Michelle

Review: ToDoist

August 9, 2012 by Michelle 2 Comments

ToDoist is one of the more popular task management apps out there, and I finally got around to reviewing it. I’m not really sure what to add here in the notes, as the tool is so simple the video covers it all. It’s got:

a minimalist interface
ability to create recurring tasks
some color coding (but fairly minimal)
drag & drop functionality

And several more features in the premium version ($29/year), including mobile and email reminders, notes, ability to sync with iCal/G-Cal, a better label system, and task searching.

Would I use ToDoist, paid or free? No, but that’s because it’s not really robust enough for what I do, the color coding is fairly minimal (like I said), and I’m definitely not a fan of the minimalist aesthetic. They do have WeDoist, which is a project management tool meant for teams and might be good for those people who like ToDoist but need something a little more hardcore. Otherwise, if you tend towards the minimalist and want some basic color coding/ability to add recurring tasks, definitely check out ToDoist – you’d probably enjoy it!

Filed Under: Reviews, Tools + Resources Tagged With: project management, review, task management, todoist

Review: Paprika

August 2, 2012 by Michelle Leave a Comment

Paprika is unusual among the project/task management tools I’ve reviewed in that it’s text based – there’s a variety of shortcodes that you key in while typing which can turn a word or line into a bullet point, task that can be checked off, tag, deadline, etc. It’s got a very clean, minimalist-esque vibe, without being too plain.

Good for you if:

You like the idea of a text-based task management tool.
You either don’t have a team or don’t need to manage a large one – the setup is ideal for people who either work alone or just need to share tasks/notes/files with a VA.
You occasionally need to share notes/tasks with someone else (i.e. an outside contractor) but don’t necessarily need to permanently integrate that person in to your project management system – Paprika lets you share a specific project with a link.
You want basic note-keeping and file-storing functions integrated in with your task management.

When I originally wrote this review, I had no plans of using Paprika in any way. However, I actually came across a need that it serves perfectly. I’m going through a six-month planning curriculum, in which I choose specific business areas of devotion, set goals for those areas, break things down into projects/tasks, etc. Paprika is great for keeping my notes and my tasks from this course/work in one spot, easily accessible; so then I just put something on my main project management tool (Rule.fm) to remind me to dedicate 2-4 hours each week to working on the projects and tasks I have outlined in Paprika. Kind of roundabout, but it felt better to me to have all of the coursework in one spot than scattered willy-nilly.

Not so great for:

People who are addicted to color – you’d probably find the design boring/unappealing.
People who need to manage a large team (though it does integrate with Staction, which I have not tried).
People who need a visual/calendar layout – there isn’t one.
People who really need to use their task management tool on the go – there’s no mobile app, and I’d think (though I haven’t tested it myself) that text-based use could get clunky on a mobile phone. Possibly not an issue with a tablet, but could be annoying with a smartphone.

What do you think? Is Paprika something you’ll be checking out?

Filed Under: Reviews, Tools + Resources Tagged With: paprika, project management, reviews, task management, video

How to manage your time + energy when it’s split

July 31, 2012 by Michelle 15 Comments

This is a question I get a lot – and for good reason. Most people get their businesses started going as a side gig, so they have to manage their time & energy for their “day job” and their business at the same time, without letting either suffer; and if you’re running a service based business, once it’s churning along semi-smoothly, you then have to balance your attention between handling client work (which pays the bills now) and taking care of your business (which, if neglected, means you won’t be able to pay the bills in a month or three).

I’ve been working for myself for just over three years now, and the whole time I’ve been doing it, I’ve had more than one big project taking up my time & energy. First I was freelance writing and writing at Wicked Whimsy at the same time, then freelance writing and working on Let’s Radiate and with associated clients at the same time, and now I’m currently working on my business + handling client work + prepping for the relaunch in September. (Speaking of which, September looked so much further away from the other side of July. Yikes.)

In that meantime, I’ve tried a myriad of ways to balance these projects without taking too much away from any of them. Some tactics have been more successful than others…and at the moment, I’ve got some that’ve been working well. Can I guarantee it’ll work for you? Nope, but if you’ve had that feeling of too many plates spinning at once (and the really unpleasant feeling when one of them shatters), it can’t hurt to take a look.

