The Productivity Cafe is your source for ideas on getting things done, being effective, reducing stress and having some fun. To get the most out of the Cafe:
This weekend solidify the group you're part of, the team you play on, the circle you travel in by buying something inexpensive ($ <5) for the members. Tie a bow around the item or put it in a brown paper bag and distribute them to your circle. Why do this? Because it's bonding and marks this chapter of your life. Here are some ideas to trigger your own:
What could you get for your circle?
____________________________
R & R (rest & rejuvenation) are the intentions behind the Friday at 5:00 entries. Often these are inexpensive and low key because you recharging your batteries can be more easily achieved without running around and doing, doing, doing. Your productivity is rooted in your energy being high. Your energy being high is rooted in recreation!
The third part of this series on having your estate in order we're going to look at some resources that will contribute to being proactive and thereby, productive. In Part 1 we looked at the whole idea of getting our heads out of the sand and collecting the information on the things that we should handle in our will and trust. In Part 2 A&B we look at the conversations that need to be had within a family and with experts. Here we're going to overview the resources that could help you a lot and how to locate them.
The short list of resources that should be of value to you are:
On why they're important and where to find them:
Books Book learning is vital to you being prepared because there is so much to learn that a professional would be outrageously expensive and
Continue reading "Productivity & The Grave Part 3 – The Resources" »
How to use a computer effectively was a 5 minute interlude during a meeting on Holding Effective Meetings with a client on Monday. That discussion resulted in this quick, and hopefully relevant & useful, pair of tips because these seasoned computer users were eager to learn the tips and hadn't learned them in all their years using PCs.
Searching your folders is often done via Explore in windows. The quick way to open the explore window is to hold down the windows logo key (between the ctrl & alt keys on most keyboards) then tap the e key (for explore). 
Try it now!
The quick way to open the find dialog is to type windows key then tap the f key (for find).
Try it now!
Will that save you time? Keep you on the keyboard rather than grabbing the mouse? If yes, use it at least 3 times every day for the next week and they'll be as automatic as typing words are today.
Create a non-work email. Yep, you guessed that this is written for middle-aged folks because our kids have 2, 5, or more email addresses and don't need this advice. Too many of us are using work email for some things that we really shouldn't. Some of you can't believe I'm writing this because it's so obvious to you. But, reality offers better stories than fiction – a very high level executive client of mine is literally looking for a job using his work mail. Remember that a company has the right to read, review, and act on any and every piece of email that is sent through the company system. So, this executive's activities may be uncovered before he has his next position resulting in unlimited time to look for the next position. Ow.
Additional reasons to have a universal email account are:
Universal email are web-based or on your own domain. A few popular options are:
Fortunately setting up a new email account at any of these providers takes less than 10 minutes – often less than 5. You simply click on 'Get A New Account' or 'Register' and follow the steps, answer the questions, write a password and you're ready to go.
If you're feeling very accomplished, set up Outlook to retrieve your email into a central mailbox. Again, if you do this on your work computer, they have the ability and right to monitor your email. Do it on your home computer. I have Outlook checking 2 Gmail & my ProductivityCafe & my OrganizersInc e-mailboxes – very convenient and all the emails are in one inbox.
Then be sure to use it and check it at least weekly. Use it for the contact email on services you use, use it for personal correspondence, use it for job hunting, and write below to share with other Productivity Café readers how you use your alternate email.
____________________________
R & R (rest & rejuvenation) are the intentions behind the Friday at 5:00 entries. Often these are inexpensive and low key because you recharging your batteries can be more easily achieved without running around and doing, doing, doing. Your productivity is rooted in your energy being high. Your energy being high is rooted in recreation!
You have a new weekly appointment with your manager because your career development is on her radar screen this year (that's a good thing!). That appointment is every Friday morning at 10am for 45 minutes. You want to populate your calendar for the next 6 months of meetings – thank goodness you're using Outlook because writing it on a paper calendar for 26 weeks would take you 20 minutes. With Outlook it will take you 20 seconds. You're going to enter a recurring appointment. Here's how:
Some enhancements to setting this appointment that you might want to make:
Continue reading "Scheduling Meetings You Have Repeatedly Using Outlook" »
This weekend have a watch out weekend (or plan one for the near future because this one is somewhat difficult as a spontaneous activity). The activity for this weekend is to put your Watch Out of Site! Yep, whether it's just for this evening or for the entire day on Sunday, leave you watch in the bedroom.
