When our three-hole punch at work stopped punching effectively (meaning it took super-human strength applied to a single sheet of paper for it to make a few holes) I took it for a trip to our local office supply store. I enquired whether it would be cost-effective to replace the three cutter pieces, or if it would be better to simply buy a new three-hole punch. Jerry gave me the answer. However, he also did something else. He took it to the back and applied WD-40, and made that three-hole punch good as new. Total sale=zero, customer satisfaction=priceless. That’s not the kind of customer service you forget. And when we needed a new stapler, I went back and got not just your standard stapler, but a new kind that cost a few bucks more. Okay, admittedly I’m a sucker for a new gadget, but I still think service like that ultimately leads to more sales. For those who want to know the answer: it costs less to replace the whole hole punch than to replace three cutters.
Tag, You’re It
Are you your tags?
Phil at Make It Great! mentioned this interesting nametag in his post about barcamp:
HELLO, My Name is Scott, (who makes a living with his nametag!) talks about how we often aren’t given options that really fit who we are and what we do as people try to fit us into boxes.
planit plans productivity project
Word or tag clouds with frequently used words in larger fonts are pretty cool. It gives a visual image of what you talk about the most. They are a unique way to reveal your unique interests. You can even get tshirts, mugs or mousepads printed with your word cloud. Does this communicate to the world who you are? While it’s helpful to know your interests, you are more than your labels.
It would be neat to add my tag cloud to this blog. But I can’t figure out how to do it. Here is a somewhat unclear image of what it looks like right now:
I guess that goes to show we need to be clear about our image!
Leadership Skills
Leaders have a vision, inspire others to action, and have the ability to make things happen.
• Vision: they see what can be, set goals and know how to accomplish them
• Inspire: with great communication, courage, compassion, an understanding of people, and motivation
• Make important things happen: they know how to solve problems and deal with change and challenges
These skills all sound like great things to have!
The attributes of great leaders:
• Listen extraordinarily well
• Excellent communicators
• Appreciative
• Decisive
• Emotionally intelligent
• Responsible, responsive, and resilient
• Smart with money
• Helpful and giving of advice, assistance, resources, hard working
• Inspirational and initiative takers
• Provide opportunities for others
Learn from experts on leadership:
- Simon Sinek: videos on Leadership
- Marshal Goldsmith
- Brendan Burchard on What Great Leaders Actually Do
- John Maxwell
- more at this Inc. article
Highlight the following leadership skills in a resume or during a job interview.
1. LEARNING-RESPONSIBILITY: Have you taken classes or taken on extra projects?
2. LEARNING-COOPERATION: Describe a time you asked for help and how you expressed appreciation.
3. LEARNING-LISTENING: Do you listen to understand and give your full attention?
4. LEARNING-OTHER’S NEEDS: Have you trained others or demonstrated a task?
5. PHYSICAL-RESPONSIBILITY: Do you practice and improve skills or demonstrated self-disicipline?
6. PHYSICAL-COOPERATION: Is there a time that you inspired others?
7. PHYSICAL-LISTEN: Have you accepted and acted on advice?
8. PHYSICAL-OTHER’S NEEDS: Have you helped others on your team or mentored someone?
9. FINANCIAL-RESPONSIBILITY: Have you balanced a budget?
10. FINANCIAL-COOPERATION: Have you done any fundraising?
11.FINANCIAL-LISTENING: Have you heard and responded to the needs of others?
12. FINANCIAL-OTHER’S NEEDS: Have you contributed to a cause?
13. SOCIAL-RESPONSIBILITY: Describe a situation when you took initiative.
14. SOCIAL-COOPERATION: Describe an experience working on a team.
15. SOCIAL-LISTEN: Think of a time when your communication skills made a big difference.
16. SOCIAL-OTHER’S NEEDS: Describe a time when you volunteered or helped others.
Check out the Work Skills Toolkit and learn more about how to Develop Work Skills.
On a Personal Note
Double Whammy
Whammy One
Sometimes I get overwhelmed. I’ve subscribed to so many wonderful feeds that I must admit that I have difficulty keeping up with them. There are so many neat people out there! Sometimes I read them and there might be something wonderful that I need to refer to later, or some action I need to take later and so I mark them unread again. Before I knew it, I have such a backlog of unread feeds that I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to catch up. Meanwhile, I’m missing the new news and life is zooming by. I don’t think this is the way Bloglines is really intended to be used.
