Tag Archives: Time Management

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Strategies to Simplify: Tip 6: Transform your email

“Work simply. Live fully.”  This week CMLE focuses on the following work productivity tip from Work Simply, Carson Tate’s popular book.  At CMLE, we’ve boiled down Tate’s wealth of knowledge from Work Simply to a few key points; please see the book for more detail and resources. At the bottom, see links to earlier tips in the series! Let’s all be our best selves….

This week’s activity: Reclaim your inbox by refining your email skills. 

By making just a few tweaks to your email routine, you can feel in control of your inbox. Take advantage of Carson Tate’s Email Agility System from Work Simply, through which she believes “The faster you can make accurate decisions regarding the content of your inbox, the more time you will have in your day.”

Read
Decide (does this email require me to do something?)
Act (if action is required, then just do it, delegate it, or create a task. If not, delete or file it!)
Contain 

Recently, you discovered your Productivity Style with a simple assessment.

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Work Simply

Find your Productivity Style for some personalized advice for controlling your inbox:

Prioritizer: Take advantage of the Rules feature: Pay attention to patterns of the emails you receive, and write Rules to file them accordingly. You could also try setting a goal of having no more than a specific number of emails in your inbox at any time.

Planner: Schedule specific times during the day to check your email. You could also benefit from using numbers and symbols to organize your email folders so that your current folders of highest importance are at the top and easily accessible.

Arranger: Beware your tendency to overcommunicate, and use the cc: line sparingly. You may also like to try listening to music while you manage your emails, which brings some fun into the process.

Visualizer: Use the tool of color to code your incoming messages by sender or subject (red for your boss, etc) which helps you see quickly which emails require timely attention. Also, minimize distractions by turning off your email notifications.

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Academic, Check this out:, CMLE, General, Public, Resources, School Media Specialist, Special

Strategies to Simplify: Tip 5: Get it done!

“Work simply. Live fully.”  This week CMLE focuses on the following work productivity tip from Work Simply, Carson Tate’s popular book.  At CMLE, we’ve boiled down Tate’s wealth of knowledge from Work Simply to a few key points; please see the book for more detail and resources. At the bottom, see links to earlier tips in the series! Let’s all be our best selves….

This week’s activity: Implement best practices in completing your work.

Now that you’ve got your Master List of to-dos in one, easily accessible place, you can start knocking items off the list, right? Take a moment and consider these ideas from Work Simply about how to most efficiently complete your tasks, based on your Productivity Style.

Recently, you discovered your Productivity Style with a simple assessment.

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Work Simply

Find your Productivity Style for some personalized tips and tools for carrying out your tasks:

Prioritizer: Put similar tasks together in order to get more accomplished. You may like BaseCamp, a project management tool that integrates with e-mail and allows you to track tasks by project, upload files, and view calendars.

Planner: Determine in advance how much time and effort to devote to a task – and stick to it! Try Tom’s Planner, which uses Gantt chart software and allows collaboration.

Arranger: Protect yourself from the interruptions of e-mails and phone calls to keep your train of thought on track. You may find Collabtive useful, which allows groups to work together on projects and features instant messaging, time tracking, and file management.

Visualizer: Avoid the downward spiral of procrastination, and complete the quick or easy tasks first. Try LiquidPlanner, a Web-based program that helps teams collaborate by prioritizing tasks, making estimates, and managing resources and expectations.

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Academic, Check this out:, CMLE, General, Public, Resources, School Media Specialist, Special

Strategies to Simplify: Tip 4: The Master To-Do List

“Work simply. Live fully.”  This week CMLE focuses on the following work productivity tip from Work Simply, Carson Tate’s popular book.  At CMLE, we’ve boiled down Tate’s wealth of knowledge from Work Simply to a few key points; please see the book for more detail and resources. At the bottom, see links to earlier tips in the series! Let’s all be our best selves….