What’s worked for me:

Assigning categories to each day of the week. This way, I get to stay in the same mental ballpark the whole day, without any drastic shifts, which allows me to get into a really good groove. (Which, it is not an exagerration to say, exponentially increases my productivity.) My loose categories are as follows: Mondays are admin days for my business, Tuesdays & Thursdays are client days, Wednesdays are mostly content creation, and Fridays are biz-dev days for my business.
Aiming for scheduling appointments either at the beginning or towards the end of the work day. Obviously, if mid-day is the only time that works for someone, I can & will schedule an appointment for then; but in general I try to put appointments in either 9 AM or 10 AM time-slots or after 2 PM. This way I can make sure I have a solid swathe of time to work without being interrupted by appointments for the bulk of my work day. And I try to schedule appointments roughly corresponding with the categories – coaching or consulting for me goes on Fridays or Mondays, client appointments are usually Tuesdays & Thursdays though sometimes Wednesdays.
Having a color-coded task list/calendar. This is probably the quirkiest item on the list, but having things color coded by client makes it incredibly easy to see at a glance if I’m spending the bulk of my time on one thing and possibly neglecting others. If my task list looks more like a rainbow across the week, I’m doing it right.

What has not worked for me:

Trying to work on multiple different big projects in one day. For example, splitting up one day between biz-dev & client work. It’s too big of a mindset shift for me and I end up making a lot of progress on one project and doing absolutely nothing on the other one.
Not making a distinction between work on my business & work in my business. Two entirely different things that require two wildly different mindsets and viewpoints. Working on my business (or your business) requires a really top-level, bird’s eye view; working in my business means taking more of a day-to-day, detail-oriented view. Learning the difference between those two mindsets was huge for me, because it meant I wasn’t wasting time trying to switch directly from one to another. Now, I know that trying to plan those two activities back to back won’t work & ends up more frustrating than anything else.
Attempting to split equally time-wise. Far more important than time spent is energy spent, and also important is if I’m actually feeling the project. If everything’s going well, I can get more done in 15 minutes than I’ve got done in an hour other times, so I don’t worry about dividing time up equally between important areas any more, I just make sure I’m moving forward on all of them.

There’s a lesson here – despite all of the productivity “rules”, sometimes you just have to do things by trial and error. What works for me might not work for you – sometimes I even break the golden productivity rule and *gasp* multi-task, though only when doing certain things on certain days. Sometimes listening to music makes me more productive, but only when I’m working on certain things, and only certain kinds of music. If you don’t feel like something is working for you, feel free to scrap it and try something else – even if it runs counter to traditional wisdom.

What about you? Do you have any specific tricks for working on multiple projects at the same time, without dropping the ball on any of them? Is there anything you do that makes you far more productive that goes against the usual productivity advice?

Photo Credit: Nick Wheeler

Filed Under: Avoiding Overwhelm, Systems + Streamlining Tagged With: energy management, projects, time management

Review: WeekPlan

July 26, 2012 by Michelle 2 Comments

Review Summary & Notes

WeekPlan is based on the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, so it uses a lot of terms specific to that system. However, it’s got a really great, intuitive interface, with drag & drop functionality for tasks across days/Someday/Backburner. Adding tasks is quick and easy, and there’s some extra functionality that you don’t usually see in task management tools (a journal, places for you to keep track of your weekly goals, a place for you to write your mission statement, etc.). They don’t have a mobile app but they do say that the mobile site works well on tablets or smartphones (haven’t tested that functionality myself).

This’d be great for:

Solopreneurs
People who want a task management tool with a focus on personal development
People who already use a project management tool for them/their team but want something lightweight that will let them view just their tasks
People who want people who want something like TeuxDeux but with more features
People who want a place to keep track of their personal goals and tasks
People who like to see a fairly “zoomed in” view of their tasks and projects (since you can only see a week at a time)

Not so great for:

People who need to delegate
People who like to or need to see more than a week’s worth of tasks at a time
People who like to see an overview of all of their projects in one spot (there’s different workspaces, but not a way to see tasks across all workspaces, AFAIK)
Anyone who loves color coding as much as I do

Do you use WeekPlan? Whatcha think?

