Working Smart

Using Keyboard Shortcuts to Improve Your Productivity

I have never met anyone really productive who relied on the mouse. It’s just too inefficient. For example, consider the following two methods for saving a file in Microsoft Word. Imagine you’re typing a report. You realize you need to save your file.

Approach 1: You take your hand off the keyboard, grab your mouse, move the cursor to the File menu, move the cursor down to the Save menu item and then click on the mouse button. Your workflow is interrupted and it takes you a few minutes to get back in “the Zone.”

Approach 2: You simply press ⌘S on the Mac or Ctrl-S on the PC and keep working. This takes a fraction of the time and has the added advantage of not interrupting your workflow. And, because it is so easy, you do it every time you pause to think. This ensures that you are frequently saving your work in the event your computer crashes.

Which makes more sense? It’s pretty obvious, isn’t it. Yet few people take the time to really learn the standard operating system shortcuts (Mac or Windows). If you haven’t learned these already, I would urge you to do so. Over time, you will see a major boost in your productivity.

But in this post, I want to focus on creating keyboard shortcuts for common, non-operating system tasks. Whether you are using Microsoft Entourage or Outlook, the concept is the same. If you are going to use either one as your workflow “dashboard,” you can vastly increase your productivity by creating one-keystroke shortcuts to create new email messages, tasks, events, and notes. To do this, you need a third-party macro processor. This software will allow you to perform a series of actions with a single keystroke.

When I had a Windows machine, I used Keyboard Launchpad from Stardock Systems. It’s still only $9.95—a tremendous bargain. However, since switching to the Mac, I am using iKey from Scripts Software. Unfortunately, it is $30.00, but it is still much cheaper than QuicKeys, which is $79.95. (I used Keyboard Maestro for a while. It was only $20.00, but I found it buggy. It didn’t always work reliably. I’ve been using iKey for a few months and love it.)

Regardless of which program you use, here are some keyboard shortcuts I have found helpful. Keep in mind that on the Mac, ⇧ refers to the shift key, ⌃ refers to the Ctrl key, ⌥ refers to the Alt or Option key, and ⌘ refers to the Apple or command key.

Keystroke	Actions
⌥⌘c	Switch to Entourage from whatever application you are currently in. Select the File | New | Task command.
⌥⌘e	Switch to Entourage from whatever application you are currently in. Select the File | New | Calendar Event command.
⌥⌘k	Switch to Entourage from whatever application you are currently in. Select the File | New | Task command.
⌥⌘m	Switch to Entourage from whatever application you are currently in. Select the File| New | Mail Message command.
⌥⌘n	Switch to Entourage from whatever application you are currently in. Select the File | New | Note command.

The beauty of these shortcuts is that they allow you to get ideas out of your mind and into the appropriate receptacle (e.g., task list, calendar, note, etc.) as quickly as possible with the least amount of interruption to your workflow.

In addition to these, within Entourage, I have also created a keyboard shortcut for filing the current message in my Archive folder. I do not try to file messages into a more specific folder as some people do. For me, this adds unnecessary complexity to my email processing. I want to focus on deciding what action to take with the message and then filing it in a common folder, so I can always work toward maintaining an empty email inbox.

If you have to also decide what folder to file the message in, you cut your productivity in half. And, honestly, I don’t think it speeds up the retrieval process appreciably. Instead, I let Spotlight do the heavy lifting. (If you are using Outlook on the PC, I recommend Lookout, a small add-in that plugs into Outlook and makes searching within messages a snap.) So, I just dump every message in an Archive folder and leave it at that. This enables me to fly through my email.

In order to set up such a shortcut in Entourage, first make sure you have a folder named “Archive” under your inbox. Then select a message. It doesn’t matter which one. Select Message | Move To. If you see the name of your folder, write down the exact name. For example, mine is “Archive (mhyatt)”. The “mhyatt” part indicates that the folder is actually a subfolder in my main Exchange mailbox.

If you don’t see the name of your folder, then select Choose Folder..., then select your folder. Press the Move key. This will actually move the message, so you may want to retrieve it manually and place it back in your inbox. Then re-read the last paragraph and get the exact name of the folder.

Okay, now you are ready to create the shortcut. Go to System Preferences | Keyboard & Mouse | Keyboard Shortcuts. Click on the + button, then select Microsoft Entourage as the Application. Then enter the exact name of your Archive folder in the Menu Title field. Finally, enter the keystroke combination you want to use in the Keyboard Shortcut field. Press OK. That’s it.

