Jan. 11, 2011 Newsletter:
To load this newsletter in your browser use this URL:
http://www.michaellinenberger.com/NewsletterJan11-11.html

You'll find the blog at www.workdaymastery.com/blog. With weekly and sometimes daily postings, it includes many things that never make it to the newsletter. So go there often or subscribe to the RSS.

Here’s a great way to start the New Year. If you’ve been meaning to use the Outlook MYN system, but you were daunted by having to read the book, here is a brand-new 10-minute video that will get you started right now.

There are two videos, one for Outlook 2003 and one for Outlook 2007 & 2010; click the corresponding image below to watch.

Watching one of these videos will allow you to learn a subset of the complete MYN Outlook system; just enough so that you’ll be using the core of the Outlook MYN system in only a few minutes. You’ll have a system to get your long list of tasks for the new year organized, and then a way to stay ahead of too-many e-mails and too many to-do’s.

Even if you've never read any of my books, watching one of these videos will help you get your workday under control.

This video is also a great way to share the system with others. So if you are using the full system and want to get your colleagues started—pass this on to them.

And if you are a reader of my Master Your Workday Now! book and have tried the paper system and now want instructions on how to configure it in Outlook—this video is the same basic system. Use this video to transition.

So try out this Quick Start video today.

As you may know, it is hard to find iPhone or iPad software that syncs tasks with your corporate Outlook Exchange Server. The app that I did find that I liked has just released its 3.0 update to include the features needed to work with MYN.  It’s called TaskTask (and TaskTask HD for the iPad).

Once TaskTask is configured, it works perfectly for MYN. That means it groups on Priority, then, within groups, it sorts on Start Date descending. It excludes future tasks and it hides completed tasks. In other words, everything works for MYN. So, if you use Outlook tasks and are on Exchange (you most likely are using Exchange if you are in a company of any size) go get it now; it’s a great little app.

And by the way, if you use a Windows version of Outlook, but do not have access to an Exchange server (let’s say you use an Internet account of some kind) and so cannot use TaskTask, I encourage you to consider switching to a hosted Exchange server so you can. Godadday has them for about $9 a month including ActiveSync, which you’ll need. Mine is hosted on Intermedia.net. Besides making syncing your tasks with iPhone/iPad easy (using TaskTask), there are a ton of other advantages to using an Exchange server if you use Outlook. And if you just don't want to use Exchange, then use ToodleDo for tasks for iPhone and iPad, per my earlier post.

Read the rest of this article to see how to configure TaskTask for MYN

I mentioned in an earlier post and video about using ToodleDo to manage your tasks that one great thing about ToodleDo is how it runs in a browser on any device, even Android smartphones. Well, I just noticed that's not completely true. Among my collections of smartphones is a Verizon Droid X. I love the large screen on this phone, great for using a browser, especially in landscape mode. However, the stock browser on it for some reason won't let me tap-click many of the button controls on the ToodleDo--nothing happens when I do. It occurred to me this may be browser dependent, so I downloaded the Dolphin HD browser off the Android Market, and all the buttons in ToodleDo work great in that browser; problem solved, and a really nice browser.

See the rest of this article

I am recommending a new book that is not even a business or productivity book, and not even one of my books for that matter.

Rather, it's a book written by my dear friend Marci Shimoff. She is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of six Chicken Book for the Soul books, and the author of Happy for No Reason. And it's a fantastic book.

I watched this latest book, called Love for No Reason, come together over the last year as she and her cowriter, Carol Kline, put to pen their insights on a grand vision of showing people how to love and enjoy life. I reviewed early writings and even listened in on some of the many interviews they had with the amazing people profiled in the book. I was enthralled during the process, and I am blown away by the result. It's a brilliant book—one that I know you will find profound and moving.

The publisher Free Press is launching the book this week and right now is the time to buy it. Why? Because, for the launch this week, Marci and her launch partners are also giving away a ton of free gifts. So go to the link below to read more about the book, and to get the free gifts.

www.thelovebook.com

All the best, Michael Linenberger