Whiteboard Monday – To-Do List of Tasks, Objectives and Goals

Tasks, Objectives, Goals

As a manager one of the best tools you can use is a to-do list. A list of any task, objectives and goals you need to prioritize and complete. They help keep your management tasks organized and on track. Humans are visual creatures so it is not surprising that we use so many visual tools to communicate with. One of the best visual tools in your office is a dry erase whiteboard. Since it is large … [Read more...]

How To Manage Topic Specific Paperwork

paper overload

As managers we must deal with a lot of paperwork and information from a variety of sources. Without a good information management system you can have a hard time finding something when you need it. The system detailed here will take all of the data on a specific subject and put it in one easy to access and portable place. Project meetings, staff meetings, vendor meetings. Think of all of the … [Read more...]

Has Work Taken Over Your Life?

atlas

Do you feel your work has taken over your life? Work can seem like a giant time sucking machine that will take as much time as you give it. There is always something to do and there never seems to be enough time to get everything done. Learning to manage your time, set your priorities and set limits on what you take on can help you get back to a reasonable work-life balance. Working long hours … [Read more...]

Get Things Done With Smarter To-Do Lists

To-Do List

To-do lists, task list, don’t forget lists. We all use lists of some type to remind us and organize our tasks. Learning how to create and better use these lists will make them more usable to us and more efficient to create. Gina Trapani author and founding editor of Lifehacker wrote an excellent article for Fast Company. Work Smart: How to Write a To-Do List first shows you the differences … [Read more...]

Develop Your Own Note-Taking Best Practices

Note Taking Best Practices

For managers note-taking is a skill used every day and like any skill it can be improved on. By developing  your own set of note-taking best practices your notes will be more effective and less time consuming to properly utilize. In an article to follow I will layout an information management system that will show you an efficient and effective way to manage your notes and other forms of … [Read more...]

How To Convert An Email Into An Outlook Task

Productivity Tips

Do you get a lot of emails that require follow-up or an action to be performed? If so keeping track of them and remembering when to do them can be difficult. I am going to show you a killer way to easily create a task in Microsoft Outlook to remind you to take care of it. This productivity tip will show you how to easily covert a Microsoft Outlook email into a task with a reminder so you will … [Read more...]

Use a 5S System For Your Email

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A 5S System is method used to keep the workplace organized and clean. You can use the principles of a 5S System with your email to keep your inbox clear and your emails organized. With a good folder system and a 5S mentality towards your email you can quickly clear your inbox and find old emails when you need them. One of the core concepts of a 5S System is “Everything has a place and … [Read more...]

The Power of Weekend Brainstorming

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At work you may come up with ideas, but lack the time or concentration to expand on them. There is a method you can use on the weekend, away from the distractions of work that will allow you to work on these ideas and also come up with some great new ideas. Brainstorming is a technique of gathering large numbers of ideas. Usually the ideas are aimed at solving a specific problem and done in a … [Read more...]