Productivity @ Home

What I Learned at High School Graduation: Lesson 4 -- Deciding to Make a Difference

Today, I continue my weeklong series on lessons learned by attending our high school's graduation last weekend. This weekend, I had the joy of attending the graduation ceremonies for my son's high school. Adam is only a Junior this year, but we were on hand to celebrate with several of his senior friends. Perhaps since my own son wasn't graduating, I did a better job of listening to each of the five individuals who spoke. I found that I took away a lesson from each of their speeches. This week, I will be highlighting one of those lessons each day.

The second student speaker at Saturday's commencement, nationally-ranked forensics competitor Shaun Lichti, set the stage by inviting us to imagine ourselves at the foot of the steps of the Great Library of Alexandria. 

"Awesome," I thought to myself, "I love libraries! Let's go!"

Then Shaun shared the catch -- you are an impoverished man with no access to the building that holds the collective sum of all the world's knowledge. You can stand on the steps and contemplate the core of all learning, but your station in life prohibits you from embracing it. Even if you could enter the building, your illiteracy would prevent you from making any sense of the tomes surrounding you.

My, how our world has changed. Shaun rightly reminded me how prolific information is in our world today. We lack former civilizations barriers of access to education. 

But so too do we lack that desire, the burning pattion to learn, to grow, and to share our knowledge with others. The prevalance of so much data, so much information, and so much noise around us has dulled the part of us that is desperate to climb those library steps and take it all in.

What I Learned at High School Graduation: Lesson 3 -- Dare Yourself to Win the Race

Today, I continue my weeklong series on lessons learned by attending our high school's graduation last weekend. This weekend, I had the joy of attending the graduation ceremonies for my son's high school. Adam is only a Junior this year, but we were on hand to celebrate with several of his senior friends. Perhaps since my own son wasn't graduating, I did a better job of listening to each of the five individuals who spoke. I found that I took away a lesson from each of their speeches. This week, I will be highlighting one of those lessons each day.

The third speaker at the University High graduation was a student. Zeina Rousan, elected by her peers to give a commencement speech, must have spent the majority of her lifetime making her parents very proud. She's the type of young lady you immediately know is a winner. Poised, articulate, quick witted and extremely eloquent, Zeina most definitely has a bright future ahead of her.

Zeina's speech began by inviting those of us in the audience, and especially her graduating peers, to imagine ourselves running a race. She peppered the run with anecdotes of her fellow students, inviting us runners to take the breaks we needed, but also to push forward to the finish line. Then she asked us:

Did you win the race?

What I Learned at High School Graduation: Lesson 2 -- Discovery, Diversity, Distinction

Today, I continue my weeklong series on lessons learned by attending our high school's graduation last weekend. This weekend, I had the joy of attending the graduation ceremonies for my son's high school. Adam is only a Junior this year, but we were on hand to celebrate with several of his senior friends. Perhaps since my own son wasn't graduating, I did a better job of listening to each of the five individuals who spoke. I found that I took away a lesson from each of their speeches. This week, I will be highlighting one of those lessons each day.

Lesson Number Two came in the form of a brief, yet insightful address from California State University, Fresno Provost Dr. William A. Covino. Dr. Covino's remarks for the gradutates highlighted three themes -- they are likely on his mind as the focal point of the newly launched Fresno State logo. But this wasn't simply a marketing speech. Rather, these three watchwords are relevant for any of us seeking to pursue personal excellence.

• Discovery -- Experience the thrill of learning. Always strive to expand your mind.
• Diversity -- Surround yourself with all elements of the human fabric. This makes it possible for us to learn from one another. Embrace the difference in others, seeking out in a special way that which is new, strange and different. This is how we grow, both as individuals and communally.
• Distinction -- Demand of yourself the rare. Pursue your passions with energy and dilligence.

What I Learned at High School Graduation: Lesson 1 -- Average Isn't Good Enough

This weekend, I had the joy of attending the graduation ceremonies for my son's high school. Adam is only a Junior this year, but we were on hand to celebrate with several of his senior friends. Perhaps since my own son wasn't graduating, I did a better job of listening to each of the five individuals who spoke. I found that I took away a lesson from each of their speeches. This week, I will be highlighting one of those lessons each day.

Lesson 1: Average is No Longer Good Enough

The first speaker at graduation was Dr. John D. Welty, President of California State University, Fresno. Since University High is a charter school founded by faculty of Fresno State and situated on the University's campus, Dr. Welty's presence is an annual tradition at graduation. 