Filed Under: Reviews, Tools + Resources Tagged With: reviews, task management, tools, video, weekplan

The Three Reasons You Can’t Stick to Your Plans

July 23, 2012 by Michelle 15 Comments

There’s a lot to be said for improv, but it’s not generally a good long-term strategy for actually getting shit done. Eventually, flying by the seat of your pants no longer works (and can in fact cause some pretty chaotic aftermath), and you’ll want to start creating some level of plans for your business – where you want to be in six months or a year, what you’ll do to get there, etc. The problem then comes in executing those plans – one of the commonest complaints I hear is that people come up with awesome plans and then, somehow, as if by nefarious Death Eater magic, nothing actually gets done from those awesome plans. And three months or six months later, they’re left scratching their heads as to why not.

In general (sometimes there are specific-to-individual reasons), there are three different reasons that this happens:

Reason #1: Setting goals that you aren’t excited or motivated about.

This is pretty self-explanatory. For whatever reason, we get it in our heads that we need to do something. Usually, because Expert XYZ tells us to, or because we saw a friend or colleague (who might have an entirely different customer base and business model, mind you) try something with great success. So, without sitting down and really thinking hard about if this is something we want to do, we put it on our “to do list” and then…put off doing it for eternity because we have no motivation.

If this is you: This is a psychological obstacle more than anything else, and there isn’t really a simple one-time solution (oh, those simple one-time solutions! how I wish they existed more often!). You just need to work on developing the habit of asking yourself “Why do I think I need to do this? Is this something I actually want to do or just something I feel like I should do?”

Sometimes, these things are tasks that really do need taken care of. (I don’t know very many people who get all hot and bothered about doing their taxes and financial paperwork, for example.) But if you’re not doing it, delegate or outsource it. My general rule of thumb is that if I put off a task three times (barring incidences of severe illness or other disasters), then I either delete it entirely or I outsource it. Simple yet effective.

Reason #2: You set big goals but don’t keep track of them.

This is what happens to people during New Year’s. You get all revved up, say “I’m going to do this!”, declare it out loud, and then promptly forget about it. Then you aren’t sure what they need to be doing, when, so you get sidetracked and distracted, and don’t stick to your focused plan of action (if you even created it).

If this is you: One place to start is to find ways to keep your goals in front of you after you set them. Here’s some ideas:

Large wall calendars or a year outline. These can be as intricate as an actual calendar with post-it notes marking milestones and tasks, or as simple as a large whiteboard that has your focus for the year/months written on it.
A Big Three poster or whiteboard. The concept of “Big Three” comes from the Accidental Creative (an excellent book by Todd Henry), and when he uses the phrase, he’s referring to your three “open loops” – projects that need a breakthrough. The idea is that having these reminders of your Big Three in your workspace will keep them at the top of your mind and prompt you to make new connections and keep them moving forward. I think this is a great idea not just for “open loops” but for reminding yourself of your priorities and goals – you could have something as simple as “In 2012 I will…” or “In August I will…”. Every day when you start work, you can look at your poster and make sure that what you’re doing is moving you towards those things.
Changing your computer background. Simple! Just come up with a design-y way to convey your top three business priorities (whether that’s awesome typography or something more along the lines of an inspiration board) and change your computer background to it.

Other suggested resources: Making Ideas Happen, Do More Great Work, the Radiate in 2012 Kit, this post on giving your projects space

Reason #3: Something is fundamentally broken in your planning process.

There’s three sub-causes here:

Sub-reason #1: Setting unclear goals

This is the still-being-beat-dead-horse of the productivity world, but there’s a reason for that. We know that we’re supposed to make clear, measurable, focused goals and yet we still end up saying things like “I want to make more money than last year!” How much more? 10% more? $10,000 more?

Once you have an actual number to work from, you can start figuring out what different ways can get you there – $10,000 more could be 300 more products sold, or 100 seats of a $97 class sold, or ten of your $1,000 service packages, or it could be any combination of the above, based on your other plans for the year.

And then, once you know the different routes that can get you to your end goal, you can start working on action steps for those routes, based on what’s worked for you before. If you know you want to get ten more $1,000 clients this year, and you know that you usually pick up one new client every time you run a teleclass, then you can make plans to start running free teleclasses every month. If you know you sold 20 products last time you guest posted on Blog X, then guest posting should be a part of your strategy. And so on. (Money is an easy example here, but this holds true for any metric.)

Sub-reason #2: Setting big goals and then not breaking them down

This is a big one. A goal is a great thing to have, but it’s only a starting point when it comes to taking action. (Click to tweet.)

