To-Do or Not To-Do? Taking Your To-Do List to the Next Level!

Do you have a to-do list, either on a piece of paper, on Microsoft Outlook or in a planner? Do you want to take it to the next level?

Having a to-do list can be very helpful in accomplishing your tasks, but also setting goals. In order to set goals, you have to write them down and then prioritize them. Then, you need to assign tasks to each goal, where you break the goal down into manageable chunks. This will help you battle procrastination in a big way. You can also apply this to your personal life, not just your professional life.

If you want to take your tasks to the next level, follow these tips:

• Make sure that you have your list in front of you and try to figure out how many tasks you can accomplish for that day. Narrow them down to the amount that you can manage (usually 3 - 5), but some people can do more or less. Move all of the other tasks to the next day or time that you can tackle them.
  


• Next, add a time frame to each task. For example, I will try to work on task A for 1 hour. Then I will work on Task B for 30 minutes and so on and so forth. This will keep your project/goal in a manageable time frame, where you know how much time will be left once you've accomplished these tasks. This will also keep you concentrated on each task and not start multi-tasking or get distracted.
  


• At the end of each task, make sure to either check off the completed task or write a note about your progress. I usually use Outlook to track my progress and add percentages of how much I feel I've accomplished for larger tasks. This way, you can see what's left and reward yourself for a job well done.

Try to use these tips in your everyday life and see how much better and easier things will get done.

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Prioritization: A Colorful Outlook

Do you receive quite a bit of e-mail in your Inbox each day, but have trouble prioritizing them? Do you feel overwhelmed with trying to figure out who you should respond to first?

 

I recently added a post called "Outlook Rules That Rule" from a fellow Administrative Assistant's blog. This basically shows you how to make your e-mails go directly into certain categories, folders, you name it.

 

There is another method to this madness though. You can further prioritize e-mails by adding color to them. No, you are not making your screen more lively - well, if that's what you are intending to do, then go ahead.

 

When e-mails come in and you have set up your colors, you will notice that you have prioritized them by color. For example, I receive an e-mail from my direct supervisor. This will show up in red, since I know I have to get to this one first, before I can even touch any other one. Then I have my faxes set up as green. I know that this would be next, since people depend on these quite a bit around my office.

 

Here are the steps to doing this:

 

1. When you receive an e-mail, click on Tools, and then Organize.

 

2. Click on Using Colors. Click on the particular color that you want to apply to all of these types of e-mails from the particular person and click Apply Color.

 

3. Repeat steps 1 - 2 for each person that you want to create a different color. 

That's it! Now you have a new prioritization system set up.

 

Tip: Make sure not to use too many colors, since you might forget to distinguish the important from the less important.

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Outlook Rules That Rule

Editor’s note: This is a guest post by Patricia Robb of Laughing All The Way to Work: A Survival Blog for Today's Administrative Assistant .

I have finally taken the time to create rules for my Inbox. It was getting out of control. I knew the rules option existed, but I never took the time to check it out. What I discovered is a time saver and e-mail management tool that is a best-kept secret. Sometimes taking the time is the biggest hurdle, but this one is well worth the effort.

I have written previously that to manage my work e-mail better I asked friends and family to send e-mails to my home rather than work. This has been a great way to clear up a lot of unnecessary e-mails at work. I also subscribe to feeds to my home e-mail account. Even though they are work-related, I rarely have time to look at them so it is easier for me to do that from home. Bottom line is -- my home e-mail account is now like Grand Central Station. I get home at night and regularly find 40 new messages in my Inbox that I have to sift through. Some e-mails are useful, but I don’t always have time to deal with them right away. This is where the rules feature has come in handy.

Here is an example of some sub-folders and rules that I have set up that would work for a work e-mail or home account: 

• I now send my subscribed feeds to a sub-folder that I can look at when I have the time. They are now at my convenience, rather than being in my face every time I look in my Inbox.
   
• I have set up a folder for Google Alerts to keep me updated on what is new in my profession. With my new rule they go directly to that folder.
   
