Author: Francis Wade

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Starting the Day with a Scaffold

I really admire Steve Pavlina’s blog for the quality and range of ideas that he is able to create and articulate. His post on creating a personal productivity scaffold is no exception:

He is essentially creating a way of Reviewing and Scheduling that includes a slot in the morning to plan, and a slot in the evening to reflect. I have been using it and enjoying it, after making some changes to the items he uses.

I have also scheduled the morning slot in my calendar, and I am waiting to see if it makes sense to do the same for the evening slot.

I am using it with a homegrown version of this tracking tool from Productivity 501 to good effect.

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Outlook Community

Just curious, but does anyone know of a place online where people discuss how Microsoft Outlook can be used, and improved?

Let me know!

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Scheduling: Hard Edges and Soft Reminders

cliff_edge03.jpg I don’t remember where I first heard or read it – it may have been from Getting Things Done – but the idea of viewing your appointment book as a set of hard and soft items is one that has some value.

As one moves into the ranks of a Yellow Belt, or Green Belt, the importance of using a calendar to schedule time demands becomes more important, but the kinds of time demands that get scheduled are not all alike. Continue reading “Scheduling: Hard Edges and Soft Reminders”

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Cracking Your Personal Code of New Habits

steph-burns-articles2.jpgThere are so many good ideas from this article at The Leadership Labyrinth entitled “Installing a new habit and breaking an old one” that I don’t think there is much that I can add.

The article has to do with establishing new habits, a science and an art for which there seems to be no cookie-cutter solution. One thing I do know is that people are different, and that it is possible to crack one’s personal code when it comes to establishing a new habit. I like to create habits by setting up physical or audible assistants. I have been getting up in the morning every Tuesday and Thursday to ride at 4:10 a.m., and I have never missed a single ride in over 18 months. I started by taking out my clothes, taking out my bike, and setting everything up to make it easy for myself to roll out of bed with a woozy head, until I make it safely to the start of the ride.

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A New Version of Outlook

One of the major challenges for a 2Time user at any belt level is to find a system that fits the way in which they process their information.

Unfortunately, Microsoft Outlook, the industry leader in this sphere, does not seem to have been designed by a time management user, and instead seems to have been put together by programmers who made their decisions on what to add based on how long it would take to add a new feature.

The problem with taking this approach is that Outlook has lots of features, but no overall “philosophy”. Continue reading “A New Version of Outlook”

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Starting Each Day on the Right Foot: Scheduling

One of the challenges I have been facing is how to start the day on the right foot each and every day.

Unfortunately, in Microsoft Outlook XP, there is no way to work with past appointments effectively, which is a real weakness in their system. If they have not been completed, the reminders merely stock up, one on top of the other.

I have been turning the start of a new day to Joe’s Goals, which is a very simple web application that is available for free. It is so simple, and yet so effective in its job to help someone keep a string of activities going.

It would be great for a 2Time user that has to start each day the same way and uses a flexible calendar to have some choice about which appointment reminders to work with.

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Looking for Good Outlook Software

I have been looking for a while for some kind of add-on for Microsoft Outlook that will pull together different pieces of information into one single project.

I am trying to create something like a “workspace” that brings all the phone numbers, appointments, lists, files etc. into a single place where they can be viewed all at once. I have been trying to get a copy of OneNote to review, without luck, thinking that it might give me what I want.

If anyone knows of any other suitable applications, or Outlook add-ons, do let me know.

When I decide to upgrade to Windows Vista, I’ll be sure to include a copy of OneNote, but that’s at least a year away.

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The Problem with Prescriptions

Prescriptions are pretty useful when they come from a doctor. However, they are dangerous when they come from a time management guru.

For example, one guru went so far as to require that users redefine everyday words such as “Now”, “Occasion” and “Concern”. The result was predictable – language that is difficult to learn is quickly lost when too much of it is thrown at an adult learner too quickly.

The problem that a guru has is that in two days, they attempt to cram 6 days of material (or months, or years) into the heads of students who are hearing the concepts for the first time. The “better” the guru, the more the concepts. Continue reading “The Problem with Prescriptions”

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Practicing as a Professional

It’s easy to see how Tiger Woods can arrange his practice. He gets up at 6am and goes over the the green and starts hitting balls, hundreds and and maybe thousands of balls.

In like manner, a tennis player can serve hundreds of balls over and over again.

These examples seem easy to understand, but what is the professional equivalent of practicing by hitting numerous balls with a stick.

While there are no real practice opportunities outside of the 2Time class to practice each of the 11 skills in a simulated environment, a professional can use the daily flow of events as a way to practice and improve. Continue reading “Practicing as a Professional”