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WorkloadMaster

Time management courses, coaching, trainning and consulting to help busy
managers, professionals and sales people save time and use it effectively

Interview with LinkedIn Expert Crystal Thies

LinkedIn smurfs

If it's important to your business and/or career to network with others
then using LinkedIn (the professional social networking site) correctly
can streamline the process.

Earlier this year LinkedIn expert and consultant, Crystal Thies, wrote
a guest post on this site about the Three Top LinkedIn Tips. That one
post has generated so much interest that I asked Crystal to do an
interview to discuss her system in more detail. When she was in town
for a speaking engagement recently she was nice enough to carve out
some time form her busy schedule to sit down with me.

She is an excellent resource so it will be well worth your time to
listen. Just click the link below.

Click Here to listen

crystal thies 2- For more information about Crystal Thies and
how to leverage LinkedIn to grow your business (and career) visit her
website Crystal Clear Buzz

Link to Crystal's LinkedIn Profile

Crystal's Twitter address is crystalcleabuz (note it's only one "z")

Crystal's interview can also be found on the On Target Podcast but I
included a link here for your convenience. Please feel free to listen
here or download it for later. If you're an iTunes subscriber you can
add the podcast to your feed by clicking here.
-

.

.

Photo by Mark Jen

Interactive Microsoft Office migration guides to save time

Outlook_2003_to_Ribbon_1 If you're making the switch from Microsoft
Office 2003 to 2007 or 2010 you may find the Ribon (menu system)
difficult to navigate.

If you're working from a home computer it may seem surprising that
people still use Office 2003. However a high percentage of corporate
and institutional users have stuck with 2003 rather than upgrade.

Why? First, Office 2003 meets most users' needs and second it is very
costly to upgrade hundreds and even thousands of work stations.
However that's changing because Microsoft no longer supports 2003. And
rumors have it that they are offering large clients free upgrades to
newer versions.

As a result we are hearing from many of our Outlook clients about how
to switch. Their biggest issue is that Ribbon.

Fortunately Microsoft has posted an Interactive Migration Guide on
their web site for each of the Office products.

It's pretty cool. Pick your program (Outlook, Excel, Word etc.) then
use the virtual menu to select your command in question. It then shows
you how to accomplish the same task in 2010. Office 2007 is very
similar to 2010 so it will be helpful too.

Give it a try.

Outlook_2003_to_ribbon_2

Use Gmail as a productivity tool

Gmail_logo Gmail can be a very powerful time management tool,
particularly if you receive lots of e-mail (and who doesn't these
days). It has a ton of add ins that can streamline the process and
gives makes management on a mobile device a snap.

A few weeks ago I embarked on a new journey by switching all of my
e-mail management to the Gmail client. This was a big change for me
since Outlook is such a big part of my personal management system. At
first I was a little nervous, but as I became more comfortable with the
user interface and additional tools, I was hooked.

I used Gmail for years for a personal e-mail address but didn't give it
much thought as a business tool. In a span of a few weeks several
clients had told me that they switched everything to the platform. I
was skeptical at first, but the more I looked into it the more sense it
made for me.

Best for small businesses and soloists

I have to add that this approach makes more sense for small businesses
and solo operators than it does for individuals on corporate networks.
But it also gives the little guy the same functionality and ease-of-use
enterprise Blackberry users have had for years.

Many people have asked me why I made the switch since I spend a great
deal of time teaching time management with Outlook. Like all
technology it's a matter of personal choice, not unlike choosing a pair
of shoes. The fit is individual.

Here are my main reasons:

* I switched to Outlook (Office) 2010 to become familiar enough with
it to create a new version of our Master Your Workload with
Outlook. Unfortunately 2010's contacts no longer sync with Gmail
contacts without jumping through a number of hoops. I looked at
moving my contacts to Gmail and it made sense. Besides I'm a big
fan of cloud applications. When I update a contact on my mobile
device (right now I'm using the Android), desktop or laptop
everything is changed at the source. No more synchronizing.
* Same thing with e-mail. I set forwarded all of my company e-mail
boxes to my Gmail account and now I can manage everything live at
the source no matter which device I use. And I'm able to take
advantage of Google's IMAP. As a longtime Blackberry user I had
found the POP e-mail clunky on the Android, often not receiving
messages. Now that everything is in one place I haven't missed
anything.
* Using Gmail's labels and filters gives you the ability to identify
messages coming from multiple e-mail addresses. And I find them to
be easier to use and versatile than Outlook's Rules.
* If you use the right tools you can make your inbox do double duty
as a mail receiving dock and as an adjunct to your task list. I
don't advocate letting everything sit in your inbox so that you can
use it as a task list. But by using labels and filters correctly
you can quickly archive e-mails (get them out of your inbox) and
view them later as tasks. This saves converting them to separate
tasks. If you are a fan of the Getting Things Done (GTD) approach
you can make it mimic your lists.

