I recently to decided to call it quits on one of my favorite hobbies and activities…blogging regularly about being more productive on the Linux desktop. It was a long, hard decision to make, but I really think that it was the right thing to do. Here are just a few reasons that I decided to hang it up:

It was taking up a lot of mental RAM that I wanted to use elsewhere. When you run a semi-professional blog, there’s always a certain pressure to post at least semi-frequently and to stay on top of the news in your field. As it turned out, keeping tabs on all the great software releases for Linux and the latest developments on the desktop was taking up a lot of my mental cycles…mental cycles I ultimately decided I’d rather be using thinking about some things that just more important to me right now…like my Master’s thesis. I was thinking about my blog way more than I really wanted to.

The amount of time I was spending on the project was time I really needed to be spending doing other things. Don’t get me wrong…I love writing about Linux and connecting with the community through blogging, and I derived an immense sense of satisfaction from it. But RSS feeds, post planning and writing, and site maintenance were taking up time that I ultimately concluded would be better spent on activities more vital to the spiritual, emotional, and physical health of myself and my family. On a good week, my blog took up about four hours of time…that’s now been translated into about 3 hours of exercise per week with my wife, and an extra hour of reading material that pertains to my career field.

That kind of actvity just didn’t fit in with my life plan or lifestyle anymore. At one point, I was looking at working in technology/web business as part of my career plan. That has since changed. My life circumstances are different now…when I started blogging, I was working part-time at a pizza place and finishing up my under-graduate courses. Now, I’m entrenched in very time-consuming graduate work, working in my chosen career field, and planning for a baby. As much as I enjoyed what I was doing while it lasted, I’m now just as happy to being using that time to better prepare myself for my job, or work on the nursery with my wife.

All this isn’t to say I’ve given up my hobby completely…I’ve just removed all pressure from myself for it to be anything but a hobby. It’s now something I do as I have time, when I feel like, no pressure at all. To that end I placed my branded Linux blog on indefinite hiatus (who knows, maybe I’ll be able and willing to take it back up in a year or two) and moved all of my blogging activities (Linux and otherwise) to my personal blog.

Have you ever had to cut something substantial and important to you from your regular activities? How did you decided to call it quits? Share in the forums.

Photo Credit: cosmonautirussi

One of the greatest things about Open Source Software is that so much of it is actually cross-platform–meaning it works on at least two operating systems. Since many people today (myself included!) work on multiple systems, it’s great to only have to learn one piece of software, instead of 2 or 3! The following list contains 5 of the coolest Open Source and cross-platform tools for productivity, and you can use all of these apps on Windows, Mac, or Linux.

Pidgin

Pidgin (formerly Gaim) is one of those must have apps for me. It’s multi-protocol chat client that supports pretty much every network out there, including Yahoo!, MSN, Google Talk, AOL, and even IRC! “Wait,” you may be saying, “How is a chat client a productivity tool?” Good question, and I have to admit, instant messaging doesn’t usually top my list of essential productivity aides. However, studies have shown that IMing in the workplace can drastically reduce the amount of email backlog and streamline communication. Also, more and more web-based productivity tools like Remember the Milk can hook into IM as well, effectively giving you a quick, desktop interface to their site. I use Yammer (a specialized micro-blogging service for business and other groups) with Google Talk through Pidgin. Since Pidgin also supports so many protocols, it helps keep a lean and clean desktop by cutting down on the number of individual apps I need to have open for my instant messaging needs.

• http://www.pidgin.im/ – Linux and Windows
• http://www.adiumx.com/ – Pidgin for Mac

GTD-Free

If you’re new to GTD or just need some help keeping in line with the Getting Things Done methodology, then GTD-Free is an excellent app to begin working with. Basically, GTD-Free aims to be a complete, desktop-based system for Getting Things Done, from task and project management to handling your digital “tickler” file. The great thing about GTD-Free is its simple, tabbed interface that guides you through the GTD steps: Collect, Process, Organize/Review, and Execute. If you’re stuck with a lot of stuff in your head, and not sure how to get it out and get it done, then GTD-Free is for you! GTD-Free is also a “portable” app, so you can easily put it on a USB drive and run from anywhere!

• http://gtd-free.sourceforge.net/

Mozilla’s Ubiquity

This is an especially cool one, and it’s even cooler if you already have an affinity for the command line interface. Basically, Mozilla’s Ubiquity (not be confused with the Ubuntu installer provides a natural-language, command-line interface to the web. It provides advanced search functions for sites like Wikipedia and Flickr, along with tight integration with Google services like Maps and Gmail. Suppose I want to email John Smith…all I do is hit a keyboard shortcut and type “Email J” and a suggested list of contacts pops up. I select the correct one, and I’m presented with a Gmail Compose window. Then I’d like insert a link to a Wikipedia article…same drill. I hit the keyboard shortcut, and type “Wiki Elephants” and then click on the “Link-to-Wikipedia” option. Think of it as Gnome-Do, Quicksilver, or Launchy for the web. I’ve provided links to the official introductory blog post, as well a great guide from Lifehacker on using Ubiquity.

