take back your life

July 9, 2008 - San Francisco - Taught by Peter Felsmann, McGhee Productivity Solutions - +52(222)4134664 peterf@mcgheepro.com Garnet's review: One of the benefits of working for Adobe is the really great training programs that are offered. Adobe does a very good job of finding outside experts to come in and train us. This training was no exception. This training was not just about using Outlook more fully (although it was very helpful for that), it offered very practical advice about how to realistically manage your daily schedule and tasks with reference to your major objectives and the supporting projects that implement those objectives. Are you training others to interrupt you and fragment your schedule? More than just training in how to use Outlook calendaring, tasks, todo lists, and color-coded categorization, this course offers practical advice on how to take back your time to accomplish the things that are important, plan for the time for basic tasks like a daily clearing of your inbox, and offers a system to make sure that you make achievable commitments to your coworkers, your family, and yourself. Here are my notes that I took during the class. I've tried to include the questions that other class members asked. The class includes a copy of the book "Take Back Your Life". The instructor discussed use of colors in a way that was clearer than the book, since the book is in black and white. The outlook rules wizard isn't mentioned in the class, but here are thoughts about the proper use of the outlook rules wizard

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Lecture Notes:

Creating an integrated management system

1. Collecting
2. Processing & Organizing
3. Prioritizing & Planning

Lecture: Imagine person in great debt, physically ill from it. They visit a financial planner. He asks them to bring all their info, to collect the information. 2^nd thing the CFP does is prioritize what is important, what can't be afforded. The next thing is to plan what to payoff.

We'll gather info, and start creating a reference system to make things easier... Work and personal all in one place.

Suggest that personal and business life all kept in the same system....

• What about company seeing all your personal information? – Use the padlock to mark items as private.
• NOTE: Notice the paradigm that brought up the question, the Industrial age work/private dichotomy

Setting up your collecting system

• Identifying your current collecting points: All emails accounts, all voicemails, wallet, wall of the fridge, where do you put tickets to a future event, postal mail. Places you point things. Receipts from a trip.
  • Someone commented: We're running out of boxes! Most people think they have 3, but there are maybe 30 or more in the average life.
  • Talk about approved collecting points...
    • Voicemail – Eliminate collecting points. Use call forwarding. Only collect in one place.
    • Notepads – Recommend only use one. Two reasons – Just by making notes, you learn. You write and forget. If you write down, and later refer to it... Notebook in a meeting, put a line down the middle. Reference info on the left side, action info on the right side.
      • Instead have only one... Or use Microsoft OneNote
    • Email – Configure to download all emails to one place
    • Categories: None – As we learn to minimize interruptions, and there is an interruption (something that pops into head), just use a quick task entry. It falls into categories:none, so it is there, but out of mind.
      • Tasklist is part of the todo list.
      • Better to turn emails into tasks than to flag them.
    • Paper inbox
      • Create one at home, so the paper doesn't go everywhere.
      • Portable inbox – accordion file – suitable for
        • Peter uses Wilson Jones – Office Depot – "Big Mouth Filer"
    • What is the most used collecting point, but not on this list, and not approved: The head! It's fallible!
      • Conscious mind vs. the unconscious mind
        • Conscious mind – limited space, captures limited agreements
          • Examples: Print handouts, voice mail, slides ready, attend meeting
        • Unconscious mind – like the floor – everything gathers there and stays there.
          • Examples: Ideas, gifts, vacation, ship fedex, notes, send email, write report, research, etc

Exercise called a mind dump:

• Go to the tasks checkmark at the lower left. G***
  • Setup columns – setup no due date
  • Add everything you can think about
  • Add quarterly and annual goals
  • Others: trainings, phone calls to make, approvals, projects or initiatives upcoming. New systems being installed. Accounts payable, accounts receivable, inventory renewal, legal issues, insurance. Delegated tasks you need to follow up on. Reimbursements to make or waiting for. Books to read. Plays or movies to check out. People meaning to see or hook up with. Personal finances. Repairs. Areas to organize.
  • Put items in the task list in the future as soon as possible. Things to buy, etc.
  • Integrate the todo lists, and have everything in one place.