If you know that you want to get a book deal or land that particular client, but you don’t actually break down the action steps required to achieve that end result, then the project is just going to sit there like a lump on a log and stare at you, inducing guilt-trips. You need to have a place to start – and not just a place to start, but a place to go after that, and after that.

Everyone does this sometimes; we mean to break a project down into action steps but we really end up breaking it down into mini-projects. I actually just realized this the other day with my fall promotional schedule – I had on my task list to “Research 3-4 places to guest post & submit posts”, which really should have been broken down into researching places to guest post, deciding 3-4 places to guest post, brainstorming posts, writing posts, editing posts, and submitting posts.

My preferred method to help with this is to make a huge action list all at once, in the beginning stages of the project, and then effectively put on blinders so that I’m only looking at a small piece at a time (to prevent overwhelm). Whether that’s storing the master action list somewhere else or planning it out using a project management tool and then only choosing to look at the tasks for this week, it’s surprisingly effective.

Other resources: The difference between a project and a next action, Action Method II

Sub-reason #3: Setting goals and then taking not focused or not well-thought-out action

When you create a plan to get you towards an end goal, you need to specifically ask yourself why each step in that plan exists. This somewhat ties back in with the motivation piece – we absorb these ideas about what will work and what won’t based on what’s worked for other people, but the problem is that:

what works for other people won’t necessarily work for us since we’re all special snowflakes
oftentimes, the people who are telling you something will work have a stake in telling you that (i.e. they’re selling you a solution)

Which is not to say that all people selling a solution are snake oil salesmen or don’t know what they’re talking about, of course. But you have to take that into consideration when you make your plans. A rather extreme example of this might be someone saying “I want to increase my profit by 25% in Q2″ (side note: good measurable goal! go you, fictional person!) and then they create a plan that focuses entirely on increasing their Facebook “likes” by 50%.

Howeva, if there’s no reason that increased Facebook fans would actually lead to that corresponding increase in profit – if they don’t already have an engaged Facebook community, if their ideal customers/clients aren’t active on Facebook, if they aren’t already experiencing a high conversion rate from their Facebook fans – then one of two things will happen:

They’ll recognize subconsciously that this probably won’t work out, and thus feel no motivation to work on it
They’ll get halfway through their plan, realize that it’s doing jack-all to increase their profits, and get frustrated and give up…putting them back at square one. Actually, at square -1, since now they’ve wasted time, effort, and energy on a bad plan.

If this is you: Every time you draw up plans for a project, ask yourself why each step is there and if it’s there based on your past measurable results, or if it’s there because someone told you that was the way to go. If you have a team, you can make this part of your team planning process.

(As a side note, there’s nothing wrong with going with your gut – but it’s important to separate out your gut instincts from plans based on past concrete results from expert advice, and it’s best done during the planning process.)

If you consistently struggle with Reason #3 or any of its sub-reasons, check out my six month planning service – it’s designed to solve exactly those problems. I’ve also got a special running right now until the end of July with some sweet bonuses to keep you going until 2013. Take a peek!

So! Out of the three reasons – what planning pitfall do you typically fall into? And…what are you going to do differently now that you know what your planning kryptonite is?

Photo Credit: Dan Foy

Filed Under: Going From Idea to Action Tagged With: goal setting, goals, planning, planning pitfalls

What a Las Vegas kiosk can teach us about tools + systems

July 11, 2012 by Michelle 2 Comments

Pre-large margaritas. Obviously.

Back at the end of March, I went to Las Vegas for a few days for my sister’s 21st birthday. Myy sister, my mom, my grandma, and I all convened in Sin City. It was a lot of fun & interesting too (they aren’t lying when they say casinos are easy to get lost in!), and the last night I was there was particularly interesting.

See, my sister and I went to the strip, because she was in search of these massive margaritas in novelty glasses that we kept seeing. We eventually found the right place and I was rather forcefully coerced into buying a 32 oz margarita. (Ashley left with a 48 oz one. Yes, indeed.)

As we were walking back towards the bus stop, drinking our margaritas in a hurry (you can walk on the street with it but not ride a bus with it – what kind of sense does that make?!), we came across this kiosk with convertible dresses. You’ve probably seen them or something similar – it’s a dress, it’s a skirt, it’s a magical top. You know the drill.

Long story short, I ended up buying one not only for me but for my sister as well (who is obviously better at coercing me in to things than I give her credit for).

