–that if we’re mindful about how we break down and assign ourselves little stepping stone tasks, we’re much more likely to make our goal.
Third, the chapter on “firewalling your attention” is important for the “Crackberry” addicts out there who have trouble with long-term focus and distractions. It’s only until you can truly pay full attention to something that you can be fully present, and fully effective.
It was difficult to pick just three, because like I said, what will make your life better depends on what your day looks like and what kind of problems you run up against. These three are my three pain points most of the time.
5. If every employee in a company read your book, what tips would help them become more productive, as well as better organized?
Well, if I did my job as an author well, everyone would get at least a little something that made them more efficient and productive during the day from the book. There are over 100 tips in the table of contents (you can see them here: http://lifehackerbook.com/), but the biggest, overarching idea I hope to get across in the book is this:
If you take a little time to think about what you spend time doing all day at work, you can adjust that time or reduce it with shortcuts to make it representative of what you want to actually accomplish.
If we all put our attention, time, and energy towards the right work–instead of spinning our wheels and deleting spam from our inbox on our Blackberry while we’re at the park with our kids–we’ll all be happier and more accomplished.
