Archive for the 'Productivity' Category

Do you struggle to make decisions? Do you need to consult others to finalize an idea? Here is an easy to use decision making kit that works well in small groups or at the lunch table. The kit consists of four printable sheets created in Microsoft Word. One sheet is printed on business card stock and the others on heavyweight paper.

This kit works easily to collect ideas and put them on paper right in front of you. The cards add flexibility and allow you to have other people fill them out. You can do it right at a table or have them take the cards with them and return at a later date.

Here is how it works…

Step One-Idea Collection: Print out the pro-con decision cards on Avery business card stock, break them apart, and pass them around the table to each person in your group. Give each person a pro card along with a con card. Hand everyone a fine point Sharpie and have them get ready to start writing.

Lay out your idea that you need a decision on in simple terms so everyone can understand it. Write it in a simple sentence on one of the idea cards and make sure everyone understands what is being presented.

Once everyone is clear on the concept, have each person come up with the pros and cons of the idea. There are four lines on each card for multiple items. Have everyone write the ideas on the respective cards and pass them to the moderator when everyone is done.

Step Two-Layout: When you are done, collect up the cards and lay them out on the decision layout sheet. This sheet is best printed on heavyweight paper. Put the decision idea card at the top and layout the pro and con cards on their respective sides.

Now it is easy to see at a glance everyone’s ideas in one place. You can quickly determine if an idea is popular or not by the amount of items on each side and the overlap and repetition of ideas.

Step Three-Discussion: This tool is a great conversation starter and really will help to brainstorm an idea. Look at the cards for the following…

• An Overlap of Ideas
• Any show stoppers. Items that must be overcome to move forward
• Costs or Expenses
• Offensive or Unpleasant Items

Use different color highlighters to mark different items… For example

• Use a Yellow highlighter for Good Ideas
• Use a Red highlighter for Expenses
• Use a Blue highlighter for Show Stoppers

Be sure to discuss each item. Once you are done you’ll have a collection of great ideas and maybe some items that need attention.

Step Four-Decision: If everyone is in agreement you can come to a final decision right in your meeting. If further things need to be worked out use the separate further discussion worksheet to write down further action items and compile a to-do action list.

This sheet offers a place to compile costs and also offers a point based grading system for those more complicated decisions. Best of all it has a Bottom Line that you can check YES or NO.

Optional-Comparison Decision Maker:

For comparing two items side by side, use the comparison decision maker sheet. Write the two items to compare on the item cards and put them on the decision A and B spots. Pass around pro and con cards and have people write down one item each on each card for each item to be decided on. When you are done, put the pro and con cards under each decision card.

You can quickly highlight different items and this sheet will give you a quick visual representation of the pro and con ideas being presented. There are two boxes at the bottom for notes or scores and best of all a place to put your decision.

Download and Printing Instructions:

Download the Pro-Con-Cards zip file
Unzip the file and open in Microsoft Word
Print the Pro-Con cards on Avery Business Card Stock
Print the other sheets on heavyweight paper
Break the cards apart
Take a Sharpie, highlighters, decision sheets, and your cards to your next meeting. Have Fun!

Related Projects:

Five Minute Motivators

Five Minute Organizer

Mind Map Your Stress

Sudden Mind Idea Mapper

I received an e-mail the other day from SmartDraw about their new 2007 release of their popular flowcharting software. I decided to download a free trial and give it a spin. I’ve used SmartDraw in different versions since the late 1990’s but this new release is really sweet. The interface is all new designed around Microsoft’s new ribbon interface for Office 2007. If you have used MS Office 2007 you’ll feel right at home. If not it may take a few minutes to get oriented to the new look and feel.

The installation took a few minutes but installed without a hitch. I opened the program and was greeted with a selection interface on the left and a preview of my selections center screen. The selection of documents and charts you can create flows off the page. This is one powerful piece of software. For my first selection I selected a blank Mind Map from the document bar.

The Mind Map application opened with a ribbon bar at top, a left hand smart panel and a large work area. I took a quick look through the menus and found the ribbon interface very similar to Word 2007. This new interface is very intuitive. The blank mind map page opened with a single “Main Topic” button in the center of the screen. For my first mind map I decided to create one for my work activities.

I clicked the add topics button from the left menu and added a few buttons. As they appeared on the screen I clicked them one by one and gave them each a title. Once I had my main projects on screen I added sub topics to each one. This was fun as I went through my mind and put down everything I had been working on for the week.

