Professional Documents
Culture Documents
PARTICIPANT GUIDE
Table of Contents:
Overview . 2
Do Valuable Work 20
Application .. 26
OneNote.. 29
Journal.. 32
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Participant Guide October 2016
Peak Productivity with Outlook
Objectives
Use technology to help manage your work and time more efficiently and effectively
Recognize and deal with personal time-wasters
Create priorities and establish realistic boundaries
Create a personalized, practical system for deliver your high-impact goals
Overview
Email: Good News and Bad News
People who think email is safe, convenient and inexpensive just havent paid attention to its risks, inefficiency and cost.
Its not unusual for a North American office worker to receive 50 or more emails every day. Almost half of these messages are
irrelevant or of very low relevance and certainly not worth the time it takes to read, delete or respond to them. Data storage
and time arent cheap, yet most companies store all or most of their emails on electronic media, and printed copies of emails
choke file drawers. These stored emails are a gold mine for plaintiffs attorneys looking for evidence when suing a form for
unfair employment Practices, product liability or other alleged misdeeds.
Not only is email expensive and potentially risky, it is often inferior to other ways of communicating, such as the telephone or
even face-to-face conversations. Yet people seem inexplicably reluctant to use those other methods when email is available.
Email has both hidden costs and invisible risks, but if you use it and manage it strategically, you can get the most out of the
medium without being overwhelmed.
Emails apparent immediacy has increased the tension in workplaces. Because we now receive messages and documents in
seconds instead of days, senders expect us to compress the time it takes to read, consider and reply. Because employees
receive mails from the boss over the weekend or late at night, they feel that the workday is now 24 hours, and the work week
is seven days.
1. Temptation to transmit No matter whether a message merits sending or not, people send. They send to pass
along uninteresting, irrelevant articles theyve seen, they send to respond to messages that require no response and
they send to ask whether a previous message got through.
2. Temptation to answer People send unnecessary emails to say theyve received someones email. They send
emails to offer vapid assurances that they will read another senders email. This kind of misguided courtesy sets up
false expectations and encourages people to send emails just to get an answer from someone.
3. Temptation to spread it around Too many people broadcast emails to those who are not the least interested in
the message.
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Participant Guide October 2016
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4. Temptation to insult Contempt and disregard for other people, their time and their dignity often find expression
in email practices.
5. Temptation to react rashly Emails can be curt and brusque, tempting the recipient to strike back discourteously
and do damage.
6. Temptation to cowardice Some people deliver bad news by email because they dont have the character to
deliver it in person and face the emotional flak.
7. Temptation to rebel The crescendo of emails arriving for no apparent reason from people who seem determined
never to speak as long as they can email can stir mutinous emotions.
8. Temptation to addiction Addiction to email can afflict both senders, who manage to avoid human contact and
play with technology, and recipients, who feel important when they behold a full inbox.
9. Temptation to attach Too many people attach documents, pictures, fi les and sundry irrelevancies to their emails
willy-nilly, blithely indifferent to download time, viruses and other consequences for the recipient.
10. Temptation to wave the white flag If the average North American office worker gets around 48 emails a day,
some get as many as 100. People often think theyre at fault if they dont read and respond. But thats not true! Such
high email volumes are plain wrong and damage rather than boost productivity.
Managing Email
You have many good reasons to manage your email, and you face dire consequences for failing to manage it. Consider how
many emails people send with the wrong assumptions in mind. They think email is private, privileged, protected and
ephemeral. In fact, email may last forever. It might as well be public, because the sender never knows who will read it or what
the recipient will do with it. There is no privilege, legal or otherwise, that makes email inaccessible to a determined plaintiffs
attorney, a snoopy employer or a curious government regulator. Rash or ill-considered emails have proven costly in court.
Companies should remind users of email about their rights and responsibilities under the law. One way to do this is by means
of an electronic cautionary banner that accompanies every email message. In addition, a separate corporate statement on
email should tell every employee and email system user:
Why it exists.
Who and what fall under the umbrella of the policy.
Who owns the system and the messages on it.
Who incurs legal liability, and what kind of liability they incur.
Who monitors the system and how.
What practices the organization has adopted with respect to retention and deletion of email.
What constitutes appropriate and permitted use of the email system.
When, why and how to use the corporate Intranet.
What to do about viruses.
Whom to contact to get more information.
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Participant Guide October 2016
Peak Productivity with Outlook
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Peak Productivity with Outlook
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Participant Guide October 2016
Peak Productivity with Outlook
I'm
I have this I need totally
Personal Learning Journey Worksheet mastered practice lost!
Plan for Success: Step Back, Think Big!
