David Lidsky's Blog, page 353

Lilly Ledbetter, an icon of the equal pay movement, dies at 86

Former President Barack Obama signed into law the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, which gave workers the right to sue within 180 days of receiving each discrimination paycheck, not just the first one.

Lilly Ledbetter, a former Alabama factory manager whose lawsuit against her employer made her an icon of the equal pay movement and led to landmark wage discrimination legislation, has died at 86.

The key local housing market metric to watch heading into 2025

Will home prices in your local housing market rise or fall next year? This metric could offer a clue.

Want more housing market stories from Lance Lambert’s  ResiClub  in your inbox? Subscribe to the ResiClub newsletter.

Trump’s campaign used GoFundMe to raise millions after Butler and Hurricane Helene

The use of a crowdfunding platform marks an unorthodox response to crises from a political campaign.

Former President Donald Trump‘s campaign is using GoFundMe to rally its network of deep-pocketed backers and everyday donors around the survivors of his July assassination attempt and Hurricane Helene’s destruction, bucking more traditional avenues of emergency relief.

Google just designed a crazy infinite donut keyboard you didn’t know you needed

Nothing brings me more joy than perfectly designed, perfectly functional, and perfectly silly gadgets. And Google Japan is the best at creating them.

Google Japan has just released a new type of hardware keyboard. It calls it Gboard double-sided, aka the “Infinity Keyboard.” I call it the Krispy Kreme because it looks like a donut. The device is actually an infinite loop with keys on both sides. (Also, it’s a joke, built to promote the real software-based Gboard that you can use on Android and iPhone devices.) But even though it’s just a stunt that started as an April fool back in 2019, the keyboard actually works and you can build one yourself following the open-source schematics, 3D-printable STL files, and firmware, all available on GitHub. 

Here’s why spaving is probably not the best financial strategy for you

Spaving, where you spend more to save more, is the latest financial trend. But this new strategy is really just an old marketing trick.

Sometime in the mid 1980s, my stepfather was in need of a 15mm socket. At Sears, he discovered that it would cost about $8 to purchase the specific socket he needed. But a 299-piece socket set cost him about $200. He proudly pointed to the 15mm socket in his new set and told us it had only cost him 67¢. This was my earliest introduction to “spaving”–although no one called it that at the time.

How to figure out your productivity style

One size doesn’t fit all when it comes to getting more done. Here’s how to figure out how you work best.

How do you account for the hours in a day? Even when my workday isn’t consumed by meetings, I often look up and feel surprised to find that it’s already afternoon and I don’t have nearly as many things crossed off my to-do list as I planned. Distraction is a big culprit. The constant pings of emails and Slack notifications certainly feel like work, but I’m usually left with little to show for attending to them.

Over the years, I’ve found a few things that work for me when I need to focus: instrumental music in big headphones, shutting off notifications, and using a timer to stay on task—and taking a 10-minute walk outside.

Here are a few ways to figure out your personal productivity style:

Mistakes happen. This is how to reframe getting called out for them

Why is it so difficult for us to accept even gentle guidance to improve our learning style, business performance, or personal character? 

How do we acquire wisdom? We start by acquiring knowledge. But we can’t stop there any more than we can build a Maserati by simply extracting iron ore from the earth. We acquire wisdom through the refinement of knowledge, but also the refinement of ourselves.

Why this personality trait can be one of your best productivity tools

Cultivating this trait can help you gain a competitive advantage in the workplace.

To-do lists, time-blocking, and Pomodoro sprints are all great techniques for getting things done. The best productivity tool, however, may be staring back at you in the mirror. It’s cultivating a sense of self-reliance, and it’s a powerful method for moving forward, says Maha Abouelenein, author of 7 Rules of Self-Reliance: How to Stay Low, Keep Moving, Invest in Yourself, and Own Your Future.

Rafael Nadal, 22-time Grand Slam champion, is retiring from tennis

‘I leave with the absolute peace of mind of having given my best.’

Rafael Nadal’s tennis career will be remembered because of the numbers, yes—the 14 French Open trophies, the 22 Grand Slam titles overall, the nearly two decades in the top 10, and so on—and, without a doubt, because of his riveting rivalries with Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic.

The secret to reading (yes, reading!) podcasts in your inbox

No time to listen? PodSnacks sends summaries of your favorite podcasts straight to your inbox for speedy skimming.

When we talk about email tools, we typically talk about apps or services that help you tame the wild jungle of your ever-overflowing inbox.