The software was intuitive and it was really easy to add titles and sub titles since the connector lines were automatically drawn. Soon I had a very complete diagram of what had been going through my mind over the previous few days. I was blown away how quick and easy this was. I was also greeted with one huge fact….

Here was all the STRESS I had been feeling all in one place. The chart was almost overwhelming. I could not believe how much stuff I had been dealing with on a daily basis. This is what was so eye opening for me… I knew I was busy… but I had no idea of the magnitude of the problem. With thirty to forty boxes it was easy to see that something had to be done.

This diagram put all my work stress visually in one easy to navigate chart. Now it was easy to break things down by project. And the big one for me… It was easy to see at a glance the Next Actions. So many of these projects were stalled by one thing or the other. But when you can visually see them all in one place your mind really gets to work.

I printed out the mind map and got out a highlighter pen and started marking it up. Top priorities were highlighted and it was really easy to see that completing just two things would move 6 of the projects to the next stage. Dear readers… this is one of the most productive things I have ever done. It took under 10 minutes to create this mind map, but the results have been amazing.

As a visual person this on screen representation really hit home. I have tried mind mapping before with other software, but the interfaces have always been a little clumsy for me. I would usually give up in frustration. But this new interface from SmartDraw just works. I didn’t have to think about anything. When I clicked… it worked the way I thought it should.

And then I discovered some additional features that were really cool. With a click of a button, I had a Powerpoint slide of the mind map. Another click gave me a PDF and another gave me a complete HTML webpage. With the themes button I could change the look and feel of the whole document in just seconds.

After modifying the map I exported it to a Word document and added a Next Actions list to the bottom. Now my GTD skills came into play and I was able to get the “big rocks” on their way to completion. Simple, effective, and it took under 15 minutes to complete.

As I started to write this post I decided to create a mind map of my blogging activities. In just a few minutes I had a great view of my weekly blog activities. As before the visual representation instantly got my mind to thinking… man I’m doing a lot on every post. My mind asked, “is there a way to simplify this? The next actions became apparent and I realized quickly that some new blogging software might help me immensely. I’ve taken some action on this this morning and I’ll post about this on an upcoming article.

Here is a mind map of my blogging activities (I simplified this quite a bit to get it to fit on one screen). When you see everything in one place you realize that blogging is not as easy as it sounds. If you multiply this with multiple blogs you can easily see how it can get out of hand. With SmartDraw you can easily add sub-topics to this diagram to really fine tune the process.

I have only touched on one facet of this powerful software. I’ll be posting about additional features in the coming days. The great thing about SmartDraw is that you can download a trial version for free. This is one piece of software that I highly recommend you take for a spin.

To help you create flowcharts and mind maps in a workgroup or during a meeting, check out our Desktop Flowchart and SuddenMind Idea Mapper. These cards are a great way to brainstorm ideas in a group before bringing them into a software application like SmartDraw.

Technorati Tags: SmartDraw, mind map, flowchart

Here are ten simple things that you can do today to improve your life and help you reach your goals. Pick one of them and take deliberate action to complete it today. You’ll find that action equals results.

1. Take A Different Route To Work: See something new, turn a different corner, and see a different neighborhood. They say that variety is the spice of life and taking a new route actually stimulates your brain. Researchers find that doing this routinely helps the mind stay active and actually helps it learn and remember better.
2. Walking: Turn your walk into an effective interval aerobic workout. When walking outside on the street, walk to the first light pole, then run or jog to the second. Again walk to the third and run to the fourth. Keep this interval up and you’ll keep your heart rate up with a minimal impact on your body. You’ll burn 30-40% more calories with this simple twist.
3. Reduce Caffeine: Next time you go to Starbucks or other coffee shop order a half-caff instead of a full strength coffee. After a few more trips order a third-caff and continue that for a few days. Finally wean yourself to straight decaff. This will allow you to get off caffeine without the usual headaches. Tuning your caffeine intake is a good thing to do every few months.
4. Reduce Carbs & Calories: One of the easiest ways to reduce both carbohydrates and calories at a meal is to eat your sandwich or burger open-faced. Just remove the top bun with all the high calorie mayo and throw it away (or take it home for your dog). Enjoy your burger open faced or bend the bottom bun in half and make a burger “taco” or “gyro.” You’ll reduce about 1/3 of your calories and actually have a tastier sandwich.
   