Now quit Entourage and relaunch it. You should now be able to use your shortcut to move messages to your Archive folder with a single keystroke. You’ll be surprised at how much this speeds up your workflow.

This is just a start. Pay attention to how you work. Whenever you find yourself doing the same thing over and over, automate it with a single keyboard shortcut. This will keep you focused on the work at hand, and free your mind up for more creative problem-solving.

Technorati Tags: entourage, gtd, mac, productivity, workflow

What’s the Secret to Your Success?

As a CEO, I get asked this a lot. And, I'm always a little embarrassed by it. For the most part, I get the question from people who are in their twenties. They want to know “the secret path to the top.”

This past weekend, I received an email from one of my readers. He started, “I have an MBA, but I must have missed the course on Fast-Tracking My Career. If you had to boil it down to one thing, Mr. Hyatt, what would you recommend to a young, aspiring person such as myself?”

I'm not sure I could boil it down to one thing. Life isn’t usually that simple. But if I really, really had to boil it down to one thing, I would say this: responsiveness.

So many people I meet are unresponsive. They don’t return their phone calls promptly. They don’t answer their emails quickly. They don’t complete their assignments on time. They promise to do something and never follow through. They have to be reminded, prodded, and nagged. This behavior creates work for everyone else and eats into their own productivity. Sadly, they seem oblivious to it.

When I was a kid, we used to play “Tag.” The objective was simple: keep from becoming “It.” If someone tagged you (touched you), you became “it” until you tagged someone else. Whoever was “it” when the game ended, lost.

Business is very similar. People “tag” us in countless ways every day. They place calls. They send emails. They mention something to us in a meeting. Suddenly, we are “it.” And, just like the game, if you stay “it” too long, you lose. The only winning strategy is to respond quickly and make someone else “it.”

Reality is that we live in an “instant world.” People want instant results. They don’t want to wait. And if they have to wait on you, their frustration and resentment grows. They begin to see you as an obstacle to getting their work done. If that happens, it will begin to impact your reputation. Pretty soon people start saying, “I can never get a timely response from him,” or “When I send her an email, I feel like it goes into a black hole,” or worse, your colleagues just roll their eyes and sigh at the mention of your name.

Yet, these are the very people who will push you up or pull you down. You cannot succeed without the support of your peers and subordinates. (Go back and re-read that sentence again.)

As I was making my way to the top, my former boss, Sam Moore, used to ask everyone I worked with, “What’s it like to work with Mike?” “How’s he really doing?” “Do you think he could take on more responsibility?” In responding to him, all they had was their experience with me. If I hadn’t been responsive to them, how do you think they would have responded to his questions? “More responsibility? Are you kidding me? He can’t handle what he has now!” It wouldn’t take too many candid responses like that to tank my career.

And yet this happens to people all the time. I can’t tell you how many meetings I have sat in where people are complaining about someone else’s work habits. “He always waits until the last minute.” “She never plans ahead.” “I can never get him to respond to my emails.” You may think that the people who are making these comments are too far down the food chain to matter. I can assure you they aren’t. They have a way of bubbling to the top where the decisions about your career are made.

The truth is, you are building your reputation—your brand—one response at a time. People are shaping their view of you by how you respond to them. If you are slow, they assume you are incompetent and over your head. If you respond quickly, they assume you are competent and on top of your work. Their perception, whether you realize it or not, will determine how fast your career advances and how high you go. You can’t afford to be unresponsive. It is a career-killer.

My basic rule is this: respond immediately unless there is a good reason to wait. Obviously, this isn’t always possible, especially since I spend so much time in meetings. Nevertheless, I rarely let messages sit longer than a day. Twenty-four hours is the outside edge. If you can’t respond now, then at least acknowledge that you have received the message: “I received your message. I don’t have time to give it the attention it deserves right now, but you can expect to hear from me before the end of the day tomorrow.”

The great thing about being responsive is that it will quickly differentiate you from your peers. People love doing business with responsive people. Nothing will advance your career faster than this.

Technorati Tags: email, gtd, planning, productivity, workflow

Unsubscribe Me!

I don’t know about you, but I receive way more email than I like. This past weekend, I realized that about 20 percent of it comes from email newsletters and companies I’ve done business with in the past. Half of it, I don’t recall opting into—even legitimate companies. Most of it is a complete waste of my time. Worse, much of it is downright annoying. In the words of David Allen, it consumes “psychic ram.”