Plan for Success ________________ appointment
_________________________best approach
Do Valuable Work: Focus On the Important
______________each hour wisely. Do _____________ work
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Participant Guide October 2016
Peak Productivity with Outlook
Project Actions
Remember: this is not a list of all the things you could do, but a choiceful list of all the things you choose to do.
BLOCK OUT TIME to get the work done. Ensure there sufficient space on your calendar to get done the actions you are
choosing to do.
- Leave UNSCHEDULED TIME (white space) on your calendar for urgent items that will pop up. Leave enough time
based on the role you are in.
LIGHTEN YOUR SCHEDULE. Decide on discussions to have with your manager or key stakeholders to get you out of
low-value meetings and events simplify to be more productive. Negotiate off of low-value teams. Determine most
productive way for you to contribute to a team that meets business needs.
Plan for how you will have the ABILITY TO FOCUS to get the work done you need to get done. Make location choices
to ensure focus (huddle room, Off Lync times, Work From Home, etc.)
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Participant Guide October 2016
Peak Productivity with Outlook
One-Time Set-ups
Best Practice for your view in Inbox
1 While in your Inbox
Go to VIEW tab
2 Click on View Settings
Click OK
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Participant Guide October 2016
Peak Productivity with Outlook
6 Stay in the VIEW tab
Click on Folder Pane
Select (check)
Minimized
Favorites
Click New
Create
@Home Yellow CTRL+F4
@NextActions Maroon CTRL+F5
@SomedayMaybe Steel CTRL+F6
@WaitingFor Dark Blue
Create Folders:
@Newsletters
@SAVED
@ToPrint
@ToProcess
@WaitingFor
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Participant Guide October 2016
Peak Productivity with Outlook
Fill out the chart above, based on your knowledge of the model.
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Participant Guide October 2016
Peak Productivity with Outlook
Quick Steps -@Saved, @NextAction, Meeting w Att
1 On the Home tab, in the Quick Steps Dialog
box, click on the button in the lower right
Example:
Create a @FILE Saved task
Title it as shown
Enter information as shown, using the Add
Action button as needed
Example:
Create a @Next Actions task
Title it as shown
Enter information as shown, using the Add
Action button as needed
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Participant Guide October 2016
Peak Productivity with Outlook
Click Next
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Participant Guide October 2016
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5 In the Step 1: box at the top
Click on category
Check box for @WaitingFor Click OK
Click on specified
Select @WaitingFor (under Inbox)
Click OK
Click Next
Click Finish
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Participant Guide October 2016
Peak Productivity with Outlook
Use Tasks to collect actions needed (from emails, notes, ideas, follow-ups)
1 Create a new Task (Ctrl+Shift+K) and insert a
copy of the email (Alt, n, a, m)
Use Categories to label this Task with the
proper type (example: @Next Actions)
Use a name that describes the very next Action
you need to take
Insert any notes or reminders for completing
this Action
If there are multiple actions, create a Task with
Projects as the Category. Then, record
Next Action in another Task
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Participant Guide October 2016
Peak Productivity with Outlook
Track your email processing time - Use the Email Diet Excel file to help you with the discipline to stay out of your
inbox, and to understand your email frequency and volume.
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Participant Guide October 2016
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EVERY 6 MONTHS: Create a new Archive if needed to keep file size on server at reasonable size
1 In Outlook, on the Home tab, click the New
Items button and select More then
Outlook Data File.
Click OK
Select Properties
Click the AutoArchive tab.
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Participant Guide October 2016
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Androids:
Open Email.
Hit the menu button and select Settings.
Tap the account you want to turn notifications off for.
Scroll down to Notification settings and tap on Select ringtone.
Select Silent and tap OK.
Hit the back button until it takes you back to the inbox
iPhones:
iPhone Mail.app users:
Tap 'Settings'
Tap 'Notifications'
Tap 'Mail'
Turn off all notifications
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Participant Guide October 2016
Peak Productivity with Outlook
Click on Junk
Select Block Sender
2 Check either
From ___ or
Subject contains _____
Click OK
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Participant Guide October 2016
Peak Productivity with Outlook
Make empty responses to Invitations skip your Inbox
1 Click on FILE tab
3
You will only see responses in the
inbox, where people typed in a
comment
To see all responses, open an
invitation and click on the
Tracking button
Come to my desk Immediate unless already I will talk, unless I indicate that I need to continue to focus on a task. If
engaged you need me, try again another time.
Phone/Cell I will answer or review Voicemail = I am busy, and will call you back soon
voicemail as soon as I can Call 2X in a row: I will drop everything and answer
IM Minutes or hours (if on-line) On-line, but I must not be disturbed now
In a meeting, not multitasking. Ill respond later (in 1-4 hours)
Willing and ready to be interrupted by ANYONE for ANY REASON.