Whammy Two
Sometimes I neglect to say the things I’d like to say, simply because I don’t want to bother anyone. I feel badly that Phil hasn’t felt well and that Chris lost his Gramps, and I feel badly that I haven’t said that to them. But they are both such incredibly busy people that I don’t know how they do it and I certainly don’t want to add to their burden. It’s beyond me how they have families, work, write, and meet as many people as they do and maintain relationships with them. I’m sure that I’ll never have the kind of energy they must possess! The only way I know them is from reading their blogs, but still it feels like I know them.
I know many people must have sent their messages of sympathy, and there would be too many to respond to. So I think my thoughts of sympathy and hope that those brainwaves will reach them without their having to take the time to read an email. Does this work? Of course not. No one can read minds even with people right in front of us, let alone over great distances. We have to say what we mean and say it well. I’m sure that they appreciate the thought, as a little kindness can never be wrong. We all matter to each other because we are all in this life together. So Phil, I hope you’re feeling better now. And Chris, I’m sorry for your loss.
Choosing a Time Management System
100% of us are looking for the perfect time management system that will magically enable us to get everything done. Okay, I made that up. But honestly, how much time have you spent trying out different systems and new applications? Oh, the irony. It’s okay to try out different time management ideas, as long as that’s not all you get done!
A system is a way to organize repeating tasks. For a time management system:
• Select a calendar
• Your work, your way
• Start with to-do today list
• Then add more lists: to do later, or tomorrow or this week, GTD lists, ideas
• Essential goals and projects
• Make lists of repeating tasks
Photo by Artem Podrez on Pexels.com
Select a calendar
The calendar or planner you choose is an important part of your time management system. There are HEAPs of options!
• Hybrid
• Electronic
• Apps
• Paper
Do you love gadgets and own the latest smartphone? Are you a visual person, do you think best when writing things down? You probably have some idea which way you lean, or whether you might work best with a combination or hybrid system. The study of productivity shows that quite a few productivity experts use a combination of electronic and paper to manage their tasks. David Allen, author of the popular Getting Things Done system, uses mostly paper. Leo Babauta of Zen Habits uses a simple system that he calls Zen to Done. There are advantages and disadvantages to different methods. Laura Stack, The Productivity Pro, outlines the advantages and disadvantages of different methods at “Paper vs Electronic.” My personal preference is to rely on Google calendar with Google Keep and Drive for lists and notes. [Learn more about The Daily PlanIt Keep It Super Simple (K.I.S.S.) System that combines the best of both electronic and paper systems.]
As smartphones and tablets have become increasingly popular, many devices come with a system. There are also many apps available to explore. They vary from very simple, like any.do to more complex methods for integrating Getting Things Done. Characteristics of a good productivity app:
- Recurring tasks can be handled
- Easy to use
- Accesilble across plaforms and able to sync
- Priorities can be set and easily changed
- Subtasks or action steps can be handled
Your work, your way
There is no one-size fits all solution. Since we are all different, I believe it takes some experimentation to find something that works well for us. Go to an office store and check out various planners available. Try some things out. The most important thing is to choose a system that works the way you do. Features to look for are a system that is:
- Portable: Large enough to hold all your information, yet small enough you won’t mind carrying it around
- Easy to access wherever you go
- Attractive: well designed forms or screens
- Customizable: can be adapted to work for your needs
- Easy to update
Start with a to do today list
A to do list is an important tool for planning and managing your time to make the most of it.
Then add more lists
The to do today list is best kept simple, so more lists need to be a part of any system:
- To do next, later, tomorrow, this week, or this month
- Repeating or recurring tasks
- Ideas
- Getting Things Done (GTD) lists: next actions, projects, waiting for, and someday/maybe. (I prefer different terminology)
More options to include in a system:
- Daily routine
- Planner checklist
- Planning process outline
- Weekly Plan
- Favorite menu plans, recipes, shopping lists
- Favorite recreational activities
Essential goals and projects
Find a way to include a value statement or USP that AIMs at a vision that is Active, Inspiring, and Meaningful. Plans for action steps to accomplish goals and projects are also an important part of a system.
Make reminders
The best systems have a method to set reminders so important tasks don’t fall through the cracks.