The first thing that struck me about his remarks were that they were addressed directly to the graduates. This meant that Dr. Welty took to the podium, but delivered his address squarely pointed at the young men and women for whom his remarks were intended, offering his side profile to the rest of the audience. "How wonderful," I thought to myself. "This is their day."

Dr. Welty's remarks were brief, but delivered with the passion of a man who has dedicated his life to education. He referenced Thomas Freidman's recent New York Times article, Average is Over. In it, Mr. Friedman makes a strong case for the absolute necessity of an advanced degree in today's world. Citing the rise of technology, but also an increase in the efficacy of foreign production, Friedman concludes:

There will always be change — new jobs, new products, new services. But the one thing we know for sure is that with each advance in globalization and the I.T. revolution, the best jobs will require workers to have more and better education to make themselves above average. 

Dr. Welty's reiteration of the message that "Average is no longer good enough," was likely not lost on a group of graduates who will almost entirely be pursuing a college education. Nor was it missed by this mom -- I found myself nodding in agreement, but also asking myself, "In what ways have I allowed myself to think that average is sufficient?"

Pinterest: A Productivity Tool or a Massive Time Dump?

For the past few weeks, I have been having an awesome time experimenting with the popular new social networking tool Pinterest. Some call Pinterest nothing more than a passing phase or a place for chicks to post photos of new purses. I think they are missing the boat...

As a webmaster and blogger, I have already seen the huge capability of Pinterest to drive traffic to my sites. As with any social networking site, there is a learning curve to figuring out how much is too much, and how to use the tool effectively without becoming "that guy" -- you know him. He's the one you end up blocking or hiding because his stuff is constantly in your face. You wonder how he can even get any work done because he's always on that site, "sharing".

So here are a few rules of thumb I have set for myself when it comes to using Pinterest:

• Limit my time on the site to a few regular check ins per day. Close the Pinterest tab in my browser when it's not one of those times.
• Establish a separate Twitter presence for my Pinterest tweets. Allow friends who are interested in Pinterest to follow me there without forcing the rest of my Twitter buddies to be overwhelmed by tweets about pins.
• Be a good neighbor by liking, commenting or tweeting about other people's items as much as I do my own.
• Establish a limited number of boards that are directly related to my work and interests, but don't branch into to many additional, extraneous boards.
• Don't "follow all" when connecting with other Pinterest users, but rather study their boards when invited to connect and make careful selections to avoid being overwhelmed with information.
• Educate myself about Pinterest's terms of service and the current copyright information that is buzzing around the web. Only pin items that do not infringe on others' rights.

I'd love to hear from you if you are enjoying using Pinterest for work or pleasure. Do you have any tips or techniques that seem to be working well? What have you learned from your use of Pinterest.

Connect with me on Pinterest at http://pinterest.com/lisahendey/

Making Your Messages Work for (Not Against) You

 

This morning, I had an interesting consulting conversation with a non-profit organization which is looking to better optimize its social media initiatives. During the course of our chat, the topic of direct mail arose. I shared my somewhat "dim" view of what I termed "holy junk mail" -- that is, direct mail pieces from wonderful organizations that contain heart-felt pleas for support, but also "free" items that are often religious or spiritual in nature.

Readers here probably know that my faith means a great deal to me. So perhaps you won't be surprised when I share that I have a hard time "tossing" holy junk mail. It sits in a stack on my desk, often unsorted -- and always unresponded to -- until the situation gets out of hand. 

Then it gets recycled.

The conversation has me thinking about the other types of "junk mail" messages I hoard and later trash these days:

• Social media notifications
• Email group messages
• "To do someday" items
• Press releases

Entire books have been written on the topic of dealing with the influx of information that now prevails in our society. I've read a few, and still struggle with my "message hoarding" tendancies, especially in my inbox. Filters help, but what I really need is a different mindset that helps me attend immediately to what matters most, deal with it and move on.

I've also been pondering the message I send -- am I contributing to the clutter with my posts, tweets and pins? Or am I adding value for those I serve?

The jury is still out...

Survival Guide Offers Work @ Home Tips

Every Monday, I share my thoughts on Working @ Home.

While I haven't read the book yet, CNN has a great article today featuring tips from the newly released Working Mom Survival Guide. I'd contend that the suggestions offered in CNN's excerpt Working from Home -- and Getting Things Done are relevant for all of us, not just moms. 

The excerpt shares five common pitfalls faced by those who work @ home, and offers some great suggestions for avoiding these traps. This one has great relevance for me personally:

Gadget addiction

You may find yourself constantly checking your gadgets to stay in the loop. The problem is, that urge can spill into family time, leaving you less connected with the ones who matter most.

