This is the season that can become extremely hectic if we are not deliberate in what we choose to do.  There is shopping for Christmas, gathering with family and friends, school events and plays at church.

To stay productive at the highest level the essentialist believes in cutting out everything but the most important.  Her job is to filter out most everything.

The Model for Essentialism is:

Less but Better

The essentialist thinks:    I choose to.   Only a few things really matter.   What are the trade-offs?

He pauses to discern what really matters.  Says “no” a lot.

Chooses carefully in order to do great work.  Feels in control. Gets the right things done.  Experiences joy in the journey.

If you don’t prioritize your life, someone else will.

The Payoff

The reward for saying no, to almost everything is doing more of what really matters in work and life.  As you go through this very busy time of year choose what is the most important.

Question of the week:  What can you cut out of the life to do what is important?

Quote of the week:  “The way we measure productivity is flawed. People checking their BlackBerry over dinner is not the measure of productivity.” –  Timothy Ferriss

Do you ever think that retirement is right for you?  Setting around, playing golf, fishing, and traveling may seem appealing for a time but will get boring fast.  Those that do nothing only last for an average of four years.  Playing golf or fishing is only fun for a time and then becomes boring.

The Buy OFF

For many in the past retirement was the way those in leadership kept people loyal.  Augustus Caesar paid his officers well in retirement to keep them loyal.  In the industrial age, the carrot of retirement was used as an inducement to work in soul-killing jobs.

Today the use of retirement as a carrot is changing but is still used.  Retirement is often used to move someone out of the picture and replace that person.  In my parent’s generation, it was a way to keep the ball rolling.

Killing Your Heart

Retirement can be a terrible way to treat people.   To move them out once they are a certain age.  It assumes that after a certain age a person has no value. You are told to suck it up today because in retirement it will be all green pastures and lush.  It’s going to be wonderful in a few decades.

Cost of the Trade-Off

1. It encourages taking jobs that aren’t fulfilling.
2. It brings with it, reduced mental function, heart attack, and stroke.
3. It assumes that most have lived past their prime, and don’t have anything to contribute to society.
4. It deprives the community of the contributions that many have to offer.

Time to Think Differently

Retirement is an unhealthy concept.

Eliminate the word retirement from our vocabulary. If we choose to change the direction of our work later in life that is fine.  But it’s not retirement.  Staying engaged in the world, is meaningful.

Keep the door open.

The more you know and grow the more valuable you are.  Stay committed to going full out to the end.

Commit to being productive longer.

Don’t retire too soon.  If you love your work why would you retire?  You may change the work you do, but retire?

If you are doing meaningful work that you enjoy why would you want to retire?  If you’re not then why are you still working in the current position?  It’s time to reconsider, if you are looking for shade in the pasture.  Thankfully most people are looking to retire retirement.

If you are considering retirement, look for a job change instead.

Question:  How would it change your life now if you stretched your working life by a decade or more?

Quote of the Week:   “And in the end it’s not the years in your life that count. It’s the life in your years.” –  Abraham Lincoln

Are you watching the Bear’s game, filling out a contract, checking e-mail, talking on the phone, and planning your week all at the same time?  If this sounds like your work habits, your brain is in trouble.

Research at Stanford University by Dr. Clifford Nass and his team, to their surprise, found that when individuals attempt working on multiple projects they have trouble focusing on any one project. They have trouble controlling their memory and cannot switch from one task to another effectively.

The idea that if someone is a heavy multitasker is more productive was proven to be false. Surprisingly people who focus on one task for an extended period and then work on another project are far more productive.

What the researchers found was that when multitasking keeping information from different tasks separate in the mind was not possible.  Multitaskers were less efficient and took longer to finish the tasks compared to focusing for at least 20 minutes on one task.

The French medical research agency Insurm discovered that the brain has a two task limit to be effective.  Working on more than two tasks decreased the brain’s effectiveness.

To get more done focus on one or two tasks for at least 20 minutes or until the task is finished before switching.  To be more productive avoid distractions, have set times to check e-mail, check voice mail or preparing documents.

Question: What are some ways you improve your focus ?  You can leave a comment by clicking here.

Quote of the Week: “Juggling is an illusion. … In reality, the balls are being independently caught and thrown in rapid succession. … It is actually task switching.” ― Gary Keller

For more information about Radon Mitigation in homes, schools and commercial buildings visit us at www.nelsonradon.com.

Think of Evernote as a virtual file cabinet having hundreds of drawers with files in the drawers and sticky notes or tabs in the files to help you find information in the file. Evernote is your digital filling cabinet.

To take advantage of all Evernote features, I recommend the Premium upgrade (Cost is $45 annually). When you begin using Evernote, become comfortable with how it is arranged, how to create notebooks and how to use tags.  The best resource that I have found to use Evernote to its full potential is Brent Kelly’s Evernote Essentials (Cost is about $13).

Let’s get started with some Evernote basics.

