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The most important business tool you need

By Sarah Leave a Comment

Which would you rather have? A three-inch binder with every single thing you could possibly need to know in detailed spreadsheets, flow charts and documentation? Or a one-page cheatsheet that gives you critical information to get done exactly what you need to do?

I don’t know about you, but 99% of the time, I choose the cheat sheet.

Years ago, I had the official job title of Business Process Improvement Analyst, which meant that I worked with sales and marketing teams to analyze the work they were doing and figure out how to do it more efficiently.

We started by spending a full year conducting in depth interviews and documenting work with complex flowcharts, spreadsheets, roles and responsibility charts and more.

It was highly informative.
It was comprehensive, to the extreme.
It was an overwhelming volume of information.
It was very ugly.

If the point was to have detailed documentation in case the entire team got hit by a bus, and there was no one left in the world who knew how to get the work done, the documentation fit the bill perfectly.

If the goal was usable information for teams to improve their work and drive decision-making, it failed horribly.

A reference manual has it’s place, but it wasn’t a useful tool for getting day to day work done.

This is so obvious, I don't know why I didn't think of it!

As you’re creating documentation, consider the following:

What is the purpose of the documentation?

  • A reference manual calls for far more detailed information. The intent is for someone to reference detailed, specific, nuanced information as needed, not to use as a day-to-day guide for doing work.
  • A training manual needs enough detail for a user to do the work they need to do, and is likely laid out in a format that builds upon levels of information.
  • A cheat sheet provides a clear, concise overview of the critical information needed to do a job.

Who is the audience? What information do they already have?

  • An audience completely new to the information is going to need to start at the most basic level and need information that explains all the details. You’ll also likely want to include a glossary of terms.
  • An audience that’s already got the basics down can skim over higher level information.
  • If you’ve got an audience that’s already fully trained, short reference cards and cheat sheets are the most useful.

Back to the year-long interview and documentation exercise:

Once we finally finished the documentation, we printed a few dozen copies and gave them to key members of the team. They were fantastic dust collectors. Every few months, my boss would send me around with updated printouts of key sections. I’m pretty sure my fingerprints were the only things removing the dust from the covers.

Somewhere along the way, I also created a one-page laminated half-sheet calendar with key dates and summary descriptions of major milestones and meetings.

It was the single most useful piece of that entire year’s worth of work.

Soon, the laminated one sheet calendars and key info were hanging on cubicle walls all over the company. The same executives that had binders gathering dust in their offices carried copies of the laminated version in their notebooks and regularly referenced the info in meetings.

(Note: If you’re printing and laminating any major reference item, include the date printed and/or a version number. I learned this the hard way the first time I updated it and tried to ensure everyone had the updated version!)

By concisely sharing exactly the information teams truly needed to get their work done, we created a simple tool that became a vital part of the day to day workflow. What simple cheatsheet can you create and implement today?

How to save hours each month with Evernote Web Clipper

By Sarah Leave a Comment

Have you ever tried to copy and paste information off of a webpage only to find that the formatting was super wonky or that it copied everything except the piece of information you truly cared about? Even worse, you didn’t realize it until you went back to use the information later. So frustrating!

Do you wish there was a way to ensure that the information you want is saved just the way you want it? Even better, to do it with two clicks?

There is!

Enter Evernote Web Clipper.

This is so simple! I wish I had known about Evernote Web Clipper years ago. Thanks @strategysarah

I’ve used Evernote to capture and organize essential information for several years, and I continue to be amazed at how easy the interface is to both store and find information. (Don’t have an Evernote account yet? Sign up for your own Evernote account now. #affiliate)

The Evernote Web Clipper is exactly what it sounds like – a tool that copies (clips) information from any web page and saves it to Evernote.

Even better, it has a smart feature that guesses which Notebook the information should be saved to. And it’s accurate about 95% of the time! (This is the point where I intentionally don’t insert a slightly inappropriate sarcastic comment about real life humans I wish were accurate 95% of the time.)

How to use the Evernote Web Clipper

  • Download the free Chrome plugin. If you’re not already using Chrome as your web browser, stop right now and download Chrome. I’ll wait.
  • Sign into your Evernote account. You do have LastPass saving all your information securely, right? If not, I’ll wait again.
  • Browse the web as usual. I hope this one is self-explanatory.
  • Come across information that you need to save. If you’re not sure what this might be, keep reading. That’s next.
  • Hit the handy dandy Evernote Web Clipper button on your browser toolbar.
  • Review the information auto-populated and make adjustments as needed.
    • Title: auto populates based on the title of the webpage you are viewing
    • Clip: There are several options to determine exactly what you information off the page you want to save. I find the auto selection is accurate about 90% of the time, so it’s worth a quick glance. You can also easily see on the page itself what is selected.
    • Organize: Evernote selects which Notebook the information is most likely to be saved to.
    • Tag: You can manually add any of your existing Evernote tags, or add new tags as needed.
    • Add remark: Include any additional notes you want to remember on the page or why you saved the information.
  • Hit “Save.” That’s it, you’re done!

