It ain't nothin' but a Hound Blog. . .

How to use a telephone answering service to get more done

February 17, 2012

Interruptions are the enemy of productivity. Email is our to do list's most persistent rival, however this is followed closely by our telephones and mobile phones.

Are you disciplined enough to not answer the phone when you are focussed on a task? Do you stop what you're doing, every time your phone rings?

True, your phone calls are important. A new lead might be interested in buying your product or service. People don't like leaving voice mail messages, especially when they're still at the fact finding phase of the buying process.

The solution is to use a telephone answering service. When you're concentrating on important work, your calls will be diverted to your call answering service. No more interruptions from sales calls or contacts who do not respect your time.

Never lose a lead to voice mail. Respect your time by returning phone calls during set times during the day. All of the messages will be emailed to you, so no more scrabbling around to find a phone number on a bit of paper.

Get more done with a telephone answering service.

Posted by Maggie Langley. Posted In : How To

How to make 2012 a more productive year

January 10, 2012

If you want to make this a productive year, get control of your email.

Some scary stats

•    “One of the biggest time-wasters reported by office workers is managing email.
•    39% of office workers feel lost and even frustrated when it comes to organizing and managing email.
•    Over half of the participants surveyed said they receive up to 75 emails each and every day, and felt that a number of those emails were a result of being CC’d unnecessarily.
•    48% of the respondents say they spend between one and six hours each week searching for emails, project notes, and files.
•    The average knowledge worker now spends close to 13 hours per week on managing email.
•    Office workers spend up to 7 work weeks a year looking for misplaced documents.”

Information from The Six Disciplines Blog

Want to avoid wasting time on email? Read Are you playing Email Russian Roulette with your Time?

Posted by Maggie Langley, OfficeHounds Virtual Assistant Services. Posted In : Productivity

Are you playing Email Russian Roulette with your time?

January 10, 2012

For many of us, email is a bad habit, a time killing addiction. We check it on our crackberry’s. We often stop what we’re working on to get our email fix.

Don’t play Email Russian Roulette with your work time.

I’ll quickly check my email. Then I’ll get started on that important task.

BANG – I can’t start that important task yet. I need to reply to this email.

We’re addicted to looking. Our brains love variety, but productivity demands focus and discipline. We’re addicted to the distraction of email. We know what’s on our to do list. We don’t know what’s in our inbox until we look. When you have important tasks to complete, don’t check your email.

Time Killing Bullet

Every time you check your email when you should be doing something else, remember that you’re playing Email Russian Roulette with your time. With each email you open, you are getting closer and closer to having your time shot by that time killing bullet.

Typical Email Russian Roulette

- email newsletter

- colleague cc’d me for info

- continuation of a low priority email conversation

BANG Email requiring action.

Your time management is dead. Your productivity has been shot by the time killing email bullet.

Protect your Time

We need email. You’re going to have to play email Russian Roulette. There’s always a time killing email bullet in your inbox waiting for you to pull the trigger.

Your time killing bullet proof vest

Protect your time by only checking your emails at scheduled times during the day.

Be aware of when you start playing Email Russian Roulette with your time.

Close your email and work on your important tasks before your productivity gets shot.

Posted by Maggie Langley, OfficeHounds Virtual Assistant Services. Posted In : Get organised

Business Karma

September 17, 2011

Business Karma - do good things to support other businesses and good things will come to your business.

Please vote for Room92 to win the public vote in a business competition. It's good for your business Karma. Lynn Taylor is a small business. Help make a Social Media Miracle happen. Vote before the 20th September.

Posted by Maggie Langley. Posted In : Social Media

Hurry -Get your EU Grant

August 26, 2011

Get a grant of up to £150 towards the cost of annual Networking Planet Membership

You may be eligible for a match-funded grant of up to £1,000 from Sustainable Routes. Sustainable Routes offers a grant of up to £1,000 (match funded) to businesses who want to reduce their business travel or make it greener.

Networking Planet Membership costs £300 + VAT per year (only £25 + VAT per month).

Am I eligible?

If your business has traded for 2 years with a turnover above £75,000 and is based in the South East of England - Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Milton Keynes, Hampshire and Isle of Wight, Kent and Medway, Oxfordshire, Surrey and Sussex, you will be eligible to apply.

What’s the catch?

Cutting CO2 emissions is not usually top of the business agenda so Sustainable Routes is helping businesses reduce travel costs and environmental impact. Show the Sustainable Routes team that Networking Planet can help reduce your company’s CO2 emissions and you should be able to claim the grant*. In some cases you might be asked to speak with your local authority travel team to discuss your staff travel planning needs.