1)      How Evernote is arranged (Notes, Notebooks, Stacks, and Tag

 a.     Notes

Everything stored in Evernote is stored as a note.  Notes can be anything: web clippings, pictures, text, audio files, video clips or emails. Just about anything digital can be stored in a note. In the note window, you can name the note, add tags, move to a notebook, and share notes.

 b.     Notebooks 

Notebooks are where all of your notes live.  They are your files in your digital filing cabinet.  The first notebook is auto created by Evernote using your log in name and all notes will be stored here initially. The default notebook name can be changed and additional notebooks can be created to organize your notes.

c.     Stacks

Creating a stack is a way to group notebooks together.  Stacks are virtual file drawers that have two or more notebooks stored in them.  As an example, I like roasting green coffee beans.  So in Evernote, I have a notebook for coffee info that has notes for different coffee companies and coffees that I order. Also, I have a notebook on coffee equipment.  I have these two notebooks in a stack named Coffee.

d.     Tags

Tags give us greater flexibility to group our notes in ways other than notebooks.  It is a powerful way to add identifiers to your notes or notebooks. Multiple tags can be used in each note to further describe the content.  To stay with my example of coffee, in my notebook named “coffee”, I have information on coffee companies, coffee varieties, and description of each variety.   I could have tags for “Bold “or “Complex” to describe a note. This will also aid in searching the notes.  More on searches later.

2)      How to save emails to Evernote

Most back up services don’t save email files.  Yes, I know this from experience.   A great way to archive emails is to forward a copy to a specific file in Evernote.  When you open an Evernote account, an email address will be assigned.  Then, set up a contact in Outlook. (Example:  Evernote email (yourname.1234@m.evernote)  When forwarding an email to Evernote, adding identifiers will further simplify the process. The identifiers will send the email directly to a notebook. A tag can also be added to the note. This is done by adding the notebooks identifier in the email subject line.  To forward an email the subject line would look like the following example.

Subject:    Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee @Coffee info  #complex   

The @ sign will send it to the specified notebook and the # adds the tag description.

3)      Scanning into Evernote

Scanbot is the app I use to scan documents with my iPad.  The app is available for both Apple and Android devises. The app auto sharpens for color, has edge detection, blur reduction, and straightens the document before saving.  Also, most scanning devises like Fujitsu ScanSnap iX500 Scanner for PC and Mac (PA03656-B005) can be set up to scan directly to Evernote.

4)      How to clip web pages to Evernote

 To simplify saving articles from the web I recommend using Web Clipper extension for Chrome.  After downloading Web Clipper, there will be an Evernote icon in the upper right hand corner of the screen.  When you find an article you would like to save, simply open the icon, select what to save (full article, bookmark, screen shot), select the notebook destination, and add any tags you want to use as identifiers.

5)      Searching Evernote to find your stuff.

 The search feature can use either word searches or searches using operators.  Operators are key words that indicate the text that follows should be the parameters of the search or handled in a specified way.  (Example:   tag:coffee) This would find all the notes tagged with coffee. There are many operators used by Evernote search.  Some common operators are:  tags, any, -tag, notebook, stack, created, -created, inTitle.

Bonus Tip:   When saving pictures to Evernote

1. Dates are auto stamped on the picture
2. This can provide a chronological record of your kid’s photos

Evernote limitations

1)      If you don’t have the Premium version users are limited to 25 Mb per file.

2)      Premium users have a limit of 100 Mb per file.

3)      Evernote has a limit of 250 notebooks.

4)      Tags have a limit of 100,000.  This will meet the needs of 99% of all users.

Using Evernote can be confusing at first. Start slow, learn the basics, and let your use grow to boost your productivity.

Question:  How do you use Evernote?

Quote of the Week:  “The key is not to prioritize what’s on your schedule, but to schedule your priorities.” ~ Stephen Covey

For more information about Radon Mitigation in homes, schools and commercial buildings visit us at www.nelsonradon.com.

Photo courtesy of CanStock Photos

Everything that we do in life has a cost of time.  How many hours do we exchange to pay for a car, a house, an education, or building great relationships?  We all have 168 hours in a week.  No more and no less than anybody else.  How we allocate those hours will determine our success in business and life.

The more you focus on what makes you productive, the greater your value is to others.  When we learn to say “Yes” to what is most important and “No” to what isn’t, we become more valuable. Maintaining the highest level of productivity for the longest period of time possible can only be done by setting boundaries and prioritizing your day.  If you don’t prioritize your day, someone else will.  You only have a limited time to achieve your goals,168 hours each week.  You are a limited resource.

In order to maximize productivity I use several apps to make work and life simpler. I have listed ten apps that I use to boost productivity.

1)      Evernote:  This is a great app that you can use to keep notes and makes a great file cabinet.  I keep track of everything from the projects I’m working on to items I need from suppliers.  It can be used to save emails, clip web articles, and store scanned documents. It can also sync with all of my devises (phone, iPad, computer). If you are just getting started the best guide on how to use Evernote is Evernote Essentials by Bret Kelly (Cost is $15).  *Note: Next week tips on how to organize Evernote.  Including how to set up files, save emails, clip web articles, and scan documents directly to Evernote.

