Right, it almost seemed that the trailer was gonna go the entire distance, and in this age of blogging, the shorter the better, as the time we have is finite, and most of us feel crunched for it. Gmail has exploited the lack of time through its latest feature, Priority Inbox. Basically, their system evaluates the email that lands in my inbox as important or unimportant. The algorithm keeps track of my reading behavior and the emails that I open are considered important and the ones that I mass delete is considered unimportant. None of the emails are deleted or trashed in the process. Gmail displays priority emails on the top while the rest follow the bureaucrats.

If Gmail can exploit a common situation with a solution that can save us tons of time, and to utilize it on things that matter, so can we in our lives. We deal with hundreds of activities in a day, and we only have 24 hours. Between a third and half of the time goes towards chores such as sleep, bathing, pooping, eating and other things our bodies and minds are used to. We are left with around 12 hours which we need to utilize in working – full time takes away two thirds of it, and your productive time is left to a small fraction of the entire day. How do you utilize the most of it?

Prioritize the activities you have to do, and start performing the activities that are most essential and move down the ladder. This will ensure that things that matter to you get achieved, and this, according to me, gives you maximum satisfaction. Even Pareto agrees with me. 80% of our work gets done with the top 20% of the activities we are entrusted with. So, why not concentrate on the toppers rather than the losers on your list?

I have a system which I use to prioritize my activities on a weekly basis, and pro rate it on a daily basis. I maintain three lists; must dos, should dos and can dos. As the name suggests, must dos are most important to me, and accounts to around 20% of my total activities, and I derive most pleasure by doing it. Examples are learning, working out, writing and a couple other personal ones. Within the list, I give grades to each of my activities to further prioritize them on the order of completion. An example could be grade A for writing, grade B for working out, you get the idea right! Now, my first priority in a day is to write rather than work out. I will write first and then move towards working out followed by learning and the rest on the list.

The should do list is the biggest of ‘em all. Mathematically, it accounts between top 30 and 80% of my total list of activities. They are important but if I don’t do it during that particular period, nobody is going to hang me for it. A should do activity might elevate in rank to must do in the succeeding cycles, and that is dependent on expected outcome of the activity. Examples could be investing in stocks, shopping for books and paying bills. Further, this list is ordered and grades are drawn to determine which ones get done first.

The final list is the bottom 30% of my activities and I call it can dos. It is a nice-to-do list and the outcome rarely accounts to any form of physical or mental satisfaction. Examples in my life include cleaning my car, having salad for dinner or balancing my financial statements. Rarely, very rarely, the activities here move up to the must do list, and most of them move into the should do list. I look at my can do list only on the weekends, and that too, if my should do bin is empty.

Prioritizing my activities has helped me immensely in completing my goals, and I am sure you can leverage on it too to move towards your dream. Who can dare say dreams are a mere figment of imagination?

Like everybody else, without a mentor in my initial days, I know I was bad when I presented my ideas. Either my words didn’t match with the content on the screen or was reading words off of it. It took a good couple years to understand the etiquettes of classroom speaking, and I don’t want you to reinvent the wheel. I have compiled a small list of ten to walk you the path towards being a good presenter. By no means, this list is comprehensive, it’s just that I couldn’t think of any other items to add. If you have any to add, please be my guest. Comments at the end will act as a good forum.

1. Powerpoints are to be used as a guideline to your speech

This is most important. Note that powerpoint (ppt hereafter) is not an alternative to memorize what you need to speak on. Instead, it’s a guideline that gives organization to your speech. If you believe that the content in your ppt is anything more than the framework, I strongly advise you to delete the excess fat immediately.

Excess fat will annoy your audience, or rather will confuse them. They will be left with a choice either to follow you or read the projected words.

2. Use bullets for organizing your thoughts and the flow of your speech

As I mentioned earlier, ppt is to be used as a framework. Your guideline can look in umpteen number of ways, but the accepted standard in today’s industry is the use of bullets.

Each bullet presents a new point you make. It makes organization of your thoughts simpler. And, most importantly, your audience know when a sub topic ends and the next starts.

Do not repeat the same idea in multiple bullets. The idea of bulleting your content is to keep it terse, repeating the same point over and over again defeats the purpose, albeit one might justify repeating a sub topic multiple times will add to the gravity of it. It doesn’t work that way in ppts.

3. Never put paragraphs in your powerpoint presentations

Some days back, I sat through a presentation, where the speaker had lifted the text from web and pasted it onto a ppt slide. He pretty much read the entire time from the words beamed from a powerful bulb. I hardly heard him say anything from memory or from instinct. This is bad, very bad way to run through a session. Don’t do it. Use bullets, and only with specific keywords.

4. Never read from a power point presentation

This is a continuation of the previous point I made. Do not read from the ppt, ever!

