Fancy Hands

It’s been a great week here at Fancy Hands HQ.  You know also had a big week?  One of our favorite users Veronica Belmont who got engaged :) Check out her thoughts on productivity and how she uses Fancy Hands to stay on track.

Who: Veronica Belmont

Location: San Francisco, CA

Bio: Veronica is a technology and gaming-centric video host. Currently her projects include Tekzilla, (a weekly tech help and how-to show on Revision3.com), and The Sword and Laser, a science fiction and fantasy video show, podcast and community.

-What’s a task that you hate doing but always shows up on your to-do list?

Grocery shopping! I always run out of groceries at the worst possible time (like dinner time, for example).

-Speaking of to-do lists, do you use one or have any other tips/resources to help you stay on track and productive?

I’m a big fan of SimpleNote paired with Notational Velocity. Notational is a really simple text editor that I use for everything, and it syncs with all my devices via SimpleNote. Previously, I used an app called Things on my laptop and iPhone, but keeping that udpated became just one more thing to do!

-If you were going to outsource something that you currently need to get done, what would it be?

I actually used Fancy Hands recently to help plan a work outting to Napa! They helped me find a wine tour that could accomadate 15 people and take us to all the spots we wanted to see. That was more research than I had time to comb through, so it really saved me a lot of hassle!

-What kind of practices/routines help you increase your productivity? 

I’m a list-maker. I feel a lot better about my busy day if I can look at it as a list of actionable items. The act of putting a task out of your brain and onto a piece of paper (or text file) is actually pretty therapeutic!

-How did you first hear about us?

My fiance signed us up a while ago, and I’m not sure where he heard about it! Probably TechCrunch. I use the service way more often than he does, however! 

-What is your favorite task that we’ve helped you with?

You helped me find an erotic bakery for a joke birthday present for one of my girlfriends!

-If you had an extra hour each day how would you use it?

Reading! The only time I find to read is right before bed, but by that point I’m so exhausted I just fall asleep.

Our friends at Mindsnacks are giving us a try to help with their productivity.  Check our chat with Mindsnacker Haley Nehman below.

-If you were going to outsource something that you currently need to get done, what would it be?

Finding out details and different pricing plans for purchasing and keeping a mobile hotspot for MindSnacks!

-What kind of practices/routines help you increase your productivity? 

Getting all my to-dos down, and then establishing what I can achieve this week, this day, this hour, and then narrowing my focus.

-What tools do you use?

I use kanbanery.com. It’s an amazing tool that helps track your to-dos and productivity! It helps me mentally shelve to-dos that I can get to tomorrow or next week, without fear of forgetting them.

-If you had an extra hour each day how would you use it?

I would spend it reading. :)

-How did you hear about Fancy Hands?

TechCrunch!

Happy Friday to All!  We always love to chat with users that are using us for work (plug: solution for this is Teamwork by Fancy Hands)  Adam has a pretty incredible Job.  Check out our chat below.

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Bio: I’m Adam Sirois, co-founder of Underground Eats, a discovery engine for culinary experiences. 

Location: Chinatown & Dumbo, BK

What’s a task that you hate doing but always shows up on your to-do list?

Calling Time Warner. Every week it’s something different, and there goes 30 mins of my day.

Speaking of to-do lists, do you use one or have any other tips/resources to help you stay on track and productive?

I’m a list-maker, they bring out my competitive nature. Each item you cross off is a small victory. I use the Wunderlist iphone app and lots of paper and sharpies. 

If you were going to outsource something that you currently need to get done, what would it be?

Wedding planning. 

What kind of practices/routines help you increase your productivity? 

Getting up early. Also, whenever possible, I only book meetings on 2 days out of the week. Meetings are a huge productivity killer. 

What tools do you use?

Of course Fancy Hands, good headphones, Spotify, proper espresso, interns. 

How did you first hear about us?

A friend sent me the link and I’ve been addicted to it ever since. 

What is your favorite task that we’ve helped you with?

Finding the best custom ice sculptor in NYC. I’m trying to make a giant ice lobster.

If you had an extra hour each day how would you use it?

Doing something active. Right now I’m really into handball. 

