Laptops have changed our lives in amazing ways, but they’re not always the perfect tool for the job.

Even with so-called “distraction free writing tools” like WriteRoom (which I use regularly), it’s still far too easy to get distracted when working on the laptop. Twitter, Email, Facebook, Google, notifications, pop-ups, they’re always there to lure us away from the task at hand.

Unless you have bulletproof self control, the laptop is sometimes a fantastic productivity tool, and other times a just big time waster.

Lately I’ve gotten back to pen and paper for planning and ideation. There is something incredibly freeing about sitting down with nothing more than a pen, a blank page and your thoughts.

I used to regularly keep a notebook but ditched it at some point as laptops got smaller and smaller. The MacBook Air I work on now is barely bigger than some notebooks I used to carry. Technology won out for a while, and I feel like my creativity and productivity took a hit while I was notebook-less.

If you haven’t tried writing in a notebook for a while, here are a few ideas about how to get started.

First, get something small enough to carry around with you regularly, but not too small to write much in.

I like the medium sized Moleskin notebooks, about 5″ by 8″. It doesn’t fit in my pocket, but isn’t really noticeable in my bag. I prefer notebooks with graphed lines, so I can sketch designs and other structured ideas, but you might find them distracting. I hear Field Notes notebooks are great if you want something smaller.

Next, write in your new notebook right away after you get it. Don’t wait. I made the mistake of waiting. A few weeks went by before I started using it because I never felt like anything was worthy of taking up the first page. I ended up starting on the second page, and the first page continues to sit blank.

I tend to write a few types of things in my notebook: 1) “to-do” lists that have been floating around in my head, 2) detailed plans for bigger upcoming projects, and 3) thoughts on new ideas that need to be fleshed out. I also keep notes on my thrice weekly workouts.

These could all be done on the laptop, but somehow never are. With pen and paper, I seem to be able to get more pure thinking and planning done in 45 minutes than I would in a day or two with the computer.

Do you work in a notebook ever?

If so, what do you like about it? If not, why not?

Happy Thanksgiving to those of you who celebrate it.

In case you’re feeling like you have a little extra to offer the world this Turkey Day, I’m going to share a few of my favorite charities and special causes with you.

If you’re not the type to roll up your sleeves and head down to the local shelter to physically help out, luckily there are people hard at work every day who can use our contributions.

Here are three ways you can give back from the comfort of your laptop:

charity: water

charity: water’s mission is to bring clean and safe drinking water to people in developing nations. 100% of public donations directly fund water projects.

Water is life’s most basic need, yet nearly 1 billion people in the world live without clean drinking water.

Here’s a quick video about why water is such an important cause:

(if you’re reading this in email, click here to watch the video)

Learn more about charity: water or find out how you can help here.

National Alliance to End Homelessness

It’s astonishing how big our homeless populations are in certain cities in the U.S. Over 650,000 people are homeless in America. Sadly those populations have grown during the recent recession.

The National Alliance to End Homelessness estimates that in the next three years homelessness in the United States could increase by 5 percent, or 74,000 people.

Click here to read the full State of Homelessness in America 2011 report or learn how you can help the National Alliance to End Homelessness.

Kiva

Kiva works to alleviate poverty and empower people around the world by connecting entrepreneurs in developing nations with lenders who can help.

For as little as $25, you can participate in this “microlending” platform to create opportunity around the world.

Since 2005, Kiva has facilitated over $261 million in loans. 98.93% of loans are paid back, so you can use your loan to help others in need after you’re paid back.

100% of every dollar you lend on Kiva goes directly towards funding loans; Kiva does not take a cut. Furthermore, Kiva does not charge interest to Field Partners, who administer the loans.

Making a loan on Kiva is incredibly simple. Find out how to make a loan or learn more about Kiva’s mission here.

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What special causes and charities do you like to support to help people in need? Please share in the comments.

Happy Thanksgiving!

I overheard a young woman yesterday explaining that she was “a quarter million dollars in debt” after five years at private undergraduate art school. She still didn’t have a degree, but was hoping to finish soon.

I’m not going to give you an anti-college rant here (I still believe college is a good choice for most people), but I have to ask, where is the line? What makes someone decide to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars for an education that has very little monetary benefit after graduation?

