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Are you putting off productivity?
By Jeanette S Cates, PhD
Editor's note: This article was written in Spring, 2002, so models may
change. The principles remain the same!
I recently took a good look at what was keeping me from accomplishing
what I needed to do. After all, I had my goals. I had them written down.
I read my affirmations daily. And still, I was not achieving what I wanted
to do.
Leaving town was a major undertaking. And that's not good when you're
a professional speaker! I need to be able to leave at a moment's notice
and arrive ready to give my full attention to my audience. So it was time
for a look at what was holding me back. Here's what I found.
- I used my desktop computer in the office. However, my accounting program
and contact databases were on that machine, so my assistant also needed
to use it. We sometimes found ourselves waiting for the other person
to get off the machine before we could do what we needed to do.
- I used a 3-lb laptop on the road. Though I rarely used them, I had
to pack the CD player and floppy drive, plus the docking bar with the
parallel port on it - just in case I needed any of those items.
- I often found myself without a file I needed or a contact's information.
It took me up to an hour or two before I left town each time to decide
on and transfer what I needed to my laptop, then another 30 minutes
or more when I returned to update my desktop with all I had worked on
while I was gone.
- I had an early 2MB Palm V that could not hold any e-books and did
not sync with my Outlook calendar and contacts. So again, I spent a
lot of time copying and pasting information between my desktop or my
laptop and my Palm.
In general, things were not working well and the problems were pretty
obvious.
Here's how I resolved most of my issues.
- I bought a new laptop. This is 3 years newer than the other, but it's
four times faster and has a larger screen. And while I traded a 3-pounder
for a 7-pounder, my new laptop has a built-in floppy and a built-in
CD burner. That means all the pieces are with me all the time. And with
the CD burner, I can back up data quickly or move it to another computer
easily - very nice when you need to use someone else's computer! (See
related presentation tip.)
- I moved my desktop to another office for my assistant. That means
she and I can be working at the same time on the rare occasions I'm
in the office - what a concept!
- I only put the programs I need for my tasks on my laptop. So if I
don't think I should be doing it, I didn't load the software. I did
not put my accounting program or my databases on my laptop; instead,
I'm delegating those tasks to my assistant (another new concept!) If
I need to look at anything on those programs, I'll walk into her office
and check.
- I purchased an IPAQ. It's color with 64MB of memory. Best of all,
it syncs with Outlook contacts, tasks, calendar and notes. Plus it uses
Word and Excel, as well as Adobe Acrobat Reader. This is truly revolutionary!
To ensure I have the information I need with me, I put the IPAQ into
its cradle and it automatically syncs everything. No more deciding what
to take, then copying and pasting it! I find I'm editing Word documents
on the plane, plus I'm getting a lot of the e-books read in airports
and sitting alone in restaurants. When I want to create an article from
scratch (as I'm doing with this one), I use the Targus keyboard.
In short, my travel life has changed dramatically in the past 2 weeks!
And as I walk back into my office this afternoon, I'll pull my laptop
out and put it on my desk, then sync it with my IPAQ. I will have everything
with me that I've had on the road for the past 10 days. My assistant's
work life won't be interrupted and we'll never lose a beat in getting
the job done! Just the sense of calm and control are worth it. No more
frantic transferring of files as I leave No more waiting to use my computer
while she prints invoices for the month. No more... well, you get the
idea! I'm thrilled with the make-over!
Do you need to review your productivity? Take this short quiz and see:
Do you always have the information you need with you - either on your
cell phone, your laptop, and your PDA (personal digital assistant, such
as a Palm Pilot, Handspring Visor or IPAQ)?
Are you trying to share a computer with anyone else?
Can you get on the Internet as often and as long as you need to?
If you need a client file while you're traveling do you have it? Can
you get it within 15 minutes?
If you need to move a file or print a file, so you have a way to do
that while you're traveling?
Are there tasks that are not getting done? Why? Could it be cured by
shifting or adding technology?
Remember: Technology is a tool that works FOR us. If you're working harder
and longer because of the technology, it's not working the way it should.
Don't put off productivity!
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Dr. Jeanette Cates works with solo entrepreneurs to help them turn their
knowledge into gold. She is a professional speaker, consultant, and author
of Online Success Tactics: 101 ways to build your small business.
(http://www.OnlineSuccessTactics.com)
(c) 2003 Permission is granted to reprint this article in print or on
your web site so long as the resource box above is included.
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