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September 27, 2005

Simplifying expenses

After just finishing the motherload of all expense reports (4 clients, 17 days, 5 cities, 3 currencies) I have a few tips on simplifying expenses, which work well for me:

1. I carry an envelope in my briefcase to collect the receipts as I get them, so that I don't have to go on a scavenger hunt to find them at the end of the trip.

2. I try to write what the receipt is for, as soon I get it or soon after, while it's still fresh in my mind. This one has saved me, particularly since some cash receipts don't list the merchant.

3. I start working on my expense report (an Excel doc for our accounting dept.) while still on the trip or on the plane ride home.

These tips have streamlined my time when I'm home, so that my recharge time between trips is less about admin and more about relaxation.

Posted by Kelly at 06:00 PM

September 17, 2005

Does email help or hinder your productivity?

Interesting question if we consider that we're getting about 10 times as much email than we were 10 years ago. I worked with a company recently that eliminated email entirely for nearly all staff below managers. This means it's back to face-to-face and paper for most of their communications.

Email seems essential to do my job well, particularly since we're such a virtual team. Or is it just that I'm used to email so it seems crippling to be without it?

What would your job be like without email? Would you get more done or less done? I'd love to hear your comments on this.

Posted by Kelly at 10:43 AM | Comments (7)

September 12, 2005

Similarities

I've finished my two-day coaching in Italy for an executive at a pharmaceutical company. Regardless of the language, location or position of the person I'm working with, I love that GTD gives people great ways for managing their stuff for a better work/personal life balance. I did a coaching recently where the person shared at the end that he felt like as a result of the coaching, he would actually be able to have better quality time in the evenings with his sons. Instead of rushing through dinner so he could get back to work, he felt like he trusted his systems better to actually leave work at work.

Posted by Kelly at 11:07 AM

September 07, 2005

Some of my checklists

Here are some of the Checklists I have as reference in my system. I find it helpful to have these on hand on the Palm, particularly for adding to any of these lists when I'm on the go:

Travel - what I may need for any trip I take
Music to Buy - music to buy on CD or on iTunes
Books to Read - titles I collect for possible reading
Skiing - things we'll need on the rare occasion we ski
Camping - things we'll need on the even more rare occasion we camp
Birthdays/Anniversaries - one complete list of anyone I might want to send a card, buy a gift or just know it's their day. This helps also since I buy my cards about a month at a time and I can see a whole group of people in one list, rather than going through all of my calendar pages to find them listed there.
Gift ideas - a list of possible Christmas gifts for people I may buy gifts for this year

If you are on Outlook, the Notes section can be a good place for these. If you're on Lotus Notes, you can categorize them into Journal (if you have that) or as a To Do category separate from your action lists, such as "zChecklists."

Posted by Kelly at 04:38 AM