Lecture:

• Collecting success factors
  • Success factors
    • Develop a habit
    • Define and only use your approved collecting points
    • Use categories: (None) as a collecting point
    • Clear the mind and get it out of your head!
    • Train other to use your Collecting points
    • Example: Ask people, even a spouse, to send you an email for tasks.

Exercise: Answer: What changes are you willing to make to get more of what you want?

• Write this in the weekly review

Collecting

• Managing interruptions
  • If items involve retraining others, gently reset expectations
  • Are your interruptions necessary?
  • Are you training your staff to interrupt you?
    • Have you trained your boss to do this? Do you have candy on your desk?
  • Are you using technology to help or hinder your focus?
  • Resetting expectations and holding people accountable
    • Discern between urgencies and emergencies – Self approval and other people's approval. Remember: At quarterly review, be on top of your goals.

Creating categories

• Lots of information can be in the task description: attachments ,maps, info about sessions, etc. Everything can be in one place.
• Category ideas:
  • Create 1:1 categories for boss, wife, and others who you regularly interact with.
  • Pending items waiting on a response to. – Can't remember these things for followup
  • Someday maybe – incubator – sit there until the timing is right.
    • Example: Black Eye Peas concert, U2 concert, etc., but they aren't on tour now.

• • • Study fine arts in Florence Italy

• Reticular activating system...
  • What we focus on.

• When tasks are completed – delete, unless they are for projects, in which case you put them in completed. That helps with reviewing for quarterly and annual reviews

What are meaningful objectives?

• Characteristics
  • Align with corporate Mission, Unifying Goals and family goals
  • Motivate and inspire, and are written from an outcome perspective.
  • Include metrics
  • Align
  • Reference point for saying 'no' to activities that don't relate to these. Saying no to the other things gives time to say yes to these.

Supporting projects?

• Roll up to meaningful objective
• Are written from an outcome perspective
• Involves multiple Task and sub taks with dependencies
• How you are going to achieve the what 1:1 meetings?
• Routine 1:1 meeting with people who directly impact your meaningful objectives
• Scheduled ahead of time on calendar: weekly, biweekly, or monthly
  • Batch the items ahead of time –

• • 1-2 hours in length

• • Use for course corrections, and discuss any pending items Strategic Next Action Story

• • Living in Mexico after long beach. – Friend who only stays once a month.... light bulb in guest bathroom is broken... Remembered at the wrong time about changing... Make a note to buy the lightbulb.... Other lightbulb is now out, and bathroom is dark.

• • • Moral: Not handling things at the right times, they blow up. Embarrassed, went to home depot, and didn't buy the lights!

• • • Rushed to Home Depot – But didn't know what kind of lightbulb to buy! Dependency? So now, have to drive back home, get the light, but can't get to the light. What is the dependency? Try to find ladder in the garage. Dependency? Loaned to a friend.

• • • Situation shows up

Change
Buy
Situation blows up **********
List
Specifications
Ladder
Call Wayne

The only SNA is to call Wayne! Everything else had a dependency. Once you contact Wayne and get the ladder, everything else goes fast. What about bigger projects? Use the Workflow Model – How to ask questions and get down to the SNAs, things with no dependencies. They link to meaningful objectives.

SNA characteristics

• Starts with a verb Example: Clear license plate violation
  • Need to find license plate, it might be in storage
  • Actionable: Yes?
  • Meaningful objective? No. (It's not something you'd brag about at the end of the year.)
  • Is it a supporting project? For peace of mind – Yes.
  • Email Peter to get the template

• • • Name project as the outcome statement in subject...