These messages are not exactly spam, so my spam blocker doesn’t filter them out. So, in the past, I have simply deleted these unwanted messages as I receive them. But as the volume has increased, I have decided I must get more aggressive. I am now scrolling to the end of each message and clicking on the “Unsubscribe” link. Sure it takes a few more seconds, but it is far more satisfying than merely hitting the delete key. Hopefully, I will only have to do this once and thereby incrementally reduce the clutter in my life. I am looking forward to a leaner, meaner inbox!

Technorati Tags: clutter, entourage, productivity, email

Automated Email Follow-up

In my experience as a manager, delegation is the easy part. Follow-up is the hard part. This is particularly true when it comes to e-mail.

I’m afraid that in the race to get through the scores of messages that daily hit our inbox, we hit the proverbial ball over the net, but never really follow-up to see what happened when the ball arrives in the other person’s court. Was it hit back? Was it tossed to someone else? Or, did it just hit the court and lay there with a hundred other balls. If it was the latter, then you really didn’t accomplish anything.

Delegation is a method for managers to get more work done. But if we don’t follow-up, we’ve only deceived ourselves, thinking that more work is getting done. The only way to really change this is to create a culture of follow-up (more about that in a future post) and be relentless with it.

One of the basic questions you have to ask as you go through your e-mail is whether or not this item requires an action. Sometimes, you will determine that you are the right person to take the next action. Often, you will determine that someone else is.

Technorati Tags: davidallen, gtd, productivity, workflow

Let’s assume it’s the latter. You forward the e-mail to the appropriate person and ask them to follow-up. But here’s where the system breaks down. We all know that some people are better at follow-up than others. With a few people, I can check it off my list (and dump it from my mind) when I make the assignment. But for all others, I either have to write the assignment down somewhere and then review this list regularly or I have to just trust that they will follow-up and hope for the best. As someone once told me, “hope is not a strategy.”

I have to admit, I am not too good at writing down every assignment. More often than I would like to admit, I hope people will follow-through, but I don’t loop back around to ensure that they did. Shame on me. Customers, fellow-employees, vendors don’t like to hear, “Well, I passed the buck to Fred. You'll have to check with him.” Instead, they are dying for someone to take full responsibility and follow through to the end. They want to hear your version of the Harry Truman quote, “The buck stops here.”

So how can we make it easier to follow-up on assignment that we delegate via e-mail? One option is to buy David Allen's Getting Things Done Outlook Add-In. If you use Outlook, this is worth taking a look at. It places a follow-up button onto every e-mail message. It’s very cool. When I was a Windows user, I found it indispensable. But it also does a lot of things that may make it difficult to justify the $69.95 cost. And, of course, if you are a Mac user, you are completely out of luck.

I would like to outline a solution that is very simple—and, best of all, free. Here’s how it works:

1. Create a free e-mail account at any one of the free services. I use Google's GMail. But there are many others available, including Yahoo, Mail.com, and Excite.
   
   
2. Set up an email address like “waitingfor.abc@gmail.com,” where the “abc” portion is your initials or some other identifier. If you have read David Allen’s book, you know that he recommends “Waiting For” as a category of items you use to list the projects that are in someone else’s court. You are “waiting for” them to do something, before you can proceed.
   
   
3. Set up your new account in your e-mail client. This will be different for each e-mail client, but most of these free e-mail services will walk you through the process.
   
   
4. Now create a folder under your inbox called “Waiting For.” For example, here’s how my inbox folder structure currently looks:
   
   



5. Now create a simple email rule that redirects all the e-mail coming from your “waitingfor” account to to the “Waiting For” folder. This process will be different, depending on the e-mail client you are using.

Okay, you’re ready to go. Now, whenever you want to track an assignment that you are delegating via e-mail, just enter your “waitingfor” e-mail address in the BCC field. (Since most e-mail software packages sport an auto-fill feature, you can generally do this with a few keystrokes.) Now, send your e-mail. If everything is set up correctly, your e-mail will go out from your main account and you will receive back an e-mail from your new “waitingfor” account. Your email rule will automatically file it in your “Waiting For” folder.

Now, during your weekly review (you are doing a “weekly review” aren't you?), you simply go to the Waiting For folder and review the assignments you have made. When the item has been completed to your satisfaction, you can drag the message to your e-mail archive. That’s all there is to it. Simple, elegant, and free.