At this point, you might be thinking, “Sarah, that’s great and all. But what would I need to save? I’m reading it online, aren’t I?”

Why yes, yes, you are. Excellent question. There are three primary types of information I find super useful to save using the Evernote Web Clipper.

Three types of information to save using the Evernote Web Clipper:

  • Payment and purchase confirmations. You know, the utility bill, the credit card bill, travel confirmations and the endless endless school communications. I always, always save payment and transaction confirmations using the Evernote Web Clipper. This ensures that all my payment confirmations are saved in the same place, and eliminates any risk that an email confirmation didn’t come through. Two clicks and I can save it with Evernote web clipper.
  • Articles to read later. I read a lot of articles and blog posts online. Often, I either don’t have time to read the full article, or I know that I want to go back and reference it. With the web clipper, any article is instantly available for me to read later on my terms. Bonus Tip: Tag all of these with a “to read” tag to find them easily!
  • Limited time-only pages or offers. This is especially useful when you’re not sure if you want to take advantage of the offer in the limited time frame, but know you might want to purchase the next time it’s available for sale. Saving the sales page while it’s available gives you time to study it in detail and make a decision on your time.

Using Evernote Web Clipper has saved me countless hours of headache trying to save information consistently and then finding that information when I need to use it. If you haven’t already, what are you waiting for? Download and start using Evernote Web Clipper today.

RELATED: One Way to Effectively Organize Digital Information

 

What is the best (digital) organization system?

By Sarah Leave a Comment

Have you read David Allen’s Getting Things Done (affiliate link)?  Many tout it as one of the best organization systems out there. I love the idea behind it, but the complexity of his systems overwhelms me. I know that I would only follow through with his suggestions for a week, or a month at most, before it all fell apart due to lack of maintenance.

Haven’t we all done this at some point? We develop a carefully thought out system or process. We spend a ton of time getting it set up. Then it falls by the wayside for one of a million different reasons: needs changed and the system didn’t, technology changed and we didn’t keep up, it was a more complex system than we actually needed, sheer laziness, etc.

How can we know ahead of time what the best digital organization system is – for our personal needs?

It’s simple:

The best organization system is the one that you will actually use. 

A few years ago, I had to admit that my own information management system had gotten a little out of control. I woke up one day and realized that I had stuff saved in Google Drive, Dropbox, random draft emails (on six different email addresses), in Asana, on scratch paper strewn around my house. I was also taking notes in Evernote.

At one point this worked. Sort of. There was at least a method to the madness. Eventually, it became clear that while it may have been working, it was only working well enough to get me by – not well enough to move me forward.

I had all the information I needed, but it was taking me way too long to find what I needed amid the clutter.

It was time for some digital housecleaning.  

Since this is common problem, I assume many of you are experiencing or will experience the same thing.

Organizing clutter doesn't solve the underlying problem. | strategysarah.com

Here’s how I started: 

1. Clean up and streamline a little bit at a time.

Based on my own past experience and from working with clients is that complete overhauls are much more likely to fail in the long term. My computer archives (and many of yours!) are littered with the dried bones of abandoned and half-implemented organization and filing systems.

Some of the time the systems never worked from the start. Other times, the systems worked well when first set up, but weren’t sustainable. (Side note: I love Debbie Roes’ blog, Recovering Shopaholic, and always gain insight that goes far beyond clothing. One of my favorite things Debbie talks often is that extreme changes backfire over time. Slow changes tend to be most successful in the long run.)

2. Organizing clutter doesn’t solve the underlying problem.

Getting rid of clutter does. I started with a few digital purges, and it felt great. Then I needed to clean up what’s left, get rid of some more clutter, and streamline a process that worked for me, at that stage in my life.

3. Choose one primary information system.

Come back next week and I’ll share my systems and tools ecosystem. (Hint: It involves Evernote). Interested in using Evernote as your organization system? I’m giving away a year’s subscription to Evernote Premium. Enter to win.

The best organization system is the one that you will actually use. The best organization system is the one that you will actually use. The best organization system is the one you will actually use. via @strategysarah

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What’s the number one organization tip or advice that’s worked for you?

8+ of my favorite tools for communication

By Sarah Leave a Comment

8+ of my favorite communication tools | strategysarah.comWe live in a super connected world, but you already knew that. I don’t know that my children know what a landline is. We’re working through the difference between speakerphone and Facetime. At the risk of sounding really old – back in my day, call waiting was a really big deal!

Given our seemingly endless options for communication, how do you stay in touch? Here are 8+ of my favorite communication tools:

Slack

Slack is a team communication app that absolutely rocks. You can set up public “channels” or chat streams for your whole team, individually message anyone in the Slack team, and set up private groups with specific members.

In the workplace, this has been a phenomenal way to engage the team in both the serious/practical, as well as the ridiculous (#random channel, anyone?). The number of .gifs in my email inbox dramatically decreased as soon as we implemented Slack in my last workplace.

