Productivity501

Reader Question - Organization and Saving Money

Published by Mark Shead on March 28, 2008 in questions. 1 Comment

How can being organized save you money?

If time is money and being organized saves you time, it saves you money. Lets say you look for 6 things each day that take you on average 5 minutes apiece. You reorganize your office and reduce the time to 1 minute search for each item. You are now saving 24 minute each day or about 146 hours each year. Even if you have to invest half of that time staying organized that still gives you 73 hours of extra time from being organized. This is an extra 9 days each year.

You can reinvest your extra time back into work to try to earn more money, spend it with your family, or just take some extra time to relax.

Procrastination Prevention Course - Now Live!

Published by Mark Shead on March 27, 2008 in organization and performance. 0 Comments

Previously I announced that we were testing the Procrastination Prevention Course. I took the feedback from the testing group and made some changes. The course is now live.

If you have trouble with procrastination, you need to go through this course. It is designed to give you some simple strategies for preventing procrastination. Each day you get a short email with a simple assignment to help you practice breaking the procrastination habit.

The funny thing about a procrastination course is that the people who most need it are the ones most likely to put it off. If you are reading this and thinking “Maybe I’ll do that some day” I strongly recommend that you sign up for it right now. Don’t procrastinate on learning not to procrastinate.

The course is designed to take as little of your time as possible. It will only take you 45 to 90 seconds to read the daily email. The goal is to get you focusing on forming good habits in completing your daily tasks. You can sign up using the form below or from the courses page.

If you are reading this in an email or in a feed reader and you don’t see the form above, please visit the site directly to sign up. If you know anyone who is struggling with procrastination, please forward this information along to them.

Group Interview - Productive Software

Published by Mark Shead on March 27, 2008 in Uncategorized. 0 Comments

If you made a list of the software that helps you stay productive, what do you think people would be most surprised to find on that list?

That is the question Productivity501 asked a number of productivity experts. Below are their responses.

A little program called On The Job from Stunt Software. It’s a simple time tracker and invoice generator for projects. But here’s how I also use it: I have entered what would be my hourly rate based on my projects and income. Then, as I field phone calls, do tasks, and muck around, I click the starter button on the timer, the “Stop” at the end. The value of what I just did immediately appears on the screen. Wow. After one day of seeing how I was using valuable time unwisely–and how much I was giving away to clients inadvertently–my habits began to change. Give it a shot.
Steve Roesler from All Things Workplace (rss)

Being able to see where your time is actually going is very valuable. I like the idea of having a dollar amount associated with it.

Google Calendar and Tada List. Honestly, I think the most surprising thing would be my complete lack of software. I’m a minimalist, and most productivity problems don’t need more technology–they need less.
Scott H Young from ScottHYoung.com (rss)

Good point. I’ve seen lots of people who try to solve every problem by getting a new piece of software. After awhile they have so many pieces of software that they can’t keep up with it. If you can break your common tasks down to their core components you’ll find solutions that you might overlook otherwise. For example, if you think you need a contact management system, you may find that what you really need is a good way to organize a list. Maybe a new piece of contact management software fits the bill, but maybe you can do everything you need even better just using a spreadsheet.

Lookout Search. The search functionality in Outlook sucks. All of my emails, meetings, etc, are in outlook.Using the Lookout Search plugin helps me find information quickly.
John Reeve from Intervals find time (rss)

I have given up on the idea of having an empty inbox and just rely on the search functionality built into Apple Mail. Along with Spotlight I find this makes it easy to find everything. It is good to hear that there are some good options out there for Outlook users.

TextMate. It’s the text editor I use to write my books for the Pragmatic Bookshelf. Because I use a markup language, the formatting doesn’t get in the way of my writing. And, TextMate makes the writing easy–as long as I know what I need to say!
Johanna Rothman from Managing Products Development (rss)

I consider TextMate one of my secret weapons as well. When it is easy to just create a new text file, I find I let fewer things slip through the cracks. What I love about TextMate is the add-in capabilities. If I need to sort everything line by line or wrap it in an html tag, TextMate makes this easy to do.

I think the would be surprised to find hardware on the list. That is, a blackboard and pen and paper. I use to write down notes, ideas and tasks that need my attention on those places, and it works.
Daniel Scocco from Daily Bits (rss)

What I don’t like about paper is that it doesn’t show up in my searches on my computer. Also my handwriting isn’t particularly great, so I don’t enjoy reading things I’ve written by hand. I do have a notebook that I keep with me and although I don’t use it much, it is a life saver for those times I need it.

TextEdit. It’s the most basic software and I use it the most often. All of my writing and coding is done in it — which is about 75 percent of my work product.
Erin PJDoland from Unclutterer (rss)

Before getting TextMate I used TextEdit. (For those of you unfamiliar with TextEdit, it is a simple open source text editor that comes with OS X.) For writing code, I usually use Eclipse for Java and vim for shorter scripts.