What to do: Take e-mail breaks. Let colleagues know that you won't be checking your inbox while you work on a project and that they can call you if something comes up.

I've been working over the past few months to carve out more "protected time" for my faith life, my family, and frankly for fun too. I still find that having my office in the heart of my home tempts me all too frequently to not keep healthy work/life boundaries. I love the fact that my commute is nil and that I can completely set my own schedule, but I do find that sometimes being my own boss means that my supervisor all too often has "issues"!

Take a look at Working from Home -- and Getting Things Done - what challenges on this list can you relate to and what would you add to the list? Also, be sure to check out Working Mom Survival Guide and find more information on the book here. 

 

A Fraud's Advice on Protecting Your Finances

Every Thursday, I share my thoughts on Family Finances.

For those of us who work @ home, we often rely on other professionals to aid us with financial advice, bookkeeping, tax preparation and other financial transactions that are the lifeblood of our family or small business. A recent article at CNN entitled "Confessions of a Con Artist" spells out just how easy it is for us to unwittingly be sent into financial ruin if we're not paying attention.

In the article, convicted felon Diann Cattani spells out just how easy it was for her to start ripping off her employers:

It was a startup, so the owners relied on me to take over the company's business functions. I automated the bookkeeping systems, contracted with all of the vendors and basically did everything that it took to set up the company's infrastructure. I never established systems with the plan to steal from them, but the fact that I implemented everything made things a lot easier.

Cattani's story and her warning to "trust, but also verify" is an important reminder in times when many small business are simply a few bad transactions away from financial ruin. 

Do you employ a contract bookkeeper or business advisor in your small business or family finances? What steps have you taken to ensure oversight of those services?

Winter Cleaning for Your Home Office

Every Monday, I share my thoughts on Working @ Home.

As we anticipate the crazy busyness of December, I'm looking at these last three bonus days of November as a chance to organize my life and my home office a bit before the hectic schedule kicks in. I recently relocated to a lovely new home office in the former dining room of our house. It's a larger space than I had before with room for floor to ceiling bookshelves, great lighting and easy access to my kitchen and laundry room. But because it is also easily visible, I want to do my best to keep the piles to a minimum and keep things looking nice for my family and visitors. 

I tend to be a "stacker" -- meaning that things that need doing or processing land up in large stacks on my ample desk. For the past few weeks, I've been looking at what falls into these stacks, and trying to organize them into categories. This will hopefully help me to develop a workflow and see what's causing some items to remain stalled in the stacks!

My goals for this week's office organization effort include:

• Better organize the shelving space in my office
• Decrease desktop clutter by devising a filing system for items that need handling -- eradicate stacks!
• Dust and clean the hardwood floors. Dust the blinds
• Go through the myriad "sticky notes" stuck near my computer and complete those tasks or remove them
• Organize my "reading corner", creating a tickler file for items to be read and a basket for daily reading items
• Clean up my computer desktop

This should be enough to keep me more than busy for these last few days of November. If you're looking for a helpful article on organizing your home office space, check out this great one from Real Simple that offers several great product ideas to help you regain control of the chaos.

What would you put on your office's "to do" list to help you get better organized?

How Google+ Is Enhancing My Productivity

Have you signed on to Google+ lately? This new social networking venue that is gaining traction with 40 million users and counting has made a major difference in my workflow since I began using it shortly after the Beta launch. The following are just a few of the ways that Google+ is helping me to get things done:

1. Great integration -- I'm a Google girl, which means that I use gmail, google calendar, and google docs every day in my home office. The fact that I receive + notifications in each of these venues, but in a non-obtrusive manner, makes it easy for me to not "stop by just to check" as I do with Facebook and avoids major time dumps.
2. Great sourcing -- I've used my social networking venues for the past few years as great places to crowdsource, to get quotes and content for my writing, and to seek out experts. Since beginning to use Google+ I find the response rate there amazing: the information I'm able to get is high level, well thought out, and amazingly quick. While I have far fewer contacts there than at Facebook, the noise level tends to be lower and the interactions tend to be very high value.
3. Great friendships -- On Google+ I've reconnected in new and fun ways with contacts I've had for a while, but have also built some amazing new friendships. Using the "hangout" feature felt a bit awkward at first, but now I love the great conversations I'm having on a regular basis with folks who are quickly becoming good friends. When I recently has a chance to meet a few Google+ friends "in real life", our connection felt instantaneous. 

I have lots of friends who tried Google+ for a few weeks and left quickly, but for me it's one of my new "go to" solutions for productively interacting online. Have you used it and what do you think?