We’ve had a big week here at Fancy Hands.  We’re released Fancy Hands 2.0 (woot!) and it’s lookin pretty fly if we don’t say: www.fancyhands.com

We’ve still found time to chat with one of our favorite customers, the one and only, Courtney Boyd Myers.

Bio: Courtney Boyd Myers is the East Coast Editor of The Next Web, covering start-ups, media and social media. 

Location: Brooklyn and London  

-What’s a task that you hate doing but always shows up on your to-do list? Aside from friends and family, I hate calling people  on the phone. I prefer text, email or in-person any day. So anything that involves ringing a stranger like making a dinner reservation, calling my health care company, my doctor’s office or AT&T I really dread. 

-Speaking of to-do lists, do you use one or have any other tips/resources to help you stay on track and productive? I LOVE Boomerang for Gmail because it helps keep my inbox clear and allows me to focus on tasks at hand. Boomerang for Calendar is pretty cool too. For personal notes, interview notes, shopping lists, and recipes, I use Evernote — it’s like my external brain. 

-If you were going to outsource something that you currently need to get done, what would it be? Sorting out my UK Work Visa!

-What kind of practices/routines help you increase your productivity? If I’m able to eat a banana every day, I feel pretty good. I also carve out time at least 4 days a week to go to yoga. Striking a work / life balance keeps me motivated and productive. 

-What tools do you use? Google Calendar, Evernote, Boomerang, TweetDeck, FancyHands, TaskRabbit…

-How did you first hear about us? My dear friend Colin James Nagy (@CJN)

-What is your favorite task that we’ve helped you with? I had to find a dinner spot in Amsterdam for 10 people, and I ended up having to change the reservation like 4 times. FancyHands handled it all. It was awesome. 

-If you had an extra hour each day how would you use it? Yoga and sleep!

Happy Friday Folks!  Here’s a chat with fashion guru Augustus Loi.

Bio:I‘m Augustus. I head up business development and most of the creative side of FashionSpace.com. I’m also editor of the in-house mag, ByFS. I live in Singapore and I write about fashion (augustusloi.com)

Location:A little red dot on the map called Singapore. 

What’s a task that you hate doing but always shows up on your to-do list?

I hate doing anything repetitive - adding events to the calendar, formatting copy, adding new contacts to the book.

Speaking of to-do lists, do you use one or have any other tips/resources to help you stay on track and productive?

I’ve been a fan of Remember the Milk (syncs everywhere, with numerous ways to add tasks - almost too easy, really).

Also, Evernote, which I pay for (it’s not necessary but I love it that much). 

If you were going to outsource something that you currently need to get done, what would it be?

At a startup, there’s always more work than hands to do them, so I treat outsourced partners as a resource to tap on.

When you approach new clients, it helps to arm yourself with some company info. I try to outsource the data-gathering.

What kind of practices/routines help you increase your productivity?

I practice GTD as much as I can.

I use time-boxing (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeboxing) to allocate time to my various roles.

I then use the Pomodoro Technique to keep myself focused. (http://lifehacker.com/5554725/the-pomodoro-technique-trains-your-brain-away-from-distractions)

This last one will sound weird, but I have a standing desk. There’s no slacking off when you’re standing all day.

And of course, Fancy Hands is awesome. I was a freelancer up until last year and I’ve gone through 8-9 other services.

FH has been the only one that can keep up with my pace of work.

Do you do anything in particular to help your team stay on track?

Sure. I ignore them until they’ve handed in the work I’ve asked for :-) 

How did you first hear about us?

The president of the Internet and chief TWIT, Leo Laporte. 

What is your favorite task that we’ve helped you with?

Entering contact details. Almost anything to do with data entry. 

If you had an extra hour each day how would you use it?

Take on a new project. I’m a recalcitrant workaholic. (Actually, I might go shopping.)

“Friday, Friday, gotta get down on Friday” Thank god Rebecca Black is behind us.  We’ve interviewed a Fancy Hand friend that’s JUST a little more interesting than the incredible musician R Black.  I kid I kid.  Here’s our chat with Ed Casabian otherwise known as the NYC nomad.

Bio:  I’m the Community Manager for Uber in NYC and an explorer of NYC neighborhoods (I lived in 52 different ones across the 5 boroughs).  I love tech, food, and Boston sports (especially the Patriots).