In fact there's a cool Gmail application called Action Inbox that
allows you to manage your e-mail using GTD lists. I hope to have the
creator as a guest on our podcast soon.

What's the catch?

On the downside, the task tool in Gmail is weak...very weak. But if
most of your activity is driven by e-mail then it may not be a
problem. Also, you are at the mercy of the gods at Google.
Last week a friend told me that she had a Gmail virus that spammed
everyone on her list in a matter of minutes. Google immediately shut
her down and it took hours to resolve the problem. In the meantime she
had no access to her contacts and messages.

Be sure to back up everything on a regular basis. Don't trust your
cloud provider, no matter who it is, to make sure your data is safe.
You may recall the incident a couple years ago when T-Mobile lost the
e-mail of millions of customers. Stuff happens.

Tips and new premium content here

As I use Gmail for my daily work I see how it can easily be integrated
into our own WorkloadMaster time management system. I'll be sharing
some tips and tricks here on the blog and will create a series of
how-to training videos for our premium members.

Personal technology to imiprove your productivity

Gadgets If you're a frequent visitor to this site you may notice a
slight change in the tagline in our header graphic. It now says "Save
time and accomplish more with your personal technology."

This is a change in the text but not a big change in the path we've
been on for the past several years. Personally I'm a geek and love
technology. Although I am well aware if its limitations and its
tendency to get in our way.

Our personal technology can do a lot to help us do things faster and
more efficiently with greater ease so that we can accomplish more or
better yet spend more time enjoying life. The downside it, technology
can have a big learning curve, be very distracting, fragment your
thoughts and interrupt your concentration. We need our tech to be our
servants not our masters (think Skynet Terminator fans).

The purpose of this site will be to help you make use of personal
technology (personal computers, Internet, apps, mobile devices,
software and assorted gadgets) to improve your personal productivity.
When it makes sense to do something without tech, I will be the first
to point it out (" the right tool for the right job"). When something
gets in the way, I will gladly point it out.

Our weekly productivity pointers will continue to focus on the human
side of personal effectiveness. If you don't already receive them feel
free to sign up in the box on the right. I promise not to spam you or
share your name with others.

Photo by: Tommi Koulainen

Social Media Marketing Takes Too Much Time

Jump on the social media bandwagon Every week someone tells me that
they would like to use social media marketing but it just takes too
much time. What this really means is "I don't know how and don't know
where to start."

Why are we talking about marketing on a web site about productivity?
Well we're all about saving time and being more effective. You can
become much more effective at promoting yourself and your business if
you take advantage of social media. To help shortcut the learning curve
I asked social media expert, Julia Kline to share some of the
fundamentals we all should incorporate into our mix.

Below is a link to an interview I did with her on our sister podcast On
Target.

If you're in the Cleveland, Ohio area Julia will be conducting a Social
Media Workshop at the Middleburg Heights Recreation Center on Monday,
August 30. If you register use registration code 2733.

3 Top LinkedIn Tips

LinkedIn Mobile Do you have a LinkedIn account that you rarely (or
ever) use? If so, you're in good company.

LinkedIn can be a very powerful tool to help you build your personal
brand, but many people don't use it because they don't know where to
start.

Like thousands of other professionals, I had a LinkedIn account that
was gathering dust. I was confused about just what to do with it and
didn't have time to figure it out. Until I met Crystal Thies of
CrystlaClearBuzz.

Crystal is a LinkedIn consultant and social media strategist who helps
individuals and companies get the most from this powerful networking
tool. I first met her last Fall when she worked with me one-on-one to
help me develop a profile that matched my business objectives. Later I
attended one of her webinars then saw her speak at a regional
WordCamp. Each time I came away with some solid ideas including how to
use my LinkedIn profile to increase web traffic and links to our web
site.

She was kind enough to share some of her top tips for using LinkedIn.
Here they are:

1. Headline

Your headline is crucial because it is the only thing that will set you
apart in a list of names from a search. Search results only list a few
pieces of information - name, geographic information, and this
headline. So it has to stand out and say, "Pick Me!"
Your headline should accomplish two things. First, it tells people
what you do from a functional standpoint. Second, it tells people who
you serve - your target market. If you have space, you want to try and
fit in some performance results. However, LinkedIn only gives you 120
characters.

