Outlook email works reasonably well. Outlook Calendar tracks the days, weeks, months, and years.
Even Outlook Contacts, with a bit of adjustment, becomes a decent client database and opportunity tracker.

But what logical home exists for the ongoing projects, the myriad of undated tasks, and the infinite commitments that don’t fit neatly into a Calendar?

It’s Outlook Tasks that has let me down. The Task system in Outlook seems insufficient, counter-intuitive, and cumbersome.  That is, until now…

This quick video tutorial introduces the method that completed the Outlook puzzle for me. Ahhh, what peace of mind  a trusted system brings.

Love it, hate it? Have a better idea? Let me hear your comments.

If you’re (quite logically) just using this for things that take all day, you’re really missing out.

With this simple technique I never miss a follow-up call, and I’m able to relax knowing my system will remind me about the when and the what! Check out the quick video below where I reveal this super-duper technique.

Love it, hate it? Have a better idea? I’d love to hear from you.

I’ve combined the principles of Steven Covey’s 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, David Allen’s Getting Things Done, and other popular books, into a small-business management strategy that really works for me. Knowing the principles is important, but equally important is figuring out how to implement them consistently using a sytem that you trust (like Outlook, ACT, Goldmine, Palm Desktop, etc.)

The short video tutorial below covers some very basic email tips. I’ll be posting more quick, bite-size, productivity videos soon.

Thanks for reading! Love it, hate it, have a better idea? I’d love to hear your comments!

Well, the ClearMind Fundamentals provide no-nonsense insight into the fundamentals for sustained success and productivity.

For the first time, we’ve organized all of the ClearMind Fundamental Media Resources into a simple step-by-step guide.

You’ll have immediate access to ten quick text and video lessons.

You’ll also unlock powerful quizzes for each lesson that will ensure you remember and apply the fundamentals.

What are the key benefits of applying these lessons?

Clarity, organization, focus, productivity, success, peace-of-mind, skill-development, empowerment, just to name a few.

But never fear.

A solid workflow system allows you to conquer
mental and physical clutter forever.

I use this simplified “GTD” approach to keep my mind,
and my office, efficient and productive.

Check out this pdf doc to see how my capture, define,
and decide system keeps me, relatively, sane.

clearmind-inbox-to-empty-workflow.pdf

Sounds pretty good, right?

You’re thinking that would really simplify things.

Well, that’s reality.

Life presents us with just 2 problems.

Problem 1: We know what we want and we don’t know how to get it.

Problem 2: We don’t know what we want.

And the answers are equally simple.

Answer 1: Make it up

Answer 2: Make it happen

Want to learn more? 
Contact Us for a free productivity checkup.

“I am only one, but I am one. I cannot do everything, but I can do something. And I will not let what I cannot do interfere with what I can do.”

Edward Everett Hale

The key is to know what to use and what to ignore.

I’ve typed some key points to remember below.

Questions? Just contact us. We’ll get you the answers you need.

Outlook serves 3 functions

1. Organizes action reminders using calendar and tasks

2. Organizes information in notes, contacts, email subfolders

3. Sends and receives email

Principles that make Outlook a “trusted system”

1. Don’t leave anything in your head or in unprocessed stacks

2. Make crystal-clear decisions about the next physical action

3. Keep the system clear, current, and complete

Do’s and Don’ts

• Do continue to use paper to “capture” ideas, notes, etc - but always put the action reminders in Outlook
• Do clear your email inbox by converting email into tasks and projects and filing email in subfolders
• Do add all of your active projects to your @Projects list (big, small, personal, professional)
• Do use the notes area in a project to outline the successful outcome and next actions
• Do make clear action decisions when new stuff shows up, don’t wait until it blows up
• Do share tasks with other Outlook users using the “assign task” feature
• Do print or sync your lists to make them portable

——————————————————————————————————————————————

• Don’t rely on an email for an action reminder or project reminder
• Don’t hold back, everything has a place in your system, if it doesn’t create a new list by using categories
• Don’t just create the lists, look at them often, and use them to guide your moment by moment actions
• Don’t expect everything to clear up instantly, we’re on a productivity path and daily progress is key

The ClearMind Habits

In this lesson we introduce the ClearMind Habits. By combining the ClearMind Habits with the ClearMind Tools you will experience a new level of focus, clarity, and productivity.

Habit 1:  The Morning Mind Clear

Habit 2:  The “3C” Lifestyle

Habit 3:  The Weekly Review

The Morning Mind Clear is a quick planning session that will leave you grounded in your values and focused on your goals. This 30 min daily habit will empower you to maintain a clear mind, utilize your productivity tools, and start each day off right.

The Morning Mind Clear is powerful, but it won’t prevent you from being inundated with interruptions, emails, new projects, and meeting requests by lunchtime.

That’s when ClearMind Habit 2 saves the day…        The “3C” Lifestyle.

The 3C Lifestyle keeps you clear, focused, and productive even under chaotic and fast-changing circumstances. Like in our physical health, success in organization and productivity results from a consistent lifestyle rather than from an isolated event.

Habit Three:     The Weekly Review

The Weekly Review serves as a productivity and effectiveness checkup.

Each week you will refine your goals, projects, and actions. You will observe what is working and what is not.

Like the Morning Mind Clear, the work to be done in your Weekly Review will vary based on your personality and specific goals. And once your Weekly Review is designed for your unique needs it should be completed consistently each and every week.

“I know the price of success: dedication, hard work, and an unremitting devotion to the things you want to see happen.”

Frank Lloyd Wright

The ClearMind Tools

In this lesson you will learn the basic set of tools that will enable you to consistently complete meaningful work.

The ClearMind Tools are…

1)    The Personal Planner

2)    The Clutter-Control System

3)    The Scoreboard

Your personal planner is comprised of 5 elements…

1)    Goals

2)    Projects

3)    Contacts

4)    Calendar

5)    Tasks

You’ll trust this personal planning system for all your commitments and reminders. As the job of “remembering” is turned over to the planner you’ll feel a tremendous boost in your energy, creativity, and focus.

The second ClearMind tool is your Clutter-Control System.

So many of us have way too much “stuff” in our office and in our head.

By “stuff” I mean ambiguous piles of paper, cluttered thinking, half-formed decisions, and vague projects. In fact, you can think of clutter simply as delayed decisions. We’ll convert that annoying and frustrating “stuff” into clear action and organized information.

The third essential ClearMind tool is your Scoreboard. We build a crystal-clear system of accountability and support that is guaranteed to keep you energized, focused, and growing.

With the 3 ClearMind Tools in place you will notice a dramatic increase in your productivity and your success.

“Only with the tools of production in their own hands could the workers ever hope to control their own lives and receive the fruits of their labor.”
Ella R. Bloor