• I have set up a folder for some personal e-mails that I receive that are special and I want to keep them together. I have also set a sound to play when they pop in so I will recognize when they arrive and who they are from.
   
• I have set up another folder for a personal acquaintance who is forever sending me joke e-mails and dire warnings. I have asked this person not to send them at work, which she has done and now sends them to my home. They are just as annoying to receive at home however, but for the sake of our friendship, I have set up a folder and they are dumped in there as soon as they come in. This has helped tremendously and with little effort on my part and no offence to my friend. I can then check the sub-folder at the end of the day and delete all the e-mails I don't want to read and just read the ones that are relevant.

You can still be notified when these e-mails arrive by setting a sound rule. The sub-folders where they are sent are bolded to indicate there are new messages in it. Don’t worry, these e-mails do not get lost or are completely out of sight. They are just put out of the way until you have time to deal with them. I would recommend keeping your Inbox folder expanded so you see the sub-folders and are aware of what is happening in them.

I now only have e-mails that I need to see come directly in my Inbox. Everything else is at my convenience and that is good. You can do the same thing with your work e-mails. You will notice your Inbox will be less crowded and easier to manage. I would not recommend setting a rule to send e-mails from your boss to a sub-folder however. Some things are best coming directly in your Inbox. You will know what works best for your working situation.

I have also set up a To-do sub-folder which I drag and drop items in if I am waiting on a reply or need to do something with it. Some things you do not want to set up as a rule, but you don't want them sitting in your Inbox either. Flagging these items and setting reminders would be a good idea. I have also named the sub-folder *To-Do List to ensure it is at the top of my alphabetical listing of sub-folders. Putting the asterisk makes sure it is first on my list.

There are many other things you can do with rules so take the time to check them out and feel your way around. It will be worth the effort.

Share what you have learned with your boss. Most executives I know want the help and this would be a great way of organizing them. If you have access to their Inbox you can set them up. Always be in communication and agreement with them however on what is best before forging ahead and changing everything. Otherwise, you will have a very frazzled and frustrated executive on your hands. A simple system is best as they are normally on the move and cannot take the time to figure out elaborate filing systems. I would suggest a folder for News, and set a rule to move all their feeds into that sub-folder, and perhaps a Junk Mail folder that they can later go through to determine if they want to delete the item or unsubscribe.

Keep in mind that sub-folders are not always accessible with some wireless hand-held devices so I would be very careful about moving everything to a sub-folder, just things that are not urgent and can be looked at later. I am sure your boss would be very happy to have an uncluttered Inbox with only things that need their attention. On a semi-related matter, I read a tip on OfficeArrow.com that you should keep in mind -- setting flags on your e-mails are not visible to users on their wireless.

Normally the assistant does not have a wireless and therefore we don't realize the limitations. It is a good idea to have that discussion with your boss before trying to organize their Inbox.

My Inbox is now empty

If there is an e-mail that I haven't looked at in awhile and regularly press delete when I get it, that is my cue to unsubscribe. Wow! It feels like I just went through my closet and threw a whole bunch of clothes out that I never wear. It's great, but I am so used to having e-mails popping into my Inbox that now I am wondering, "Where have all my e-mails gone?" I am having withdrawal symptoms... I better go and check my new sub-folders, but at least now it is at my convenience.

It is simple to set up a new rule in Outlook 2007

From your Toolbar, drop down the Tools menu and click on Rules and Alerts, click on New Rule. For a simple rule to send e-mails from a particular address to a folder, do the following:

Under Step 1 Stay Organized, choose Move messages from someone to a folder and in Step 2 click on people or distribution list and highlight the e-mail address you want. Press the From button and press OK. Then while still in the Step 2 portion, click on specified and choose which folder you want it to go to. Click Finish, then Apply and OK to seal the deal. And voila it is done. Scroll through the options you have for other rules.

When e-mails are received and sent to the sub-folder, it will be bolded and the number of e-mails will be written beside the box so you will know you have new mail.

Tip:
Before creating the rule you need to put the e-mail addresses of your feeds (or whatever you want to create a rule for) in your contact list and open a sub-folder that you want things like this to go to in order to complete the process above.

