Our pursuit at the Productivity Café is to use as many tools as possible to get our work done. Tools leverage our efforts, streamline actions, and give us superior systems. We’re looking at Feng Shui tools on Wednesday for a while. 

The first tenant suggested in all my reading and research on Feng Shui is decluttering. One of the foremost authorities in Feng Shui is Karen Kingston whose practice focuses on Space Clearing.

Karen explains, "For your life to work well, it is vital to have a good flow of clear, vibrant energy in your home and workplace. Feng Shui is a beautifully organized system of knowledge that teaches us how to enhance this energy flow by improving building design, furniture placement, color schemes, and so on. Space Clearing is a specialized branch of Feng Shui that works at even deeper levels by cleansing and purifying the chi [energy] of a building [or office], thus enhancing the quality and nature of the energy in the space."

Karen wrote an entire book on a low clutter space called, Clearing Clutter with Feng Shui.  She identifies clutter as

• Things you don’t use
• Things you don’t love
• Things that are untidy or disorganize
• Too many things for a space
• Anything unfinished

So, our work is to remove clutter. Do you have a stack of books that you haven’t gotten around to reading for a year or more? That’s clutter. Do you have a plant that is dying nearby? That’s clutter. Do you display an award from your job though it reminds you of a lousy team dynamic? That’s clutter. Do you have a file drawer that is so stuffed that you haven’t put anything in it for ages? That’s clutter.

Clutter can be easy to remove if you use Karen’s guideline to keep only things that help you today and are vibrant. The rest can go in the trash or storage somewhere else.

If you find you’re nagged or teased by others to do something about your mess recognize that you are probably hurting your productivity as well as reputation and other success factors. Consider getting someone impartial and effective such as a professional organizer who specializes in offices to help you declutter if the task is daunting to do yourself.

The second step to creating an Office You’re Proud of using Feng Shui is to appoint your office thoughtfully. You should always start with your own comfort and if you can, consider:

• Do have a chair for visitors placed where you can make contact and have a conversation if you’re working with others.
• Do include things colored blue, purple & red for wealth and prosperity; red for fame & reputation strengthening; and white and pastels for creativity.

If you need to keep copies of many emails that you send, here is a quick way you can address an email to yourself. Copying yourself takes 3 simple keystrokes, once your setup is done and that takes less than a minute. You are going to create a shortcut for copying yourself by creating a contact named qq. Then you enter qq in the cc: or bcc: list of the address and viola a copy of the email will come to your inbox. This combination ‘qq’ is chosen because it’s never used anywhere else and it’s easy to type.

This 3 keystroke method streamlines going to your sent email and moving a message to the inbox or appropriate folder. It’s consistently faster than having the computer do a lookup of your name. And, it’s not prone to typos.

Here’s the step-by-step way to implement this addressing shortcut.

Steps in Outlook:

• Go to contacts.
• Type ctrl-n (hold down control then press n) for new contact
• Type qq in the name (cancel the inquiry for additional information)
• Enter your email address in the email address block
• Type alt-s (hold down alt key then tap s) to save & close

When you type a new email message that you want to copy yourself simply type qq in the address block and you will receive a copy.

related articles: Color coding email messages

    Your mail manager – Outlook filters & rules

Mark Sanborn wrote a powerful little 112 page book that catches the spirit of someone who puts passion in his job and impacts his customers in the most positive way. The book is The Fred Factor. The main character is Fred – an unassuming man. Fred’s job could be argued as one of the most repetitive and possibly boring – he delivers mail. Yet, Fred’s approach to the work is to be customer focused and happy.

We read about the ways that Fred’s actions demonstrate his passion. He checks on customer’s travel schedules, ensures that the mail he leaves would not tempt a bad guy, and stops and talks to his customers. Imagine that – 10 minutes conversation during which your mail deliverer finds out a little bit about you though you’ll only be in each other’s lives for 5 or maybe 10 years.

Fred is a real man. Sanborn creates an acronym with F R E D (Find, Reward, Educate, Demonstrate) to guide managers on hiring and workers on putting the passion in their lives and make a difference in the world. Each of the F R E D factors is illustrated and explained in easy-to-understand manner and translated into action. Companies that use the Fred Factor to create a common vision and language for motivating, serving, and performance will have a vivid path to success. People who incorporate F R E D factors into their outlook on their jobs will have growing joy in what they do.

I give this book a strong recommendation in favor. (Did you notice I rarely use the space here to dis a book? My philosophy is that there are too many good books to waste space with negative ones!)

What makes you happy? Is it possible that you’re already happy but don’t realize it? Perhaps you’re like the person who talks about ‘if only I lost 5 pounds’ then losses the 5 and immediately talks about how she’s still too heavy. Wait a minute, what happened to that ‘If Only’ comment? You did it! That’s actually cause for pause and celebration.

So this weekend write a happiness log. Write down the things you have accomplished, the good things in your life, the lack of bad things, and whatever comes to mind.

Consider writing 5 things (then you’re done) or a list that you add to continually throughout the weekend. The continuous list could accept observations by friends, family, & even foes.