How do I apply?

You can apply online now by filling in a short application form at www.sustainableroutes.co.uk and you will immediately receive a Travel Efficiency Plan and Grant Application Form. The Plan will suggest smarter or greener travel options. Having reviewed the options you then apply for the grant.

* Please note that funding is subject to eligibility

Posted by Maggie Langley. Posted In : Networking Planet

How to tell if you're addicted to email

August 19, 2011

1 Make 2 columns on a sheet of paper.

2 Label one column Task Was Essential to do Today. other Could have waited until Tomorrow.

3 Each time you complete a task no matter how small, mark it down in one of the columns. (If it's a particularly large task circle or highlight the mark. Then you can easily identify tasks that required more sustained concentration vs a quick task.) Anytime you complete a task related to an email (can be a reply or an action requested of you in an email), write down the letter 'e' instead of the usual mark.The aim is to count the amount of activities, don't waste time writing any detail.

At the end of your work day see how many tasks and emails you have in the Could have waited until Tomorrow column. Repeat this activity each day until you can eliminate large non-urgent distractions from your work day. Then continue to reduce the amount of smaller Could have waited until Tomorrow column. Work toward only making and answering phone calls and responding to emails at set times. If you complete these tasks during their allocated time slot, you can count it as a Task was Essential to do Today.

The purpose of this activity is to help you identify how much time you are spending on non-essential tasks. The activity itself will make you more aware of how you are spending your time.

Getting 'quick' activities like answering emails out of the way is a bad habit. We all have to work hard to fight the email beast.

Posted by Maggie Langley. Posted In : Top Dog Tip

Easy Activity to Help You Focus on Essential Tasks

August 19, 2011

1 Once a week, look at your to do list (e.g. Wunderlist), Customer Relationship Management system (e.g. icomplete) or Notes(e.g. Evernote).

2 Identify 5 essential tasks to complete by the end of the week.

3 Do whatever it takes to get those 5 essential tasks done.

That's just one essential task each work day, allowing you plenty of time for distractions.

Top Dog Tip - If you're not a 'plan in advance' kind of worker, there's a good chance, you'll underestimate the time it will take to complete your essential tasks. Don't let this stop you. Simply acknowledge you underestimated the task, make some progress on each of your 5 essential tasks and carry them forward as essential tasks for the next week!

At least at the end of the week instead of disappointedly saying , Oh great, I worked so hard but my task list is still huge, you can cheerfully say, I finished my essential tasks.

I'd love to hear how this works for you. Please stop by my Facebook page Twitter Linkedin profiles or send me a good old fashioned email and let me know if this works for you or suggest your own tips.

Posted by Maggie Langley. Posted In : Top Dog Tip

How to Backup Your Computer - the easy way

August 10, 2011

Laptop meltdown - Sugarsync to the rescue!

On Sunday, my laptop wouldn't turn on. After a bit of nail biting, swearing and disbelief, I finally accepted it wasn't going to come back to life. Tragic loss. We had become so close.

Fortunately, for me, all of my business related files were backed up with Sugarsync.

I highly recommend you get Sugarsync. It allows me to easily share folders with my clients. I ~~have~~ had both a laptop PC and Mac. I can work on either computer anytime and access all of my files. If I have a face to face meeting with a client, I can even access my files on my mobile phone or by logging into my Sugarsync account on their computer.

If you haven't backed up your files, get Sugarsync! It's free.

Posted by Maggie Langley. Posted In : How To

Forgotten Foursquare

July 26, 2011

If you run a bricks and mortar business and are interested in Social Media, I suggest that you read Forgotten Foursquare a new blog on the OfficeHounds sister site Social Media Virtual Assistant

Posted by Maggie Langley. Posted In : Social Media

Google Gets Personal

June 24, 2011

If you use Gmail, your search results will be 'personalised' by Google. If you are signed in, your results will really be tailored to reflect what you have previously clicked on. Even when you are not signed into a Google account, your experience will still be personalised based on past search information linked to a cookie in your browser.

I don't think that most users are aware that Google is doing this for them. Is this a good or a bad thing? What do you think?

Posted by Maggie Langley. Posted In : Thoughts

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About Me

Maggie Langley

Founder | Virtual Assistant, Officehounds

American ex-pat living in England with hubby & hounds. Love helping businesses to get organised and offload those time consuming tasks that my Virtual Assistants do efficiently.

Virtual Assistant / Hound Blog 08435570023