Michael Linenberger's Blog

May 13, 2016

Now that I am updating my Toodledo training, I have completely switched over to Toodledo again and am using it as my main MYN task system. I did that a number of years ago, used it for about 2 years, then switched back to Outlook when I starting updating the Outlook book in 2013.

It’s good for me to make this switch periodically for many reasons. One is it keeps me fresh in both systems. And it reminds me how good both systems are. Right now I am marveling at how good Toodledo is with MYN. If you are not using Windows Outlook (say you are a Mac user), I even more now recommend Toodledo as your MYN tasks system.

But another good outcome that I noticed this time is that making the switch (and transferring tasks) forced me to see how many tasks I’d accumulated. I had nearly 600 tasks deferred to way in the future in Outlook!   Continue reading →

May 6, 2016

For readers of the One Minute To-Do List (1MTD) book, we just updated the extras page—the one with all the free videos— that is referenced in that book. The primary update is that we inserted new Toodledo screen and video captures to show and demonstrate the new Toodledo user interface. So that’s video numbers: 2, 4, and 8.

That page is at: www.michaellinenberger.com/extras

If that page asks you to register again, just put in the email address you used last time (and any name) and it will not re-register you for the newsletter.

By the way, our next project is to now update the Full MYN Toodledo Video Training (the large paid Toodledo MYN class we offer). That’s going to take longer, there are about 30 videos there and nearly every one needs updating for the new Toodledo UI).

Michael

May 4, 2016

I am finally, slowly, updating my video classes for the new version of Toodledo. The first to be updated is the $89 1MTD video class. It has about 3 videos on Toodledo, which are now up to date.

Next to update will be the free Toodledo lessons in the Extras page that goes with the 1MTD book.

Then after that I’ll update the $299 Full MYN Toodledo Video Training. It may be a month or more before I get that done.

Lots to do!

Michael

May 1, 2016

We all have a tendency to list too many shoulds on our task list, trying to force ourselves to do things we think we should be doing. But if you do that too much, it is a surefire way to kill your list.

By shoulds I mean things we have told ourselves we ought to do, often for moral reasons, or due to others’ opinions, but that we know we are really unlikely to do. In fact, we actually have little or no intention of doing many of them. We list them out of guilt, or maybe even hope. But usually there is a heavy feeling associated with these tasks—we’ve tried to do them before and failed, and we hope that by putting them at the top of our list we’ll finally shame ourselves into do them.

It’s fine to mix a few aspirational tasks in with our normal tasks. But if we list too many, and we keep skipping them, it kills the list. If we fill the list with things that we skip over constantly, then we lose faith in the list. And those items give the entire list a heavy feeling, so much so that we don’t even want to look at the list anymore.  Continue reading →

April 29, 2015

Occasionally when I teach the 5-item limit in the Critical Now section, I get some push back, and it usually goes as follows: “I will definitely do more that 5 critical items today, so this 5-item limit is unrealistic.”

My answer is this:

You can absolutely do way more than 5 critical items in a day. I am just asking you to limit the size of the list at any given point in time to 5 items. So, let’s say it is 10 AM and you find you are about to add some more items that will put Critical Now over 5. My advice is to then stop and get some of the items already on the list done to make room, and then add the additional items.

The reasons for the 5-item limit are many.

One is to force you to get some of the items done early in the day. Don’t let them build up and  Continue reading →

March 24, 2016

Perhaps the most powerful and unique thing about the MYN task system is the way it uses start dates to schedule tasks and to sort tasks. The use of start dates is what separates MYN from my simpler 1MTD system, and from virtually every other task system out there. It’s what makes MYN so effective.

But sometimes people get confused about how best to use start dates in MYN. So I want to talk about the right way to use them, so that you can get nimble with them and really get control of your workday.

Start Date Is really a Consideration Date

Recall, with MYN Outlook configurations, a task is hidden until its start date arrives. Given that, the start date you enter for a new task should either be the date you want to first start doing the task, or the date you first want to start considering the task, whichever is sooner. With that in mind, for most new tasks when you receive them, entering a start date of today makes sense. That’s because most new tasks have at least a little urgency around them and so you’d like to place them in view right away to allow you to find the best time to fit them in—as soon as you can. Continue reading →

March 24, 2016

Here is a tip that works with all versions of Windows Outlook, but that is especially useful for Outlook 2013 and 2016. It is to add a set of quick-navigation buttons to the top left portion of the Outlook window.

Note: A video version of this article has been added to the MYN-Outlook Complete Video Training set. It’s Lesson #27 and it is available to paid subscribers (must login) here. If you want to subscribe, click here.

Why You May Want to Use this Tip

I have a pet peeve with Outlook 2013 and 2016. It’s the Peek view that pops up every time your mouse passes over one of the major navigation buttons in the lower left corner of the Outlook window (i.e. the Mail, Calendar, People, and Tasks buttons). I don’t use that Peek view; in fact I don’t like it, and I don’t want it to pop up, but amazingly there’s no way to turn it off. Continue reading →

March 5, 2016

I saw this USA Today article about management rules regarding smartphone use, particularly during meetings:

http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/personalfinance/2016/03/05/warning-avoid-smartphone-shame-work-keep-them-out-sight/79000192/

It’s good to see this coming, but I am curious how many businesses are doing this. Does your business have a policy (written or unwritten) on this? Let me know in comments.

Michael

Feb 28, 2016

Periodically as I give seminars and consult with clients, I am reminded that many companies have very stringent e-mail retention policies. Some of them prevent employees from holding on to mail older than a certain number of days anywhere in Outlook. Often 90 days is the limit. So PST files might be forbidden, and Exchange-based folders might automatically be stripped of all mail older than the threshold.

Is This Good?

I have mixed opinions about this, but mostly lean away from such stringent policies. I realize they make litigation against the company harder to do, but it seems to me they are preventing people from doing their jobs. E-mail communication is such an important part of every job role, and referring to “what was said” in previous discussions can be business critical.

So I look for other ways that such employees can save the information in their e-mails and still adhere to their company’s rules. Continue reading →

Many of you may have tried my 1MTD or MYN systems and perhaps gotten behind and maybe even given up on that task list. Don’t worry, it happens. However, I bet you’re feeling a bit overwhelmed right now. And you’re probably reluctant to get started on the old task list because it has hundreds of things in there that you are feeling guilty about and the list is too long.

The fact that you’re not using the list probably means it’s overloaded with “shoulds” that really aren’t that high a priority compared to your current work.

Here’s how to dig out, step by step:   Continue reading →