Author: Carol Williams

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Evernote

Evernote: Easier Filing for Your Mind (and Life!)

The world’s tallest filing cabinet, in Burlington, VT is only a hop, skip, and a jump away from EPS’s New Hampshire home base. Hanging high over an overgrown empty lot, the cabinet is a monument to the power of stored information, its creator Bren Alvarez showcasing information’s towering dominance over our lives. Yet, at 38 feet tall, the world’s tallest filing cabinet may not be tall enough anymore.

Think about the information you receive and recall every day. The cool new album you heard on the radio. Your son’s appointment, needing to be rescheduled. The flower you saw at a greenhouse that you want to try growing in your spring garden. How do you keep all this information straight? You may be taking mental notes, but it soon becomes exhausting and frustrating to keep what’s important at the forefront of your mind, while still trying to remember all the other extraneous details. Folders on your computer seem to grow exponentially, with important documents getting lost in a sea of downloads and images. And if you took physical notes on all of these bits and pieces of your daily life, you could find yourself buried under piles of paper higher than the world’s tallest filing cabinet.

This is where Evernote comes in, a tool with the superhuman strength needed to lift all your thoughts’ weight. At its heart, Evernote is designed to help you remember all the details of your life without the stress of storing and organizing them. Users create “notebooks” which act as files, then fill these notebooks with all sorts of data. You can jot quick notes on your smartphone, forward Evernote emails for future reference, snap and save pictures, even store voice memos on the service. Evernote is constantly accessible through smartphones or tablets, and every note gets synced between devices to be reached anywhere you are. Everything you upload to Evernote is easily searchable. Through systems of “tags,” or categories of information, and search filters, you can efficiently find the exact note you need. No more wading through endless lists of untitled documents for one kernel of information.

Evernote is also a starting point for several other apps compatible with the service. “Penultimate” offers the tactile feeling of pen-and-paper notes for tablet users. Evernote’s “Web Clipper” tool stores portions of online articles for later use. What may be most tantalizing is the “Evernote Food” section, which recipes from online databases; users can then bookmark and collect the most delicious of these in their own online cookbook. Now when you are drooling at a dish you wanted to try, you can instantly remember how to cook it!

It’s no surprise why a service to help you remember everything is compelling. Much like the filing cabinets of yore, Evernote enhances productivity by centralizing all of life’s little tidbits in one location. But now this location is wherever you need it to be. Just try and carry around the world’s biggest filing cabinet instead, and you’ll surely see Evernote’s effort-saving appeal.

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AD/HD More time in my day prioritize

How? What to do in the Land of Good Intentions

I have taken a summer break from posting the Design Your Days blog entries….but as sweet fall air kisses us, so too I offer a couple of “last” podcast/blogs to round out the Design Your Days series.

As you likely recall…I have joined with Sue West, www.organizeforafreshstart.com. We are the Design Your Days Duo for this series of audio interviews.  These are meant to give you short, “use today” pieces of advice, in 5 to 8 minutes. If you like this podcast, please LIKE our Facebook page for tips on your newsfeed several times a week.

You can either listen HOW no. 2 or read below….

Giving presentations, I find that many of the participants expect “just information and tips.” Introspective work is shunned.

So many of us feel “pressed for time” and “just want the practical strategies”. Our Design Your Days workshop attendees realizethat the best strategies won’t last, unless you’ve done the AWARENESS work and found the ones that fit YOU and YOUR life. They understand the power of the DYD framework and know why the ‘how’ practical side is the  last focus area.

So, assuming the listeners HAVE gone through the whole process, knowing WHAT gets in their way, Why they want it, what they WANT more of and less of….they are ready for the HOW. Sometimes we KNOW what to do – and we INTEND to do it- but as the saying goes, “the road to hell is paved with good intentions.” So how do we turn those intentions into action?

Many good ideas can be found in one of my favorite books, Following Through by Steve Levinson and Pete Greider. Pete and Steve do a fantastic job of explaining that there is NOTHING WRONG WITH US when our intentions alone do not produce long lasting results. Why?