When I’m using TextEdit, I usually miss some of the shortcuts I use in TextMate for dealing with HTML, sorting, etc.

Haha… probably my Moleskine notebook. I’ve been a huge evangelist of online productivity tools, but when it comes to mapping ideas and being really creative, there is still nothing close to a blank sheet of paper and pen. You can just let the ideas flow straight on to the paper. Digital tools, although handy, still get in the way sometimes.
Glen Stansberry from LifeDev (rss)

I usually use paper as part of a thinking process. Ever since reading a book on Mindmapping back in highschool, I’ve found this an effective way of thinking. Interestingly when I’m composing music, I find that the actual creative aspect works best (for me) using just staff paper and a pencil. When I come back to edit or orchestrate I’ll use a notation program, but when it comes to writing melodies, the computer tends to get in the way of the creative process. I don’t find the same thing for the written word however.

Books

Published by Mark Shead on March 26, 2008 in finances. 1 Comment

Earlier today I mentioned a book by the Wall Street Journal about personal finance, but failed to actually point people to the book. I’ve added the book to the Productivity501 store.

The book is designed to give you a good financial foundation. It doesn’t go into great depth on subjects, but it seems to do a great job of making sure you aren’t missing anything in your financial foundation of understanding.

Another book that I’d recommend is called Founders At Work. It is a series of interviews with people who started various companies. It is a great read and very enlightening to hear the stories behind all these different businesses.

One thing I’ve been fascinated by in the book is how money injected into a small company is often just as much of a curse as a blessing. Many of the truly innovative things created by these corporations were done with very little capital investment.

That isn’t to say that money never helped any startup companies, but it does give you a different perspective that not having unlimited cash on hand can be an asset.

If you haven’t checked out the book at our online store, I’d encourage you to take a look. It is quite an eclectic collection of titles that I feel have made me think deeper.

Being Financially Literate

Published by Mark Shead on March 26, 2008 in finances. 7 Comments

One of the best investments you can make in yourself is to increase your financial literacy. In fact if you only have 10 hours this year that you can invest in self-improvement there are very few ways you can better spend that time than reading a book on investing and financial management.

Go ahead and take the time to visit your library and find a few books on investing and financial management. Even if you just skim the parts that look interesting you’ll find this small investment can make a big difference in your ability to plan financially for the future.

The Wall Street Journal has a good book on investing that I’d recommend. What do other people suggest? Is there a financial book that you would recommend?

Good management of your finances can have one of the biggest impacts on your productivity because it determines how efficient you convert your time into money into the things you need. On Wednesdays we are discussing the financial aspect of productivity. Watch for more financial posts in the future.

Folder Template Video

Published by Mark Shead on March 24, 2008 in technology. 2 Comments

Several months ago, I did a post where I talked about creating folder templates. I’ve created a short You Tube video that shows the folder templates in action. I’m a bit disappointed with the You Tube quality, but I’m going to post it anyway in hopes that someone will find it useful.

Group Interview - Distraction Free Internet

Published by Mark Shead on March 23, 2008 in technology. 1 Comment

The internet can help your productivity, but it can also be a distraction. How do you obtain the benefits while avoiding the downsides?.

I finally had to do two things that are working for me:

In the Bookmark Bar, I narrowed the categories to only those related to business.

I allow myself a set amount of time (20 minutes) to check the newsfeeds and other favorite sites for 20 minutes maximum 4 times during the day. On minute 21, I close the browser window.That means I potentially “lose” 1:20 minutes of work. As a result of the routine, it never amounts to that much.

Steve Roesler from All Things Workplace (rss)

Steve’s suggestion to allow a certain amount of time for “unproductive” browsing is a good one. It is easier to stay focuses if you’ve already used up your allocated browsing time, than if you’ve just decided you aren’t going to do any browsing at all.

Assign your e-mail/internet to a specific time during your workday. If you train yourself to only answer e-mail/check the internet at certain times, it prevents random surfing when you need to do work.
Scott H Young from ScottHYoung.com (rss)

This can be a very useful practice as well. You can schedule your web browsing for times of day when you aren’t at your peak productivity anyway. For example, right after lunch.

I track my time using the web-based timers we built into Intervals.Having done this for a while, I know how many hours I should have tracked by the end of the day. If I check my timesheet midday and see only 3 hours tracked, I know I lost an hour to distractions and need to focus more on work. There are so many distractions out there, it really helps to quantify my time each day. My coworkers track their time using Intervals, too, so there is a competitive feeling in the air that helps us stay focused. I’m going to work better knowing that we’ll go over everyone’s timesheets in our weekly meeting. The key here is that I’ve had to discipline myself to focus on work and ignore distractions. I did it using timers, but it doesn’t matter what you use as long as you can learn to stay focused.
John Reeve from Intervals find time (rss)

Peer pressure is a powerful motivator.