Location: Alphabet City (Home) and Greenpoint (Work) - I get to bike over the Williamsburg Bridge twice a day! 

What’s a task that you hate doing but always shows up on your to-do list?

I really can’t stand searching for events for us to partner with and people’s Twitter handles that I want to reach out to.  I wish Twitter did a better job of this, but until then Fancy Hands to the rescue!  

Speaking of to-do lists, do you use one or have any other tips/resources to help you stay on track and productive?

I use Wunderlist to keep lists for all different parts of my life and I’m a big fan of Evernote for keeping notes of everyone I talk to for Uber.

What kind of practices/routines help you increase your productivity? 

I find getting enough sleep and exercise really help with my productivity, which means I shouldn’t be writing this at 1AM :)

How did you first hear about us?

Cindy is definitely the one who sold me on the service!  I didn’t completely know how I would use it at first but within a month I can’t remember living without it.

If you had an extra hour each day how would you use it?

I would either play tennis, do yoga, or read books.  But forget an extra hour each day, I want an extra day each week! 

It’s a sunny Friday in NYC folks!  Today we’re talking today with one of our own…  At Guard, No. 7, from Haddon Township, Newww Jerrseeey Mr. Kuuuuuurt GUENTHER!

Bio: I write code, run miles, improvise comedy, and drink beer.  Professionally, I’m the head of Engineering at Fancy Hands.  The digital buck stops with me.

Location: East Village, NYC

What’s a task that you hate doing but always shows up on your to-do list?

I constantly miss packages at my apartment, so I am supposed to call up Fedex or UPS to find out where my package is.  I hate talking on the phone and doubly hate being on hold, so this is a non-starter for me.  

I usually just take a picture of the Delivery Receipt and forward it to Fancy Hands.  I think I’ve done this 6 times this year alone.  

Speaking of to-do lists, do you use one or have any other tips/resources to help you stay on track and productive?

I’m a big fan of pen + paper.  If I can’t write it down physically, I can’t do it.

If you were going to outsource something that you currently need to get done, what would it be?

Writing unit tests.  I am the worst about keeping up with those.

What kind of practices/routines help you increase your productivity? 

Close gmail.  No one respects the red bubble in gchat these days.

Do you do anything in particular to help your team stay on track?

Daily stand ups (with notes) that last < 5 minutes.  Anything longer and someone’s just telling stories.  And it’s usually me.  

What tools do you use?

code: TextMate
words: Evernote
concentration: Spotify
distraction: Tumblr :)

What is your favorite task that we’ve helped you with?

Renting me a sailboat.  Plenty of places in NYC will take you on a boat tour, but I really want to sail the boat myself.

Laura (a Fancy Hands assistant) made 26 calls on my behalf to find the nearest place.  TWENTY SIX calls.  I’d have the patience for maybe 2 before I’d flip out and give up.  The kicker is that Laura confessed that she is terrified of water and cannot swim, so she dug deep to help me out.  That’s what I love: the Fancy Hands assistants are real people.  

If you had an extra hour each day how would you use it?

I would run more often.  I run a few times a week, but with an extra hour I would run every single day.

Happy Friday All!  It’s been a long week and we have something fun to top it off.

Here’s our chat with Fancy Hands Friend Kyle Bragger.

Kyle Bragger, Founder of Forrst

Bio:  I’m an engineer and product designer currently working on Forrst (which just got acquired!) 

Title: Internet Dandy

Location: Park Slope, Brooklyn 

-What’s a task that you hate doing but always shows up on your to-do list?

Data collection! For instance, I just added two tasks where I needed to find out a store’s holiday hours, the address, and then separately find models, rates, and locations for a van to get to said store. 

-Speaking of to-do lists, do you use one or have any other tips/resources to help you stay on track and productive?

I try to enumerate everything I need to do that day and spend some time in the morning doing the easy tasks, delegating the ones I can, and figuring out roughly how I’ll tackle the rest. Seems to work so far.

-How did you first hear about us?

The Fancy High Chancellor Ted Roden 

-What is your favorite task that we’ve helped you with?

Finding a list of all known types of beer. 

-If you had an extra hour each day how would you use it?