Paying that much for medical school or business school makes financial sense. But for an undergrad degree that won’t land you a job or lead to making a self-employed living?

How much should college cost? When is an education worth a quarter million dollars of debt?

I’ve noticed something about my blogs and business over the past couple of years.

The more I open up and share my real self with the world, the more successful I become.

There’s just something about connecting with people on a genuine and human level that makes everything about business easier.

This might sound simple, but it took me years to figure it out. In the corporate world, I always had a vision of what the ideal “businessperson” was, and tried to emulate that. By doing that, I ended up living someone else’s dream instead of listening to what I really wanted to do (and probably came off a little stiff or calculating).

I think a lot of people have trouble finding an environment where you can really be yourself and do something you love.

When I started working for myself on this latest venture about two and a half years ago, I realized that being able to be the real “me” was something I absolutely had to build my business around.

Funny thing is, not only is it easier and more enjoyable to be who you really are, in life AND in business, but it turns out it’s far more profitable and sustainable as well.

Who knew business could be so much easier?

One person who knows all about getting paid to be “you” is Jonathan Mead from Illuminated Mind. Jonathan’s blog and the community he has built around it is focused entirely on helping people figure out how to do what makes them come alive.

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Have you ever heard someone say something limiting about himself or herself that just sounds ridiculous and shortsighted?

“I wish I could get in shape, but I don’t have the time.”

“I’d love to travel more, but it’s too expensive.”

“I want to get out of debt but I don’t make enough money.”

To the person making the statement, these thoughts might seem completely true. Some people really think they don’t have time to get in shape, or that travel is cost prohibitive unless you’re rich, or that debt-free living is only for people who make a certain amount of money.

To others, these are obviously just weak excuses. Maybe you read the above and knew better.

But no matter who you are, and how easily you can recognize the weak excuses of others, you’re never without your own self-limiting beliefs. Some of your beliefs probably even seem like silly excuses or uninformed points of view to others who have more informed views of the subjects than you.

We all live in our own realities.

Where do these self-imposed limits and beliefs come from?

What we believe is possible for ourselves, who we can be, what we can achieve, what we deserve, is largely determined by how we were raised, who we spend time with, and the community we’re surrounded by.

Maybe you’ve heard this quote from Jim Rohn:

You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.

Think about who you spend time with the most. Is how you see yourself influenced by what those people believe and what they have achieved and aspire to?

Now think about your limiting beliefs.

What do you accept as being out of reach in your life?

How do the people you spend time with contribute to those beliefs?

It’s not just your closest friends who influence how you see yourself and what you accept as reality. Your surroundings, your media influences and the status quo you’re surrounded by all have a big impact as well.

If you’re surrounded by unhappy, out of shape, in-debt people, whether they’re close friends or simply your community or co-workers, guess what you’re likely to be as well?

Make a Breakthrough

Here are two ways to make a breakthrough in your life.

Being surrounded by people who have broader, more enlightened and ambitious views of themselves and life is one way to change your own reality.

Another way is to look yourself in the eye, admit that you’re capable of much more than you’ve accepted for yourself and force yourself into a period of discomfort. If you’re comfortable, you’re not growing. To change your life, you have to embrace being uncomfortable regularly.

The good news is, we’re all capable of these voluntary adjustments of reality. These moments of clarity are opportunities and gifts, but they shouldn’t be relied on for all the progress you hope to make in your life.

You have to use these moments of clarity to make changes that will give your not-so-bold self a safety net. While you’re ready to change your life, you should devote part of that energy to tackling your challenges head-on, but you should also use some of that energy to change your surroundings and influences.

The trick is to upgrade your surroundings so you’ll be better off the next time you find yourself accepting your surroundings as your reality.

Make new friends, change jobs, move to a new place, start reading new books or blogs, find a mentor, stop watching so much junk TV, stop hanging out with the negative nellies in your life, and start doing more things that make you come alive.

Try creating a formal support group or mastermind group with people who are also experiencing a moment of clarity. Bond together in pursuit of a common goal: to mold your reality as you want it to be.

It’s true, you might be the average of the 5 people you spend the most time with, and you’re likely to live a life much like your colleagues and people in your community. The good news is that you can change your surroundings.

Stop saying “gee I wish I could…”

Why can’t you?

Your reality is negotiable.