Soon you will see there are more clocks and watches than you care to know – on the DVR player, the microwave, the computer, and your friends' wrists. Ideally you'll block most of these out and…
go with your own rhythm for the day. Eat when you're hungry – really hungry (not bored or distracted). Watch whatever is on t.v. for 1 show. Go for a walk at sundown; whenever that is. Sleep when you're tired for as long as you need.
Watch out for what new joys come your way – relax – refresh!
=================
R & R (rest and rejuvenation) are the intentions behind the Friday @ Five entries. Often these are inexpensive and low key because you recharging your batteries can be more easily achieved without running around and doing, doing, doing. Many Friday @ Five entries are geared to do with your family or friends.
A fax coversheet shortcut that you might want to use is to reuse the one from the original fax to you. I suggest you use it to shorten the time it takes to turn a fax around. I know, some of us like a beautiful fax cover sheet that we create using our word processor standard templates. Yes, they're nice and they're seldom worth the time they take to create. The short cut is to simply strike through the TO: in front of your name and write FROM in its place. Then, strike the FROM: in front of the sender's name and write TO: in its place. Thus all the information, which hasn't changed, is already on the paper.
The sample below shows how simply this is achieved. Click on the image to enlarge it. This reuse is about effective action (and saving resources)– it gets the job done and does not reflect poorly on anyone who uses it. Give it a try on your next fax exchange.
.
In recognizing John's alternative... and as he says - they're usually not handy when you need them... but if they are... this is another quick and effective alternative.
This weekend find a local sports team to cheer to victory. The team could be a farm team for a major league team or a kids' soccer league. Peer over the fence at a tennis club to spot seasoned talent, watch a college baseball game, or giggle at a game of swarm ball with the little ones. Pick a couple people on the team and cheer for them as if they were friends – it will heighten your involvement with the game.
Perhaps you will take your kids or wander over yourself. Picnic lunches or a bag of goodies always add to the 'event status' of this kind of outing. Kick back, get outside if you can, and get in the game!
=================
R & R (rest and rejuvenation) are the intentions behind the Friday @ Five entries. Often these are inexpensive and low key because you recharging your batteries can be more easily achieved without running around and doing, doing, doing. Many Friday @ Five entries are geared to do with your family or friends.
In this series of articles we're looking at systems and preparation for the time we die. We're walking through relieving yourself of concerns regarding your hard-earned assets, loved family heirlooms, and relations between your relations. The question that summaries both the benefactor and beneficiaries' mindset is, "Should we talk about the Inheritance Plan?" In my experience, and that of 35+-year veteran estate lawyer Gerald Condon, author of Beyond the Grave, YES is the answer. Mr. Condon concludes, "… common sense dictates it is the right thing to do. Nevertheless, clients seem loath to discuss inheritance issues with their children, leaving their children in a mystery…"
Here are some top reasons to have the conversation:
There is a 4th R in the big movements of today – Reinvent! Key words apply to your mindset for using resources well – Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle. Today we'll add Reinvent giving us:
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle & Reinvent
We often think of those with regard to natural resources. Those words apply to your mindset for being effective with career resources like time and ideas as well. Let's run through Sarah's week for examples of how being mindful of the 4Rs can apply to you.
Sarah was feeling overburdened by the number of commitments she had made in and out of work. In a purposeful examination of her schedule she decided to reduce the number of commitments by leaving half of them. She started with her calendar and viewing the next 3 months of obligations. Then, she literally struck the ones that did not significantly impact her family and professional success. After the session she called those involved with those meetings and events and tactfully explained that she's modifying her schedule to improve her quality of life and would no longer be able to be at the engagement. Sarah suggested someone who would take her place (having arranged that with the individual beforehand) or
Continue reading "Reduce, Reuse, Recycle & Reinvent to Use Your Resources Optimally " »
Recent Comments