Tag Archives: Productivity

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Microsoft Teams: Complete Starter Guide for Business Owners

For organizations that are settled into Microsoft’s family of apps and services, the obvious collaboration platform is Microsoft Teams. And the killer feature is that Teams supports a robust API for add-ins.  The more far-flung your organization is, the more your people need software to help them communicate and collaborate.  … Teams integrates a collection of Microsoft 365 online services, making it possible for members of your organization to talk face to face, chat, hold virtual meetings, share files, and collaborate on documents, spreadsheets, and other projects in real time. The chat capabilities cover the same ground as those found in Slack, while the meeting and video conferencing features compare favorably with those available in Zoom and other video conferencing tools. And the killer feature for Microsoft Teams is that it supports a robust API for add-ins …

ZDNet.com click the link to read the rest of the story.  Get our free tools here.

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5 habits of people who are especially productive working from home

Before many office workers transitioned to remote arrangements, the thought of working from home sounded like a dream. Who doesn’t love the idea of ditching the commute and staying in your sweats? But those of us who have been working from home for years know the reality, and it isn’t always as stress-free as it sounds.  Loneliness, isolation, distractions, and Zoom fatigue are real, and they are challenges to overcome…

FastCompany.com click the link to read the rest of the story.  Get our free tools here.

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Cortana’s Promotion Is Tied To Microsoft 365

Today, if you click the Cortana button on a Windows 10 PC, you still get the “Ask Cortana” prompt, and you can click the microphone button to start talking. But saying “Hey Cortana” does nothing. All those third-party skills are no longer operative, and Cortana’s notebook has officially been tossed into the digital dumpster. … Cortana is “Your personal productivity assistant in Microsoft 365,” and the tasks are no longer about music and fitness and home automation. Instead, the skill set includes things like catching up with your email, coordinating meetings, and filing expense reports. …

ZDNet.com click the link to read the rest of the story.  Get our free tools here.

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Harvard Business Review: How To Deal with Collaborative Overload

Collaboration is taking over the workplace. As business becomes increasingly global and cross-functional, silos are breaking down, connectivity is increasing, and teamwork is seen as a key to organizational success. According to data we have collected over the past two decades, the time spent by managers and employees in collaborative activities has ballooned by 50% or more.  Certainly, we find much to applaud in these developments. However, when consumption of a valuable resource spikes that dramatically, it should also give us pause.  …

Harvard Business Review click the link to read the rest of the story.  Get our free tools here.

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Microsoft Teams: Free version can now create video meetings

Users of the free version of Teams, the Microsoft 365 online collaboration platform, can now create video meetings.  The change, spotted by OnMSFT, means Teams free users can create a Teams meeting from their account, rather than only being able to join a meeting created by paying customers. … Microsoft Teams, which launched in 2017, has grown from 44 million daily active users in March, 2020 to 75 million in April, 2020. …

ZDNet.com click the link to read the rest of the story.  Get our free tools here.

Have you used it yet?Join the conversation on our Facebook Page!

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The PC is suddenly in fashion again, but there are tough times ahead

Remote working may have caused many people to value their laptop and desktops a lot more, but the PC industry is likely to struggle as companies and consumers cut back on spending. PCs may have been viewed as yesterday’s news thanks to the rise of smaller form factors like smartphones, tablets and wearables, but trusty laptops and desktops (and variations on them like Chromebooks and even Raspberry Pis) have proven their worth during lockdown for workers and kids doing home schooling.

ZDNet.com click the link to read the rest of the story.  Get our free tools here.

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Time Blocking: How to Get The Most Out of Your Schedule

Some of the most productive people in the world swear by a technique called time blocking.  Ever heard of Elon Musk, Bill Gates, or Cal Newport? Yep – all time-blockers. And they’re not doing it because they like coloring in their bullet journals. They’re squeezing every drop of productivity from their days. It’s simple and it works. And I’m going to show you how. So, let’s see if this sounds familiar: You have too many things to do, and the list never gets smaller. …

Dansilvestre.com click the link to read the rest of the story. Our FREE Tools can help!

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How to Make Smarter Decisions in Chaos

How does a business leader strategize in chaos? It’s a question many of us are facing as we currently shelter-in-place and navigate a volatile world economy. … Moving forward, leaders need to both respect the moment and lean into the next business space. In an interview last year, marketing veteran Seth Godin said one’s next best move comes from asking one important question: Do more people trust you and pay attention to you today than six months ago…

Inc.com click the link to read the rest of the story. Our FREE Tools can help!

Are more people growing to trust you or fewer?