A Better To-Do List

I don’t often devote an entire blog post to someone else’s blog, but this is an exception. One of my favorite bloggers is Merlin Mann at 43Folders. He’s the one that got me into using a Moleskine notebook. He’s also a Mac user and an expert at applying the workflow management principles articulated by David Allen in Getting Things Done.

Today, he wrote the first article in a two-part series, entitled Building a Smarter To-Do List. This should be required reading for everyone in the workplace. I continue to be amazed at the number of people who don’t know how to intelligently manage their workflow. But, then again, where is this kind of thing taught?

The article is very, very basic, but invaluable. I strongly urge you to stop what you are doing now (you’re just surfing, right?) and go read the article. Even as a seasoned GTD practitioner, I learned a number of things. I am eagerly awaiting the second installment tomorrow.

Technorati Tags: davidallen, gtd, planning, workflow, productivity, todo, todolists

Recovering the Lost Art of Note-Taking

Note: The latest version of this post is here on my current blog, From Where I Sit.

I spend most of my work-life in meetings. Note-taking is a survival skill. Yet, I am surprised at how few people bother to take notes in meetings. Those who do sometimes express frustration at how ineffective the exercise seems to be. In this post, I’d like to expound on why I think you should take notes in meetings and then offer a few suggestions on how to do it better.

1. Note-taking enables you to stay engaged. The real benefit is not what happens after the meeting but during the meeting itself. If I don’t take notes, my mind wanders. I daydream. As they say, “the lights are on, but no one is home.” However, when I take notes, I find that I stay more alert, focused, and actively involved. My contribution to the meeting is thus more likely to add value to the topic under discussion. This is why I take notes even if someone is officially taking minutes.

2. Note-taking provides a mechanism for capturing your ideas, questions, and commitments. Not everything can be resolved in the meeting. Some ideas require incubation. Questions require further research. Commitments require follow-up that cannot be done until after the meeting. Regardless, note-taking provides a way to capture the content of the meeting, so that I can processes it after the meeting.


3. Note-taking communicates the right things to the other attendees. When someone takes notes, it communicates to everyone else that they are actively listening. It also communicates that what others are saying is important—it is worth making the effort to record their insights. If you are in a leadership position, it also subtly establishes accountability. Your people think, If the boss is writing it down, he probably intends to follow-up. I better pay attention. As a leader, your example speaks volumes. If you take notes, your people will likely take notes. If you don’t, it is likely they won’t.

But how can you more effectively take notes? Let me offer four suggestions:

1. Use a journal-formatted notebook. If you have something else that is working, great. Stick with it. If not, I recommend one of the Moleskine notebooks. The name (officially pronounced mol-a-skeen-a, although it can vary) comes from the French spelling of ‘moleskin,’ which the oilcloth covering resembles. I use the Large Ruled Journal and never go anywhere without it.


2. Keep your meeting notes as a running journal. I give each new meeting (or topic) its own heading, along with the current date. The notes run continuously until I fill up the journal. Then I begin a new one.


3. Use symbols so you can quickly scan your notes later. I indent my notes from the left edge of the paper about half an inch. This allows me to put my symbols in the left margin. I use four:


1. If an item is particularly important or insightful, I put a star next to it.


2. If an item requires further research or resolution, I put a question mark next to it.


3. If an item requires follow-up, I put a ballot box (open square) next to it. When the item is completed, I check it off.


4. If I have assigned a follow-up item to someone, I put an open circle next to it (similar to the ballot box but a circle rather than a square). In the notes, I indicate who is responsible. When the item is completed, I check it off.


4. Schedule time to review your notes. This is the secret. I scan my notes immediately after the meeting if possible. If that is not possible, then I do it at the end of my workday. If I miss several days, I do it during my weekly review. Regardless, I take action on those items that I can do in less than two-minutes. Those that will take longer I enter into Entourage (or Outlook for you PC users) either as a task or an appointment.

That’s all there is to it. If you have additional suggestions, I would love to hear from you.

Goal-Setting: The 90-Day Challenge

It’s that time of year again. New Year’s resolutions, diets, exercise—and goal-setting. I continue to be surprised at how few people take time to write down their goals. Despite the fact that numerous studies have shown that there is a direct correlation between goal-setting and success, few people seem to ever get around to it.