2)      Expensify:  I just recently started using this app.  It is a powerful expense accounting app.  One of the big features is the ability to scan, organize, and store invoices that will later be used for taxes.   Expensify also lets you track mileage.  It provides reports based on l parameters defined by the user.

3)      Podcast:  Podcasts are a great way to access content about business, building your platform, marketing, and any other interests you may have.  The Apple podcast app works great for this. Downcast is another good app for organizing your favorite podcasts.

4)      Google calendar:  I have tried other calendars but have come back to this one because it syncs well with other apps and is user friendly.

5)      Sugar Sync: This is a computer back up service that includes cloud based storage, file sharing and will sink with your desktop, laptop, phone, or iPad.  It will automatically save to cloud storage any new file. This includes pictures or videos from your mobile devices.  This service uses encrypted security for cloud storage providing a safer option.

6)      Kindle: This app is very easy to use and syncs with Amazon with very little trouble. I can highlight passages and take notes of eBooks I’m reading.

7)      Focus@Will:  Focus@Will is a neuroscience based subscription service that provides background music that is designed to increase productivity.  It has a broad range of classical music, acoustical music, and ambient selections to appeal to different tastes.

8)      Dropbox:  This service works well to share files with individuals or groups but lacks some in security.

9)      Pages:  This app is Apple’s word processor.  It is very simple to use and can save or send in whatever format is needed. (Pages, Word, PDF)

10)   ScanBot: Scanning app for all types of documents.  The scanner auto crops and can auto save to Evernote.

Question:    What are your top apps for productivity?

Quote of the Week:  “Amateurs sit and wait for inspiration, the rest of us just get up and go to work.” – Stephen King

Next week:  5 tips on using Evernote

For more information about Radon Mitigation in homes, schools and commercial buildings visit us at www.nelsonradon.com.

Photo courtesy of Kathy Nelson

We live in a busy and crazy world.  We can be pulled in a hundred different directions from our vocations, avocation, and kids’ activities. Even though our children are young adults I remember when we shuttled back and forth from home to school five times in the same night.  There were times when we went to two different ballgames in towns that were over an hour away from each other to watch the first half of one game and watch the second half of the next.  It was a lot of fun but a little crazy. Building margin in our lives can be challenging.

Based on the popular StrengthsFinder 2.0 personality assessment tool, my top personality strength is Achiever.  Tom Rath author of StrengthsFinder 2.0 describes people with this characteristic as: “…having a great deal of stamina and work hard.  They take great satisfaction from being busy and productive.”  This can be both an asset and a liability. I derive a great deal of satisfaction in getting things done. The dark side of this strength is that I find it hard to turn off my mind and relax.  I have to work at creating margin for family, friendships, and relaxation.

Whether you are a solopreneur, have a team, or run a small business it is difficult to make room for down time.  Taking a vacation or a long weekend to relax can be a challenge since you still need to return calls and respond to emails.  If you find it hard to relax, try these strategies to turn off work and unplug.

Five strategies to take care of customers and still enjoy time off

1)      Set up specific times to take care of business.

I recommend scheduling a short block of time to check your voice mails and emails. What I do is schedule 30 minutes in the morning and 30 minutes in the afternoon.  By scheduling a couple of time blocks for business its allows me to focus on business for these two periods of time and then focus on relaxing and enjoying the vacation the rest of the time.

2)      Inform key customers that you will be on vacation.

If you have customers that contact you on a regular basis let them know that you will be less accessible for a period of time.  If you have team members let your customers know that they will be able to handle their needs.

3)      Set up auto responders for missed calls.

The voice mail service that I use can be set to auto send a text for missed calls.  This can be an effective way to let callers know that you will return their call at a specific time.

A text could read:  “Hi, I’m taking a few days of R&R so responding to voice mails will be a little slower. I will contact you between 8 to 8:30am or 4 to 4:30pm.”

4)      Set up auto responders for email.

Auto reply emails are a great way to inform senders that you are out but will contact or respond to their email at a specific time.  An auto responder tutorial can be found at: Microsoft Office tutorial

Set up a private email account for team members only. By having a private email account you can check this one account to see if there are any important and urgent items that need your attention.

5)      Unplug from social media.

Disable Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook push accounts. To avoid distractions from social media updates just turn them off so your phone or iPad isn’t being updated during the time you should be enjoying some R&R.

Hopefully these steps help you to get out of work mode when you unplug and stay focused on relaxing to recharge.

Question: As a small business owner, solopreneur, or responsible for a team how do you build margin in your life to recharge and stay productive?  You can leave a commit below.

Quote of the Week: “When you arise in the morning, think of what a precious privilege it is to be alive – to breathe, to think, to enjoy, to love.” – Marcus Aurelius

For more information about Radon Mitigation in homes, schools and commercial buildings visit us at www.nelsonradon.com.