It’s a common complaint. The technology that should empower us, leaves us feeling enslaved. I could sympathise with her plight. I knew how she felt. Email alerts flash on desktops, IM pings on browsers, Skype notifications hoovering into view. It’s impossible to fit the urge to check your email or answer the IM. I’d had the same problem myself until recently. I had enough. I needed a solution so I set an hour aside and got to work on my system preferences. I shut off my email desktop alerts. I remove the notifications from my tool-bar. I did battle on my Skype notifications (which was particularly tricky as it’s was integrated with Growl which is software equivalent of Japanese Knotweed). I silenced these time gremlins.

My friend agreed to shut down her alerts, and together with coaching on taming the inbox, she reports she feels more in control of her workload.  She now has more time to spend at the water cooler.

Here’s some recommendations on how to control your inbox.

David Allen (father of the GTD method) regards email as another input, like voicemail or a desktop in-tray.  A systematic approach to it’s management can be the key to staying sane.  One GTD inspired method is that of Merlin Mann’s ‘Inbox Zero’. (I’d really recommend you watch the presentation if you have time).

Mann says that you must have a system to deal with e-mail and proactively build walls to maximize the finite time and attention you have available.  Don’t spend your working day in your in-box!   E-mail is just a medium.  To use it effectively, e-mail has more to do about processing things to action and less about checking or responding.  Shifting your mindset to regard email as an action to be completed is central to achieving better productivity.  Each email should be read, it’s priority determined and appropriate action taken.  Here’s your choices;

Delete: just get rid of it (or archive it).

Delegate: get someone else to deal with it.  If you haven’t got someone to delegate to, get a virtual assistant!

Respond: if it takes just a few minutes, do it right now.  Keep responses short.

Defer: put it on a todo list, archive it, and deal with it later.

Do: handle whatever the email actually needs you to do.

Learn to work in a way that allows you to create habits that enforce this process.

Don’t rely on folders as that require you think where you saved an email.  If the email does not require any further action, archive email and rely on the search to retrieve it.

Don’t constantly check your email, schedule e-mail sprints so you can focus and process e-mails at specific times of the day .

Don’t keep email open all the time, check it at certain designated times throughout the day, and limit the time you spend on each check-in.

Don’t completely rely on artificial systems.  Don’t create complex systems of workflow. Remember the words of Aristole, “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.”

Strive for excellence, and tame your inbox.

Rather than managing time by priortising the tasks in a list, GTD organises your workload using ‘control and perspective’.  This workflow system is grounded in ’6 different levels of focus’, allowing the practitioner to gain control of the tasks and commitments, and obtain perspective on what is most pressing. This forward planning is intend to remove any mental blocks and increase productivity.

I think the method has much merit. In my experience, conducting a review of workload at the end of each day, and organising my tasks for the next day into context list (email, telephone, etc.) allows me hit the ground running each morning. It makes the day more productive as I am ready to go as soon as I reach my desk.

GTD is based on having an efficient system which allows store, track and retrieve all information related to the things that need to get done. Whilst the system can done using paper-based lists, there are quite a few programs, apps, etc on the market which are ‘GTD ready’ and allow the user to manage lists and workflow. I’ll be looking at some of my favourite in future posts.

Buy ‘Getting Things Done: How to Achieve Stress-free Productivity’ by David Allen

Whilst such online tools should make us more productive, they can also make us feel trapped in an endless race to keep on top of everything.  There are emails to read, web pages to update, e-newsletters to send out.  The list of tasks can seem endless, but technology has also made it possible to outsource administrative tasks effectively to remote workers who can provide specialist skills at a competitive price.  Businesses and individuals can now access ‘virtual assistance’ whenever they need help on a particular project or job.  A virtual assistant has become an essential tool for time-pressed small business owners, consultants and start-ups.  Outsourcing is a growing trend that is here to stay, and here’s a few reasons why it could work for you.

• Working with a Virtual Assistant saves you time because you can get on with your core business, and delegate the administrative tasks confidently to them.
• You can concentrate on high-value fee-earning work and therefore a Virtual Assistant can save you money.
• Working with a Virtual Assistant, you’ll have more  the time you need to concentrate on developing your business.  A Virtual Assistant creates opportunities for you to grow your business.
• You only pay for the time you need.  Most Virtual Assistants charge by the hour.
• You don’t have the overheads associated with an employee (tax, national insurance, desk space, etc.)
• You’ll reduce your workload, and your life will be simpler.
• You’ll be able to spend more time on your business, spend more time with your family, or enjoy more of your favourite hobbies!

Seth Godin points out that whilst we may feel stressed or excited about the big crossroad moments in our lives, like deciding to move to another town or go back to college. It’s easy to ignore the daily opportunities we have to change everything for the better.

Sometimes, you simply need to break the habit of saying; “I don’t have any time right now”. Ministry of Time is here to help you. Outsourcing the administrative side of your business will allow you to reclaim your time. To get back in control. To do the work you want to do. To be more productive. Contact us now and seize the day!

Usability testing is a widely-used and effective technique for improving the design of your product/website. But many common beliefs about what usability testing is for and how to conduct usability tests effectively can get in the way of doing usability testing well — or at doing it all. Some of these beliefs are often completely at odds with the practices of user experience professionals!