There are times when you need to put down certain definitions on the screen. Good, I am not objecting it. When you speak about the topic under consideration, tell them in your words what it means. Once done, ask your audience to go through it. Reading it for them doesn’t help, it irritates them instead. None can follow you when you read off the screen. I am confident that your audience are capable of reading from the screen for themselves.

5. Do not use animations in your ppt, especially when you are in a professional setup

Microsoft powerpoint gives you the feature of adding animation for each of your bullets, and while you sift through the slides. As the feature is made available to you, it does not mean that you use it, especially in an office setup.

My objections are multi-fold. Firstly, we all lack time and each transition takes a couple of precious seconds. Anything we can save, is worth every milli-second of it. Audience would rather reach home five minutes early rather than sit through redundant transition animation.

Materially speaking, it adds no real value. Audience rather see all the points at once (or in an instant), rather than watch it dance to the tune and take its position as choreographed by the presenter. Using animation loses professional touch to your presentation.

6. Face the audience and not the screen when you talk

This is a mistake that rookies usually make. People who grow up talking in this setting ensure that their backs face the screen rather than the eyes staring at him. If any speaker who does not make eye contact with the people listening in, the personal touch is rather absent, and the information flies over their heads.

At all times, look at your audience. Look at your screen to glance a glimpse of your next bullet and turn right back to speak to your audience. Remember, not facing your audience is heretical in public speaking.

7. Use a laser pointer pen

This is optional. If you have a requirement to point to particular spot on the screen, you must use a laser pointer pen. Telling your audience to look at the third bullet, and towards the end of it makes little sense. I find it particularly helpful when I place images of processes and run down the steps one after another.

I have seen rookie speakers over-use laser pointer pens. They point at the bullets as and when they start reading it. They make it look like a karaoke with the lyrics running down the screen with the actual words getting highlighted.

8. Read out the slide number if you have remote audience

Another pet peeve of mine. It’s quite common these days that the speaker and audience are not co-located. A telephone is the most preferred means of bridging the speaker with the listeners.

It’s a given that you would share the ppt with the group before you begin speaking, at least a couple of hours prior to your scheduled hour.

When you start to speak, it is imperative that the speaker must mention the slide number he is referring to. This needs to be done every time the speaker changes the slide. In some cases, if the ppt is complicated, the presenter needs to number the bullets and call out the number when he starts to speak on it. If you don’t do it, it’s considered a cardinal sin from the man above. Just kidding!

9. Do not block the projector while you roam about speaking

Some speakers don’t realize that they are actually blocking the screen while they are engrossed with the words coming out of their mouths. I don’t blame them for the act, but hold them in offense for confusing his/her audience while the light from the projector shines on him/her.

My problem is not so much that the speaker is denying the audience from watching the screen, because they are supposed to be listening to him and not watching the screen. But, what pricks me is that the audience’s attention gets diverted while you may be touching on a deep topic.

Before you start to speak, just look around the room, and mentally chart out where you can walk and where not to trespass. This may not be an issue if the screen is placed at a higher altitude, especially in a seminar envinronment.

10. Turn off the projector when needed

I particularly turn off the projector when I am about to alight on a point which is deep, and when I need the full attention of my listeners. Turning it off ensures even the mites and ants in the room pay attention to what I say, and not heed towards distractions, such as the bright spot in the room. Remember, you need to be the brightest part of the room when you want your audience to (really) listen to you.

When I say turn off the projector, I don’t mean physically turning it off. Microsoft Powerpoint has an amazing feature that blacks your screen with a touch of  a button. That magic button is b.

One of my constant preachings to my protégés is to stay apart from the crowd and move in a direction that cuts across the masses. I have always believed it and have been a staunch follower of this theory. An old friend who I had not seen in sometime met up with me for a drink last night, and challenged me that crowds offer security and are often on the right path, as they are tried and tested. After some drunken verbal brawls, we decided to sit on each other’s ideas and meet up for another round of drinks the coming weekend.

I have started to wonder if going with the crowd could be beneficial. I don’t know. I am biased in not acknowledging another option other than staying unique.

The more I think, new ideas come up. Crowds vary in their upbringing, culture, insight, knowledge, maturity and this list can definitely go on. Putting all these minds together will bring out a concoction of unknown nature, it may be good, or lethal. The end result is unknown until we see what is in front of us.

The outcome can never be excellent, as many would have indulged in what they do, and hence the benefits would get shared amongst followers. It can be lethal as there is a good chance that the outcome might show up one fine day, after millions have fallen for it.

Being an avid reader of John Grisham’s novels, it has always intrigued me that the US judicial system rests upon the concept of jury, at least in the lower courts. The jury consists of twelve ordinary residents of the county, handpicked by advocates. And, these people think with their hearts and are bound by emotions, and don’t care much about what is right and what isn’t. This system has existed for over a century and has been successful 90% of the times (as per the stats that I quickly googled). This is not a bad record at all, considering the rate of right judgement by expert judges is much lower. Does the US judicial system leveraging on juries indicate that collective minds are better than a handful of experts?