• http://labs.mozilla.com/2008/08/introducing-ubiquity/
• http://lifehacker.com/5145709/make-ubiquity-your-ultimate-firefox-commander

Mozilla Prism

Prism is another project from the Mozilla camp that has really been a productivity boon for me. It’s a single-site browser, meaning it’s basically just Firefox with no chrome (forward/back buttons, etc) and meant for tight integration with the desktop. Sounds a bit crazy at first, I know, but now I keep my Gmail, Google Calendar, TiddlyWiki, and Toodledo todo list all in their own little windows minimized to my system tray. Keeping them separate from my browser lets me have them instantly available without cluttering my regular browser. When I just want to plow through email, I can do that without the temptation of opening another tab to check my blog stats. Plus, Prism windows are much quicker to start up than a full Firefox session, so doing a fast calendar check is actually fast! An added bonus is that when Firefox crashes (and let’s face it…it will crash) it doesn’t take my essential productivity tools with it.

• http://labs.mozilla.com/projects/prism/

ThinkingRock

Our final killer cross-platform, Open Source tool is ThinkingRock, another GTD specific application. Much like GTD-Free, ThinkingRock helps keep you learn and implement the GTD steps, with an interface geared toward keeping you planted on the David Allen Path. While the interface is a bit more complicated than the one offered by GTD-Free, ThinkingRock is also a bit more powerful. It has all the support you need for fully managing your tasks and projects, as well as viewing various advanced reports on all your action items. One feature that I think sets ThinkingRock apart from many other GTD software projects is the ability to add criteria like Time, Energy, and Priority to you tasks, so if you’re feeling tired, you can easily find the tasks that the require the least effort to accomplish! Definitely worth a look.

• http://www.trgtd.com.au/index.php

I hope you may have found new bit of software that you can use to enhance your productive flow on all operating systems. Have you used any of these before? What other cool bits of Open Source and cross-platform software do you use? Let’s take it to the forums.

In 2003, I made a decision that changed my approach to  software and productivity forever.  I downloaded Firebird (now Firefox) 0.7, and I discovered Open Source software. I was quickly blown away by the shear quality of the application, the speed of development, and the innovative features that were not only being developed by the core developers but by the community at large as well. For the first time in my life as a power user of computer software, I realized that I had a voice and could play a role in the life of my favorite software.

Since then, I’ve converted totally to the Linux operating system on all of my home computers, and even most of my mobile devices.

Why I Use Open Tools on the Desktop
No operating system is perfect, and none of the many Linux variants are an exception to this rule. That being said, attempting to use open source apps at every opportunity has afforded me the following benefits:

• Use of a world-class operating system with truly innovative productivity features (tabbed file browsing, multiple workspaces, central application repositories), totally for free.

• A large selection of high quality, industry standard software that works on all major computing platforms, not just Linux (OpenOffice.org, Firefox, VLC, GIMP, etc). No reason to learn different apps for different platforms!

• Direct communication with developers and user communities. It has really only been in the context of Open Source software that I’ve been able to communicate directly to developers of my favorite apps, and actually have my voice be heard for feature requests. It’s also been uniquely in the Open Source world that I’ve been able to express my gratitude by getting down and dirty and helping with documentation, bug reporting, and actual application development.

• I have unprecedented freedom to help others. It’s so easy to share OSS software, because not only does the quality speak for itself, it’s actually legal  for me to download and share with friends via CD, usb key, or whatever. And they don’t have to buy anything at all to start getting stuff done!

Why I Choose Open Tools on The Web
Although not all the web tools I use are free and open source, per se, it’s important that they use and store the data that I own in ways that allow it to be easily accessible and backed up. Google, for instance, is not primarily an Open Source company, and none of their web apps are open source, as far as I know, but all of my email, calendaring, and contact information is easily accessed in industry standard ways that allow me to keep control over my data.

In the event that Google goes away, I still have all my info in standard, open formats, ready to upload to another open service, or use on my own open desktop. In the context of the web, I think retaining ownership of your data is key.

Join The Conversation!
Alright, I’ve made my case! What do you think? How and why do you choose to use open tools for productivity? Do open tools ever actually let you down? Let’s take the discussion over to the forum!