The internet is no different from any other tool, i.e. you can make any tool be a distraction! The way I obtain benefits while avoiding the downside is to make sure I know what I have to do for work. I chunk my work into small pieces, so I always have a way to make progress.
Johanna Rothman from Managing Products Development (rss)

Personally I find I can stay more focused when I feel like I’m making, small but continuous progress. When I’m completing a bunch of smaller tasks in regular intervals, it is a lot easier to stay focused and “in the zone” than when I’m working on a large project where I don’t feel like I’ve made any progress for the last 4 hours.

First of all I only use websites and online applications that will provide value and help me achieve my objectives. If you signup to every new social site or web application that is launched you will end up wasting a lot of time.Secondly, focus on one thing at a time. If you are writing something it would be a good idea to turn off your IM client, for instance.
Daniel Scocco from Daily Bits (rss)

I’m generally pretty careful what social networking tools I invest time in. I’ve been amazed at how many friends I have who sign up for every new application that comes out (and then invite me). I constantly wonder how they have time to get anything else done.

It’s a constant struggle. One of the ways that I’ve found to curb distractions is to set time limits and schedules. For example, I check my RSS feed reader twice a day, for 15 minutes each time. I start by
reading the blogs that are of highest priority to me and then comb through the others as time permits. When the 15 minutes have passed, I select “mark all as read” and close down the reader.
Erin PJDoland from Unclutterer (rss)

This is a great strategy for dealing with RSS feeds. If you practice this, you probably won’t miss anything important, but you’ll keep your news reader from becoming a huge time sink. I like having my reader setup so I can read it from my Blackberry. That way I can catch up on feeds while I wait for appointments, etc.

Well, I try to limit extra Internet “white noise” as much as possible. I pull this off by limiting my IM, Twitter, Facebook, Email, and any other outside chatter that puts the brakes on my productivity. Also, I think overly complicated productivity systems can get in the way as well. Constantly trying and “tweaking” your productivity setup can be a huge time sink and always keeps you looking for the next best thing. I try to combat this by switching or changing my productivity system only when something is really not needing my needs. Otherwise, I try to stick it out.
Glen Stansberry from LifeDev (rss)

A lot of the value of a productivity system comes from having a system–not having a superior system. If you invest 30 hours in finding the perfect notebook to write your tasks, it is unlikely that you’ll gain those hours back over just using typing paper. It is easy to feel like you are becoming more productive because you are working on your system, but sometimes it is just a form of procrastination.

Reader Question - Checking Email Abroad

Published by Mark Shead on March 21, 2008 in questions. 3 Comments

How do I access my email from a foreign country?

In most countries you can check your email just like you do in the US. If you are using a web mail provider like Gmail or Yahoo, you just have to find an internet connection. Many countries have internet cafes where you can use their computer for the internet by paying an hourly fee. If you are in China or another country where they limit citizen’s access to certain sites on the internet, it might be more difficult to check your email.

If you are traveling with a laptop and want to download your mail, things should still work about the same as in the US. Many internet cafes will let you connect into their network with your laptop for the same hourly fee.

When you are using another computer, be sure to clear all your browser settings. Be especially careful not to let the browser remember your password when you check your mail. If you are using your laptop, it is a good idea to make sure that you check and send email through a secure connection and that you aren’t sending your password as clear text where others can see it by watching the network. Also if your email provider offers SMTP on a port other than 25, you should use the alternate port. That way if some of the providers block port 25 to fight viruses that send spam, you’ll still be able to send messages.

A few weeks ago I had a discussion with some people who were missionaries going into countries where they were not allowed. The wanted to know how to avoid the government viewing their emails. I told them that if they used something like Gmail over the web on their personal computer, they were probably pretty safe. The traffic is encrypted between their laptop and the Google servers in the US. However, they would need to be careful about any unencrypted sites the visit.

Another problem would be using a public computer. Even if the connection to the email service is encrypted, the computer itself could be recording your interactions. If using a standalone mail program (instead of web based email) they would need to make sure that all of their traffic was going over SSL for both sending and receiving.

Fewer Financial Institutions

Published by Mark Shead on March 19, 2008 in finances. 6 Comments

Last year I finally got fed up with all the statements I was getting from various financial institutions. I had retirement accounts with 4 or 5 different companies and stock accounts with 2 or 3 others. It was very difficult to keep track of what was doing going and what was doing poorly.

I finally settled on two institutions. One for retirement type accounts and one for my non-retirement savings, checking and investments. I contacted both institutions and gave them a list of what I wanted to move over. On the retirement side of things the transition went very smoothly. They filled out all the paperwork, sent it to me for my signature and I FedExed it back to them. The non-retirement side of things took a bit more work–probably because I was dealing with a smaller amount of money so they made me do it on my own.