I have been setting goals in one form or another for years. Every now and then, I stumble across an old list of goals. I am always fascinated by how many of the things I write down come to pass. And, I must confess, it often happens despite the fact that I do nothing more than write it down. The magic of this is all explained in a very compelling book by Henriette Klauser called Write It Down, Make It Happen. Even if you don’t create an action plan for each goal and work your plan, there is tremendous power in simply identifying what you want and focusing some thought on the outcome.

For example, at the beginning of 1997, I wrote down this goal: “Write a a New York Times bestselling book.” Now understand: at that time I had never written a book. I had a book idea, but that’s all I had. Though I had worked in the publishing industry my whole career, I was scared to death at the thought of actually trying to write an entire book. Nevertheless, I wrote it down and took a deep breath.

To my surprise, I signed a book contract in September and turned in my manuscript to the publisher by the end of the calendar year. No, I didn’t hit the New York Times list by the end of the year. But I did write a book that would hit the Times list the next year.

The fact is that my manuscript almost didn’t get published. Six weeks before the book was to be printed, the publisher called to tell me he was afraid he was going to have to cancel its publication. He simply couldn’t sell it. (Books are pre-sold to retailers before they are ever published.) The major retailers just weren’t interested. I did my best to convince him it would work. Sure enough, he decided to take a gamble and went ahead with a small print run.

The publicist they assigned to me started booking me on radio talk shows. Two months after it’s publication—and about 150 interviews later—The Millennium Bug, my first book, hit the New York Times Business Bestseller List where it stayed for over seven months. And it all began by writing down a goal to make it happen.

In our company, we have adopted 90–Day Objectives as a way of life. All of our divisional leaders are required to submit their goals. We require a formal progress report each month. It’s not complex or very sophisticated. But I believe it has gone a long way toward creating a focused and disciplined organization that produces consistent results.

In case you never received any instruction on this simple but important skill, I’d like to offer some pointers. First, why prepare 90-Day Objectives? Four reasons: 

1. To identify what you want to accomplish.
2. To help you focus on what matters most.
3. To make sure that you and your supervisor are in agreement regarding your priorities.
4. To provide you with accountability.

As an example, here are my work objectives for the current quarter. (I also maintain a list of personal objectives.)

By March 31, with God’s help, I will ...

1. Achieve quarterly revenues of $XX.X million.
2. Earn XX¢ per share for the quarter.
3. Finalize the Strategic Plan and present it to our Leadership Team.
4. Complete the FY 06 Annual Plan and secure Board approval.
5. Sign XXXX XXXXXXX to a new five-book contract.
6. Sign XXXX XXXXXX to a three-book contract.
7. Make two institutional investor trips.

(Note: Items with XXXs are specific numbers and names on my actual list.)

Let me point out several important things about these objectives that you should emulate in yours.

• They are few in number. Productivity studies show that you really can't focus on more than 5-7 items at any one time. Don’t try to impress your supervisor or yourself with a long list of objectives. Also, please don’t include sections with several objectives under each section. This is a recipe for losing focus and accomplishing very little. Instead, focus on a handful of objectives that you can almost repeat from memory. Mine fit on one 3" x 5" card. I put my work objectives on one side and my personal objectives on the other.
  
  
• They are action-oriented. In order for you to act on your objective, it must be actionable. Notice that each objective begins with a verb (e.g., “Achieve,” “Finalize,” “Complete,” etc.).
  
  
• They are measurable. You should be able to sit down with your supervisor in 90 days and determine whether or not you accomplished the objective. Remember: you can’t manage what you don’t measure.
  
  
• They are attainable. Don’t attempt to do more than you can realistically accomplish in 90 days. This may be debatable, but, hopefully, over time, you will become more and more realistic while still pushing yourself to stretch.
  
  
• They are time-bound. Since these are 90-day objectives, you should began by asking yourself the question, What do I want to accomplish by March 31? or whatever the time horizon is.
  
  
• They are prioritized. Your most important objective should go at the top of the list. Your second most important objective should go next and so on.

I look at this list every morning and try to populate my Daily Task List with actions that will move me closer to attaining my objectives. Every day, I try to identify at least one “next action” and do it. If you have never done this before, you won’t believe the focus that this will bring to your life. I also pray over each objective. I know my limitations and am very much aware that I can’t accomplish what I believe I am supposed to do without God’s help.