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Has The Bubble Burst?

Editor’s note: This is a guest post by James of Organize IT.

In my weekly recap last Friday I pointed out a Lifehack.org article arguing that the current climate for hyper-productivity isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Then yesterday I came across a similar post, claiming that the pursuit of productivity has ended up out of control. It seems to me that there is now an increasing shift toward simplifying our lives. Who needs to be productive when the amount of stuff you have to deal with is cut in half?

How many blogs, online tools, software and books are there nowadays providing the latest, fashionable way to hit the peak of productivity? There is an entire industry dedicated to the issue; a sub-niche of personal development, capable of surviving and even thriving on its own.
It’s understandable this has come about. Our lives are increasingly hectic and we are bombarded by so much stuff on a daily basis that learning to be productive, so as to handle the stresses of modern life, is a wise move. And that’s just for your personal life. When you take into account the current business attitude of doing more with less (all for profits, profits and more profits!) no wonder this culture of getting things done has developed.

At the height of my furore for being an efficient to-do list completing machine, I was regularly finding work to do. If I didn’t have a full day’s worth of tasks to complete I wasn’t being efficient enough. Projects wouldn’t be moving forward and my goals and plans would be lagging behind… or so it seemed. Whether I did hit all my targets was actually what I used to judge my success; what I actually completed was irrelevant. The thing I never bothered to ask myself until recently was whether what I was doing was actually important. I bet a lot of others have found themselves in this situation.

One of the biggest pieces of advice dished out by any personal development source is that you should never wait for the right moment, time or situation to do something otherwise you will always be putting it off. One could also say that you should never wait for the right productivity tools to get things done. Unfortunately there is so much written on the topic that it’s become complex, time consuming and ironically, unproductive. Whatever happened to just getting on with it?

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Adhering to the "Open Door" Policy

In my last job, I had my own office. I worked as an Investment Advisor’s Assistant, completed my CSC (Canadian Securities Course), but soon after, I realized that this wasn’t really for me.

 

It was great having my own office. I would be able to do work without too many interruptions, have quiet time, since the walls and the closed door (at times) would stop the noise from reaching in.

 

I work in a large firm now where it’s mainly an open concept area, with only the managers having their own offices. We strive for an “open door” policy, but of course, there are times when the managers hold meetings or make phone calls and have their door closed.

 

One thing that always bothered me in my last job was when I had my door closed, people would still knock and ask me questions that weren’t urgent. If it was my boss that showed up, well, that’s a different story.

 

Just remember, if your company has an “open door” policy, please adhere to it. It really does disturb the person that sits in that office when you need to bother them for something that can wait until later. If it’s an urgent matter, then make sure to knock lightly and politely advise them of the issue.

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6 Easy Steps to a Better Work-Life Balance

Do you find that you are working way too much? Do you feel that you want to spend more time with your family, friends or by yourself?

 

Many people are stuck in this situation where they can’t seem to find a good work-life balance. This can be difficult for many, but unfortunately, there is no simple answer. You have to understand that each person has to find balance in their life in their own way. There is really no right or wrong answer.

 

Here are 6 key strategies to reflect on when you are trying to figure out your own work-life balance:

 

• If you are an office type worker, make sure to get up from your desk every so often to stretch, take a break or clear your mind. 

• Getting regular exercise of 20 minutes a day, 3 times a week is crucial. Try to squeeze it in where you can. Even if it’s 5 minutes here and there, it does add up. 

• “I don’t mix business with pleasure!” Adopt this strategy! It’s really important to keep your home and work life separate. 

• Schedule some “me” time. Go out with friends, take a hot bath, listen to some music, join a club or take a class. 

• Imagine that the end of the world is near. Picture what you would do in the last moments of your time. Try to do these things in your life starting today. 

• Create a budget! Finances can weigh people down and create problems in relationships. Many divorces are based on this one factor. Sit down with your partner and do it together. 

Follow these 6 simple steps and you will figure out what work-life balance is right for you.

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Too Many People Need Your Help At Once?

Are you having difficulty with overcoming a problem? Do you have too many people coming to you at once asking for your help?