In the end it has made things much easier for me to manage. If you have worked several different places over the last decade or so and have retirement accounts in various areas, you might consider combining them.

One advantage I found was that with my combined balance, some of the fees I was paying are now waved on the retirement side of things. On the non-retirement side of things, I have access to savings accounts and CD with a higher interest rate because I’m over a certain threshold.

On the negative side of things, I suppose there is a little more risk that someone could get into one account and take my money than getting into multiple accounts. This is probably offset by the fact that with my combined account on the retirement side I have an account manager paying much more attention now because of the larger balance.

What are your thoughts? Do you think it is better to combine to one or two institutions or keep things spread out with 5 or 6 different places?

American Express Concierge 3

Published by Mark Shead on March 17, 2008 in remote assistant. 1 Comment

On Mondays we’ve been discussing working with a remote assistant. We’ve taken a brief side trail for a few weeks looking at actually trying to use American Express’ concierge service. This week I’m going to show an attempt to use the service to find housing in Mexico. My wife and I lived in Durango Mexico for a few months and couldn’t seem to find any type of furnished housing. I figured the concierge would be good at locating this type of thing–especially since dealing with lodging in other countries seems to be something American Express advertises they do well.

Here is the message I sent:

I am looking at spending some time in Mexico next fall. Specifically I am looking at the town of Durango in the state of Durango. Could you see if there are any furnished apartments/homes available down there? At this point I’m just looking to get an idea of what would be available and what the pricing would be.

Here is what I need:

- At least 2 bedrooms.
- Accepts a small dog (around 9 pounds)
- Highspeed internet connection
- No scorpions

Thanks!

Mark

I got a message back saying that I needed to contact their “Villas of Distinction” department. I called them and when they realized I was looking for something longer than 3 months, they directed me back to the concierge service. The representative offered to call the concierge service and get them back on the task for me only to call me back an hour latter saying that they wouldn’t talk to her an I would need to call them back.

I emailed them back again with the following:

I spoke with Michelle and was told that they only handle very short term type arrangements. I’m looking for something for 3 months. Michelle tried to call concierge to tell them to go ahead, but concierge wouldn’t help her help me unless I sent a response to my original request (see your response below).

I’m pretty confused why you couldn’t take Michelle’s call and look up my original request. It very much seems like I’m getting bounced around which does away with the benefits of this type of service anyway.

I’m trying again. Please see my original request below. If the concierge who receives this just doesn’t feel like helping, please pass it on to someone who can be helpful. Also please include the name of the person responding so if I get the run around again I can at least know who I was talking with–especially if they try to pass me off to a different department.

Thanks

Mark

For the careful readers out there, you might be able to detect that I was a bit frustrated with getting bounced around. It seemed like the concierge service was getting paid to respond to requests–not necessarily do anything useful with them.

A few days later I received their reply:

I hope your day is going well. After contacting some companies in Durango, DGO I unfortunately was not able to find any companies or private properties for rent. I also consulted the Durango Tourism that informed me there weren’t any agencies in Durango who deals with property rentals. The Durango Tourism suggested perhaps placing an ad in one of the local papers or searching the paper classified. I believe the market for rentals in Durango, DGO is not in great demand.

Paper: The voice (La Boz De Durango)
Phone: 52-618 812 9911
Website: www.lavozdedurango.com

Paper: The Sun (El Sol)
Phone: 52-618 811 2100
Website: www.oem.com.mx

Paper: El Siglo
Phone: 52-618 813 7080
Website: www.elsiglodedurango.com.mx

I do apologize I was not able to locate a rental property for you. If there is anything else I can do to assist you, please do not hesitate to contact us.

While this is useful, it isn’t what I had hoped for. In their defense, the concierge does seem to have legitimately tried to locate a place. And if nothing is available it definitely isn’t her fault.

My experience with the concierge service is that (for the most part) they won’t be able to do anything faster for you than you can do it yourself. Many times it will take longer because of the back and forth required. A couple people have suggested that calling in will get you better service because they can ask you questions on the phone.

One thing interesting to note is that the concierge service isn’t even provided by American Express directly. It is provided by a company called Circles Company Associates, Inc. They provide concierge services that you can bundle with the products you offer your customers or as a perk for employees. So if you are big company you can give all your employees concierge services by signing up with Circles.

Their service might be a little more useful if you are in a big city or traveling to large cities. They can probably do a better job of finding a great restaurant in Chicago than finding a place to stay in a non-vacation area of central Mexico. The bottom of their emails usually encourages you to call them about sending flowers or gifts for birthdays or special occasions so that might be another area where they shine.