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Microsoft Teams: Now free version lets you create video meetings

Users of the free version of Teams, the Microsoft 365 online collaboration platform, can now create video meetings.  … The move is likely to be another effort from Microsoft to go to battle with Zoom, the biggest winner in video calling and conferencing since the global coronavirus pandemic shoved the world toward teleworking. …

ZDNet.com click the link to read the rest of the story.  Get our free tools here.

How will you use Teams now?Join the conversation on our Facebook Page!

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Home office technology will need to evolve in the new work normal

The new normal for work will be more remote, spur a home office innovation wave, make edge computing more mainstream and require more automation, immersive experiences and robotics. … Our assumptions about what it meant to work from home were wrong collectively. We had this idea that work from home was about work/life balance. You were working or you were doing home stuff. That was what worked from home had to deal with. And what we almost immediately discovered was it wasn’t that simple. In fact, there were at least four different contexts that people had to live in or experience sitting at their desk at home at any given time over the course of the day. …

ZDNet.com click the link to read the rest of the story.  Get our free tools here.

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Five minutes to a faster iPhone or Android smartphone

Who doesn’t want their smartphone to feel a little faster and smoother? But the problem is that there are so many tips and tricks out there, that you can be spending hours on tweaking and optimizing and downloading and be getting very little in return.  So, what’s the quickest way to speed up your iPhone or Android smartphone?  Here’s how I speed up my devices, and the whole thing takes less than five minutes.

ZDNet.com click the link to read the rest of the story.  Get our free tools here.

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​Microsoft 365 (formerly Office 365) for business: Everything you need to know

In this guide, we cover the multitude of Microsoft 365 Business and Enterprise editions… The exact mix of apps and services available with a Microsoft 365 subscription depends on which edition you’ve chosen. The following five services are common to all business and enterprise plans.

ZDNet.com click the link to read the rest of the story.  Get our free tools here.

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How to improve communication with coworkers during social distancing

In this era of physical distancing, social cues are limited. Here’s how to maintain—or even improve—relationships with your coworkers during this tough time.  In this era of social distancing, it is hard to get these social cues. Low-bandwidth internet can make it hard to catch the tone of voice or the facial expressions of people you’re talking to.

FastCompany.com click the link to read the rest of the story.  Get our free tools here.

What is the biggest hurdle you have to overcome in our new remote communications?
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Is It Even Possible to Focus on Anything Right Now?

Weeks into the new reality of stay-at-home orders, remote work, and being constantly bombarded by news of how bad things can get, we’re all getting used to new ways of getting business done. For many of us, one detrimental result is that we’re struggling more than ever to find the focus we need to be productive. … Practicing attention management is about maintaining control of where your attention goes, and recognizing when it’s being stolen…

Harvard Business Review click the link to read the rest of the story.  Get our free tools here.

What do you do to stay focused, working at home?
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Microsoft Teams: How to master remote work beyond the basics

Want to make yourself more productive with Microsoft Teams? Use these eight tips to master command-line and keyboard shortcuts, connect to external apps, and make useful content easier to find. …

ZDNet.com click the link to read the rest of the story.  Get our free tools here.

Have you tried Teams, yet?
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Video conferencing from home: Ten golden rules

People I’ve talked to are still concerned with just how to get through a conference without messing up, while others have asked me how to up their game now that they’re conferencing regularly… So let’s get started. #1. RELAX…IT’S JUST PEOPLE…

ZDNet.com click the link to read the rest of the story.  Get our free tools here.

What are your biggest video conferencing challenges?Join the conversation on our Facebook Page!

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Working from home? Stay connected using Microsoft Teams, for free

Microsoft Teams is a collection of online services that you can access through a web browser (at https://teams.microsoft.com) or through the Teams app, which is available for Windows, MacOS, iOS, and Android. … That combo of apps and services gives you the ability to invite people to join your organization and create teams for different groups; everyone in your organization can chat, with Slack-like channels within each team for group conversations; and private chat capabilities allow 1:1 and group conversations, with the option to add audio and video and share screens.

ZDNet.com click the link to read the rest of the story.  Get our free tools here.

Have you used Teams yet?Join the conversation on our Facebook Page!

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Zoom: a chaotic beacon of light during the coronavirus lockdown

We’re weeks deep into a coronavirus-inspired lockdown, and for those of us lucky enough to work from home, the way we’ve been communicating has changed. No more “how was your weekend” by loudly boiling kettles. No more “how about that sports team” by the water cooler.   We’re all on Zoom now, and I absolutely love it. …

CNet.com click the link to read the rest of the story.  Get our free tools here.