Many good ideas can be found in one of my favorite books, Following Through by Steve Levinson and Pete Grieder. Pete and Steve do a fantastic job of explaining that there is NOTHING WRONG WITH US when our intentions alone do not produce long lasting results. Why?

We have two innate guidance systems in our minds. And there is no built-in mechanism for ensuring the 2 mechanisms work in concert with one another. They are: the PGS (primitive guidance system) and the Intellectual Guidance System  (IGS). The primitive guidance system has much power, but not much intelligence. The IGS has much intelligence, but little power. So in a contest, who wins? That’s right, the one with the power. So when you “should really clean your office” (IGS) what happens? How about when you “should do your taxes early this year?” Again the IGS is driving this. You need to find that PRIMAL REASON to change your behavior. The motivation.

So in the example above….set a meeting in your office with someone who you will want to impress to get it organized. Your PGS will be in touch with your pride, and that will get you moving.

Sue and I are sharing our “best practices” for the HOW over this and subsequent podcasts. Last time, we introduced the time inventory.

Now, we weigh in with a recommendation to focus on getting more sleep.

There is a well established link between sleep deprivation and symptoms of distractibility, inattention and hyperactivity for any one of us.

So in “intentions” check sleep first. Be strong and creative if you have to be in getting the amount you need. If you have a neuro-biological condition such as ADD or ADHD, then your intention to action model HAS TO BE unique, because of your brain chemistry. Start with sleep and quiet time (meditation, mindfulness or simply quiet time for yourself).

Now, we have 2 podcasts in our HOW bucket. We’ll continue with practical strategies to get you started in taking back your time and life in the coming podcasts.

If this topic struck a chord with you, we know you’ll get much more benefit from our Design Your Days workshop. We offer public workshops periodically; check out our facebook page for the latest ones.

We offer the Design Your Days workshop to YOUR group of businesspeople, so please contact one of us for more information and to get us on your schedule.

You can find us on Facebook as Design Your Days.

Categories
Get Organized More time in my day prioritize Time strategies

F.O.C.U.S.

What ONE WORD has the ability to completely transform your productivity? How are you BEING ROBBED right now- robbed of time, profits, energy? How can you shift that?

FOCUS.

In 2014 we are faced with an Epic Challenge. It is no longer good enough to be our best. Simply knowing and perfecting our craft does not do it. Being super salespeople does not do it. Responsiveness does not always do it.

Why? We are faced, now more than ever, with the problem of Too Much.

Recently, I started a course given by Darren Hardy, editor of Success Magazine, called Insane Productivity. I must be insane…right? Anyone that knows me knows I am a little crazy, and that might be why they like me (or don’t). What’s great about this course is that it underscores much of what I already am teaching- and adds in some fun flavor and new statistics to back up the science we “time managers” teach. Thanks, Darren! Some of the info in this article is influenced by that course.

Who do YOU know who wears “busy” as their badge of honor? Running, running, and “getting it all done?” Yes, work life and home life are “busy”….everyone is “busy.”  In and of itself this is not new. But as smartphones, tablets, and 24/7 are successfully integrating themselves into our Way of Doing Business, our ability to harness the power of our intellect is compromised.

We do not just “like” our devices, we are addicted to them. I am. Fortunately, I am not in the “hopelessly” addicted category, unable to distinguish between a perceived emergency and a real one. It happens slowly; we want to be ultra -responsive, we have mobile devices, we will take care of “that” right now.

The immediate result is gratifying; we responded- people got answers- all is good. And you feel good. Why? When responding that way, a little squirt of dopamine goes off in our brain. We like dopamine. We receive dopamine when we are embraced. But the long term effects, which are being studied, involve segmentation of our brains. It becomes increasingly difficult to “think big.”

This sounds simple, but execution is sketchy at best. However if we don’t learn new and more powerful ways of focusing, we will continue to feel as if we are spinning on a stool, taking tiny bites out of our work, with only dizziness to show for it.

Over the coming months of 2014, I’ll share with you some strategies that will help you Focus Better in ’14 and beyond. Let’s start now.

First, realize we are in DIGIFRENIA times (digitally induced mental chaos). Our devices are not going away. The “idea” of having a phone as your watch is real. I saw it in Best Buy the other day. The trick is…realizing that Digifrenia is a CHOICE.