2. Growing Your 1st Degree

The power of LinkedIn is in the 2nd and 3rd degree. However, to get to
the 2nd and 3rd degree, you have to have a significant 1st degree of
people you know, trust, and who would be willing to introduce you. The
quickest and easiest way to get your connection base growing is by
using the Import Contacts function. This function will automatically
import your connections from the most common webmail programs. If you
use Outlook or another CRM then you manually upload it as a comma
separated values file (CSV). Warning, after you have exported your
contacts, pop the CSV file into Excel and remove all fields except
First Name, Last Name, and Email Address. The additional fields will
confuse LinkedIn and the import won't pick up the data correctly with
the extra fields.

This is a crucial step to getting started because LinkedIn will
automatically tell you who on your list is already a LinkedIn member.
You simply check the boxes next to those you want to connect to and a
mass invitation will be sent out. As you start connecting with people
you already know, spend time reviewing their connections. You'll
likely find many people you know who weren't in your own contact
database. You can easily invite those people to connect.

3. Summary

Your summary is as crucial as your headline - it is what will entice
people to connect with you. Your summary is not your bio...it's your
elevator speech. For those of you searching for a job, it's your cover
letter. Essentially, it takes the goal of the headline - what you do
and who you serve - and delves deeper. What do you do? How do you do
it? Who benefits? and What are your results? Your summary should
always be in first person and present tense. It should be
active...this is what I can do for you today and tomorrow. The past is
important only to the extent that it bolsters why you should work with
me today. It should also be short - approximately 200-300 words. If
it's too long, people won't even bother reading it. Where possible,
build in white space for easier reading by keeping paragraphs short,
adding bullet points and indenting.

Crystal is hosting another of her popular webinar series beginning this
week. It is well worth the time so check it out.

Read more with book summaries

Sunday Morning-

Do you need to read more but find you don't have enough time? Welcome
to the club. I've been falling way behind in my reading, particularly
business books, and have found it difficult to catch up.

There are so many good business books being released that it's
impossible to pick the right ones let alone read all of them. So how do
you keep abreast of the latest yet still have time for everything else
you have to do? You might want to try a book summary service.

Last week I happened to meet Dan Pfister a principle at The Business
Source, a Toronto Canada based service that writes summaries of the
latest business books. After digging through their web site I realized
what a great idea. I know a few people (not me) who used Cliff Notes in
college. It was a good way to get the gist of a book (not a great way
to study for a test). The Business Source does something similar yet
much more elegantly.

Business Source subscribes receive two 5-page summaries (about 2,500
words)each month. These concise yet detailed summaries take between 10
- 30 minutes to read. You get enough detail to come away with a basic
understanding of the book's key concepts. You will know immediately if
you want more detail. If so, just click their link Amazon affiliate
link and buy the book. If not, then you haven't used much time and
saved yourself $30+.

I read a few of their summaries and found them to be very well written,
insightful, and quite entertaining. In fact I was very impressed with
the style. The writer gives you a good insight into the book without
editorializing or getting in the way. There is really an art to this
and their writers very good at it.

The summaries do an excellent job of getting to the mead of a book yet
do it in a way that keeps you reading. For example their web site
contains a free sample of their review of Freakanomics. A book I have
never read, but wanted to. In 20 minutes I had a good understanding of
the essential elements of the book and a plan to buy a copy for my
collection. Take a look at it and you'll see what I mean.

Business Source Subscribers receive two summaries of current business
books each month plus 24 sets of business tips and 4 audio tracks from
prominent business speakers each quarter. The cost is $130 US per year,
about the cost of 4 books.

If your time is valuable, but you understand the value of "sharpening
you saw," then you should check out The Business Source

Get your point across faster with Jing

June 21, 2010

have you ever tried to explain something verbally or written that would
be faster and easier with a screen capture or even a short video? It's
easy to do with Jing, the free screen capture and screen recording
software from Techsmith. Here's a short video that shows you how it
works and how to get [...]
Read the full article ->

Multitasking is a Myth - Here's a good resource

April 5, 2010

If you've listened to even a little of my training you know I harp
about the evils perils of attempting to multitask. You can't actually
do two things at once you can only switch quickly between them,
"switchtasking" it's been called. I won't repeat myself here, but I
will refer you to an excellent discussion [...]
Read the full article ->

About our WishList Member Site

March 15, 2010

New membership site development service - WishList Master. Since we
began to offer our online Outlook program I've received a number of
inquires about how we made it happen. It seems many of our readers
have produced content like training, articles, coaching or consulting
services that lend themselves to online deliver Here's a quick
explanation [...]
Read the full article ->

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