• • • Outcome

• • • Due date

• • • Brainstorm all the tasks needed

Example:

Subject: Clear license plate violation by 7/14

Brainstorm:

Get key for storage

Drive to storage during open hours

Search through boxes

Find license plate

Block 2 hours in calendar on weekend

Get screwdriver

Put license plate on the car

Get ticket signed off by policeman

Go pay $10 fee

Alternative: Go to DMV and get duplicate plate 1. Decide which option: New plate or find old one?

a. (How to decide?) Assess time required for each

b. Research costs (online)

c. Call DMV

NOTE: Getting the first 4 or 5 steps gets a direction. Next item:

METRICS: Learning how to make attachment in a task

Benefit – Copy with task

Drawback – space on server – changes to original not trackde

Workaround: In insert dialog, select the file, then click to say "insert hyperlink"

Possible to hyperlink to a shared document on a server. Easer than sending documents back and forth on email.... Caveat: Don't change name of document or location Attach item – attaches an email – Very small if no attachments. Could be a link to the DMV page for instructions for forms to fill out and mail in. Finally: Need to put into the right category. "Projects – Personal" What is the SNA without a dependency?

Can you do it within 2 minutes? Do it.

Can you delegate it?

Then defer it – either appointment to a date, or defer to a category. If deferring to category, where do you need to be to do it? At the computer? Then SNA Computer How to delegate:

Open email

To:

CC: self

Action requested: Buy milk on way home tonight. The email back is for the followup – Right click and then drag into tasks. Get three options:

Copy with task as text. – problem: leaves email in inbox

Copy as task with attachment – email turned into attachment – problem: leaves email in inbox.

Move here as task with attachments

• • • As a task – it becomes a message to you. So modify the subject – FUP (Followup) + Name – Create a reminder time. Exercise

• • Move all tasks out of category none. New habits:

• • Turn emails into tasks, don't flag them

• • Sit down with manager to decide the priorities What value did you get from this exercise? Key:

You don't do projects.

You review, strategize, coordinate, plan and manage projects.

You do strategic next actions Success factors

• • Schedule uninterrupted time to empty Collecting Points

" Pile of junk papers.... Empty voice mail

• • Use the Workflow Model to clarify commitments and agreements

• • Use the planning and action categories to organize Processing & Organizing

• • Every email that comes in inbox should leave to go somewhere:

" File

" Task

" Calendar

" Trash What percentage of your email is

Reference?

Action? Depends on role and nature of job....

- Action info into tasks or calendar

- Reference info into file system How to file things?

- Problem: Create all kinds of categories, then forget later what you were thinking. Creating a simple filing and reference system... Improving your reference system

• • Difference between reference and action information Emails saved for future reference – in an outlook email folder

Contacts – Put into my contacts, then get rid of the paper. Frequent flyer info, etc.

My Documents

- Email with document attached – put document in my documents.

SharePoint

OneNote – Electronic notes

Filing Cabinet Creating an effective folder hierarchy

• • Top level folders named according to meaningful objectives (the same as)

" 10 to 15 top-level folders maximum

• • Subfolders by supporting projects

" As many as needed for hierarchy

" No more than 3 deep

• • Miscellaneous folders

" Very limited – policies, admin stuff. Criteria for keeping old email – this reference hierarchy gives you the criteria. If you have an email without a folder, it is either a new project, or it doesn't

• • Recommendation is six months to store – exception legal things, and HR things What about auto-archives?

• • PST and archives – PST is archive. Success factors

• • Clearly understand difference between action and reference information

• • Create clear folder hierarchy based on meaningful objectives and supporting projects

• • Use 15 or fewer-top level folders maximum

• • Distinguish between filing emails and documents

• • Mirror these folder arrangements across reference systems Don't bother with resorting old information. If you go back to the old system to look for things, then move those things to the new system. Emptying the Inbox

• • Remove the checkboxes for advanced email options – when new items arrive in my inbox Email processing

• • How many emails processed in 30 minutes

• • Scheduling regular time "Delete is my friend" Four D's for Decision Making

Delete

• • It does not relate to a Meaningful Objective or Supporting Project

• • You can find the info somewhere else

• • You will not refer to it in 3-6 months and it's not legal and HR

Do it (if less than 2 minutes)

• • Respond and/or file

" Vast majority of things need 2 minutes or less, or 7 minutes or more.

Delegate it

• • Send delegation

• • If follow-up is required track it in 1:1 Meeting or SNA Waiting For Category

Defer it

• • Transfer to a 1:1, SNA Category, or mark a specific time on your Calendar Use this for 30 minutes to see how many can delete in half an hour....