Getting away from this screen. It’s probably not good for my eyesight.

Photo credits Dan Wilby

I know I know.  Everyone sit tight.  It’s finally here.  Week 3 of our Fridays with a Fancy Hand fan!  Every Friday we’re going to profile one of our users.  We have some pretty cool folks using us every day to make their lives more manageable.  

Check out our chat with our buddy Matt Meeker.

Bio: I’m an entrepreneur who has been involved actively in 6 new companies over the past 15 years, acting as co-founder in 4 of those.  I love building new companies, and helping others be successful with their companies.

Title: Founder

Age: 38

Location: Park Slope, Brooklyn, NY

-How did you first hear about us?

I first heard about Fancy Hands from my fiancee, Tiffany, who was one of the first subscribers in May 2010.  She told me all about it and introduced me to Ted.

-Why did you sign up?

I’m very busy and appreciated the help on time-consuming tasks, like calling the cable company or gathering industry research.

-What is your favorite task that we’ve helped you with?

I was driving from San Francisco to Lake Tahoe, CA and wanted to stop for lunch at an In-n-Out Burger along the route.  I sent an email with my location, what time I’d like to eat, and asked for directions to the best In-n-Out.  I had a response in under 10 minutes and enjoyed a great lunch.  

-Why do you love Fancy Hands?

I love Fancy Hands for all of the time it saves me and the high quality of the responses.  I’m always confident using Fancy Hands — it’s a great service!

It’s week 2 of our Friday’s with a Fancy Hands fan!  Every Friday we’re going to profile one of our users.  We have some pretty cool folks using us every day to make their lives more manageable.  Check out our chat with our new friend Caroline.

Caroline Lau, Director of Operations Art.sy

Bio: I’m Director of Operations at Art.sy, a new way to discover fine art. I love finding solutions to the unique challenges startups face each day—from hiring, to finances, to building a strong company culture.

Title: Director of Operations at Art.sy

Age: 28

Location: Tribeca, NYC

-How did you first hear about us?

I first heard about Fancy Hands through our founder, Carter, and other positive reviews on Twitter from members of the startup community.

-Why did you sign up?

We needed help getting things done for our impending office move.

-What is your favorite task that we’ve helped you with?

We’ve been designing our new office and found an unusual metal cube chair on eBay.  When the chair arrived, we realized the cushions were a yellow pleather that wasn’t going to work. Fancy Hands found the perfect re-upholsterer in New York that specializes in mid-century modern restoration! The chair is now a focal point in our space.

-Why do you love Fancy Hands?

I love Fancy Hands for the peace of mind that comes from assigning a task and knowing that someone is working on it, while I focus on other projects that will move our business forward.

We’re trying something new here at Fancy Hands.  Every Friday we’re going to profile one of our users.  We have some pretty cool folks using us every day to make their lives more manageable.  Here’s a look at these smart cookies:

Kat Manalac, AlexisOhanian.com

I work with Alexis Ohanian and manage his portfolio of projects including Breadpig (a “Newman’s Own for Nerds”), his book “Without your Permission,” his work as an angel investor, and a few digitalmedia projects we’re launching this spring. We previously worked together in San Francisco where WIRED and reddit share an office.

Title: Chief of Staff, AlexisOhanian.com

Age: 27

Location: Tribeca, NYC

-How did you first hear about us?

Alexis has been a fan since you first launched. His first order of business when I started working with him in January was signing me up for a Fancy Hands account. He just said, “You’ll thank me. You’ll see.”

-Why did you sign up?

We’re a small team, and we juggle so many different things at once. Fancy Hands gives us “extra hands” to maximize our bandwidth and keep focused the big things.

-What is your favorite task that we’ve helped you with?

We recently needed to get our hands on the new novelty Cake Pops. Don’t ask. We didn’t want just any Cake Pops. We wanted the best locally made Cake Pops out there, and Fancy Hands found us 3 awesome options.

-Why do you love Fancy Hands?

I’m impressed by the wide range of projects they’ve helped us with. Whether it’s aggregating press hits, or updating Wikipedia pages, creating dossiers on companies we’re researching, or even just making reservations — we haven’t yet made a request that Fancy Hands was unable to fulfill.