Have you used zoom this past week?Join the conversation on our Facebook Page!

 

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Work from home: Essential gadgets and gear for productivity

One thing that I’ve learned to do is to make technology work for me, and with that in mind, here’s a list of what I believe to be essential gadgets and gear if you find yourself working from home because of the coronavirus outbreak.

ZDNet.com click the link to read the rest of the story.  Get our free tools here.

What devices have helped you the most, working from home?Join the conversation on our Facebook Page!

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The Dos and Don’ts of Online Video Meetings

In the age of coronavirus, many of us have transformed overnight from office workers into telecommuters. And we are increasingly relying on videoconferencing apps like Zoom and FaceTime to correspond with our peers.  But inevitably, with our homes and workplaces merging into one, the boundaries between our personal and professional lives are beginning to erode — and awkward situations have ensued. …

NewYorkTimes .com click the link to read the rest of the story.  Get our free tools here.

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New Study Finds: Working from Home Makes Workers More Productive

People no longer want to deal with the frustrations of driving to and from work: In fact, new research shows that one in four employees has quit a job because of a long commute. Many job seekers now rely on the flexibility of remote work to avoid these inconveniences. The real question: How do virtual and in-office workspaces differ? …

Inc.com click the link to read the rest of the story.  Get our free tools here.

Are you more productive at home?Join the conversation on our Facebook Page! 

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How to Be Productive Working from Home (and anywhere else)

As coronavirus continues to spread, many of us are forced to work remotely to help reducing contagion. At first, working from home sounds like the dream: pajamas all day, working from the couch, slacking off… But it can quickly get unproductive if you are not indistractable enough. …

Medium.com click the link to read the rest of the story.  Get our free tools here.

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Don’t Let Perfection Be the Enemy of Productivity

Productivity isn’t about getting more done. It’s about what you get done. Three aspects of perfectionism can interfere with your ability to prioritize the most important tasks.  1. You’re reluctant to designate decisions as “unimportant.”

HarvardBusinessReview.com   Click the link to read the rest of the story.  Get our free tools here.

How do you decide what is truly important?Join the conversation on our Facebook Page!

 

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Ransomware victims are paying out millions a month. One has cost them the most

Over six-and-a-half years, ransomware victims have handed over vast amounts of bitcoin to crooks. Some variants of the malware have generated more ransom than others. …

ZDNet.com click the link to read the rest of the story.  Get our free tools here.

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Use This Simple Business Tool to Make Good Decisions Faster

It’s tempting with a long task list to spread yourself too thin. You can stay busy all day and still find you have not much progress to show for it by the end of the night. Now apply the 80/20 rule to your to-do list. …

Medium.com click the link to read the rest of the story.  Get our free tools here.

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Can’t Kick a Bad Habit? You’re Probably Doing It Wrong

I had just finished giving a speech on building habits when a woman in the audience exclaimed, “You teach how to create habits, but that’s not my problem. I’m fat!” The frustration in her voice echoed throughout the room. “My problem is stopping bad habits. That’s why I’m fat. Where does that leave me?” … The first step is to realize that starting a new routine is very different from breaking an existing habit. …

nirandfar.com click the link to read the rest of the story.  Get our free tools here.

What have you done to overcome bad habits?Join the conversation on our Facebook Page!

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Why procrastination is about managing emotions, not time

Procrastination is an issue with managing our emotions, not our time. The task we’re putting off is making us feel bad – perhaps it’s boring, too difficult or we’re worried about failing – and to make ourselves feel better in the moment, we start doing something else…

LinkedIn.com click the link to read the rest of the story.  Get our free tools here.

What are you procrastinating about?Join the conversation on our Facebook Page!

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5 Ways to Distraction-Proof Your Mind

To regain control over our attention, our time, and our life, you need to first regain your brain. In this animated video, I provide some practical advice for how we can finally take matters into our own hands to fight distractions instead of waiting for the tech companies to fix the problem for us.

Nirandfar.com click the link to read the rest of the story. Our FREE Tools can help!

How do you deal with distractions?Join the conversation on our Facebook Page!

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3 Ways You Can Limit Everyday Distractions

As Nir Eyal outlines in his new book, Indistractable, notifications are the big problem in this cycle. If my phone were across the room and I didn’t hear the ding, feel it buzz, or see a lock screen notification I wouldn’t be as compelled to check. This aligns with a 2018 article in Education and Health, which explained that unpredictable rewards work together with the push notifications to build a habitual cycle for people.

inc.com click the link to read the rest of the story. Our FREE Tools can help!

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