As we say “Adios” to 2010, it’s a good time to invest a couple of hours to improve your productivity (and value) for 2011. Consider 3 ideas that could improve your life.

#1: BET ON GOOGLE

For most of the last 30 years of computer revolution, Microsoft dominated. Apple created some great products and consistently changed the world with their user interfaces, but Microsoft kept trudging along, picking up the best ideas and making them work for businesses. So for most of this revolution, I stayed with Microsoft products: operating systems, office suites and the Internet Explorer browser.

Over the past decade, Microsoft’s trajectory has declined while Google just keeps innovating in the most important areas. The Google search, of course, pays the bills by getting amazingly accurate selections for almost any search query. The Android smart phone system has been Google’s open source code response to Apple’s cool iPhone. I predict that 5 years from now the Android will dominate the market.

A Google innovation that can help you even more, the Google Docs allow you to handle all your computing on the cloud. No more purchasing operating systems and office suites…they are all free from Google. No more losing data by fire, theft or idiocy, it’s all stored in Google’s free storage. I’m planning to write much more in 2011 about how you can use Google Docs to completely run a small construction company.

In order to access this Google world, you need a Gmail account. It’s free, but take some time to think about your user name. It will be shown lots of places.

Finally, I’m also a fan of Google Alerts and Google Reader. The alerts will give you email updates on any topic, letting you know whenever your chosen word or phase gets used on the internet. With a name like “Pelger” I’ve been able to find about my kids getting arrested before they worked up the gumption to tell me. I also get alerts for “Construction Knowledge” and find some good info occasionally. Google Reader, on the other hand, will keep track of your favorite blogs or sites and keep all the posts in one place for you to quickly peruse.

Remember the adage, “A man is known by the company he keeps”. I recommend you spend some time in the company of Google. Their innovations might just help drag you along towards more success.