If you have never tried this before, I want to challenge you to give it a shot. In fact, I double-dog dare you. Call it “The 90–Day Challenge.” Write your goals down, and make them happen. Please let me know how it goes. If you want a little accountability, post your goals in the comments section below.

NetCentrics: A Great Tech Support Experience

Over the last 18 months or so, I have become completely dependent on NetCentrics’ Getting Things Done Outlook Add-In. It automates the implementation of David Allen’s system and turns Microsoft Outlook into a GTD processing machine. (NetCentrics makes available a 30–day trial version, so you can test it yourself before buying.)

Several weeks ago, I had a problem with my Toshiba M205, so my IT department swapped it out with an identical machine. Naturally, I still had to migrate all my software, settings, and tweaks to the new machine. Of course, this is never as easy as it should be. It took me about a day to get it all done.

However, no matter what I did, I could not get the GTD Outlook Add-In to work. It wouldn’t even show up in Outlook. I uninstalled, re-installed, and tried every trick I knew. Nothing seemed to work. So, I broke down and sent an e-mail to NetCentrics Tech Support. I almost immediately received an e-mail from Lisa Allen, who promised to help me resolve the problem. As it turned out, I had two copies of another add-in referenced in my registry.

Lisa and I couldn’t figure it out, so she called in Glen Bell, one of the NetCentrics developers. Glen worked with me tirelessly over a three-day period. He called me several times and stayed with me until the problem was resolved. I’m happy to report that it is once again working as advertised. I am a happy camper and a very satisfied customer.

This was undoubtedly one of the most positive tech support experiences I have ever had. Lisa and Glen gave me personal attention, worked with me until the problem was resolved, and didn’t make me feel like an idiot in the process. Kudos to NetCentrics. This is how tech support should be done!

“While You Were Out” Outlook Addin

Sometimes I am amazed at what software developers omit in their software. For example, you would think that Outlook would offer a simple way for a user to take a phone message. Sure, you can just send an e-mail. Or, if you are trying to implement David Allen’s Getting Things Done system, you can have your assistant enter a task and assign it to the “@Calls” category, so it shows up in your Outlook task list.

This latter is the approach I used to take, until I realized I was missing important messages. In the hustle and bustle of the daily grind, I sometimes wouldn’t get a chance to check my task list for several hours. What I really wanted was both: I wanted an e-mail notification that I had received a message, and, if I needed to return the call, I wanted a task entered into my Outlook task list. This sounded like the perfect opportunity for me to write a simple Outlook VBA program to make this easy on my assistant and easy on me. (I know, I know, the President of a company shouldn’t be writing code, but I consider it a hobby and do it on my own time!)

The result is what I call “While You Were Out” (“WYWO” for short). It provides the user with the opportunity to take a message, capture all the relevant information, and send it on to the intended recipient. It’s written in VBA, which means there’s not an elegant way to deploy it. As a result, I will have to give you detailed instructions for installing it and getting it running. I will do that at the end of this post. But first, let me go over a few of the features, so you can make sure this is something you want to take the time to install.

Features

When you install WYWO, you will copy a custom button image to an Outlook toolbar and attach the VBA program to it. My toolbar looks like this:

When you click on the icon, you get a dialog box that looks like this:

Hopefully, most of the fields are self-explanatory. I was able to get the two assistants in our executive office running on it with about two minutes of explanation. However, let me point out a few of the features:

• The Date field uses the standard drop-down calendar. The Time field also uses this, but it is formatted to display the time. Both fields default to the current date and time.
  
  
• The To field can be set to a default value, using the Settings button at the bottom of the form. (More about that in a minute.) You can either manually enter a name in the Outlook format or an e-mail address. Alternatively, you can click on the To… button (just like the Outlook e-mail message form) and you will get a Select a Recipient dialog box with all your Outlook contacts. If you make a selection, the To field will be filled with your selected value. The CC field works the same way.
  
  
• The Type field has three possible values: “Voice Mail,” “Live Call” (you actually talked with the caller) and “Came By” (referring to a drop-in visitor). You can select a default value in the Settings dialog.
  
  
• The Urgency field also has three possible values: “Normal,” “High,” and “Low.” The program uses your selection to set the Importance level of both the e-mail message you send to the recipient and the (optional) task you create.
  