And…the dress has sat in my closet, unworn but for once or twice on laundry day when I had no choice but to try and figure it out. I’ve never been outsmarted by an article of clothing before but I’m pretty sure this one is just too smart for me. I’m honestly not sure how I managed to get it off after consuming a margarita that large.*

There’s a pamphlet that came with it with suggestions for different ways to wear it, and there’s videos on Youtube, but I haven’t taken the time to actually read the pamphlet or watch any of the videos. It’s a cool souvenir, but I just can’t seem to get in the habit of actually wearing the dress.

What can we learn from this?

Don’t buy clothes when you’re drinking. If you have to put down the margarita to hand over payment, it’s probably a bad idea.
Don’t buy clothes that require work.
If you buy clothes that require work, actually do the work to make the damn thing wearable.

And now you’re all “Yes, Michelle, this is all very interesting, but please tell me how this is relevant to those of us who aren’t impulsive buyers when drinking?”

Okay, can do. No need to sass me.

I see people doing the same thing when it comes to choosing & using tools & systems, all the time. Like, all the time. People choose a tool that seems cool and has tons of flashy features, but then they don’t ever take the time to do the set up work (learning how to wear the dress, so to speak), so they end up frustrated and confused every time they do it. Or they get something they don’t need. Or they make it harder than necessary. Do not do this, people. Learn from my dress experience.

Instead, do this:

Take the time to set it up right.

I know. I know. You’d rather stab yourself in the eye with a dull spoon, but if you’re going to try and use a new project management tool, for example, make an effort – a for-reals effort, possibly with actual sweat involved - to get past the learning curve. Set aside a few hours to learn all the tricks, watch the videos, read the material, and input all of your information, tasks, & team members.

(Your time at a premium? You could always hire someone – ahem, cough cough – to do planning & input for you!)

If you don’t do this, you’re going to be limping along every time you use it, not using the tool to the full extent of its potential, and frustrating the hell out of yourself, until you give up and go back to your previously disorganized ways.

Get reallyreally clear on what you want + need and avoid extra fluff.

As people, we almost always tend to think “more = better”. I’m sure you’ve heard the news, but just in case: more does not, in fact, equal better. In fact, I purposefully avoid tools that have more than I need (one reason I don’t use Basecamp or CentralDesktop). If something has way more features than I need, I’m going to log in, look at the interface, get confused trying to get to relevant information, and then walk away in a huff. And then nothing gets done that day because I have no idea what to do and I can’t find my effing task list.

If you’re a team of one and you don’t want or need a visual interface, use Paprika. If you want something more visual, go with Flow. But whatever you’re looking for – a time tracking tool, a CRM, a project management tool, whatever – before you start looking, make a list of what you need and what you want. If, while you’re looking, you come across a feature and you think “Wow, that’s a great feature that I would use regularly”, then it can be added to the list. However, if you’re a one person biz, chances are you don’t need a massive all-in-one project management/CRM/wiki/time-tracking/invoicing tool that also makes a mean sub sandwich. Don’t be seduced into paying for one by a slick video.

Make it easy. Braindead zombie easy.

I’m not doubting your intellectual prowess – I know you can do something that’s hard and requires thought and effort. But, here’s the thing: thought, effort, willpower – they’re all very finite resources. We only have so much for the day and then we run out and kaput, we’re done. So if you choose systems or tools that require a large amount of them? Chances are, you’ll find it incredibly difficult to stick with them in the long run.

Here’s a question to ask yourself: whatever you’re trying to do here – how can you make it as easy as possible to do it? How can you make it easier to do it than to not do it? (This isn’t always possible, of course, but thinking that way can help you come up with good ideas.) Want to get start doing weekly planning dates for your business? Take yourself out to Starbucks with nothing but your planning tools and bribe yourself with sweet caffeinated beverages. And when it comes to tools, this circles back to point #1 – after you choose something that’s as easy as possible, actually take the time to learn it.

And that, ladies & gents, is how we avoid having the system or tool equivalent of a convertible dress in your closet that you’ll never, ever wear.

Thoughts? Suggestions? Post ‘em in the comments, I want to hear!

PS: I’m doing a free class next week on how to stop being reactive & start being proactive with your business planning. You can sign up right here.

*In case you’re wondering, I do know how I got it on – that was the kiosk lady. (Smart lady. Once I had it on I didn’t want to leave without it.)