Erin Schmidt, while CEO of Google, said, “All of the information ever created in human history up to 2003 is created EVERY DAY now.”  So really, we are not experiencing information overload, we are experiencing Information Overconsumption. It’s our choice to overeat, right? And it’s our choice to Overconsume Digital Media.

What will you choose? Let’s start by looking at some of your habits now.

  • Do you take your device to bed?
  • In the shower? The toilet?
  • Do you check it at red lights?
If so, you are not alone. But at what cost? Scientific evidence is finding that our attention-jumping is fragmenting our brains. It’s reducing our capacity to think clearly and well. And, it’s making us feel important. We can respond quickly, anywhere, anytime. Unfortunately, this is not always  such a good idea (responding quickly) and in truth, it is likely a smokescreen for us, giving us the illusion of having more importance than we actually do.
Your homework, then, if you have made it this far into the article, is to reduce your device checking by one. In other words, if you take your phone to bed with you, don’t. If you take it into the bathroom, don’t. Slowly, you will overcome NOMOPHOBIA (No-Mobile-Phone-Phobia) and you will begin to think clearly again. But it will take some time. Stay tuned.
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Get Organized More time in my day Time strategies Uncategorized

How will I do it? Practical Strategies to Get Moving NOW.

Are you saying…I know WHAT gets in my way. I know what I WANT.  I know WHY. Now…HOW will I do it?

That’s right, it’s the H in the W+W+W+H = Woo Hoo! Process…Where you can now really fly.

I join again with SUE WEST to provide this podcast in our series…the HOW click HOW no 1 or read on…

So many people want a quick fix; an answer to a “problem” about getting more organized and/or getting more out of their life BEFORE they’ve gone through the process. They want the HOW first….the proverbial cart before the horse.

So much needs to be fast, fast, fast. But as a favorite author, researcher and speaker, Brene Brown tells it well in her book “The Gifts of Imperfection:”

When we skip the hard stuff, it just doesn’t work.

We don’t change. We don’t grow and we don’t move forward without the work.

My work is about the things that get in the way. I’m not about the ‘how to’ because in my experience I’ve never seen any evidence of ‘how to’ working without talking about the things that get in the way.

So, own your story. Tell it. There is freedom,  relief and more when we do.

Again, Brene Brown, The Gifts of Imperfection

We will be sharing our “best practices” for the HOW over this and subsequent podcasts. Here’s the first one: the time inventory. Some students have referred to this practice as a time diary. To do this, record your time each day. Record it as you are actually working (or playing!) Do not wait until the end of the day, or the next day, and say “what did I do?” You will lose precious minutes and hours. Over a series of days and weeks, you will begin to see patterns. It does not matter if you record it on a piece of paper or electronically; only that you do it consistently and in a timely manner.

Perhaps you intend to get up at 6am, exercise, eat breakfast then get going with your day by 8:30 am. But, time and time again, it’s 9:00 am or later and you have not eaten, have not showered, and you are just catching up with “a few emails” first.

Once you actually begin to record your day you will see that you may wake up at 6, but stay in bed routinely until 6:30. Then you may quickly check facebook and you are not having that first cup of coffee until 7 am. By then you may figure you’d better exercise and when you return it’s 8 am and you want to answer an email quickly. As 9 am approaches you are “fighting fires”, are still in your lycra, have not showered or eaten.  This knowledge empowers you to change the pattern.

That’s enough fieldwork and practice for our listeners this time. The first step is always noticing. Seeing where exactly the issues are, because if you don’t diagnose the problem correctly, you’ll try something and it won’t even be the solution to the right problem! So step back and just observe yourself this week.

This is a good start to opening our HOW bucket. We’ll continue with practical strategies to get you started in taking back your time and life in the coming podcasts.

If this topic struck a chord with you, we know you’ll get much more benefit from our Design Your Days workshop. We offer public workshops periodically; check out our facebook page for the latest ones.

Categories
Get Organized More time in my day Time strategies

All I really want….