  
• The Caller and the Company fields are self-explanatory. The Phone field is set up to automatically format the field. Just enter the raw numbers without entering any parenthesis or hyphens. When you exit the field, the program will automatically format it. You can enter a default Area Code and phone Prefix in the Settings dialog. (This is a good thing to do the first time you use the program.) Once you do that, if you enter a four-digit number, the program will automatically add the default area code and prefix. If you enter a seven-digit number, the program will automatically add the default area code. If you begin the number with the international prefix of “011,” the program will leave the number unformatted. The Ext field is optional and is for a phone extension.
  
  
• The Action You Have Taken or Will Take group both encourages the user to take an action regarding the call (as opposed to just passing on the message) and also gives them the opportunity to tell you exactly what they have done. The Notes field provides them with additional space to elaborate if necessary.
  
  
• The Action Recipient Needs to Take gives the user an opportunity to explicitly specify what action is required by the recipient. And, again, the Notes field provides the user with additional space to elaborate. In the event that the user selects the option, “You must speak personally with the caller,” the program also creates an Outlook task for the recipient. (The recipient must have access to the recipient’s task folder for this to work; otherwise, the program will generate an error. However, the program will trap this, so it doesn’t crash. The user will be warned, and the task will not be created. The e-mail will be sent as usual.) This can also be adjusted in the Settings dialog box.

When the user clicks on the Send button, the program builds an e-mail message with all the relevant data and sends it to the user. As I mentioned in the last bullet above, the program also creates an Outlook task if the recipient must personally return the call. A default category for the task can also be set in the Settings dialog box (by default it is the GTD standard, “@Calls”).

The tag on the subject line—“WYWO”—allows you to create an e-mail rule that will be triggered by these messages. For example, you could play a specific sound or display a visual alert when you receive a WYWO message. If your assistant is also receiving copies (e.g., as a CC recipient), he or she could create a rule that will automatically move the message to a “Phone Log” folder. In addition, if necessary, the program generates an Outlook Task like the following one under the @Calls category:

The contents of the WYWO Notes field are also copied to the Notes field in the Outlook Task. I won’t go over the Settings dialog; I think it is self-explanatory.

Installation

Unfortunately, as I mentioned previously, there’s not an easy way to deploy a VBA program. Before you go through this process, let me make a little disclaimer:

This program was developed on Windows XP and Outlook 2003. I have not tested it on earlier versions of Windows or Outlook. Also, I consider this “alpha” software. It has not yet been beta-tested. If you use this program, consider yourself a “guinea pig.” You may find significant bugs. (Please report them to me. Before you do, see the bottom of this article for any updates.) Therefore, it may not work or may not work as expected. If you install and use this program, you do so at your own risk! I accept no responsibility for any damages or lost time you experience as a result of installing this program and using it. You’re on your own.

So, with that aside, here are the step-by-step installation instructions:

1. Download and install Redemption. You can find it here. This program allows WYWO avoid the constant Outlook security prompts when another program is trying to access Outlook e-mail. WYWO will not work without this module installed. Unzip the downloaded files into c:\Program Files\Redemption and double-click on the Install.exe file. This will automatically install Redemption.dll on your computer.
   
   
2. Download “While You Were Out.”You can find it here. Unzip the downloaded files into c:\Program Files\WYWO.
   
   
3. Load Microsoft Outlook. Again, as a reminder, I have only tested this program on Outlook 2003. Once Outlook is loaded, press Alt-F11 to bring up the Visual Basic Editor.
   
   
4. Import the WYWO components. On the upper left-hand side of the screen, you should see a Project window that looks similar to this:
   



Select File | Import File (or press Ctrl-M). Browse to the c:\Program Files\WYWO folder and then import frmAbout.frm, frmSettings.frm, frmWhileYouWereOut.frm, and WhileYouWereOut.bas. Now save the VBA Project file by selecting File | Save VBAProject.OTM or by pressing Ctrl-S. Now close the Visual Basic Editor by selecting File | Close and Return to Microsoft Office Outlook or press Alt-Q.



5. Copy the WYWO button image to the Windows clipboard. You will need this for the next step. You can do this by opening Microsoft Paint (choose Start | All Programs | Accessories | Paint). Open the Toolbar.ico file. It should be located in your c:\Program Files\WYWO folder. Now choose Edit | Select All and then Edit | Copy. This will put the button image on the Windows clipboard. You can now close Paint.
   