Filed Under: Systems + Streamlining, Tools + Resources Tagged With: stories, systems, tools

Three ways to make writing your next newsletter easier + faster

June 25, 2012 by Michelle 13 Comments

Getting in the habit of sending regular emails and/or newsletters to your list is viewed as “must do” business activity. And for good reason – having a highly engaged list can make your business much more successful, even if it’s a list on the smaller side.

And yet, a lot of people put off getting in to this habit because they aren’t sure where to start, or they’re worried they won’t be able to find the time, or they’ve tried to do it in the past but kept coming up blank with nothing to write about. When you try it a few times and each time it takes you two or three hours to create it, you can definitely start to question the value for time you’re getting there. Howeva! I have three quick tips, all easy to implement, that can make your next go at writing a newsletter much easier & faster.

1. Have a dedicated day &/or time to create it.

This sounds overly simple, I know. But the fact is that every time we make ourselves repeatedly schedule a recurring task, we’re wasting brainpower, time, and thought. In my experience, we – as human beings – are actually disturbingly likely to not get around to doing something because we didn’t get around to actually deciding a day/time to do it!

Instead of trying to squeeze in time to do it every week, just make it a part of your routine. For example, I send out my newsletters Friday morning. So every Thursday is the day that I write and schedule my newsletter.

I don’t get to Thursday evening or Friday afternoon and think “Oh crap, I forgot the newsletter!” because it’s already on my calendar/task list at the start of the week, and when Thursday comes around, it’s on my list of things to do, so I do it. Simple. No muss, no fuss. (To check out project & task management tools that can help you schedule your days/weeks and my reviews of them, click here.)

2. Have a format.

It doesn’t have to be anything fancy – just have a pre-determined list of things that go in your newsletter. For example, mine usually has an introduction, something personal about the week (sometimes short, sometimes a little longer), the blog posts for the week, interesting resources (see #3, below), and then a closing note. If I have a special promotion going that week, like the Peak Productivity Pack, I put in something about it at the beginning & end of the email.

Again – keep it simple. The point here is not to overwhelm yourself, the point is to make it so that you have to think as little as possible about the repetitive parts of this. You want to make it as easy as possible for you to get this done, so that you actually do it.

3. Make it easy for you to take notes/bookmark things throughout the week.

A big part of the reason that doing a newsletter seems so effing intimidating is that we don’t plan anything out, we don’t even have an idea of what we’ll cover, and then we freeze when we open up a totally blank email. The solution is simple: make it really easy for you to take notes and bookmark things of note throughout the week, so that you can feature them later in your newsletter – and then get in the habit of doing so.

Shenee does this really well with her Brand Notes pinboard, where she pins things of note to her that later end up in her newsletter; I use my Pretty + Useful pinboard in the same way. That technique also has the bonus of sending people from Pinterest to your website/email list & vice versa!

The other tool I use for this is Evernote – I keep a note for each week’s newsletter and as I have thoughts or ideas, I put it in the note; I also bookmark things using their website clipper.

In between using Evernote & Pinterest for this, when it comes to the day for me to write my weekly newsletter, I just open them up and immediately have a well of inspiration to draw from, and I already have a format to put it in.

This way, writing & scheduling my email newsletter always takes less than an hour (and usually takes 15-20 minutes). Pretty impressive, no?

Do you send a newsletter? What tips & tricks do you have for making it easier and faster, without sacrificing quality?

This post is part of the June 2012 Word Carnival — a monthly group blogging event specifically for small biz owners. (It’s the most fun you’ll have all month!) Check out the rest of the fabulous carney work here.

PS: Today’s the last day to get your copy of the Peak Productivity Pack – the bundle goes away at midnight CST tonight! Get on that & save 30% off normal price!

Filed Under: Systems + Streamlining Tagged With: email, newsletter, productivity, writer's block, writing

How to Get a Grip On Your Project

June 22, 2012 by Michelle Leave a Comment

You know how there’s that saying – “How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.”

(If you didn’t know, well, now you do.)

I get it. I get this saying, it’s all about taking tiny steps instead of overwhelming your brain with the big picture all at once. But the problem is that in real life, with actual elephant-esque ventures, not everyone has a way to go from the whole elephant to one tiny bite. Where do you even start eating? What part will be the fastest to eat? And for that matter, did we already have someone do the butchering for us? Because if eating an elephant is a difficult venture, I can only imagine the mess that comes with preparing it for eating.

