Christmas is a time for being with family and friends, celebrating however your traditions call for. Whether it’s helping the kids get ready for Santa or celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ, Christmas is always a wondrous time of year – decorating your tree, drinking Aunt Carol’s potent eggnog,  snogging under the mistletoe… the list goes on. People tend to have a sense of joy glued to their faces for the most part.

We at Blueye want to wish you all a very Merry Christmas, belated  Happy Hanukkah, Happy Kwanzaa and even Happy Festivus, if that is more your speed. Whatever you celebrate, we hope you keep that sense of joy glued to your face. If you need help and don’t have an Aunt Carol in your family, here is a lovely eggnog recipe sure to get you glowing in the holiday spirit.

This morning I read a post on cnn.com about TEDx Midwest speaker, Jason Fried‘s presentation, “Work doesn’t happen at work“. The speech and report touches on employees not having enough time in the work day to get enough tasks done at work. I have to say that I agree with not having enough time in the work day. If it isn’t a meeting, a status update, managerial check-in or a client phone call, it’s a email you have to reply to immediately. Who knew taking a break from the work distractions would help people be more productive! There are many times that I just turn off the Skype, close out of my email and blast some tunes while I focus on my work. It really helps when you are able to tune out your surroundings to get work done!

Below is the paraphrased version of Jason’s list of solutions to getting more work done at the office:

1. Instead of casual Fridays, how about no-talk Thursdays? Try it. You won’t believe how effective it is.

2. Use passive instead of active communication tools. When someone calls your name, knocks on your door, or stops you in the hallway, you can’t avoid them. Even if you try, you’re already distracted. So, instead of relying on so much face-to-face communication and collaboration — what I like to call “active” communication — try more passive methods of communication. Use e-mail. Use instant messaging. Use collaboration software.

3. Cancel your next meeting. Or just don’t attend it. I’m not suggesting you boycott all meetings — just the next one. Life will go on.

Productivity is extremely important to be a well oiled machine. I find myself staying after 5:00 more often then not, because there isn’t anyone to distract me from my good ol’ to do list. What do you think about a less “M & M” (managers & meetings) process, and a more “put on the blinders” approach?

I don’t know if anyone has noticed, but Hulu has been doing a poor job at keeping their shows updated on the site. Now with a subscription version of the site, Hulu Plus,  is available (at $10 a month), the shows can be up to 5 episode behind before any of us non-paying viewers get to catch up on them.

When first launching, Hulu seemed like a very innovative and convenient site to utilize. With hands tied by major networks they’ve partnered with, the creators of Hulu are unable to be ahead of the curve with new ways of viewing TV. Speculators say that it’s a little late to present a paid subscription version of the site. It is said that networks are intentionally holding back shows and limiting what can be launched to help better the site.

Networks are becoming more focused on how much money they continue to make on advertising on the traditional television and partnerships with cable companies, then how they can gain more within the custom internet ads played during the episodes available online. Form your own opinion, but check out this post titled “Why Hulu is the OPEC of OnlineVideo” on TechCrunch by guest writer, Mark Suster.