I need to think more on this, and now back to my theory.

While staying apart, there is an advantage that people can reap. They can see where the crowd is heading and what they achieve. Results are public knowledge and a decision based on the outcome sounds feasible, doesn’t it? Yep, the best of both worlds!

I am glad my friend of yesteryears got me thinking on this aspect. I had grown a blind spot on the idea of doing what everybody does, and maybe there is more to it than it meets my eye, or brain in this context.

The benefits of exercise are numerous, so stop procrastinating and hit the gym — here’s how!

Exercise, like any other hard work you do, needs motivation and in some people’s cases more than others. There have to be things we can do to keep the focus and remain interested in exercising.

The other thing about motivation is you usually find it only when you really look for it. Starting a fresh, energetic and healthier standard of living is something you do for yourself, like making an investment in the future that will ensure first, that you live to see your older years and secondly that in the years ahead, you spend them actively doing what you like.

Here are ten things to get you motivated to exercise:

The benefits: Talk to anyone in the fitness industry and you’ll get the same answers — the benefits to your body when you exercise are innumerable. It’s human nature to want to do things from which you get rewards/benefits. Staying away from life stylediseases like diabetes or just losing weight — these are the plus sides of exercising!

Keep a diary: Keep a record of how much you work out in a week and see how it makes a difference to your energy levels. If you feel bold enough see how much weight you lose or how many muscles you tone up every month! This will keep you motivated.

Reward hard work: At the end of the week or month reward yourself, be it in the form of a holiday or even a day out; you deserve it and when you genuinely work out, it’s natural to look forward to that promised end!

Stay goal-oriented: Set yourself some goals but be realistic, so if the results are slow you don’t get disappointed. But every time you achieve your goals, it gives you more reason to challenge yourself further.

Dress the part: It’s very important to dress the right way to feel like you’re doing your part. If you dress sloppily then you’ll feel sloppy too. So perk up your dress sense, whether it’s for a jog in the park or even going to the gym.

Time yourself: If you have an hour to exercise, give yourself a target. If running, say you’ll cover ‘x’ amount of kilometres and if you’re at the gym then tell yourself you simply must burn ‘x’ amount of calories. As and when you start achieving your targets, it’ll get you motivated to do better.

Endorphins: These are feel-good hormones that get released in our bodies when we exercise — they make one feel upbeat and happy. So go get those endorphins out!

Vanity: Who doesn’t want to look good? People who are overweight can lose the extra flab and feel great and people who are already in their weight category can stay fit by keeping the exercise routine going.

Have fun: It’s important to choose work outs that let you have fun, along with the health benefits. This keeps you going and has you looking forward to the next day.

Rope in a friend: Sometimes having company while you work out can be a great motivation. Besides having moral support, your friend can help you stick to your aims and goals.

There are probably many more motivational factors out there, some general and some personal but what ever they may be, they all lead to the same common goal — good health. It’s a question of getting out there and just doing what our bodies were meant to do…be active!

via

Task managers need not be on a computer. In fact, you can use your notebook as a task manager and it works as well as any hi-tech gadget. I will keep the discussion on which one is preferable for another day.

If you want to remember some activities to get it done at a later point of time, you have two choices. One, write it down on a piece of paper (or in a computer) or keep it in your mind. If you decide to use the latter, the chances of you remembering the task depends on certain chemical compositions in your mind. If your mind has to remember your designated tasks, then it needs a trigger and triggers are generated when there is a connection. If there’s no connection, then forget about getting that task done as your mind just doesn’t remember stuff.

Let me provide an example to substantiate the theory. If one of the tasks that you want to get done is to renew your web domain. You tell your mind that it is something that you would need to do once you get back home today. After a tiring day at office, you go back home, have dinner, watch TV and go to bed. Later the next day, you go back to office and while you are typing your intranet’s address in Internet Explorer, your mind reminds you at that point of time that you had to renew your web domain.

In the example stated above, when you started typing your intranet address in Internet Explorer, your mind found a connection and that triggered a chemical composition which raked the related task. The question posed – is your mind which is highly unreliable a good task manager? You know the answer. To makes things worse, this task manager made of flesh and bones deletes entries without you having a faintest scent about it. Let’s find some better alternatives and leave the mind to deal with emotional stuff.

You need a place where the activities can be written down or keyed in. It should be on a reliable substrate that can be depended upon. Keeping your activities listed on a notebook is perhaps the most popular and the simplest way to manage. However, we are in the hi-tech world and moving with the times, simplifies the task up to a certain extent. There are several task managers available, the ones that are actual applications that are installed on your systems or those that reside on the web, otherwise called web task manager or commonly called web application.