   
6. Install a macro button to run the WYWO program. Select Tools | Customize. This should bring up the Customize dialog box. Now click on the Commands tab. Click on the Macros category in the Categories list box. You should now be looking at a screen similar to this:
   
   
   
   Now click on the macro that is named “DisplayWhileYouWereOut.” Note that this may or may not be proceeded by the word “Project1” (as above). Now drag the macro to the toolbar. It doesn’t matter where you place it; you can put it anywhere you want. (As you can see from the screen shot at the beginning of this article, I placed mine just to the right of the Forward button.) Now right-click on the button itself. You should get a context menu that looks similar to this:
   
   
   
   In the Name field, replace the name of the macro with “While You Were Out.” This will become a “tool tip” when you later point at the button with the mouse. Now click on Paste Button Image. This will replace the default button image with the WYWO button image. Select Default Style, which will eliminate the text next to the button. Now close the Customize dialog box by clicking on the Close button. You’re done!

The first time you run the macro, you may get an Outlook Security warning. If so, follow the prompts to indicate that “Michael S. Hyatt” is a “Trusted Publisher.” (I have digitally signed the macro for this purpose.) Also, the first time you run the program, click on the Settings command button and enter your default values. Hopefully, you will find this program useful. If you like to dabble in writing VBA code, I think you will find the source code particularly interesting. I’m not a professional programmer, but perhaps you can learn from my work. I have tried to thoroughly document the code, so that you can more easily understand it.

Update: Some users have reported an error message to the effect that the “DTPCallDate variable is not defined.” If you get this message it is because an ActiveX control that the program uses is not installed on your system. Here’s how to install it:

1. Make sure that Outlook is not running. Close it down if necessary.
   
   
2. Download the control by clicking on this link: MSCOMCT2.OCX.
   
   
3. Save the file to your c:\windows\system32 folder.
   
   
4. Register the file in Windows by clicking Start | Run. In the Open field, type “regsvr32 c:\windows\system32\mscomct2.ocx” (without the quote marks). You should get a message that says, “DLLRegisterServer in c:\windows\system32\mscomct2.ocx succeeded.”

Now start Outlook and try to run WYWO again.

My Favorite GTD Resources

If you’ve read Getting Things Done by David Allen, you may be interested to know about some of the resources available to help you implement his system. (If you haven’t read his book, stop reading this article, go to Amazon, and order a copy. This is the single best resource you can read to improve your productivity.)

Here are a few of my favorite resources:

• GTD Blog Zone. This is a brand new blog dedicated to GTD practitioners. It contains links to other GTD blogs, helpful GTD articles and resources, and must-have tools. This is a great place to start, once you’ve read David’s book. I serve as a contributing editor.
  
  
• GTD Discussion Forum. This is a very active discussion group, dedicated to helping people implement the GTD system. My favorite forum is called “Gear, Gadgets, Software, and Toys.” (Okay, I’m a self-confessed gadget-guy.) It contains excellent reviews and recommendations from other users.
  
  
• GTD ... Fast! (Audio Program). This is David delivering the content of his book in a seminar setting. It costs $89.95 for the CDs. It is a great way to review the content and drill it into your brain in a different way than you get from the book. If you are a department supervisor, this is a great investment to share with your team.
  
  
• GTD Outlook Add-in. This is an Outlook add-in created by Netcentrics to help you implement David Allen’s system from within Outlook. It automates all the basic actions involved in working through your inbox. The best feature, in my opinion, is the “Send and Delegate” button. This enables you to e-mail an assignment to someone and then track it on your @WaitingFor list. You can download a 30-day trial for free.
  
  
• GTD, Productively. This site is designed to help lawyers implement GTD in their practice. However, it’s also a great resource for non-lawyers. I’ve found some really interesting insights here that I haven’t found anywhere else.
  
  
• Implementing David Allen’s Workflow Processing Using Microsoft Outlook. I found David’s book very helpful. However, the rubber didn’t really meet the road until I read this “white paper.” The article is a little pricey—$30 for thirty-seven pages—but, in my humble opinion, it would be a bargain at twice the price. If Outlook is one of your primary software tools, then this article will do more to help you implement GTD than anything else you can do.
  
  
• Official David Allen Website. This is the “mother ship” for GTDers. You’ll find some interesting articles and resources (some of which I have noted above). My favorite section is the Coach’s Corner where David’s certified coaches share their insight and tips for implementing the GTD system.

If you have other resources that you have found helpful, please bring them to my attention. If I agree with your assessment, I’ll update this article.