 

This happens to me quite often, since I help about 30 people, including 6 managers. It's either dead quiet or everyone needs you all at the same time.

 

The best way to deal with stressful situations like this is to stop, take a breath and relax for a few minutes. I know that you might have a large workload to deal with, but this will definitely help.

 

Once you get your body to relax for a bit, your focus will be much more productive on what you have to accomplish. Taking a few slow, deep breaths in between can also help.  Try removing yourself from the situation by taking a short walk.  Exercise can do wonders.  Try venting to someone you confide in.  Just getting out the tension will release any anxiety and stress you may have.

 

Just remember to take one task at a time and cross it off your list once you've accomplished it. Don't try to multi-task, since the human mind wasn't designed to act like a computer or a robot.

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Falling Behind on Your Workload?

Are you falling behind on your work? Do you feel that too many people are coming to you and overloading your workload?

 

This happens to me from time to time. Since I am an administrative assistant for 30 staff, which includes 6 managers, it can get a little hectic at times.

 

Imagine at times that you are bored out of your mind, going around to other staff members asking for work. Then there are times when everyone is coming to you for something all at the same time. This is how it usually goes in any office.

 

But there is a light at the end of the tunnel. One of the best ways to combat this is to schedule a meeting with your boss to discuss how this can be tackled in a productive way.

 

Here are some to-do tips before you head into the meeting:

 

• Create a list of all of the main tasks that you are doing. Don't write each task out, but summarize them into main groups. 

• Think of ways you can help manage the workload. This might be getting someone else to do some of the work for a short period of time or asking people to e-mail you urgent requests using the High Importance icon in Microsoft Outlook. 

Mention to your boss that you are actively trying to keep up with the workload, but are worried that higher priority tasks might fall behind and would like their opinion on how to prioritize them. This will show that you are being proactive.

 

Make sure to have a follow-up meeting with your boss every so often until your workload goes back to normal, just to keep them in the loop of how things are going.

 

You'd be surprised of how well your boss will take it!

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Worry Free Confidential Document Printing

Do you have confidential documents that you need to send to your network printer? Do you not want to run back and forth between your desk and the printer to make sure that no one can see what you are printing?

Ok, the last sentence sounds like you are doing something wrong at work (and you may be, which is obviously not a good thing), but you might be trying to print something that has sensitive information.

There are times where managers ask me to print documents that have to be kept private either for a period of time or completely. Since I am at one end of the office (other staff members call this area "oblivion") and the printer is on the other end, it makes it difficult for me to run back and forth.

Most printers nowadays come with a simple function called the "Hold and Print" function. This allows you to print a document or several documents and asks you to enter a 4-digit PIN on your computer. Once you get a chance to go to the printer and want to release the one or several print jobs, you are asked to enter your pin for each job.

The printer would usually specify the login ID and then enter your PIN. For example, mine would be my employee number. This way, I can only access my own print jobs and cannot unlock other staff members' documents.

Unfortunately, I can't provide details of how this is done, since each printer's functions are different. However, if you click File, Print and then click on Properties, you should be able to find this type of function, provided that your printer has it built in. If you're not sure how this works, check with your IT department.This will help you and your staff members become more productive.

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Microsoft Customer Service Calls Back 10 Years Later

You are probably reading the title of this post and scratching your head, thinking "Is this right?" Believe it or not, this is correct.

I found an interesting article on a fellow blogger's site about customer service that was delayed by 10 years. This is something you really don't want to do, if you work in a customer service environment. You can find the article here.

Human error always happens, but you should always double-check your work, to avoid mishaps such as this one.

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Declutter Your Desk - Ask Others to Use Your Mail Tray

Do you find that when you come into the office in the morning and get to your desk that you have a large pile of papers placed neatly all over your desk or on your chair? Do you think that your staff members should be using the mail tray that's been provided right on the edge of your desk?

People tend to leave things on others' desks without noticing the mail tray that's been provided. This would help you organize things in a much more effective way.