The ability to create new private groups for each project we worked on was also fantastic – no more, “Wait, did I tell that person?” Highly recommend. Best of all, the FREE version has been robust enough for everything I’ve used it for.

iMessages

A tried and true classic. When I converted to a MacBook a couple years after converting to an iPhone, the idea that I could have iMessages on both my computer and phone was awe inspiring. If I respond to your message lightning fast, it probably means that I’m at my computer. I assume that Android has something similar.

Skype

An oldie but a goodie. I do have to admit that since I use FaceTime for video calls (which I pretty much only do with the kids and geographically-distant family), I rarely use Skype anymore. Skype also has a chat feature, which I’ve never gotten into, but I’ve got friends that swear by it.

FreeConferenceCall.com

Conference call with anyone, anytime, for free! I love the ability to record calls for future playback. Occasionally, I’ve noticed some spottiness in the calls, but for the price, it can’t be beat.

Voxer

Voice chat with one or multiple people, all on your own time? For a busy mom, this means that I can hear my friends’ voices, but don’t have to answer the phone immediately. I also love the ability to send a voice message and get a text message back – because sometimes you’re just not in a place to talk out loud (hello, toddler bedtime routine).

Google Voice

The ability to publicly share my phone number but not have it actually be my phone number? Yes, please. Also, visual voicemail (aka – getting your voicemails as a text) = gold. I’m notorious for not checking voicemail, so the ability to get a text or email with the voice dictation is great. Granted, it’s often only about 60% accurate, but it’s typically enough to decipher the gist of the message and respond accordingly.

Facebook Messenger + Facebook Groups

I wasn’t sure what to think when they separated Facebook Messenger app from the regular Facebook app, but it’s grown on me. I also didn’t see the point of Facebook Groups…until I logged into it. Both apps help me to be more purposeful with my time, and eliminate the “I went on to post to one specific group, and 45 minutes later I still hadn’t done it!”

Any other social tool out there

Too many to list, but there’s really no excuse for not being able to find and connect with someone these days. That’s both super scary and super helpful. No matter what the movies show, “I lost your phone number” just doesn’t quite fly.

Which of these tools do you use and love (or not love)? Any others you’d add to a must-use list?


This post is part of 31 Timesaving Tools, Tips & Templates, read the rest of the series here.  

Start how you plan to continue

By Sarah Leave a Comment

I started a new job last Wednesday, which means that I’ve spent the last week inundated with new information. Much of that is job-specific, but there’s also a whole lot of general information – where the printer is and how to print, how to book conference rooms, conference call phone numbers, email distro lists, etc.

Start how you plan to continue | strategysarah.com #31timesaversIt can quickly become overwhelming.

Since I got my computer as I was meeting with the person I was training with, I quickly opened up a Microsoft Word document and started taking copious notes. It didn’t slow down from there. By the end of the day, I had a solid 6 pages written, along with links to at least two dozen other documents and websites. And it was all jumbled together.

In a fast-paced environment, it’s tempting to think that you don’t have time to step back and get organized – the email keeps piling up and the information is coming in faster than it can be organized!

The single best thing I did was to take a few hours and set up all my systems and tools properly.

Start how you plan to continue.

If you don’t take the time to get set up right, your chances of going back and doing so quickly diminish. (Although, it’s never too late – now is better than tomorrow!)

I created a new Evernote account specific to the job. Why this never occurred to be before, I don’t know, but it’s brilliant. I don’t need to have all my personal info combined with my corporate work info – I can have two accounts!

I got shared file folders setup (Dropbox, Google Drive, etc). (I wrote more about that in this post -> One way to effectively organize digital information.)

I created folders in my email. (More on email organization in this post -> Why I don’t strive for Inbox Zero: super simple email organization.)

Hot Tip: Create the same folder structure across all your tools – Evernote, shared file drives, email, etc. Don’t waste your time trying to figure out how and where you filed something!

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Suddenly, the information was still flowing in at the pace of a fire hose, but was so.much.more.manageable with a system in place. I could quickly find information that I knew I’d heard, but didn’t remember (what’s the printer again?!).

Having a framework in place makes anything and everything you do easier, more efficient and allows you (and me!) to do a better job in a shorter timeframe.

I may still be looking up information that I’ll know in my sleep next month, but I can find it quickly when I need it!

Now, time to go tackle that email again!

Start how you plan to continue. 

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Do you need to step back and put an overall information structure in place? If you’ve already got a great one, what’s one tip you have for the rest of us to improve our organization?


This post is part of 31 Timesaving Tools, Tips & Templates, read the rest of the series here.  

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Welcome!

Sarah ParsonsHi, I'm Sarah and thanks for joining me! I believe that as working moms, we don't have to be exhausted trying to have it all. Sure, we juggle a lot. That just makes us expert project managers, problem solvers and simplifiers. And if you feel like you're not an expert at any of that, well, you're in the right place. It is possible to manage our time well and thrive - at work, home and play. Let's do this!

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The views expressed on this site are those of Sarah Parsons only, and do not represent those of any employer or client past or present with whom I have worked.

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