(Okay, that’s where the elephant metaphor breaks down and gets a little icky. Moving swiftly onward…)

My point is this:

Taking a big project and turning it into a lot of little “bites” is not necessarily an intuitive process. After working with lots of clients, I’ve come to realize that people tend to either:

A. Not break it down into bites at all and just keep throwing themselves at the project as a whole (which can create progress but can also create frustration and that hopeless feeling that you’re not making any effing progress, argh).

B. Break it down into hundreds of tiny nibbles and then sit there, staring at their to do list and thinking “Holy crap, I am NEVER GOING TO GET THIS DONE.” Then they start drinking margaritas long before 5 o’clock.

C. Decide that the project is weighing on their mind so much they’re just going to scrap it entirely.

None of these is the best way to go about it. Obviously. You need to break it down into small, doable tasks, yeah, but you also need to have a way of organizing those tasks (to prevent to-do-list-overwhelm margarita syndrome) and a plan for doing them (to prevent that hopeless not-progressing feeling).

Kind of like this:

That’d be the outline (in flowchart form – flowline? outchart?) for my newest creation, the Get a Grip On Your Project Kit. If it piques your curiosity + looks juicy to ya, check out the Peak Productivity Pack and see about getting an amazing deal if the other two planners look tasty too – the price is $30, which is 30% off the normal price of buying all three together, and they’re only available as a bundle until Monday at midnight.

As for me, I’m taking some much-needed family time and visiting my family this weekend – I’ll be back on Monday evening, and have a post going up Monday morning. See you then!

Filed Under: Avoiding Overwhelm

Review: Rule.fm

June 15, 2012 by Michelle 1 Comment

This week’s review is a little different than usual – namely, that I decided not to do a video review, because Rule has become my project management tool of choice, and for me to give you a video tour I’d have to go back through and edit out a lot of confidential client details in the tasks/projects. Which, honestly, I’m not 100% for sure how to do in the video!

Instead, here’s their “Welcome to Rule” video:

What I love:

I have six words for you: drag & drop color coded calendar. Y’ALL. It has CHANGED MY LIFE. You may think I’m exaggerating but this is easily one of my favorite features, however simple.

I also really love the “My Tasks” window, always accessible from any screen. Currently, my favorite way to use Rule in day-to-day work is to have a pinned tab in Chrome with Rule open to the master projects calendar and also having the “My Tasks” window viewable. This gives me a really easy, at a glance way to see both what I’m doing today and in what order (because the tasks are arranged automatically in order of priority and also color coded for priority), and also see the week or month at a glance.

And, of course, the design is great. Unsurprisingly, I’m a big fan of the black/gray/blue color scheme – those are some of my favorite colors – and I like that obvious attention has been given to making things look nice.

Aside from the simple-yet-awesome things that delight me, Rule has a surprising amount of depth and functionality. You can use it in a lot of interesting ways – one of my favorite features that I haven’t got to fully explore yet is the ability to link notes, comments, and so on to tasks and projects (or reference a task or project in a comment); so that when you view a task or a project you can see all of the related discussion and information in one spot.

The wiki feature is great for creating a system operating procedures guide (something that’s essential for business growth as you add more people to your team), and it’s also incredibly easy to use with a great drag and drop interface. The CRM tool is another thing I haven’t fully utilized – I’m still figuring out how to add it into my workflow – but I like that they added it and that it’s so easy to use.

The price is very reasonable for the amount of features; there’s a 30 day trial and after that, the lowest priced monthly membership is $20/month, which covers up to 5 team members.

Things that could be improved:

Obviously, I’m pretty much a fan, but I think there’s still a few things that could be worked on:

Currently, there’s a mobile website, which works well but isn’t super-intuitive (it took me a bit of playing around to figure out how to add tasks). I’d like to see a better mobile version, whether it’s an actual app or just the website. Once I did figure out how to add tasks, I really like the mobile version, though.
Some way to create a default “assignee” (for lack of a better term) would be nice. For me, I’d love to be able to set it so that all tasks I created were assigned to me by default, unless I chose otherwise.
There’s currently some weirdness going on with the personal calendar – it doesn’t show tasks that have been assigned to you but don’t belong to a particular project. When I talked to the Rule team they said they’re working on it, and there’s a pretty easy workaround – I just created a project for general business tasks and one for life/home tasks.
I’d love to see recurring tasks added. I think when I asked them about the ETA on this, they said summer 2012, so it should be coming pretty soon. Something lacking recurring tasks would normally be a dealbreaker for me, but I loved the other features so much that I decided to death with it. The workaround I’m using in the meantime is that I have a Google Doc with a list of all my recurring tasks and what days they fall on, and then at the beginning of the month I go in and schedule them for that month.

