The Cafe is here to help you be more productive, get things done, and simplify what you can in this high-tech, fast-paced, heavy-workload, & complex life. While accomplishing that we aim to have some fun and kickback as friends around the table.

After years of working with clients and the evolution of blog, or dynamic website, technology, it’s a good time for us to get together from any corner of the world to share ideas on effective work & home life. Balance will become more than a buzzword of 2006!

Please comment and question – the more we hear from you the more we can provide relevant content!

Decluttering is the first vital step in getting organized. If you don’t re-purpose, recycle, or trash your stuff you end up with neat piles of way too much stuff. Gary Wise & Lance Adrich catch this thought in a poignant cartoon that you can see here: keep it and store it.

Three key questions for deciding what to keep are:

1 – Is there a tax or legal implication to keeping this? (If yes, keep it. Ask your accountant & lawyer the term you need to keep these things.)

2 – Does it help me do my job better now? (the job of commerce and the job of parenting and partnering are equal in this question)

3 – Do I really love it, get pleasure from it, and use it? (if you just like it or keep it just because someone gave it to you… pass it on!)

I love tools – all tools from ratchet screwdrivers, cork screws, or useful software. X1 allows me to find any file on my computer as long as I know some of the words in it or the file name. While I have a fantastic folder structure that is organized and logical, X1 is my shortcut to any elusive, or even somewhat apparent file. Bonus: X1 client, or PC version, is free. X1 saves me time when I’m working on my computer and that’s my aim – get done at my computer so I can ride my bike and visit with friends & family.

By going here: X1 Download Page you can get your free version and get started today. X1 works as your assistant — able to run through the mountain of folders and files you’re storing on your computer and find one for you. X1 is so clever that it will highlight the words you’ve told it to find within a display of the file (document, spreadsheet, etc) so you can see the words you’re looking for where they are in the document, file name, or even email attachments.

X1 works on Emails, pictures, documents, music, calendar, tasks, and more. check it out!

And, thanks to Fred B. for the recommendation.

Interruptions keep us from getting work done. Having strategies to eliminate or shorten interruptions are like all good game plans — they help us win the game. Here are a couple interruption interceptions – modify them to fit your situation:

Bill, thanks for stopping by, I have a meeting in 5 minutes, can we cover this in 4? [this give Bill attention and makes sure the interaction is brief]

Bill, thanks for phoning, I have a telemeeting in 5 minutes, can we cover this before then? [this sets the boundaries for the time you have and gives a valid reason & time to hang up]

Bill, I am trying to finish project touchdown this morning, could someone else help you or could we cover this tomorrow? [this deflects Bill's interruption to someone else or defers it to tomorrow when you can initiate the contact at your own convenience]

please comment with your favorite interruption interceptions

A to do list is one of the best ways to keep track of your responsibilities, promises, and action items. One of the strongest reasons for keeping your to do list is that you will have an iron-clad and reliable system that will ensure you don’t lose them. Of course the first step is write it down! So, keep a pad of paper near every phone and your bed (great ideas often come when we’re thinking of something else). Have a slim notebook in your purse or a piece of paper in your wallet. If the shower is your idea place, put a wax pencil in there and write on the shower wall. When you get a good idea or make an arrangement write it down, immediately, so your mind is free to stay on the original project, action, or conversation. And, you won’t lose that thought. Then, regularly consolidate all the notes onto your master to do list and review it from top to bottom.

The other day I had a birthday party for my husband. He knew about the party but not all the details like the DJ who spun a great list of tunes to set the mood. Classic Entertainment DJs did the superior job. I, however, put the DJ details in my iron clad system and went on to other things because it was taken care of. I knew we had the contract signed, the check for the final balance was in my folder, and Steve had directions. I let go of thinking about the DJ totally. He came early and was introduced by Lori with a wink & just his name. I thought it was a new friend of hers. She didn’t want to say ‘the DJ’ because my husband was in the room. I didn’t recognize the guy and wondered why he kept saying, "It’s me, Steve Z." Finally we stepped into the other room and I said, "Did I invite you?" He replies, "In a way, I’m the DJ." "Oh, welcome!" I said with a hint of red spreading up my face. Well, I did the first steps — used my iron clad system — but forgot to do the review, at least the part that included solidly putting his name in my mind. Of course we laughed and "Did I invite you?" was the line of the day. Sometime having a clear mind is a little too much of a good thing. But I’ll take that chance by putting everything on my to do lists, forgetting about them until it’s time to do them, then crossing them off!

Should you fire your assistant?

Many of my posts originate with the work I’m doing with clients. This one is from real life. (Names are changed to protect identity).

The executive, Richard, spent more than a year with an assistant, Marie, who assisted in the areas she liked and let other areas go fallow. Actually she ignored areas that weren’t fun for her even tho’ they were clearly part of the job – filing kept piling, for example.

The impact of Marie’s piling was blemishes on the executive’s reputation. Richard told people he never received resumes, articles, and reports because they never made it to his hands. But, the papers did, in fact, make it to his mailbox and were ‘handled’ by Marie. They were set aside in the pile and soon forgotten.

The remedy for this situation was not to get Marie more training, to have heart-to-heart discussions with Marie, nor to threaten Marie. It was to help Marie find something else to do. Since they work for a large company Marie found a different position that suited her interests and talents. Richard hired a new assistant who not only willingly files but is collaborating with me to help Richard be super streamlined, organized, and responsive.

