Freeing up work time can help boost the bottom line for very little extra work

News Feed
Friday, 20 September 2019

TECHNOLOGY futurists are very popular at conferences, with presentations covering anything from self-driving vehicles to robot-assisted surgery, Bluetooth-connected asthma inhalers or Google bots setting appointments with real people.

That’s one reason why people think big gains come only from big commitments to technology, but it isn’t always so. Let me share three stories with you:

Surveys highlight lack of knowledge

I always do a pre-conference/training survey to help customise my sessions. 

When including the topic of email (everyone’s number one communication channel and where most office time is spent), I ask: “Are you using Rules, Conditional Formatting, Quick Steps, Quick Parts and Phone Dictation?”. These are phenomenal time-saving features and using even two of them can free up 30 minutes or more a day.

You can see from the table below, no matter what position or industry - the very, very low numbers of individuals who knew or used the functions. 

1. Rules/Filters – Automatically sort, file, even respond to your emails.

2. Conditional formatting – automatically have emails change colour and formatting as they arrive in your inbox.

3. Quick Steps – Automates the movement, response and creation of emails including text.

4. Quick Parts – Create templates - sentences, paragraphs, images to use over and over again.

5. Voice Dictation – Use Siri, Svoice, Google voice to dictate your emails and text messages including punctuation.

“My life has changed. I’m going to have so much more time” 

Megan, a business development representative who works primarily with Excel, came to me for training help. After looking through her spreadsheets, I had 10 learning points to cover in our Skype training. After I showed her ‘sorting’ and ‘filtering’, the first two learning points, she said: “You’ve changed my life”. 

After point eight she said: “I never knew how wonderful Excel could be”. By learning point 10, she said she could afford to work part time (which she didn’t want) because her Excel tasks were going to take her only a fraction of the time previously needed.

I responded that she could use the free time to call more clients, build relationships and make more sales. “Your boss will love it and you’ll go from being good to spectacular,” I added.

Risk management

My sister finally visited me in 2010. It’s a long way from Florida and we used the time to tour New Zealand and visit Hawkes Bay, home to many vineyards. 

We were at a vineyard when our motel room was burgled. My laptop, the lifeblood of my business, was stolen, taking a lot of my business with it. Thankfully my data was backed up, so I lost very few important files.

With a new laptop, I made changes to the way I work. I organised my important files using Dropbox instead of my hard drive. Syncing and saving them on line means no matter what happens to my laptop, I will always have access to my files. Anywhere. Anytime, on any computer, or even my smartphone, 

Fast forward eight years and now on-line file storage is common (Google and Microsoft duke it out with their free office software). However, these two providers don’t stand still, they regularly add more apps. Have a look and you may find some time savers that suit how you work:

• Microsoft / Google Forms – create surveys, forms, invites with responses, downloadable spreadsheets.

• Google Drive - Map layers. Create pindrops on Google Maps. You can load up to 2000 rows at a time, creating Pins which hold all the data within that row. Great for visualising member locations, training attendees. Promotional results. Imagine how useful this would be when bringing sponsors on board.

• Teams – a four-in-one solution of chat and phone, on-line meetings, messaging and document integration. 

• Microsoft Sway and Google Sites allow you to build simple free web sites.

The point is that users can free up large amounts of time, improve communication, increase business profits - all from learning how to use everyday business ‘technology’ software better.

 

Debbie Mayo-Smith 

www.debbiespeaks.com 

is one of the most sought-after speakers in Australia and New Zealand and delights audiences with great content, moving them from stressed to empowered. 

Named ‘Ms Productivity’ by the media, it’s not just for her work: Debbie is also a mother of six including twins and triplets!

Freeing up work time can help boost the bottom line for very little extra work

News Feed
Friday, 20 September 2019

TECHNOLOGY futurists are very popular at conferences, with presentations covering anything from self-driving vehicles to robot-assisted surgery, Bluetooth-connected asthma inhalers or Google bots setting appointments with real people.

That’s one reason why people think big gains come only from big commitments to technology, but it isn’t always so. Let me share three stories with you:

Surveys highlight lack of knowledge

I always do a pre-conference/training survey to help customise my sessions. 

When including the topic of email (everyone’s number one communication channel and where most office time is spent), I ask: “Are you using Rules, Conditional Formatting, Quick Steps, Quick Parts and Phone Dictation?”. These are phenomenal time-saving features and using even two of them can free up 30 minutes or more a day.

You can see from the table below, no matter what position or industry - the very, very low numbers of individuals who knew or used the functions. 

1. Rules/Filters – Automatically sort, file, even respond to your emails.

2. Conditional formatting – automatically have emails change colour and formatting as they arrive in your inbox.

3. Quick Steps – Automates the movement, response and creation of emails including text.

4. Quick Parts – Create templates - sentences, paragraphs, images to use over and over again.

5. Voice Dictation – Use Siri, Svoice, Google voice to dictate your emails and text messages including punctuation.

“My life has changed. I’m going to have so much more time” 

Megan, a business development representative who works primarily with Excel, came to me for training help. After looking through her spreadsheets, I had 10 learning points to cover in our Skype training. After I showed her ‘sorting’ and ‘filtering’, the first two learning points, she said: “You’ve changed my life”. 

After point eight she said: “I never knew how wonderful Excel could be”. By learning point 10, she said she could afford to work part time (which she didn’t want) because her Excel tasks were going to take her only a fraction of the time previously needed.

I responded that she could use the free time to call more clients, build relationships and make more sales. “Your boss will love it and you’ll go from being good to spectacular,” I added.

Risk management

My sister finally visited me in 2010. It’s a long way from Florida and we used the time to tour New Zealand and visit Hawkes Bay, home to many vineyards. 

We were at a vineyard when our motel room was burgled. My laptop, the lifeblood of my business, was stolen, taking a lot of my business with it. Thankfully my data was backed up, so I lost very few important files.

With a new laptop, I made changes to the way I work. I organised my important files using Dropbox instead of my hard drive. Syncing and saving them on line means no matter what happens to my laptop, I will always have access to my files. Anywhere. Anytime, on any computer, or even my smartphone, 

Fast forward eight years and now on-line file storage is common (Google and Microsoft duke it out with their free office software). However, these two providers don’t stand still, they regularly add more apps. Have a look and you may find some time savers that suit how you work:

• Microsoft / Google Forms – create surveys, forms, invites with responses, downloadable spreadsheets.

• Google Drive - Map layers. Create pindrops on Google Maps. You can load up to 2000 rows at a time, creating Pins which hold all the data within that row. Great for visualising member locations, training attendees. Promotional results. Imagine how useful this would be when bringing sponsors on board.

• Teams – a four-in-one solution of chat and phone, on-line meetings, messaging and document integration. 

• Microsoft Sway and Google Sites allow you to build simple free web sites.

The point is that users can free up large amounts of time, improve communication, increase business profits - all from learning how to use everyday business ‘technology’ software better.

 

Debbie Mayo-Smith 

www.debbiespeaks.com 

is one of the most sought-after speakers in Australia and New Zealand and delights audiences with great content, moving them from stressed to empowered. 

Named ‘Ms Productivity’ by the media, it’s not just for her work: Debbie is also a mother of six including twins and triplets!