I'm not sure if people think that if they leave something on your desk or chair, that it will get completed faster. If it's urgent, a sticky note would suffice. If it's a larger item that cannot fit in your mail tray or is too heavy, can be placed on your desk or chair. If you don't have a mail tray, get one. If you don't want to use one, then I would suggest placing the items on the person's chair.

People have to understand that each person prioritizes their work their own way. If people place items on my desk or chair, I will simply place it back at the top of my mail tray and prioritize all documents as needed.

If this keeps happening to you and you figured out who the culprit is, speak with them, one to one, to let them know that you would prefer this.

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E-mails Should Not Be Like a Game of Tennis!

You write an e-mail to a staff member about a client having an issue with something. The staff member writes you back, but you don’t quite understand it. You write them again, asking for clarification.

Has this ever happened to you? People use e-mail too frequently, making messages more and more convoluted as they go back and forth like a tennis ball.

Using e-mail is a great tool, especially if you are trying to cut down on company costs via international phone calls and postage fees. One of the downfalls of it is not getting the message across between yourself and the receiver.

Sure, there are times that e-mail is appropriate, such as when you need some sort of record from a client to fulfill their product order. But when it comes to information exchange between you and your colleague, it really depends on what issue is at hand.

The best way would be to either call or chat face to face with the other person. At this point, you can hash out the issue quickly, without having to read threads of long e-mails. If you prefer, you can ask the person to send you an e-mail with a summary of what you discussed, just so you have a record of it. You never know when someone would come back to you and tell you that they didn’t ask you to do a certain task. At least you will have proof of it.

Another point I would like to stress is to archive your e-mails for a certain period of time that either you or your company feels would be appropriate. You can read about this on an article I wrote entitled “8 Steps to Archiving E-mails”.

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Blogging Here and There

As you may have noticed, I haven't been blogging on a daily basis for about 2 weeks now. I realized that blogging is great, but you have to try to have a life outside of the computer world as well.

I will try to write posts when my time permits. If I find a really great or juicy story, I will definitely post it on here.

Wireless internet providers provide internet access without attaching cables and wires to your system. Every customer desires cheap web hosting with good quality which can also provide blogging which is the most interesting activity online. Web site design is always given high importance as it gives a first impression. Cheapest domain name can be seen online where it can be registered at very low rates. The online backup stores online data and keep its record for security and recovery purposes. Many online companies provide webhosting domain but a thorough knowledge is required to purchase it. Wireless internet cafe are not very common, but people are asking for it day and night. Thus blogging is becoming the norm at these cafés.

I also want to wish everyone Happy Holidays and a Happy and Prosperous New Year!

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No E-mail Day?

What would you say about having a “No e-mail day?” What would you do in place of it?

Intel is the first company to implement this day for its employees. The UK office started this “No e-mail day” as a way to get its employees, especially engineers, to talk with each other face to face each and every Friday. E-mail is strictly prohibited and is enforced. They can use any other means of communication, even picking up the phone and talking to each other.

There have been instances of where employees that sit a few cubicles away from each other prefer to e-mail rather than walk over or call the other on the phone. This actually happens quite a bit at my workplace as well.

Some employees that are right across from each other, where a filing cabinet is placed between them, prefer to e-mail or call each other on the phone. Yet it only takes literally 2 seconds to get up from your desk, which is good for your body to get some stretches every so often, and walk over.

I can understand that certain items need to be handled via e-mail, so you have a record of the matter, but if it’s something that doesn’t need to be recorded, such as asking the person where they would like to have lunch or how their weekend went.

E-mail can be a productivity drainer, since you have to write messages back and forth so many times, yet if you call or talk to the person face to face, the issue at hand can be resolved much faster.

Try to find other ways to communicate with your fellow staff members and see how much better it feels to hear a voice or see a face when you do it.

Here are some more articles on e-mailing and productivity, for your reading pleasure.

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100 Resources to Keep You Productive When on the Move - Guest Post

Do you find yourself wanting to get work done while you are travelling? Are you looking for software or information on how you can help your company and staff members achieve this?

