Improve My Business

I’ve been using calendars (and organizers, and to-do lists) for years.  I’ve tried electronic and paper; web-based and not; and have found the following to be my personal preference for this:

1)      Web-based if you move from machine to machine, or if you need to share your calendar with others. If my team wants to meet with me for a conference, why should they have to request my free times – when they can simply pop on the web and see for themselves?  Most web-based cals will let you set preferences (read only or read-write; busy/free only or they can see the actual meeting subject, etc.) and it handily color codes entries so multiple cals can be overlapped on one.

2)      One calendar that contains everything.  I used to try and manage separate calendars – one for work and one for personal.  The work cal had only work appts on it, and could be sent to anyone; the home cal had my personal appts written in, and may include things I didn’t want sent out to the world at large (everyone doesn’t need to know when I’m having my annual mammogram, for instance).  However, I’ve double-booked, or forgot, too many things to do this any longer.  So now I have one calendar for everything – personal, professional, and everything in between.  It has birthdays on it, travel itineraries, business meetings, luncheon dates, wine parties, and kids’ sporting events.  As for when I have my annual exams, I simply mark them ‘confidential’ first, so it only shows up on my cal with details.

What’s your preference for calendars?

Technorati Tags: calendar, planner, schedule

I’ve just returned from a combo business trip/vacation, including visits to Orlando, London, and Dublin.  It was a great trip, and we have a fantastic time, although of course longing for my own bed and shower increased as our return date got closer…

One of the things I noticed in Europe was their efficiency in travel.  We had a car for a few days in southwest England, as we wanted to pop around smaller towns and see Stonehenge; although driving on the left side, from a right-handed car, was a bit harrowing for the first bit, it was great fun.  The signage was always clearly posted, and we never got lost (although if I don’t see another roundabout again – an intersection where everybody drives in a circle to get where they’re going – it would be just fine with me…)  Driving in England was also a pleasure due to the courtesy of the drivers – no horns honking, no one cutting me off, graciously allowing me in when I realized that the next left at the roundabout was the one I needed… thank you, Brits, for allowing a Yank to drive with a minimum of anxiety.

In Dublin and London, we used public transport.  These larger cities can sustain a strong mass transit system, and at various times we took a train, the underground, a bus, and a taxi.  Again, everything clearly marked and very easy to navigate.  And, if you do happen to be standing on a curb, looking at a map, some kind-hearted soul will invariably stop and ask “Are you OK?”  The first time this happened, I answered “yes, thanks” a bit puzzled why they were asking that, as I didn’t have any bleeding knees or wasn’t limping; then I realized I was listening in “American” instead of “British” and that they were asking me if I needed help with directions… so the next time I replied, “Thanks, can you point me towards _______”, and they would.

Now, having traveled in similar fashion in San Francisco, New York, Washington DC, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Shenzhen, I know that this is not solely a European phenomenon; but during this trip I was perhaps more aware than usual since I had my teenaged children with me, and was showing them how to navigate the system in preparation for their inevitable travel without “Mummy” (it was Mothers Day in Britain when we were there – March 22^nd – and the kids got great laughs out of all the “Mummy cards” they saw…)

What DID impress me was the parking in London for electric vehicles  – complete with charging stations on the curb.  I’d be interested in seeing something similar in other cities – do you know of other places that do this?  If so, post it here!

Technorati Tags: dublin, electric car, london, public transport, transportation

Have you heard about the movement, started in Sydney Australia in 2007, to turn off electrical appliances (including -gasp! - battery powered ones) for one hour?  It’s done at 8:30 pm local time, and is done to save natural resources and bring attention to global warming, and is part of World Wildlife Fund… it’s called Earth Hour.  Such iconic landmarks as the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, Rome’s Colosseum, the Sydney Opera House and the Coca Cola billboard in Times Square  were all in darkness for an hour last year…

At first I was thinking (in a cheating sort of way) that I can leave on essentials, like things with a clock embedded in it (DVR, microwave, etc.); or I can simply go somewhere that isn’t going to honor it (bars, restaurants, movie theatres come immediately to mind), but then I think:  Am I really so dependent on electricity that I can’t do this?  What about all the millions of people who do without what we in the western world take for granted – clean water, safe homes, constant electrical supply.  Maybe doing without electricity for 60 minutes will give me an appreciation for what we have the other 525, 540 minutes a year…

What’s your thoughts on this – can you live without power for 1 hour on a Saturday evening?  Will you?  Why or why not?

And I’d love to hear back from you if you do decide to take up this challenge, and let me know how you fared.  Me, I’m thinking board games by candlelight with my family… and in fact, I’m sorta looking forward to it!

Technorati Tags: earthhour.org, global warming

Happy first day of Spring!

You know what that means…time for Spring Cleaning. When was the last time you thought about cleaning up around your office? I’m not just talking about straightening your desk and your top drawer; I mean really getting into the dark and dingy crevices that are never seen. Deep in your email box maybe, messages from 2003? What about those old programs and trials you downloaded and used once? Do you have 6 draft versions of the same document? Clean out your cache? Really, it’s better to do it now then when your computer freezes up and you get so frustrated you just delete it all!

Start with your desktop, do you really need all those shortcuts? I’m sure with a bit of thought you can create a file management system that will really make sense to you. A clean computer desktop is just as important as a clean desk-desk top.

Trust me, you’ll feel so much better!

Technorati Tags: de-clutter, organization, organizing

My personal forte is in project management. I chose this line of work because I really like planning. I like to see how things are going to come together. This is often a problem at home since I always avoid spur of the moment activities, while my husband is definitely a jump in and go for it type of person. While sometimes frustrating, our opposite approaches tend to complement each other. If I was solely responsible for scheduling our activities, I would over-plan everything to the point of losing interest in the activity altogether. If it were left to my husband, he’d jump right in to everything without preparation. The problem with jumping right in is that you always will be forgetting something that will end up costing you more time and money then if you had prepared for it ahead. The problem with too much planning is you might lose some of the momentum and enthusiasm for the activity.

So, how does a planning-type personality enjoy the fun of a spontaneous activity? Here’s what I do:

You were expecting more maybe? I admit it’s a simple method, but even for a professional planner not everything has to be complicated. Don’t underestimate your gut instinct and don’t rule out compromise. In the end, no matter what you decide keep in mind this quote from Sidney J. Harris:

“Regret for the things we did can be tempered by time; it is regret for the things we did not do that is inconsolable.”

Technorati Tags: Planning