You'll be amazed how productive one can be by wasting less time on Newsvine.  Here's my story.

I was burned out with the entire political scene on the Vine and elsewhere a month ago.  So I got busy and did a few things to improve my life instead. More walk the walk and less talk the talk.

I Started by reorganizing all of my paper files with an updated filing system while purging many unecessary records in the process. Then, I created a file to index and digitally track each file's location.  That inspired me to organize all my digital accounts and passwords.  Damn! I had no idea how many online accounts I had.  That's a helluva lot of passwords to remember, but not anymore.  Then in the spirit of everything else, I went ahead and went paperless for all of my account billings. It's working like a charm.

Then, looking at all those home refinance files finally motivated me to go ahead and do it again. I'm sure others have done better but a 3.5% APR is pretty sweet.  That helped the budget, so what to do with some of those savings?

Well, I needed a bigger challenge, so I created a more robust wireless home network with file sharing for my Macbook, Macbook Pro, Dell Optiplex, I Pad and IPhone.  That led to a desire to dust off my mobile scanner and start converting large amounts of data to pdf files and then organize all of those files in a more logical structure.  That, plus 20,000 jpg photos, mpeg movies and other files is a lot of ogranization.  Well the wife hasn't complained with one of those "where did you put the ....." questions, therefore, so far so good.

Of course, I needed more memory, so I added a 2TB external hard drive in the process allowing me to optimize the performance of my older Macbook and PC by taking most of the file load off them.  WIth all that memory available I then started ripping my DVD collection. That will take awhile to complete given the size.  Plus, I got my eyes on my VHS collection as well.

Along those same lines, I began to expand my ITunes Library by converting my old Vinyl to MP3. That's still ongoing. Lots of matching up with the cloud helps with the other devices though.  An interesting thing happened during that process. I came across a recording of someone I jammed with in the late 60's and who later went on to become an international star.  As a result of his presence on You Tube, we were able to reconnect an share some great memories of classic rock guitar riffs by the hands of Kath, Hendrix, Santana, and Clapton and others.  

Naturally, access became important, so I added Apple TV to the eco system allowing me to access everything on my plasma TV / sound system.  Just getting started with that toy.  Then of course that motivated me to start editing many of my home digital movies and place them in my ITunes Library along with thousands of photos.  Some of those are now photoshopped and ready for framing to go n the wall in the family room this Christmas.

That led me to rethink my entire home entertainment system.  So I dumped TImeWarner Cable and went to Direct TV allowing me to expand all my premium movie viewing options while lowering my cost per month.  Yippee!  Also, it's a treat to have NFL network and NFL Sunday ticket for free. And with all that DVR space they allow, you can access a vast inventory of recordings from any TV in the house.  Between all those on demand premium channels, Apple TV, I Tunes, Roku, Amazon Prime, Netflix, Pandora and the Cloud it seems as if the entire world of entertainment is now accessible by remote control. It's truly awesome!

Meanwhile, wIth all that time spent in the Media Room sitting there waiting for a lot of the files to migrate or convert to mp3's I pulled out my guitar and started writing a new song.  Nothing You Tube ready yet, but we'll be laying down tracks soon as I migrate from PowerTracks Pro to Pro Tools on my Mac as part of my Christmas wish list. I'm so easy to shop for, Amazon Gift Cards if anyone asks.

So that was alot of fulfilling work, yet here I am on the Vine ...  wondering why I'm back with all that in front of me. Plus my mind is drifting in contemplation of purchasing some nice wireless speakers for the home so we can access all that music whenever we want.  However, the idea of populating my new You Tube channel with content has me more intrigued.

Conclusion? Too much naughty and not enough nice on the Vine when you consider how much you can improve your life by making the most of today's technology.  It has been a tremendous blessing for me.  Your mileage may vary, but it's all good.  Consider these productivity ideas my gift to other Viners.

Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas Everyone!