If this situation rings true to you — get things moving — move your assistant out and someone who will really assist you in!

In the last post I talked about using resources to accomplish things you don’t have the time to get done and projects you don’t have the skills to complete. Perhaps you were nodding your head saying, "Yes, I could sure use help with my computer, it seems to be getting slower all the time." Meanwhile the question that immediately follows that is, "And how do I find such an expert at a reasonable cost?"

A few tips on finding local resources (in another entry we can talk about remote resources):

Ask around your social circle. Often people you cross paths with know of talented folks who can help you. Another field salesperson in your area may have a computer gal who took his limping-along computer system back to one that hums along. I find this is a method of locating help that I have great confidence in using because the vendor is pre-qualified.

Talk to the leader of a local business chamber. The folks that lead chamber-like organizations have a vast network of contacts. They also are invested in seeing local businesspeople like you succeed. Ask for 5 minutes of his time, explain what business you’re in then and ask for a specific question such as, "I am looking for a reputable local web hosting service, could you direct me to two or three to interview?"

Request names from your business contacts – especially clients. You have been helping your clients succeed and they will be delighted to turn the tables and help you. Steven Covey calls this ‘interdepedence’. Sometime telling the story of your struggles is a good rapport builder and leads comfortably to asking for help.

Post your need on a bulletin board at a nearby college if you’re so fortunate to have one nearby. If the things you need to get done have a flexible schedule and moderate skill level, college kids could be an inexpensive and reliable source. If you think a high school student might be of help, stuffing envelopes, for example, consider going through the principle or guidance department with your request. Remember student organization regularly have fund raising events and your need might lead to a win-win — you get your project done and they make some money.

What’s worked for you? Comment now with sources you’ve used to find help getting things done!

The other day I wrote about the clutter in my entire home as the main room gets updated, painted, and reordered. One of the best things about this project is what some call ’smart outsourcing’. I call it, "Get the Right Guy".

While I can paint and have been pleased with my own decorative efforts in the past, it is surreal to watch an expert do his thing. Tom paints effortlessly, Tom has the right tools & training, and Tom does preparation with attention to detail that I would never and could never achieve. Tom also replaced an open railing along the bottom half of the stairs with a wall. This gives me another place to hang things (like a plasma tv perhaps) in a rather odd-shaped room. No, I couldn’t have built that wall and remembered to put the electricity in it for the new light or the pvc pipe for the tv to DVD cables.

Hiring the right expert eases my anxiety about thinking of everything myself, it removes the effort of learning or sharpening a skill that I use seldom, and it gives me confidence that things will go right – the first time. It also gives me time to do the things I’m good at doing.

Extending that lesson to productivity I think about resources many professionals could consider as a way to save time or get the job done correctly quickly. Consider if any of these could help you:

• A computer expert to set up your hardware optimally
• An office organizer to set up your filing system or to ensure your layout is efficient and personalized
• A software specialist to help you use your key software effectively (you do colorize your incoming email, don’t you?)
• An assistant or temporary help to do bulk data entry and typing (college kids are practiced typists)
• A PR professional to help you expand your image
• A marketing expert to help define or build your brand
• A blog squad to help refine your blog

Being like many of you I have an office in my home. My home is a townhouse in town so it’s not too big nor too small (around 2,000 sq. ft). Being organized and without clutter is my normal mode of operation. This works especially well in a modest size place because clutter is amplified when you have to step over it rather than stash it in an unsed room.

This week the main living room is being painted and all the stuff I store ‘behind closed doors’ of the corner cabinet and have hung on the walls has been relocated to whatever spare space there is in other rooms. That relocation includes the larger furniture being in the center of the big room and all the smaller stuff being piled in a section of the dining area. The CDs, DVDs, games, photo albums, etc are in crates wherever we could stash them.

This stashing and cluttering interrupts my ability to concentrate and prompts me to think about feng shui – the flow of energy. The chaos is the catalist for feelings of being off-balance, out-of-control, and crazed in a mild way. My remedy, make my office totally tidy. All files are in the drawers, books on the shelves, and reading material in one general place. My desk is clean except for the things I’m using. Now I close the door and turn on some good-to-work-by music and I’m back in my groove (until I go downstairs for a snack anyway).

Feng Shui is an ancient study of comfort, decoration, contentment, and usefulness of a room or space. One of the key concepts in Feng Shui is no clutter. Karen Kingston’s book ‘Clearing Clutter with Feng Shui’ is a good brief guide to decluttering. If you have feelings of anxiety, overwhelm, dissatifaction and perhaps embarassment over your clutter – start with your desk and begin moving toward having a positive environment. Let me know how it goes and comment with your questions!

Karen Kingston’s Website

We develop ideas about things to do while reading, driving, in a meeting, day dreaming and a myriad of other places. Often these ideas would be impactful on our career, satisfaction, or quality of life. Often these ideas evaporate as they’re replaced by a pressing matter, a telephone call or the next idea. Capturing the ideas by writing them down is like filling a treasure chest. There can be gold in those ideas!

The productivity idea for today is to Catch Those Ideas! Write them down, leave yourself a voicemail with the idea (then write it down later), and carry a little recorder if you’re not able to write often.

When you have your weekly C.E.O. time consolidate all the ideas on a single list. Call the list – my treasure of ideas, my goldmine, my someday list, or whatever works to identify this list from your current to do list. Take a quick read through the list monthly and move the best idea collected – just one – to your to do list. Develop it fully and enjoy the results!