You can use Outlook Contacts for more than just contact information of people you know or meet. I use them for all kinds of things because it’s so convenient to get to (I live in Outlook). I use the notes block on the contact page to store information. I give each “contact” a logical name [...]
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If you find yourself always taking on more than you can handle, you probably have a problem with saying no. It makes you feel guilty, right? But when you say yes when you wanted to say no, that makes you feel worse.
When someone is looking for help, they’re going to call the first “yes” they [...]
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Every time I hear of company layoffs, I feel badly for the people losing their jobs. But I immediately start to wonder how the people left behind will make it. They were already working inefficiently; now half of their co-workers are gone.
In my work as a consultant helping people improve their personal productivity, I see [...]
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Improve messages you send
and reduce email overload.
For years, I’ve been helping people improve how they manage email. Whether they’re in my class or if they’ve sent me a message that needs improving, I’m always willing to offer my advice…whether they asked for it or not. I even wrote a book about it.
Every day, I receive [...]
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I was recently interviewed by a national magazine and the reporter asked me about some of the must-have equipment I use to run my solo enterprise. Here is what I listed.
Feature-rich telephone. You might think that finding the perfect desk phone is easy, but it wasn’t for me. I finally found everything I needed in [...]
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One of the exercises I conduct in my time management training involves having the attendees determine how much free time they have after doing all the things they absolutely have to do. I came up with a brilliant idea (at least I think it was brilliant) and had this time log coded as a Flash [...]
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Use your brain for thinking; not for remembering
- Peggy Duncan
As you go through the day acknowledging due dates or making commitments and promises, always ask yourself: “How am I going to remember this?” Then put some type of external cues in place that will trigger the action.
You probably already use a to do list, tickler [...]
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When I buy new gadgets and gizmos, I read the how-to booklets and also look for more tips on the Web. I purchased the BlackBerry 8820 over a year ago, and in addition to setting up my laptop to use it as a modem (tether), here are some other things I learned and changes I’ve [...]
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Email overload is that mess that’s packed and stacked in your Inbox…hundreds and thousands of messages that you scroll through every day. You can lighten the load if you stop using your Inbox for storage and also think through every message you handle.
My solutions that work are outlined in my book, Conquer Email Overload [...]
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Hi, Peggy! I have lots of business cards from others. What is the most productive way to store them. I originally thought I’d use a desk top Rolodex; then I thought I should group them according to services, photocopy the page and then file the pages. What do you suggest?
None of the above. I batch [...]
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In a recent time management seminar I conducted, one of the attendees said she was so happy to have a BlackBerry. She said now she can sit in meetings and get her email done. I said, “Excuse me, did I hear you right? You use meetings to do email?”
I’d heard it right.
So I asked, “Why [...]
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It’s easy to get caught up in the latest craze of social media and networking. But when it takes over and you start to neglect handling business, it’s a problem.
One of my clients didn’t understand why it was so hard for her to finish projects on time. She worked crazy hours but was always trying [...]
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I haven’t seen a commercial from the US Postal Service in awhile, and I’m finding that a lot of business people have forgotten how they can help you be more productive.
Order free packaging from their Web site. I keep a supply of Priority Flat Rate envelopes and Flat Rate boxes with postage already applied. And [...]
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When I switched from Earthlink to AT&T for Internet access for my home office, I could no longer connect when I was outside my calling area using a local access number. (I’d have to pay to connect to an 800 number and pay by the minute). I considered an aircard, but when I thought through [...]
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When I started my business almost 11 years ago, as part of the Accounting section of my filing system, I had a folder for each vendor I spent money with regularly (e.g., gas, light, Office Depot, etc.). When I found myself sticking receipts in a To Be Filed folder, I knew my system was too [...]
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I’m still getting too many nods “Yes” when I ask seminar attendees if they’re still getting a lot of spam. If you are too, take these steps to end it.
Use a good provider. If you’re using Joe’s Internet Service with servers in his basement, he’s probably not using the best technologies to block spam on [...]
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My latest book, The Time Management Memory Jogger(TM), will start shipping August 25, 2008. It is published by GOAL/QPC and becomes the latest in their bestselling series of books that focus on workplace improvement (over 10 million in print).
An editorial board had made some great suggestions that have made the book even better, and I [...]
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I just finished a training/consulting session with three officers from the US Air Force. It was so invigorating to work with this small team on their laptops with their own work. Each one had work they dreaded doing, and I was charged with helping them find a better way (my specialty).
After asking all the right, [...]
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The question about sharing the Outlook calendar with others comes up a lot in my workshops I conduct on managing time with Outlook. If you’re on an Exchange Server it’s no problem. But what if you’re working with a virtual assistant or you’d like a family member to always know where you are? There are [...]
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Sporting News recently reported that heavy sports enthusiasts spend on average over 31 hours a week following sports. Amazing. I spend zero minutes a year on it.
If you’re going to get caught up in the festivities of the NCAA tournaments next week, remember that the work still has to get done. Since most people work [...]
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You probably already have a powerful tool that will save you a lot of time, but it’s sitting around collecting dust. What is it? An old monitor. Dust it off and put it to work by using it as an extension of your desktop. Simply connect it to your laptop or computer.
Here are some things [...]
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I was in a client’s office and his assistant mentioned that he only wanted documents stapled and never kept together with paper clips. She was frustrated with this practice because she was constantly having to unstaple/staple.
I asked, “Why does he only want the document stapled?”
“We’ve had a lot of issues with papers separating and getting [...]
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“You called me. We met for lunch but your attention is somewhere else. Thumbing and talking on your cell phone. Oh noooooo buddy. I didn’t take time out from my business, get out of my pajamas, drive to this restaurant wasting my gas and adding wear and tear on my car just to sit here [...]
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Recent studies are proving what I’ve been saying the past ten years: the biggest time management mistake you make is not realizing how much time you waste. Instead of getting some real work done, here’s what’s happening.
Sporting News just revealed the results of a study about the possibility that sports is contributing to a decline [...]
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I received a package the other day from a company that creates promotional products. Their gift idea was a nicely done 2008 Pocket Pal week-at-a-glance calendar. I chuckled when I held it up wondering why companies still spend money on these.
Hmmm…do I know anyone who could use this? All the business associates and clients I [...]
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