The advantages of using hi-tech are multi-fold. To name a few – 1. You can set reminders at your preferred time. 2. You can sync the tasks on your cellphone, home computer, PDA or any other compatible gadget. 3. Reliability is unquestionably more in hi-techs. You might quite easily lose your notebook or it could get drenched in rain. On the flip side, you could lose your Palm or a hard disk can crash. But, relatively, I believe that hi-tech is more reliable, any day.

Find a task manager that suits your needs and the one that you can be comfortable with. There is no point in getting a task manager that you can’t manage. Don’t go hi-tech if you are not a geeky kind of a person.

Well, most of us use keyboard mostly to key in text and get our work done with it. The time taken to switch from keyboard to mouse is the time that is getting wasted and to add onto it, once you hold the mouse in your hand, you will have to move over to the icon which consumes some time as well.

Let me justify this with an example. You are typing an email in Microsoft Outlook and when you are done, you have two choices to send it out. The first involves the ever-so-popular mouse and a click of a button on Send will do the trick. Second, the productive way, is to know the keyboard shortcut for Send, which is Ctrl + Enter and hit it soon after you are done typing the email. Which one is faster? I will let you decide on this one.

From experience, I have worked with several senior executives and have seen them in action. They take an awful amount of time to set up appointments and send out emails, including the one liners. It’s agonizing to see somebody who’s paid in barrels be as unproductive as they are. If only they had known a couple shortcut keys!!!!

As per studies conducted, keyboards are supposedly three times faster than mice in performing the same action. Is that all the difference? I expected it to go in tens if not hundreds.

Seriously folks, keyboards are much much much faster than mice. You can watch any computer professional in action and he/she will hardly touch the mouse. Observe people who browse the web, they key in the address in the address bar by navigating through Tab key and hit Ctrl + Enter to search the page. You can perhaps navigate through anything clickable on your desktop through the Tab keys.

Let me know about your experiences especially if you believe that the keyboard more than 3 times faster than the mouse. Just kidding! Leave a note with what you think.

Suppose you have multiple jobs to get done and lets call them A, B, C, D and so on. With all these different items on your plate, you will need to prioritize first before heading into accomplishing them. We will keep the prioritizing part for another day. But, let’s first talk about how you can achieve what you have set out to do.

Let’s say you have an assignment that you need to get done before tomorrow morning. You get back home at around 8PM today and start working on it right away to give yourself the best chance of achieving it. One thing’s for sure, you have the time on your hands, but let me ask you this – are you in the right frame of mind to do it? Are you brains working 100% towards achieving this particular goal with all your brain cells in tip-top shape? More often than not, the answer is no.

When you get back home in the evening, it is obvious that you are tired and hence, would not be able to concentrate all your energies into getting your activity accomplished. How can you ensure quickly that you get cracking with all your aches behind you?

The answer is simple to put it in writing : reach your happy place. Before we move on, let’s watch this video from the movie Happy Gilmore.

In this movie, the coach stresses upon Happy reaching a place which makes him happy and this would in turn, get him started. It may be a pass time movie, but the concept behind it is profound.

You will need to find your happy place before getting started with the activity that you need to accomplish. This way, your mind gets relaxed and moreover, your stress nerves would be calmer than ever and will not interfere in your way.

I am sure we have all heard of the story of the wood cutter and the blunt axe which he used to cut down the trees. Sharpening the axe cut down the time consumed by a multiple times. What does this analogy help us? That a sharper brain can accomplish much more than a tired brain in a shorter period of time. Hence productivity increases!

Happy place (imaginary or real) will help you cut down the time that’s required to getting your activity accomplished (it’s proven, trust me). In essence, your happy place will only act as a catalyst at best, but the results will definitely take you to new places where you’ve never been.

Worth Reading : A Tale of Two Woodcutters

Personally for me, I work close to ten hours a day in my day job and when I get back home, I am totally exhausted. I spend some quality time at home chatting and watching TV for about an hour. This will take my mind off of my busy day (some extent). Later when I sit down to blog, I think about my happy place (which I am not going to share, excuse me!). My happy place further takes load off of my shoulders. Reading some of the twits makes me come into the world of web and blogging and finally, I feel set to start my blogging job for an hour or two. At this point of time, I am sharper than I was when I came back from work.

Reaching your happy place is not an one time activity. We are not built to switch on and switch off as and when we want. It is a process and the process is perfected as we start practicing it. You will have to grind and crawl and sweat to reach your happy place first time round, and it gets easy as the days go by.

My challenge to you this week is to try and reach your happy place and let me know how successful you were in getting there. We will not talk about how productive you were but as a first step, it is important to reach your happy place. Happy Journey!!!

On a different note, time management will not take you places if your mind is not in the right place.