5. Get Up Earlier: Set your alarm clock 15 minutes earlier tonight and enjoy more productivity tomorrow. As the days go by, slowly set the alarm clock earlier and earlier in 5 minute increments. You’ll soon find you have an extra hour to get things done.
   
6. Set Goals Today: Download our free goal setting toolkit and write down some achievable short and long term goals Today. Don’t wait until tomorrow… tomorrow never comes (when it does come it’s actually called today). Keep these cards on your desk or in your car where you’ll see them on a daily basis. You’ll soon find that the act of writing them down is probably the hardest thing you’ll have to do to achieve them.
7. Drink More Water: When you get up tomorrow morning, start the day with a large glass of water. Have another large glass with each meal throughout the day. This will give you at least four glasses per day out of the recommended eight. Adding more water to your diet will help you naturally lose weight and you’ll feel better if you are properly hydrated.
8. Call A Friend: Download our deliberate actions card-set and print out a page on Avery business card stock. Break the cards apart and write down a few names on the individual cards. Make a deliberate goal to take action on one of them today. The easiest is the phone call or e-mail card. Pick someone you haven’t talked to in a while. You’ll be amazed how this simple action will make your day.
9. Play The Productivity Game: If you are trying to get things done around the house you might find it helpful to play the productivity game with a spouse or other family member. Put some money on the line and let them draw a card. In fifty minutes you’ll see some real progress. It’s a fast and fun way to get going on a lazy Saturday morning.
   
10. Weightlifting: If you do weight training as part of your regular exercise routine try this little trick next time you work-out. Count one to five on the upward stroke and one to five down. This motion keep you going smoothly and slowly. You’ll find you get a lot more workout for your time spent.

Technorati Tags: motivation, productivity, fitness

I hate junk mail! It comes by the bushel full every day. I’ve tried to get my name off of mailing lists, subscriptions and I have even written letter to companies to get them to stop. But the volume is still unbelievably high and it causes real problems in my life. Everyday I throw most of it away… but it’s the unmarked stuff that causes real problems.

Is this yellow envelope junk or is it a legitimate envelope from a state agency?

Is this free offer real or just a come on to get me to a time share presentation?

Questions like these are a daily occurrence.

When I get home at the end of the day I’m usually tired and really don’t feel like opening a stack of envelopes to find out if they are really legit or not. What usually happens is the obvious junk is thrown away and the other mail is stacked on the counter or put into an in-box on my desk. Unfortunately after a few days the stack gets pretty high and sometimes gets mixed in with bills and other important items.

Now I have an unsightly mess.

Now I really don’t want to deal with this stuff!

Yet the stack continues to grow until it gets so big that something must be done.

Let me put one more piece on the top of the stack… oh no.. the stack has fallen on the floor.

Arrggghhh… another 3 hours on Saturday going through this mess?

There must be a better way…

The original strategy came from the popular organizing books by Julie Morgenstern and Donna Smallin.

The idea is to …

Handle Only Once: Put a trash can next to the front door or next to the desk or counter where you usually open the mail. Handle each piece of mail only once. Put Bills into one stack and all other important mail in another. Everything else is opened and thrown away. Put a sign or card saying Handle Only Once where you can see it.

While this cut down on the size of the piles it didn’t go quite far enough. I still ended up with a stack of mail that I had to do something with and the stealth junk mail often went unopened.

Here is the plan…

Daily 12 Minutes: Set aside a daily time period to deal with the inbox. Pay bills as they come in. Answer correspondence when it comes in. File statements in a notebook on the day they arrive. Most bills and other important correspondence really don’t take very long to work with if you set aside a daily work period to focus directly on your inbox.

I usually have two 48 minute work periods back to back in the morning separated by 12 minute breaks. Why not make one of these breaks a time to focus on the in-box on my desk? Most days there will only be a few items to deal with. Anything that isn’t handled one day stays in the box to the next. This cuts down on the overwhelming pile that often exists at the end of the week and makes sure things get handled on a regular basis.

Deliberate Action: I’ve purchased a two tier inbox and will give this plan a go over the next month. I’ll report back at the end of September how well this daily strategy works for me.

Technorati Tags: organization, gtd, clutter

I spend a lot of time in front of a computer and when I find something that can save me time I like to implement it into my daily schedule. One of the best things I’ve found is using hotkeys with different programs. With just a quick key combination I can do things that would require many more steps with a mouse.