I recently received an e-mail from a fellow blogger asking if they could guest post an article on this site. I read their article and found it very intriguing. The vast amount of information that was provided on various ways to communicate with others via technology was astounding.

Take a look at their article entitled "The Mobile Productivity Toolbox: 100 Resources to Keep You Productive When on the Move" for more information. This article will provide some creative ways to communicate with your staff members and your office in short detail.

Just don't forget that you should never use your cellular phone or other hand held device while operating a vehicle.

You can also find more travel related articles here.

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Death By E-mail?

Do you find yourself having to pile through mountains of e-mails? Do you wish you had a mole hill of it instead?

At my current job, I receive close to 100 e-mails per day. You wonder how I get through it all? Well, to tell you the truth, most of them are simple requests or "Thank You's". These are easy and quick to sort through. The others I actually have to tend to carefully.

Don't check your e-mails every minute. One thing that helps me quite a bit is to take it one step at a time. I don't check my e-mails every time the small envelope shows up on my screen. I've even disabled the transparent window that pops up every time someone sends me something. It just makes you more stressed. It's bad enough that you get more and more e-mails each and every minute.

Another e-mail battler is a spam fighter. Our firm has installed quite a sophisticated spam filtering software. It automatically moves unwanted files that it detects on its own into spam folders that I've created. But don't forget to quickly scan through your e-mails in this folder, since there may be items that fall through the cracks and you might delete that all important message from you boss.

File your completed e-mails away. Once I'm finished with the task that was asked in the e-mail, I move it into one of the folders that I've created for clients, staff, whatever the case may be. This way, I know that it's done with and don't have to worry about it.

Don't forget to flag it. If I need to follow up on something, I can flag it. There are different colours to choose from. Most people flag it according to priority, which I do as well, but others use it to classify items according to different types of tasks. It's really up to you of what you want to use them for.

Here's are some more articles about dealing with e-mails:

• 8 Steps to Archiving E-mails
• Is Your E-mail Really Safe?
• How Not to Write E-mails
• How to Write Effective E-mails

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Falling Behind on Your Follow-Ups?

Are you falling behind on your follow-ups? Do you want to improve the efficiency of following up with clients?

I sometimes get caught up with work overload at times and don't realize that I forgot to follow up with staff or clients' needs. I try my best at times to do this, but things get pushed back - I'm sure you know the drill.

One of the things that I do on a daily basis (well, try to anyways), is to take a look at my to-do list. I create reminders on Outlook for each task, so that when I do forget, a message will pop up on my screen to remind me of the task. If it's urgent, I will get to it right away. If not, I will click on the "Snooze" button and set it to whatever period of time I feel I can get it done in.

There will be days where you can't get to these tasks at all and others where you can just whiz through them. Try to complete tasks that need your attention within 2 - 3 business days. Otherwise you will start to fall behind and clients/staff members will start asking what's going on.

If you use a filing system for your to-do's, create folders numbered from 1 - 31. Then place each task into the corresponding day that you need to complete the task by. I used to use this at one of my old jobs. It was a life saver! If you can't complete the task that day, move it into the next day. Be weary though, you don't want it to pile up, so remember the 2 - 3 business day rule.

You can read more about using Outlook for tasks in this article. Also, here's a great article about time management.

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Yellow Post-It Notes

Are you looking for some innovative ways on using your yellow Post-It notes?

Here's an article I found on a fellow Administrative Assistant's website for some great uses.  It even covers electronic sticky notes.

If you are more of a person who likes to use Outlook for reminders to pop up a few minutes, hours or days before the task needs to be completed or you need to attend a meeting, here are some tips on how to go about it:

• Write up the task in your Outlook, but make sure to give yourself enough time to be able to complete the task.  A day or two before the task is due is usually sufficient.
• If you are booking a meeting for yourself, for others or both, give everyone ample time to respond to the meeting and provide a reminder (there's a check box for this in the meeting set up page) of at least 15 minutes.

If you are looking to take sticky notes to a new level, you can read more information about it on this article.

If you have any questions, suggestions or comments, please feel free to click on the "comments" link below and leave some feedback.

Until next time,

Take care - of your clutter!

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