Are you like me, living a digital lifestyle from morning to night? Does a computer crash or losing your phone put you into cardiac arrest? I’ve been working with my old friend Linda Ferguson on optimizing the technology we use and asked her to write a series of newsletters for you on the best and brightest ways to prosper in spite of (or because of) technology!

THE PROMISE – TECHNOLOGY WILL SOLVE IT ALL

  by Linda Ferguson

Remember the promise of a ‘paperless office” The idea that with a computer and the ability to work online, things would be simpler, faster, less confusing and give you LOADS of loafing time as a result?

And did it happen?

Here’s a picture. You wake up in the morning and before you even get out of bed you pick up your phone to check your email, text messages, social media and anything else that have changed since the last time you checked (which was just before going to bed). You see 13 new emails, 4 texts, 35 new facebook updates, some calendar alerts and you KNOW that you have alist of vital items on your BP that you only got part way into just waiting for you to down at your desk. And a slight feeling of panic sets in.

Does this sound a little familiar? This is how my daily routine typically goes and many friends have similar ones. We’re all now living a digital lifestyle and we are not having the fun we envisioned.

THE BACK STORY

Knowing it’s not a good idea to check my phone before my morning routine because I too easily get sidetracked is a given, and I’ve tried in the past to not do it, not be so connected all the time.

For a little while I succeed but then…I know a client is sending something important, one of my children in a different time zone calls me and says to expect a text soon, something…and guess what? I’m back to my old digital bad habits of checking anxiously to see what’s new, what’s changed. Whatever…….

And so, rather than resist I decided to get more efficient with this connected technology, to manage it and my time better, and that is the subject matter of this article.

Today it is just too easy to stay connected to everything and to get an answer to any random question I might have – just an arm’s length away whenever I need it. And I’m so happy I can do that. Truly a blessing.

BLESSING OR CURSE?

Yes, technology is such a blessing and such a curse.

And it is also a great source of frustration!! Don’t you agree? Updates, viruses, new technology, old technology, feeling you are not current because you’re not on (fill in the blank – Facebook, Instagram, Periscope, LinkedIn, etc. etc. etc.) Fear of missing something and missing out.

At work I have dozens of software programs that I use to manage my own online businesses and those of my clients. I have virtual assistants that have offices far away and as part of our process of working together I have to train them in how to use the programs and my systems so the work can get done.

And, of course, software gets updated frequently as does the equipment used to run the software. Add to that the new software and apps coming out that can replace some of the old stuff in a better way. Anything new has a learning curve, sometimes a pretty steep one.

Well, my day is not adding hours for me to do more stuff, and yet in using technology to do business, more stuff gets added to my day whether I like it or not.

SUCCESSFUL FORMULA

So when I do decide it is time to get something new (phone, computer, software, technology) it is more than just plunking down my credit card for the “amazing benefits” this new thing will bring me as soon as I buy it. I have other things to consider too:
1. I first have to choose a solution to address a problem I have looking at everything available, checking reviews, prices and features of the thing.
2. Once I’ve chosen and paid I have to learn all about it and this sometimes involves getting tech support involved to help get it set up and running properly.
3. Then I have to teach my assistants and sometimes my clients how to use the same software or technology.
4. Then I have to integrate it fully into my workflow and see how it fits and hope all the time and money I’ve just invested is worth the time and money I’ve just invested!

Trust me when I say digital overwhelm hit me a long time ago. Were it not for my decision to manage it, I would not have survived. And keeping it under control is an ongoing thing.

Recently David Sanders and I started working on a single project that showed required a blend of our unique talents. I’ve long admired David for his skill in surveys and the sage wisdom he imparts as a seasoned CEO, experienced in growing businesses and helping others do the same. On top of that he is unflaggingly uptone, always smiling and is easy to work with. Plus he gets things done!!!! I just love the guy. So we agreed to do just one project together to see how we liked it and to see if working together was a good enough experience to take on a second project.

And so we began project 1 (and we like working together very much).

THE PROBLEM WE DISCOVERED RIGHT AWAY

Since I work almost exclusively online, I have my way of doing things that works for me. Since David also is pretty tech saavy and does much of his work online too, he’d developed his own workable method.

Too bad they were not the same methods out of the gate.

Right away we discovered this was a problem we needed to solve, his way, my way or the highway.

THE SOLUTION TO THE PROBLEM AND THE GOAL WE WANT TO ACHIEVE

In order to work together we needed to blend our ways for better efficiencies online and work out ways to get things done even FASTER and with better results than we individually were getting, do it using the tools we were already using (so that there was no big learning curve required) and with little or no additional expense.

THE PROCESS IS ONGOING

So far our comparing of notes and implementing the best of each of our experienced methods is resulting in a good jump in production and efficiencies and we are only part way through the process. Since I routinely help friends with some of the tips and tricks I use to stay more organized and efficient using technology, I thought you might be interested in achieving a similar goal for yourselves and could get some benefit from what we go through.

And so, with that goal in mind, I’d like to share our journey with you on the solutions we came up with to achieve that goal and how they work for us.

Are you interested?

First of, here is a disclaimer. These are solutions that we’re working out as a best fit for US and how we work. They may not be a good solution for you. Many of the solutions for efficient work flow we use (software, hardware and technology) and our methods of using them have been developed over a number of years and at great cost to us. So the knowledge is valuable for sure! But for you, most of the solutions we will share will be low cost or free. We’ll tell you how we use them and what the results have been. This is the first a short series of articles that cover this journey to the goal “ways to get things done even FASTER and with better results than we individually were getting using the tools we were already using (so that there was no big learning curve required) and with little or no additional expense.”

And hey, can you do ME a favor? Can you answer a short survey on this subject so we know the kinds of technology things you have in your life? That way not only will we be sharing what’s working for us, but will also share what are some of the common challenges you may have and will endeavor to answer some of them in our next installment. Deal? Thank you! Here is the link for the survey. We’re doing this survey to ask you about your own technology challenges as part of our series on our journey to becoming much more efficient in using all the cool tools and capabilities for the technology we have and use daily. Please share your thoughts – maybe 5 minutes, and we will share the results and some answers in our upcoming articles on the subject. Thank you in advance!!

Do the Technology Use Survey NOW!