Quick response.
Email 24-48 hours This arrives in my inbox within seconds after you sent it
- but it may be 4-8 hours before I read it, and
- it may be 1-2 days before I respond
(**if it takes more than 2 minutes!)
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Participant Guide October 2016
Peak Productivity with Outlook
Do Valuable Work
What are my personal insights on living in Quadrant A and doing valuable work?
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Participant Guide October 2016
Peak Productivity with Outlook
Use your Calendar to put Actions that are time-critical:
Use Tentative to mean there is something I plan to do, but might be willing to move it/ not do it
Use Busy to mean I have blocked off my time here and plan to execute that work in this time slot
Click Filter
Click OK
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Participant Guide October 2016
Peak Productivity with Outlook
Set up the To Do Bar to show your Tasks by Category
1
Go to VIEW tab.
Click To-Do bar:
Select: Calendar, Tasks
2
Right-click on the header in To-Do bar area
(on Arrange by)
>> If done successfully a menu pops up
Click on View Settings
3
Columns, Group By, and Sort:
Set up as shown to the right
Filter :
Click on Advanced tab:
Complete equals No should be listed,
and the only one listed
Other Settings :
Set up as shown in bottom picture to the
right
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Participant Guide October 2016
Peak Productivity with Outlook
Use Conditional Formatting to automatically color code appointments
Create a special code to identify work appointments you set for yourself. We recommend using two slashes (//) for this code
since it is rarely used elsewhere and takes little space
1
In the Calendar
2
Name the new rule // To Do
Choose a color (Maroon)
Click OK
You can also create other conditional formats to automatically color code 1:1s or meetings that contain other key
information. Use the same instructions as above. Or of course you can just apply one of your existing
Categories to a series (to color code a set of meetings).
We recommend having no more than 4 6 colors/ categories, or you will waste time choosing a deciphering these
on a daily basis!
Click Options
Click Advanced
Find the Outlook start and
exit group
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Participant Guide October 2016
Peak Productivity with Outlook
Click on Options
Click on Calendar
Find the Time zones
group
Label your home time zone
and select it from the
drop down.
Check the box for Show
second time zone,
name it in the Label box
and select it from the
drop down.
Click OK
How will you use the following Outlook tools? Do you think you can follow the plan that you have outlined? What things do
you think will get in the way?
Use appointments to commit your time
Using tasks to do valuable work
Using busy and tentative (properly)
Color coding your calendar appointments
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Participant Guide October 2016
Peak Productivity with Outlook
A C A C
_______ % _______ % _______ % _______ %
B D B D
How can you adjust your approach to your work to get to a more ideal breakdown for your role?
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Participant Guide October 2016
Peak Productivity with Outlook
Application
Tame your Email First Steps:
Clean out and Sort:
1. Triage:
a. Sort by type. Reply to all invitations.
b. Delete any unneeded messages, like Out of Office replies, Invitation Responses
c. Sort by Sender or do a custom search. Delete unneeded messages
2. Sort 1: Create @ToProcess folder under Inbox, for messages you will process over next few weeks.
Move select messages to this folder:
Most recent (e.g. Today through Date: Last Month),
Click most recent message, then shift-click the last message in Date: Last Month
Right click on this selection. Select Move > Other Folder and click on @ToProcess
From your boss or other key stakeholder
Do search on Sender in the Inbox folder only
Hold CTRL and click A. This selects all of these messages
Right click on this selection. Select Move > Other Folder and click on @ToProcess
About a particular project (do a search on Subject)
Follow instructions like above
3. Sort 2: Move remaining to @Saved Inbox ZERO!
a. Keep just in case
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Participant Guide October 2016
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Participant Guide October 2016
Peak Productivity with Outlook
OneNote - OneNote is the BEST tool for keeping organized and prepared for meetings and events
Collect items for a future 1:1, meeting, or time when you are near people to interact with
Develop agenda, share agenda, share meeting notes and follow-ups
Collect ideas from many people about a proposal or development item
Share materials for use by a team
Everything is automatically saved. No need to save!
Search feature is very powerful. It even finds words in handwritten notes and pictures
OneNote has
Notebooks, Sections,
and Pages
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Participant Guide October 2016
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Participant Guide October 2016
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To learn about OneNote type the web address below into your browser for a self-paced tutorial:
http://itsolutions.pg.com/training/pages/default.aspx
Click on: Open in OneNote.
This will start a OneNote notebook that has imbedded, the tutorial for how to use OneNote You can
follow this tutorial, find a class on OneNote, or get tips from someone who is using it with success!
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Journal
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Participant Guide October 2016