Some of the hotkeys that I’ve found have really revolutionized the way I work. I use the popular Control-C for copying files and Control-V for pasting almost without thinking. These keystrokes are ingrained in my memory and they work in almost any program.

The big problem I have with hotkeys is that there are so many of them. Given the number of choices they can be hard to remember and I usually find myself searching the menus of my programs to refresh my memory. To overcome this I put my favorites on printed business cards and keep them on my desktop for quick reference.

I put the 5 most common for each program that I use regularly, so that with a little use they will lodge themselves into my long term memory.I usually have two or three under my monitor for quick reference.

Three of the ones I’ve recently discovered that have been especially helpful are…

Control-Enter in Internet Explorer or Firefox. Just put the name of the site you want to go to in the address bar of one of these browsers and hit control-enter. Viola… the browser automatically adds the http://www to the front of the name and then adds a .com to the back.  The site name plus control-enter = http://www.site.com. This save so much tedious typing and works well as long as the site you are going to is a dot-com.

Control-P in Powerpoint: Open your PowerPoint show and go to a slide that you want to expound on. Hit Control-P and the cursor turns into a pen. You can doodle and highlight things on the screen with just the flick of your mouse. Right click to change pen size, tip shape, and color. One very handy tool. Just click the ESC key to go back to your show.

Windows Key and E: This quick combination opens up Windows explorer (My computer) and is a quick and easy way to copy and move files around. I like this key combination because it opens explorer with all the folders closed which makes navigation quick and easy.

To give you a quick start remembering these popular hotkeys, I’ve put together a free download of the most popular ones in a Microsoft Word Template. Just download the file and print them out on Avery business card stock. Break them apart and keep them by your computer for quick reference. You can easily modify the template and add additional hotkeys as you discover them. You’ll soon be amazed how much time you save each day with these quick keystrokes.

Instructions for use:

• Download the Hotkey Cards Template for MS Word
• Open the template and modify as necessary
• Print out on Avery business card stock (10 Card)
• Break cards apart
• For portability, stack cards in order and clip together with mini clip
• Transport easily in pocket or purse
• Add to your Walleteer organizer

Please note these cards have been tested on WindowsXP and Microsoft Office 2003 applications. They may not work on older windows or Office versions and will probably not work on the Mac.

Technorati Tags: hotkeys, microsoft office

Back when I was an automotive technician I used to tune and service many cars. Most of the work that I would do would be under the hood… unseen by my customers. But there was one final important step in the service process that made all the difference. Something that only took a minute but made all the difference in my customers attitude when they picked up their car.

I cleaned their windows.

This one simple task let the customers know that something positive was done to their car. They could see clearly again. The change was sometimes subtle, but the effect was always positive.

Is there something that you have been looking at for a long time that needs to be changed? So long in fact that you may not even notice it anymore? Here are five simple things that you can do today that may improve your attitude and bring a smile to your face. Most only take a few minutes but will reap a huge mental award. Why not choose one and do it today?

1. Clean off your desk. You’ve been staring at that mess for months. Why not take a few minutes today and completely clean it off, dust it, polish it and sit back and smile. You can do it!

2. Wash your car. It’s so dirty from the summer grime that you can barely see out. Take a few minutes today and clean it up. If you don’t have much time… take it to the car wash. A shiny car will bring a shiny new smile to your face.

3. Clean your sink. The dishes have piled up and the food stains abound. Why not wash the dishes and clean your sink. Make that sink shine. Don’t leave one spot. Get some elbow grease and do an amazing job. Stand back and admire your work. You know you can do this!

4. Clean out a closet. You can barely shut the door. The old clothes are piling up and you know it will be a disaster if someone else should open it up. Why not grab a a large plastic trash bag and spend a few minutes sorting through those old clothes and taking them to a needy charity. You’ll make life better for someone else and lessen your stress now that you can actually open the closet door.

5. Clean out your refrigerator. Start with the old milk cartons and work backwards. Get those plastic containers of who knows what and dump them down the garbage disposal. Bring over your trash can and start throwing out the old stuff. Then take everything else out and give it a good cleaning. Add a new box of baking soda, sort your items and stand back and smile. You now have a healthy and happy place in your kitchen.

Why not pick one item from the list and change your attitude today!

Technorati Tags: attitude, productivity