• • People in the exercise: 640, 316, 300, 158, 50

The average of 90 per hour

Divide number of typical emails you receive per day by 90, and block out that time to get deal with emails Writing emails – PASS Model

• • Purpose / Action Items / Supporting Info / Subject Line

• • Subject lines are important

" Action Requested (AR) – Review Cisco proposal approve by 2/24

• • • Action Required may be too forceful in some cultures, Action Requested is better.

" Response Requested (RR) – Available for travel to Toronto on Oct 1?

" Read Only (RO) – Cisco Migration Document - no need to reply

" FYI – The Everest Program Document

" Customized Subject Lines

• • • Customized email subject lines for a company.

• • • Protocol – Examples:

more than 3 bouncebacks, make phone call

No big attachments EOM – End of Message - whole message in message line...

Example: FYI – I'll be waiting in the lobby EOM Use of the To, CC, and Bcc:

To: Responsible for the action on the subject line. Action or info directly relates to a mutual objective

Cc: "Courtesy Copy" – No direct action needed, but relates to a mutual objective

Bcc: - Be careful, careful

People on CC: and To: don't know the BCC: people received it. Questions before hitting send

• • Have I written the email so it will not come back to me with questions?

" Anticipate their questions, and answer them.

• • Do you need to track this email in a Waiting For or 1:1 Category Example of pass email:

Subject Line: Action Requested: Review CY05 Budget

Team,

[Purpose of email]

Delorem ipsum

[Action items]

• • Bullet 1

• • Bullet 2

[Supporting information] Signed,

Name / Title / Company

Email / Phone Number / Website Images a bad idea, but can also use a font to reinforce the brand.

Including email in sig lines make sure email is included when the message is forwarded. 4 D's for Decision Making – Only read an email once before taking action Prioritizing and Planning

• • Are you planning from your calendar or a To-Do-List?

• • Setting up your Baseline Calendar Are you using your Calendar or your to-do-list to drive your life?

• • Either is better than your head!

• • 1. todo list never get emptied completely, especially if using emails to drive them.

• • 2. A list of todos can be difficult to prioritize

• • 3. We often underestimate the time to do things

• • Calendar allows you to budget time and be realistic

" Recommendation – use calendar as a budget for life! Even personal things get reflected on the calendar. ** If you put something on your calendar, 70% greater chance of getting completed.

• • Putting on calendar increases integrity

• • Keeping appointments with your yourself, promotes self-esteem and personal power Example: Big jar full of big rocks

• • Is it full? No... but of course it is, can't fit any more big rocks.

• • What about little rocks? I add little rocks... OK, now is it full?

• • Add sand? Nope.

• • Add water?

This story is from Steven Covey. What is the moral of the story? Put in the big rocks first, then the other stuff. If your life is full of pebbles and sand, you wont have time for the big rocks. What are big rocks?

• • Meaningful Objectives – Business and Personal

• • Other examples:

" In accounting: End of month stuff – put in calendar

" Credit card is due on a certain date – put in the calendar

" Email processing Setting up the baseline calendar:

Professional

• • Email processing time

• • Weekly review

• • SNA time

• • 1:1 meetings

• • Staff meetings

• • Quarterly meetings (like Quarterly Reviews)

• • Annual Strategic Team Planning

• • Travel to/from appointments/meetings (don't underestimate)

• • Catch up time after travel Personal

• • Exercise time

• • Vacation time – How about a week per season, with a week on your favorite season

• • Commute Time

• • Pick up kids

• • Church / Community Service - How about a Saturday per semester?

• • Reading time

• • Walk the dog

• • Catch up time after travel What about resistance to the rigidity of the calendar?

• • Move the appointments around

• • What about 30 minutes vs 15 minute grids? Probably better at 30 minutes – flow more. Personality based. Color in calendar:

• • Mark items with the color of their category

• • Mark completed items black. Doesn't work on recurring items.

• • Prioriting & Planning

• • Three stages to completing a weekly review

" Getting your IMS current

" Reviewing your planning categories to course correct and create SNA's

• • • Meaningful Objectives

• • • Personal / Business

• • • Supporting Projects

" Prioritizing action categories, moving appropriate SNA's onto the calendar