Examples of these beliefs include:

• Usability testing requires defining a number of strict “tasks” for users and then quantifying their performance on each task
• Usability testing should be performed at the very end of a project, with a nearly-finished application or website
• Usability testing should done in a controlled environment, ideally a “usability lab” with a one-way mirror for observation
• The findings from usability tests should be summarized in an extensive, formally-structured report, analogous to an academic research article
• Insights from analytics and/or automated testing techniques can replace direct observations of people using your product

Some of these beliefs represent legacy knowledge (usability engineering practices of the 80s and 90s), which user experience practitioners have added to and evolved over the past decade. Others seem to result from a misunderstanding of what usability testing is intended to accomplish.

Contact us and we’ll give you an understanding of usability testing  based on real experience.  This viewpoint will actually be far more relevant, valuable, and exciting to entrepreneurs/start-up than legacy practices are. We’ll explain how to incorporate usability testing into the design and development process, so your product/website reflects what your customer really want.

The high speed internet connections, and emergence of online software services has allowed people to choose how they work, and gain more ‘location independence’ from the rat race. I am not talking about people trekking around Borneo, whilst running a food supplements business (a la Tim Ferris). I mean people with families who are choosing where they want to live. Rather than letting a daily commute determine the postcode.

Of course, they still need to speak to people regularly. Using Skype to make international calls to other online users is easy to do and free. Whilst Skype allows video calling, which is great when calling your relative and friends. I don’t think Skype’s functionality is comprehensive enough for a business person’s needs. During conference calls, I want to share files and other documents. I need to walk people through documents whilst they review them on their screen. When I am doing user/market research, I need to record the calls from transcription later. For these reason, I use two VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) applications for making calls.

For one-to-one calls and instant messaging, I use Skype. For online meetings and interviews, I use GotoMeeting as it gives me the functionality I need. GotoMeeting is subscription service, but you can download GotoMeeting free trail and try it out.

This year has left me sometimes wondering what I am doing in North London. Hell, I should be off in the South of France running a goat farm. And you know what, just give me another few years.

1. Grab the Headlines
Make your subject line works as a punchy headline. It’s your chance to grab the attention of the receiver. You want them to open the email, rather than just deleting it. Say something that’ll make them want to find out more.

2. Make it Personal
Dale Carnegie says in his book “How To Win Friends And Influence People”, there are few things that sound sweeter to a person than his or her own name. He’s right, it works. Make sure your sign-up process collects this information from the subscriber. Use it, and reflect this personal touch in your content and you’ll see results. Speak to the many, by speaking to the individual.

3. Keep the Design Simple
Remember you are using your e-newsletter to build a brand. Make sure the email template design reflects the colours and design of your logo. The format should be easy to read so use a white or a light background. Also make sure you use standard fonts and keep the navigation and overall design simple. Don’t use large images. View the newsletter on different email clients to make sure the HTML is compatible on each.

4. Don’t be SPAM
Make sure your emails don’t get flagged as spam, and deleted before they even get to your subscribers. You need to avoid using words such as ‘Free’, ‘£££’, ‘Save’, ‘Discount’, etc., in both the subject line and the content of your email.

5. Check Your Figures
Most email marketing tools have stats packages associated with them. These tools can tell you which links are being opened, so you can find out what type of content is most popular amongst your subscribers. Working with these figures you can build a newsletter that is more effective at getting your key messages across to your customers.

At Ministry of Time, we’ve lots of experience running email campaigns for businesses large and small. If you are starting out, we can help you find the right software for you and get you up and running by designing a great template for your business. We can also manage ongoing campaigns, increasing both your subscription rates and your open rates. If you need some advice on email marketing, contact us.
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The creation of online social networks has altered our understanding of group dynamics. Clay Shirky writing in his book, Here Comes Everybody argued each social online tool was an example of the complex fusion of ‘a plausible promise, an effective tool, and an acceptable bargain with the users’.  The economics of these networks have changed fundamentally how we live, work and socialise.

In term of the business relationships we build, it is not just the easy of access to information, but the ability to find people and resources as needed to address opportunities and challenges.   The internet has allowed people to interact easily and cheaply with others who would previously have been unreachable.  Social networks such as Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter are leading to collaborations and relationships previously impossible.

In turn, online networking is altering how we work.   Small businesses and consultants can reduce their administrative burden and grow their businesses by accessing networks to find skills, knowledge and expertise not available within their own organisations.  That’s why ‘virtual assistance’ is not just a ‘buzz word’ or ‘this year’s big thing’.  The wide range of benefits that virtual assistants can offer their clients means their professional services have become indispensable to many businesses. Especially, in the current tough economic climate. If you are wondering how a virtual assistant can help you and your business, why not contact us.

I’ve stopped truly believing in pure coincidences.  In the randomness of life, there is a chance of sameness.   Coincidences are more probable than you think, but I still believe in serendipity.

The book’s format of short and snappy chapters really delivers. Some may consider the style of the book too simplistic, but no book can tell how to run a business. You’ve got to learn that for yourself. What book does deliver is the same thing as any good mentor. It gives you practical tips and reflections on their own journey. It challenges you confront your beliefs on how things should be done, and inspires you to look for a new way.

Everyone should question the conventions of modern business. Be empowered to make your own rules. The book has been described as a manifesto by some. I found the short, fast-moving format gives you room to reflect on what is being said, and how it applies in your own life experience and business. You can read it in an afternoon, and I am sure it’s more beneficial than a MBA. It is certainly cheaper. You can’t argue with that.

Buy ReWork: Change the Way You Work Forever from Amazon