Even if I don’t always incorporate the tips or applications into my life, I enjoy learning about how others keep themselves focused. You can never have too many ideas! I figured I would share some great apps with our readers!

1. F.lux: Designed to change the lighting on your computer screen according to the time of day. Your computer screen will look warm at night and bluer during the day. The big perk for me is that it could possibly help you sleep better. We all know we should power down an hour or two before we hit the sack, but how many of us are guilty of using our laptops, tablets or smartphones in bed? (Yep, I’m raising my hand too.)

2. Dropbox: I already use Dropbox and I can vouch for how great it is. I prefer to work on my personal MacBook, so to keep my work files from taking up space on my hard drive, I can just store them in my Dropbox folder and access them from anywhere. This came in handy when my MacBook had to be shipped off for a few weeks to get the display fixed. All of my work files were easily accessed from my loaner laptop.

3. Lastpass: I will definitely be downloading this one asap. Obviously it’s extremely important to have unique passwords with numbers and special characters, but it can be so difficult to remember each and every one of them! Lastpass is a password management system that can be accessed from any computer as long as you provide one ultra-secure and hard-to-crack password. It will remember every other password, credit card info, etc. So useful!

4. KeyText: If you’re constantly typing the same phrases, addresses, boilerplates, what-have-you, KeyText is for you. Just enter a few keystrokes and the corresponding common phrase will be automatically inserted into whatever you’re typing. This is Windows-only, but TextExpander is a similar Mac app.

What are some of your favorite apps to help you stay productive?

Happy Thursday! Hard to believe another weekend is almost upon us. I hope everyone’s week has been productive and quick!

Every week or so we like to share some great slideshows and presentations from the community. Here are a few new ones; let us know what you think!

Monday, the U.S. observed the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (As you may know, his actual birthday was Jan. 15 but the national day of observance was yesterday.) We think MLK Jr Day is a wonderful opportunity to assess how you can make a difference in your own community. Big or small, solo or through an organization, every little bit can help make your community a better place.

Serve.gov and Volunteer Match are two great websites to find opportunities to volunteer. If you think you don’t have time, consider raising money for a good cause. Or, find a volunteer organization that matches your interests. (Personally, I like Girls on the Run.)

The below video is lengthy, but Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I have a dream” speech remains as powerful today as it was nearly 50 years ago.

Happy Monday, everyone!

We’ve got a few great presentations to share, courtesy of Slideshare. In particular, I think the last one is extremely important. Social media is great, but it’s important to think abut the legal ramifications of anything you post – especially during a social media crisis.

Happy Friday to all! Who has big plans for the first (full) weekend of 2012?

There have been so many awesome association blog posts in the community this week! We’re loving the energy everyone has been bringing to 2012 so far, and we’re excited to see where the rest of the year takes us. With that said, below is a quick round-up of five of our fave posts from the community.

1. Jeff Hurt succinctly sums up four macrotrends that will affect your organization this year: volatility, multiplicity, versatility and mobility. I think the final two are key, as business practices become both more versatile and mobile. How has this affected your organization?

2. Are outcomes truly defined by an association’s leader? Cindy Butts writes that, if a leader says a task should take two days, it will take two days. If a leader says it will take a year, the task will take a year. How much time should you allocate for tasks and projects?

3. Many people use the new year as a time to improve their productivity and habits. Elizabeth Engel shares several great articles with ideas and tips for increasing productivity and focus at the office. What’s your favorite tip?

4. At the Acronym blog, Mark Athitakis shares some unconventional words of wisdom for the new year: embrace your messes. Resolutions and goals are great but unless they have a clear focus, they likely won’t be accomplished. Watch the video and definitely check out the comments here.

5. Aaron Wolowiec shares how he’s going to change his world this year by shifting gears and consulting. He (rightly) points out that, at the end of the day, what really matters at a conference is learning and Aaron shares his dedication to his consulting practice in this great post.

From everyone at MemberClicks, have a wonderful weekend!