This week’s activity: Consolidate your to-do lists into one Master Task List

To get all your to-dos in one place, first you need to perform a “brain dump,” in which you think about everything you need to get done, both at work and in your personal life. In Work Simply, Carson Tate describes this process as “Turning your brain upside down and emptying its contents.”  Then, if you have noticed that your list contains more projects than simple tasks, work to create attainable next steps that aren’t so overwhelming. Finally, keep this list in one place for easy and constant reference.

Recently, you discovered your Productivity Style with a simple assessment.

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Work Simply

Find your Productivity Style for some personalized tools to manage your Master List:

Prioritizer: Try using ruled or lined paper. Some apps that may be useful to you include iDoneThis, which sends out e-mail reminders asking what tasks you have completed.

Planner: You may like using calendars, or Outlook’s task manager. Also try out Wunderlist, an app that allows you to keep all your to-dos in one place, and includes due dates and reminders.

Arranger: Try using Stickies, or the app Carrot, which takes a to-do list to the next level – earn points for completing tasks and get praised (or scolded!) for how many tasks you complete.

Visualizer: Whiteboards or unlined notebooks may work well for you, or try Personal Brain, a mind-mapping tool that works on both PCs and Macs, which links ideas, documents, and sites based on the way you think.

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Academic, General, Public, Resources, School Media Specialist, Special

Strategies to Simplify: Tip 3: Time tactics

“Work simply. Live fully.”  This week CMLE focuses on the following work productivity tip from Work Simply, Carson Tate’s popular book.  At CMLE, we’ve boiled down Tate’s wealth of knowledge from Work Simply to a few key points; please see the book for more detail and resources. At the bottom, see links to earlier tips in the series! Let’s all be our best selves….

This week’s activity: Time is valuable, so choose time investment tactics that work best for you.

In her book Work Simply, Carson Tate argues that “Time is more valuable than money. You need to start treating it that way.” In order to do that, we need to begin “thinking about time as a commodity, and in particular as an infinitely valuable, nonrenewable resource.”

Recently, you discovered your Productivity Style with a simple assessment.

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Work Simply

Find your Productivity Style for some personalized time tactics:

Prioritizer: You excel at using time efficiently. Try this: Begin your day with your highest priority project or task.

Planner: You are able to minimize the risk of mistakes by adhering to best practices or past procedures. Try this: Plan for extra time each week to allow for unanticipated issues or opportunities

Arranger: You are skilled at encouraging teamwork in order to get the most done. Try this: To help keep your focus, turn off your e-mail notifications.

Visualizer: You can productively handle multiple tasks and projects at once. Try this: Ask yourself, “What is the best use of my time right now?”

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Academic, General, Public, School Media Specialist, Special

Strategies to Simplify: Tip 1: Focus your attention

“Work simply. Live fully.”  This week CMLE focuses on the following work productivity tip from Work Simply, Carson Tate’s popular book.  At CMLE, we’ve boiled down Tate’s wealth of knowledge from Work Simply to a few key points; please see the book for more detail and resources. At the bottom, see links to earlier tips in the series! Let’s all be our best selves….

This week’s activity: Use your Productivity Style to focus your attention.

As Carson Tate explains in Work Simply, “Our attention is an enormously powerful force, one that can profoundly shape our lives and our very being.” With all the distractions around today, learning to make the most of our attention is an essential skill. Last week you discovered your Productivity Style with a simple assessment. Use your style to consider these tips.

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Work simply. Live fully

 

Find your Productivity Style for some personalized tips:

Prioritizer: Try setting a timer or alarm to go off at specific intervals throughout your day. The alarm serves to remind you to focus your attention and stay on task!

Planner: Use your scheduling skills to your benefit, and plan your day’s tasks around your varying energy levels or the type of work required by each task.

Arranger: Make a plan to mix your solitary work with a conversation or collaboration with a friend or co-worker. Music can also help Arrangers keep their focus. (As an Arranger, I can vouch for both of these tips! Angie)

Visualizer: Keep a balance in your day between the routine, boring tasks and more enjoyable, stimulating tasks. The variety will help keep your attention focused.

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