Here’s the start of my list as inspiration:

• I work with fabulous people – my clients and vendors are smart, quick, full of integrity and fun.
• I am healthy! (some of you remember I crashed off my mountain bike in September – I was permitted to start riding again on Jan. 1 and have been doing that regularly now so I can write…)
• I’m riding again!
• My riding buddies are my best of friends – who else would go so slow without complaint!
• Alison is getting married! She’s an ally who found ‘her man’ and we’re celebrating this weekend.
• I have no debt, zip, zero, nada, none! No mortgage, no credit card debt. Only debt of gratitude for such a blessed life.
• I can walk to town for my coffee, a visit to the library, or sausage at our market.
• I have a long ‘I am Happy’ List!

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R & R (rest and rejuvenation) are the intentions behind the Friday @ 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. Many Friday @ Five entries are geared to do with your family or friends.

On our quest to use as many tools as possible to get our work done we’re looking at Feng Shui on Wednesday for a while. I aim to present some ideas and tips that we can use from our point of view right away. My second step, after reading a couple of books was to call Emy Louie, Feng Shui Consultant and Licensed architect. We spent the better part of an hour talking and here are some specific insights

A Mural Creates A Horizon Line

Emy Louie offered:

• Feng Shui recommends you face the door to your office. Yet, in cubicles we almost always have our back to the entrance. Emy recommends having a mirror or something else reflective such as a sliver vase in front of us so that we sense someone entering our space. Think of this a rear-view mirror like you have in a car applied to your cubicle for the same reason, you know what’s going on behind you.
• A good color for an office or accessory in the office is gold – the color of wealth in Feng Shui and around the globe. I asked Emy if green, the color of USA money is good and she suggested that it’s good for creativity and growth, and ok for success.
• Fame walls are not just for doctors. The wall with diplomas, certificates, and recognition of your accomplishments is recommended in your office. The placement of these ‘fame’ objects should be so that someone entering your office sees them naturally, straight ahead.
• If you have an office in the basement you should strive to create a horizon line. The perfect manifestation of this is a mural that depicts an outdoor scene with a vast expanse of land. Water should be included just as its part of landscapes normally. An alternative to a mural would be a chair rail with lighter colors painted above and on the ceiling and darker earthy tones below.
• Feng Shui is about energy (chi) and synchronizing with natural energy – the perfect energy. So we can look to nature for guidance on how to set things up. Including nature in our settings by having healthy plants is another way to align with nature.
• Ahead of you at your desk display or depict the things you’re striving to achieve. If it’s a quota number, print it up nicely and hang it on a cork board or frame it and hang it. If you’re saving for a special vacation and a college education for your kids, display photos of your travel destination and a university. Note: this Feng Shui guide does not advocate you simply display items from your past, this is a forward looking display.

Thanks to Emy Louie for this personal guidance into this practical and evolved art.

For last week’s post go here: Feng Shui Launch Article   

What does a red color-coded sign or folder mean to you? Many of us think ‘Urgent’ or ‘Stop’ or ‘Hot’. We know that our attention is needed for something. We can use red to mean that when an emali has arrived in your inbox from a VIP. Usually my clients make the emails from their boss and/or key customers turn red when they arrive. Then, the red-titled emails get their attention right away.

Color-coded inbox

Similarly, team leaders color-code the emails from their team members so they stand out from their general correspondence.

Other times you might want to color-code are:

• Personal messages
• From financial institutions (green representing money for this group)
• Vendors & suppliers
• Particular Projects

Remembers, usually it’s best to move emails into related folders. That’s explained in this post: Moving Emails in Outlook. For those emails that still make it to your inbox color-coding will catch your eye and increase your productivity and effectiveness in handling the most important messages.

Here are the steps to color code your messages in Outlook 2002/3:

1. Click on the email message you want to use as the example for the colorizing. For example,

You’re accustomed to getting up at 5:45 because the bus for the kids is early or the traffic on the way to work gets so bad that you need to be on the road before rush-hour typically begins. Then, it’s the weekend, or a holiday like today in the USA, and it’s your chance to sleep in. 5:45am rolls around and your eyes pop open. But, you stayed up a bit late anticipating having the time to sleep in – maybe event to 7am and getting up now means you’ll be dragging in the afternoon. We all know we’re more productive and function better with good rest so now the question is: How do you go back to sleep?

The iPod remedy. The reason the iPod remedy works is that you can be confident
that you’re not missing anything because you can rewind or replay, your mind has something to focus on that isn’t the list of things that you have to do, and you’re setting up your environment to something pleasant. Have something on your iPod that will allow you to go back to sleep. In my case it is a set of interviews that last 5-7 minutes. I rarely get to the second interview. For you it could be a book on tape that you’ve heard before. Perhaps it’s classical or zen music. Do not play something energizing and up-beat as that will just wake you up. If you sleep on your side put just the top earphone in. Turn your iPod on and listen lazily. Soon your mind will drift off and you’ll be sleeping for a while longer.