Wanting. Hundreds of thousands of songwriters continue to use this theme. It seems we all “want” something- presumably something we cannot have.

Our podcast – Sue West and Carol Williams of the Design Your Days Team- is about the “3rd W” of the W+W+W+H = Woo Hoo! Process (What, Why, Wants, and How)

Listen: what do you really WANT? or read on:

A friend introduced me to Alanis Morrissette’s  song “What I really want” a few years ago. And it reminds me of what we talk about …

The lyrics go something like this:

All I really want is some peace
a place to find a common ground
All I really want is a wavelength
All I really want is some comfort
A way to get my hands untied
And all I really want is some justice…

Wanting. It seems so selfish to WANT, doesn’t it? Yet, when we stop Wanting, we stop growing.

One person from a workshop WANTED to know “how to get back on track” with her intended tasks. This was expressed at the beginning. However, toward the end, it became clear that what she REALLY wanted was the time and space to PONDER what she wanted “next” in her life. In fact, both were applicable. But, how much more powerful is it to find the time and space to ponder your LIFE versus what’s right in front of you on your “to-do” list?

Since we all have to find our own way, here’s another approach. If you feel like: you don’t have time to ponder your life, or maybe your family isn’t supporting you, or you just don’t think of yourself as a dreamer, ponderer, creator, you can:

  • Keep track each day for about a week of what you love about your days, what you’re doing, who you’re doing it for, how healthy you feel – or how energetic, what mood you’re in as the days go along, what gives you energy and what takes it. Keep track right in your planner, on your iPhone – not in your head; it is more difficult to see patterns.
  • That’s a first step. Just notice. Become a little more aware of how your time is used. Keep doing this until you start to see some patterns emerge for things you want to change.
  • Tying this example back to our song lyrics, you’ll note that Alanis talks generally – she wants peace, common ground in her relationship, justice. She does not get specific. She talks about themes, feelings, and values. And behind those lyrics, she is saying what she knows she does not want, too.

One client I had went through a process of determining her Big Wants. I asked her to think about one big dreamy goal, that seemed almost “too big” to accomplish. She wrote it down. Then I asked her to find 3 small steps that pushed her just a LITTLE CLOSER to that goal. She did not do that right away. When she came back, she realized that she had the wrong Big Goal because she was Not Excited about that big goal anymore. She was an entrepreneur who wanted to hold a day long workshop. But she realized that actually, what she really wanted, was to spend more time with her family while earning the income she required and not necessarily any more. She determined what she REALLY wanted. Although it may sound trite, we must determine what we REALLY want before we can achieve it.

Did this help you in determining, like Alanis, “what you really want?”

Categories
AD/HD Get Organized prioritize productivity in the workplace

On-the-Wall Business Tip.

Want a Business organization and prioritization tip? Use Ideapaint on your wall.

Use this tip if you consider yourself a “visual thinker.” You might be a designer or artist. Idea paint is not paint at all; rather, it is a sealer that acts as a giant dry-erase board.

If you have ever had the occasion of “too many to-do’s” to the point of overwhelm, Ideapaint is a tool to help de-clutter your brain. And when your brain is de-cluttered, you feel better organized, can prioritize better, focus better, and get more done.

  1. The brain spill. Often, I will have “so many ideas” that they cloud my head. When this happens, I walk over to my ideapaint wall, grab a marker, and start writing. Soon, I will begin drawing arrows and charts and graphs and numbered priorities. The act of standing, drawing, and writing frees up my brain.

    prioritize in style
    Ideas and concepts redefined on your wall
  2. Use color to help prioritize on the wall. Once you “spill out” your to-do’s, you can start to see them more clearly. It becomes obvious which ones need to be done first, and which can wait. You can use red for your top 3, blue for everything else, for example. Things that are a lower priority can be grey.
  3. You can use this to organize your projects. My graphic designer used idea paint on his wall to organize his clients into “website clients,” “newsletter clients”, “social media clients”, etc. so that he could run through the list and remember various tasks and deadlines he had for each client. Yes, he could have done this via spreadsheet or through another method, but, having this on the wall was an easier way for him to “see” everything all at once and respond to his “visual thinking” tendencies.
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