In this article you'll find a baker's dozen helpful shop tips that may well save you time, aggravation and a lot more money than the cost of the article. Nothing really exotic here - just some common-sense ideas that I hope you'll find useful. Heres a free one, just to give you an idea of what you'll find...
I use miniature reflector floods or (even better) spots in my flexible-arm lamps. These bulbs concentrate their light on a relatively small area and therefore tend to run cooler than a standard bulb that delivers comparable brightness. In other words, very little light and heat are wasted on the inside of the lamp shade.
When I can find them, the bulbs I prefer are R-20 "spots" (i.e. spotlights, as opposed to flood lights). Usually, I can't find the spots in the local big-box hardware stores, so I have to order them from the Web. Check out topbulb.com for all kinds of light bulbs. The floods aren't too bad - just a little less concentrated, and they are generally available locally.