Section possibilities to include:
- Calendar
- Master list
- to-do list
- goals
- projects
- work duties
- repeating tasks
- ideas
- notes
- information
- important dates/gift ideas
- telephone/address
- shopping list
- books to read
- movies to watch
- checklists
Find free printable forms for planners:
- Set of a weekly planning form plus five daily planning forms (pdf) and more at Free Tools
This is the first step of the Time Management Tutorial. With your system in place, you can use it to plan your time to make the most of it. Schedule action steps and do a weekly review to stay on track.
See how I manage my Calendar with a combination of Google, Prodcuctivity Apps and paper.
A paper planner can be a tool for the weekly review.
Further Reading
- Laura Stack, The Productivity Pro also talks about the HUG criteria for time management systems.
- A guide to Learning to Use a Day Planner from chadd.org
- How to set up a basic productivity system from Nextweb
- Productivity Systems from Tuts+
- The PARA system from Forte Labs
- Always Choose Tools You’ll Use and The 4 Key Components of Every Time Management System from timemanagementninja.com
- The Paper Planner Inbox from A Million Monkeys Typing
- GTD Essentials to follow Getting Things Done by David Allen
Free Articles at Informit
I happened across a four part article “What It Takes to Be a Good Leader” by Ken Blanchard, based on the book “The Leader Within.” It’s one of the “most popular” articles at Informit.com. There are also a number of articles here written by Richard Templar, author of “The Rules of Life” and “The Rules of Work.”
Me and GTD
I first read the book Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity by David Allen when it was published in 2001. (Affiliate link: I receive a small commission at no additional cost to you if you click through and make a purchase with an affiliate link. Thank you for your support!) Despite enjoying the book and the ideas therein, I didn’t actually implement them. When I began this blog and became aware of some of the blogs available with productivity ideas, I saw that this book has a huge following. So I decided it was time to take another look. Upon review, I see that there are a couple of things that I have difficulty with.
One is the complexity of the methods. I have had difficulty envisioning what GTD looks like. Looking at a Workflow chart makes my mind hurt. When I hear the words “brain dump” I get a brain freeze – it’s too overwhelming and I can’t think of anything. It was also difficult for me to see which list to put things on. While I like the idea of a Weekly Review and actually do try to at least perform a quick one, the checklist is long and daunting. It sounds good in theory to corral and process all your stuff, but really when the rubber hits the road it makes me tired just to think about it. I think I’ll go lie down for awhile. When I wake up from my nap, I’ll talk about the other thing.
The other thing is the terminology. It just doesn’t speak to me. In the book “How to Get Organized Without Resorting to Arson,” Liz Franklin says “use your own verbs and no one else’s.” People have different work personalities and organizing styles. Some access visually, others are spatial or chronological. Our words should reflect how we access things.
Here are some words that I am more comfortable with:
- GTD: Collection buckets. ME: Organizing tools
- GTD: Waiting for. ME Open Loops or Pending
- GTD: Agendas. ME: Discuss
- GTD: Next Actions. ME Action steps
- GTD: Someday/maybe. ME: Idea file
Getting back to complexity:
- GTD: Calendared actions & information. ME: Calendar
- GTD: “Next Actions” lists. ME: To Do Today list and other lists
- GTD: A “Projects” list. ME: Goal and Project Plans
- GTD: Project support material. ME: Project files
- GTD: A “Waiting For” list. ME: Follow-up system
- GTD: Reference material. ME: Weekly plan
- GTD: A “Someday/Maybe” list. ME: Idea file
A crucial difference is a way to include goals. Since I believe that goals and productivity are like peanut butter and jelly, I make a sandwich that includes both ingredients. For me, it’s clearer to know where to put incoming tasks in The Daily PlanIt Keep It Super Simple (K.I.S.S.) System, and easier to see the big picture.
See also GTD Essentials and GTD Made Visual
My Sister Invented The Birthday Calculator
My sister is a smart cookie. She devised an Excel worksheet that calculates the ages of family members on their birthdays with a formula. (Names have been changed to protect the innocent.) You too can have your very own birthday calculator. Simply enter the names of your own family and their birthdates in the appropriate places, and save the file to your computer. This also works for anniversary dates. Remember to change the year in January and you can amaze everyone with your knowledge.
More Things To Do With Index Cards
Indexed is a blog made of index cards that often make me smile, created by someone with a quirky mind and sense of humor!
Daily PlanIt 