Note that there is a feature on iPods that will turn the iPod off after the length of time you specify. This saves battery and allows your sleep to go deeper. After you start the music playing click on menu until you get to the top menu where you can select Extras. Then select clock, select the clock that is highlighted, then click on sleep timer. Scroll to the duration you want, 15 minutes should be enough and select that. You’re set for the iPod remedy.

The List remedy. This list remedy works because it takes things off your mind so that you can relax enough to fall asleep again. By writing the actions, reminder, or solutions down you will relax with confidence that you won’t forget them. Keep a pad of paper and pen right next to your bed. After you’ve visited the bathroom crawl back in bed with your paper and pen in hand. Take a few minutes to write down all those things that your mind created overnight and that you now don’t want to forget. If you can do this with the lights out, terrific. It might be worth investing in a lighted pen or book light to keep from the stimulation of a full 60+ watts of typical room lighting.

The Picture-it. This remedy works when you’re able to picture a scene that relaxes you. It also gives your mind focus on something that is restful and distracting from the flurry of things that call for your attention as your eyes pop open. To picture it you are going to recreate a scene that you’ve experienced that is beautiful or boring. Whether you see beautiful or boring depends on your temperament. Slowly create the scene in immense detail. For example, imagine stepping off the platform of the sailboat into the warm Caribbean waters. You breathe deeply and slowly through your snorkel as you put sink into the water. Leisurely you kick with your flippers and begin looking at the fish and coral formations. There’s the parrot fish with its iridescent colors… etc.

So, next time you’re awake before you’re ready try one of these ways to go back to sleep.

You’re having some people over this weekend and would like to have something to do that would be entertaining, get people talking, and stir up the energy. Play the advertising game (aka How observant are we? and How powerful is marketing?).

What you’re going to do as the instigator of this activity is pick 12-20 pictures from advertisements and mount each on a piece of paper. Simple set up! This is a good time to flip through that stack of magazines around the house. You purchased them for the plane trip over the holidays, you didn’t stop your subscriptions yet (tho’ you realize you never read them anyway), and you can probably get a couple from friends.

Pick photos that don’t have the product actually in them but are icons of a brand or product. I’m suggesting a stylized fashion layout for Versace or the Grandma & Granddaughter sitting at the table with glasses of milk for Oreos.

• Number each of the pictures.
  
• Give each player paper and a pen. Have them put a list of numbers down the left edge of their paper up to the number of photos you have.
  
• Lay the photos out where everyone can see them.
  
• Set a timer for 5-10 minutes for everyone to write the advertiser name next to the number on their pictures.
  
• After time is up go through each picture and have contestants give their guesses. Enjoy the range of ideas.
  
• Finally reveal the actual identity of the advertiser.
  
• The person with the most correct wins – and so does everyone else because they’re part of the action.
  

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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.

You can tell someone bad news and spend the next 45 minutes in a drawn out conversation about the background or justification for the message you had to deliver. Or you can be one of those unique people who can deliver bad news and have the recipient leave quickly, smiling. This is an art form that is grounded in a simple technique. It’s called the sandwich technique. The structure of the sandwich technique is:

1. Launch with something positive

2. Delivery the bad news
3. End with something positive

The slices of bread of the sandwich are the positive comments. The meat of the sandwich is the negative news. Its construction keeps us from blurting out things with the power of a Mac truck.  It’s a simple formula that could go all wrong if not done carefully. Here are some things to include when using the technique to ensure it will work for you:

• Plan this conversation. Do not improvise because there are too many ways for things to go wrong if you’re not prepared.
• Be sincere. Those positive things need to ring true to the guy receiving them.
• The bad news needs to be put diplomatically so that the person you’re saying it to can actually hear you rather than jump into a reactive mode.
• If possible keep the criticism, situation, and message focused on the facts. Do not criticize the person, just actions and outcomes.

Here’s an actual application of the sandwich technique:

Jay was meeting with Justin to lay him off since their company, RCN, was having extreme financial difficultly.

Justin! {shaking hands}  I’m glad

Feng Shui is the practice and art of setting up environments to support the lives of the people in them. Feng Shui’s outcomes can be positive impacts on health, financial success, and emotional & spiritual well-being. Over the next weeks we’ll be looking at this art and practice because it has been studied and refined for thousands of years. Shoot, if I had thousands of years to hone my knowledge I’d be scary smart! I’m anticipating all of us making our offices, desk configuration, and spaces a little different with worthy outcomes.

My reading on Feng Shui leads me to understand that it is a complex discipline. In culinary terms it is the difference between throwing a chicken in a pot with water yielding a thin broth or putting that same chicken in a pot with filtered water, beautiful fresh vegetables, and fragrant herbs yielding a soup with sublime taste. I am a neophyte grasping at some useful Feng Shui basics that are useful for you – for us. And I will do my best.

As in all travel, a map is a terrific guide for getting you somewhere. Feng Shui has its map so I place the Westernized rectangular map here for your reference. There are dotted lines between the squares because they do
overlap some and are interrelated.

A wonderful Bagua Map with all its complexity can be found on Mike Wang’s website: The Spiritual Feng Shui. Notice the layering of the bagua with the colors with the elements. This pulls everything together.

In the meantime let me offer one practical step for you to take