For right now at least, I feel pretty solid calling Rule my productivity tool of choice, and I’m looking forward to using it in the future!

Have you used Rule? What did you think?

Filed Under: Reviews, Tools + Resources Tagged With: featured, project management, project management tool, review, reviews

What dating & delegating have in common

June 4, 2012 by Michelle Leave a Comment

Let’s imagine you have a friend. (Hopefully, this isn’t too hard to imagine because you already have one or more of these for reals.) A single friend lookin’ for love. She’s mostly had good experiences, but goes on this one wildly horrific date. We’re talking sitcom levels of bad. And after that, she swears off dating entirely. She’s going to be a nun if that’s what it takes – no. more. dating. for this lady.

Seems a little extreme, right?

It does, doesn’t it? But – I see a lot of people doing something similar when it comes to delegating in their business. I’ve talked to people running very successful businesses who are still refusing to bring on any help because they had a bad experience once. Quite frankly, it’s seriously holding them back in their business.

Am I denying that bad experiences suck? No.

Heartbreak – whether it comes from a bad date, an awful relationship, or totally getting screwed over by a service provider you thought you could trust – is no fun. It feels shitty. And you’re often left feeling like an idiot, too, for trusting someone and then having them later proven untrustworthy. I get it, I do. But you’ve got to pick yourself up & dust yourself off, and move on. (After you’ve soothed your hurt feelings with chocolate, of course.)

Once you’re past the chocolate and moping stage, ask yourself: what comes next? (And you’re in luck, because I have an answer for you!)

Here’s what comes next:

Analyze why it didn’t work & figure out what to do differently next time

Did a friend hook you up without firsthand knowledge? “I know a guy” can be a great thing to hear, but if you’ve been burned before and want to make sure you aren’t burned again, make sure that you get referrals from people who have actually used this person, and who are okay answering any questions you have. If you get a referral from someone who doesn’t have firsthand knowledge, email the service provider & ask for references and to set up a time to talk. Anyone who’s worth their salt will be absolutely fine with that.
Were there obvious personality incompatibilities? Did they expect you to do things that seemed absolutely off-the-wall to you? Did certain quirks of theirs grate on you like nails on a chalkboard? If so, try to figure out specifically what those things were, so that you can either look for them in the future or avoid them in the future. For example, some people want day-by-day updates – which is fine,if they’re paired with someone willing to do that and who understands that the client wants/needs that. However, another service provider might not roll that way – they’d rather check in only when a milestone has been passed. And if you’re laid-back and already have a full inbox, daily updates might sound like a nightmare. If you’re incredibly clear on what you need and what you reallydon’t want, you’ll prevent future mishaps.
Did y’all have different visions for the future? You wanted a permanent team member. They wanted to work on one project and leave. Or vice versa. These problems are pretty easily avoided by having a “getting to know you” chat (which is something that you should be doing anyways). During that chat, clearly state what you want out of the arrangement and what you envision it looking like. Then ask them what they envision working together looking like, and what they want out of the arrangement.
Were there communication issues? In relationships of any kind, communication issues are the number one disaster-causing factor. Start asking yourself – am I assuming anything here? Am I hearing ‘tude when there’s no ‘tude? When all else fails, assume that people are being polite and trying their best until proven otherwise. (Which is a good rule of thumb in general, actually. Until they do something like telling you to go die in a fire. Then it’s probably safe to assume they’re just an asshole.)

Here’s the thing: even if you’ve had a bad experience, you’ve gotta get back on the horse if you want to find true love (and/or grow your business). Fun? Not necessarily – at least, not at first. You’ll probably be nervous for a little while. You might have some trust issues to work on. But eventually, you’ll get over it and be able to see the joys that come with having someone else do work that you don’t need or want to do (just like, even after the worst date ever, eventually you’ll have fun on a date again – if you allow yourself to do so!).

PS: Here’s some comfort for you – no matter how bad of a date you’ve been on, this date was worse. (If you have a worse date story than that, I have to hear it.)

Filed Under: Avoiding Overwhelm Tagged With: delegating, featured, outsourcing, team management