Michael Linenberger's Blog

May 22, 2013

Outlook 2010 and 2013 (the Windows applications) have a feature called Quick Steps that allows you to automate commonly used operations. One good use for Quick Steps is to simplify converting e-mails to tasks. You have to spend a minute to set this up (once) and then it’s in place, and in the video at the link below I show you how to do that.

Several Advantages

To convert an Windows Outlook e-mail to a task I normally teach you to drag and drop the e-mail onto the Tasks icon. However in Outlook 2010, if you drag and drop too slowly, there is a bug that causes the new task window to disappear behind the main Outlook window—it makes the operation very confusing and frustrating. This Quick Step solves that problem. Also, it allows you to create tasks from inside an open e-mail. And it makes adding attachments easier.

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May 21, 2013

By now you know I recommend two task servers to put your tasks “in the cloud.” They are Outlook Exchange, and ToodleDo. Many of you are using ToodleDo now, and I get a lot of good feedback for it.

Offline Access

One issue with using ToodleDo on a PC or Mac is that it’s primarily a web-based program. So if you are offline (no Internet connection), say because you are on an airplane, you won’t be able to access your ToodleDo tasks. You may want a solution for this, and one solution is an application called TaskUnifier.

TaskUnifier

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May 20, 2013

It’s not Halloween, but I feel like a ghost theme is appropriate for this topic called Tasks that Haunt You. Here’s why.

Feeling Constantly Behind. Something that happens to all of us at work is we become accustomed to always being behind in our tasks, and there’s a part of our unconscious mind that worries about that. Since some of those tasks are important, an unconscious message that we repeat over and over in our head is “something important is slipping behind.” It’s a scary thought!

Haunted. The result is that all day long, every day at work, we are haunted by this message—like a ghost! You probably don’t even hear it anymore but it’s always there in the back of your mind as ongoing self-talk or worry. And that self-talk takes a toll on you. It raises your ongoing stress level; it lowers your self-esteem; and it prevents you from enjoying your work. It even can cause you to gain weight!

So what can you do?          Continue reading →

May 6, 2013

You know by now I am a fanatic about converting incoming e-mail action requests into tasks so that I can keep my to-dos well-tracked, properly prioritized, and under control. This also enables emptying the inbox daily. It is at the core of the 1MTD and MYN systems I teach.

One complaint I had about the iPhone is that there is no way to convert e-mails to tasks when using its Mail app.

Well, there is a “new” app called eMailGanizer that enables converting e-mails into tasks. It’s not really that new since early versions were released a few years ago, but it’s new to me and getting more traction now. I’ll write it up more later, but I wanted to mention it now.

How to convert to a task. The image at left is an open e-mail in this app. Notice the red box at the top? If you click that icon it allows you to convert the e-mail item into an Outlook task. It works if you have Exchange in the background; but if you don’t, it also works with Toodledo; in either case the task shows up on your desktop computer and all other task lists that sync with those. It also can create an Apple Reminder or a calendar item.   Continue reading →

May 1, 2013

I am still using the Lenovo ThinkPad Tablet 2 every day. I judge a product by how well it “sticks” to me and this thing really sticks to me! Of course, a lot of fine points are coming out as I use it. One of them is the included digitizer pen that I use to take notes with.

I admire the fact that the Lenovo pen attaches using a distinct internal slot as shown at left. It ensures the pen is always at hand.

This is compared to the Microsoft Surface Pro’s poor design that has no pen slot other than sharing its charging port—a very problematic design since you can’t charge and hold a pen at the same time. Since, due to its short battery life, you will need to charge the Surface Pro quite a lot, the pen is rarely attached, and so I guarantee you will grab the Surface one day and forget the pen is left behind on the table.

Again, having a dedicated pen slot like the one on the Lenovo is important for a tablet. However…

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April 18, 2013

In nearly every class I teach I advise all participants to turn off Outlook’s blue box e-mail notification. You know what I mean; it’s the 2-inch wide blue rectangular box that pops up every time an e-mail comes in; officially it’s called a desktop alert, but no matter what you call it, it’s bad for your productivity—so turn that thing off!

Why it’s So Bad for You

Why turn it off? Well, the trouble with that box is it displays just enough of the message to entice and then wrench your attention completely away from your current high priority work—it’s an interruption. Research shows it can take up to five minutes for a worker to adequately refocus on a task after an interruption, so as these things pop up every 5 or 10 minutes, or even more often, guess what—your productivity is getting hosed.

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April 18, 2013

Both the One Minute To-Do List system and the MYN system enable an important thing: getting tasks out of your head. This is incredibly important because if you try to carry all of your to-dos in memory, you’ll add to your sense of anxiety, which leads to physical stress and health issues—and it can even lead to weight problems. Why weight problems?

Cortisol Leads to Weight Gain

When our brain loses track of what tasks are due it enters a general state of overwhelm, and the primitive part of our brain called the reptilian brain actually interprets that as being under attack. As a result, the brain releases the neurochemical cortisol in an attempt to heighten our ability to sense and respond to danger. Continue reading →

April 17, 2013                                  

I am now into the fourth week of using the Lenovo ThinkPad Tablet 2 (a Windows 8 Pro tablet), and I want to share some thoughts on the Win 8 Pro tablet experience in general. Again, the reason this tablet is so important to me is that it allows me to access a full copy of the Windows Outlook application from a tiny machine.

Thin and Light

The thin and light form factor of this Lenovo machine is amazing; it feels like a Kindle and so it really does encourage me to take it everywhere. Continue reading →

April 4, 2013

New rumors are “surfacing” that Outlook is coming to Windows 8 RT. We heard the same thing a few months ago; let’s hope it’s true!

That’s welcome news for RT owners, and good news for that platform. Here’s the link:

http://news.cnet.com/8301-10805_3-57578078-75/microsoft-outlook-ready-to-run-on-windows-rt/

Michael Linenberger

March 27, 2013

Microsoft just released an update to the Windows 8 Mail app that adds the ability to flag mail items (and a number of other improvements around folders). It also made minor but noticeable changes to People and Calendar. And it broke a Google Calendar link. See the mail list here:

http://winsupersite.com/windows-8/windows-8rt-app-update-mail

and more on all the changes here:

http://news.cnet.com/8301-10805_3-57576296-75/microsoft-updates-windows-8-mail-calendar-and-people-apps/

I think the addition of the Flag is the biggest thing here; that’s how I flag tasks when I am on the run and checking mail quickly on my tablet. Now, if they added setting Outlook Categories as well then I’d need to use the full Outlook application much less often. Let’s hope.

Michael Linenberger