Category: English

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Cross Device Reporting

Client-ContentMarketing and Advertising are an ever-evolving realm. What works today may not be so useful tomorrow, and what works for Facebook, may be rather detrimental when used with LinkeIN. The point being, Marketing Experts (the strategists and the analysts) have to be on the constant look out for new techniques that measure their efforts, or else risk losing the early adopter advantage to a fellow competitor.
Here is a piece written about cross device reporting, and how marketing efforts get redefined – Client Content

Client Content - Deepa Govind
Client Content – Deepa Govind

 

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Resume Revolution: Exploring VisualCV

Curriculum vitae (CV): A short account of one’s career and qualifications prepared typically by an applicant for a position. (Merriam-Webster Online)
A Curriculum Vitae , CV, or Resume is most definitely the job-seeker’s gate pass to establish contact within a company
With the internet gaining importance in all facets of life, paper resumes evolved into Word documents. Companies began to accept resume submissions via email, provided they were submitted in Word format.
This allowed the candidates to follow up on their interview status and other verification queries without having to rely on the mail-man ,postal delays, or make multiple trips to the company, especially if the company and the candidates are not located in the same place. Continue reading “Resume Revolution: Exploring VisualCV”

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Preventing the Backlog Blues- 5 Major tips

Small Business Owners often find themselves in a fix when the majority of their in-house staffs is concentrating on the current project(s) at hand. The company’s administrative, accounting, and other important tasks take a backseat as the project progress. Finally, when the staff has successfully completed the client’s project, they come face-to-face with the humongous backlog with the in-house tasks. This is a vicious cycle, and if not handled effectively, this could lead to some major catastrophe. As a business owner, your client’s project should be your prime priority. But, accumulation of in-house tasks in no-longer inevitable. A little forethought and some preparation should give you an added edge when handling your in-house tasks while working on your client’s project.
Now, it is the time to give some serious thought to delegating those little tasks that accumulate over time.

  • Use spreadsheet and allocate new sheets for each department, such as Accounts, HR, Technical, PR, etc.
  • Share this spreadsheet with the rest of the team, and request the departments to list their respective tasks that are held back while concentrating on the clients projects.
  • This allows a consolidated list without having to wait for individual confirmation. Further, this also prevents creating multiple versions of the same document.
  1. Repetitive Tasks :- Identify time consuming repetitive tasks in your business and send out a memo to the team to list their tasks that which are normally stalled while working on a client’s project.
  2. One-Time tasks :- These tasks could be a one-time-affair, but nevertheless time consuming and important as an in-house practice. This could be a one-time activity such as, software installation, web-research aiming at a niche product/audience to boost your business, etc.
  3. Timeline :-It is critical for every business to operate and function with respect to a preset timeline. This allows one to stay ahead of the competition and at the same time deliver results with maximum competence, which is a crucial element in maintaining a good business relationship with the client. So, be sure to make a note of timeline within which the listed tasks need to be updated/completed. This will give you a projection along the timeline, and speed up negotiations with a virtual assistant for the allotted number of hours.
  4. Locate a VA :-You can choose to post your requirements at jobseeker’s sites and painstakingly scrutinize every applicant, but isn’t the idea is to reduce your load ?
  5. Resourceful networking:-.You can either locate VAs with relevant skills individually, or get into resourceful networking that allows you to access a pool of VAs with varied skill-sets and expertise. A handpicked team of virtual professionals will be commissioned for you. There will be a coordinator who will oversee the work for you and provide regular updates. As your staff work towards the client’s projects, the coordinator will make sure that your in-house tasks proceed parallely, ensuring that there is no backlog for you.
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Top 10 Project Management Tools for Virtual Offices

With the concepts of remote offices, telecommuting, and working from home, a.k.a Virtual Assistants gaining momentum, it is imperative that we come up with a governance model that best suits our needs to manage projects within the team, and with the clients.
If you are a part of a large organization (lets assume its an MNC) which approves telecommuting and the remote office framework, then there is nothing to worry. The office will take care of custom management tools and will inform you about it. This post is not for you
On the other hand, if you are an independent virtual assistant then my guess is you will be relying on your mail threads to keep track of conversations and using spreadsheets to keep track of the project status. If you are a bit smarter, you will be using labels (as in Gmail) or folders (as in Yahoo and Hotmail) to sort mail threads for easy access. Mail attachments may be stored on your desktop. Again, if you are smart, you will share the documents rather than mail them.
Being a Virtual Assistant, means all of your work will be online. You may be handling more than one project for the same client, or you have more than one client at any given point of time. Perhaps you might be interested in some of the online project management tools. Most of these are free (with limited features for a single user), and comes at a reasonable price (if you want advanced features). The list below is my top 10 recommendations for online project management systems.
Top 10 Online Project Management Systems
Do check out the site to see the difference for free users and paid users

  1. ProjectInsight
    They have all the “required” features for a Project Management System. Try their demo. This is a little more than basic, and little less than advanced. So if you are a Virtual Assistant with average working knowledge of how a project management system works , then chances are you might get to like this. Strangely though, I could not locate the pricing page. If you can locate it, please pass me the link.
  2. AceProject
    The best project management system I have encountered so far.
    They have about     22 features out of which I rate the Discussion Forum , Task dependencies , and Multiple Project and Task management to be of the greatest value. They offer web-hosted and self-hosted option if you want it in your business’s intralink. You might be overwhelmed initially, but once you get to know it, things are a breeze. I would say this is a “complete” system for single and multiusers (eg:- Virtual Staffing Agencies) alike .
  3. CoMindWork
    I would say that this is the second best project management system on the web based on the features like project-specific Wiki and project-specific blog that are being offered. They allow integration with other PMS such as Basecamp and Salesforce, and also integrate with Gmail and OpenID. So with so many “dream features”, why I rate this as second best is because free users have only one project. ( I need atleast 5). Maybe paid service will suit your business needs.
  4. MyClientSpot
    The Project Management system has been designed for freelance virtual assistants who operate independently. Short , small, and sweet. It is a very intuitive interface and upto 5 user sharing enables better interaction with team or client. If you handle 2 projects at a time (20MB space ), then this is certainly for you. Otherwise, you might want to go for the paid version.
  5. BaseCamp
    A very clean dashboard that gives Project overview of things, without any frills and fireworks. The tabbed interface places Messageboard , files area , Milestones and Todo lists are just a click away. Try the free account to get the feel of things.
  6. VirtuaAssistantManager
    The demo     gives a fairly good idea about what to expect when you actually signup. The list is lined up according to existing clients, giving you a picture of project status regarding a specific client. This is a paid service starting from 39$ /month for 1 Virtual Assistant. Their clients inclue Pepsi, Time Warner ,and Comcast, among others. Personally, I think they are charging a premium. Certainly not fit for freelancers, unless you are minting money.
  7. EasyProjects
    This is especially good if you have a team, and want a single command center for all the client’s projects and also for in-house projects delegated to the team. The Employee Timesheet and Hierarchical Role Based Permissions are noteworthy features. Again, this is a paid service. (sorry, no freebies here )
  8. Project.net
    This is a complete enterprise edition of project management . system. The demo gives an overview of features from the Project Manager’s point of view. However , it remains to be seen how this can be modified to suit a single user with multiple clients. They do offer customization of tabs and formfields. But you never know until you try.
  9. IdidWork
    I will not call this a project management tool, but if you are a part of a team that requires you to submit regular work updates as long emails or shared spreadsheets, you can make use of their Twitter like interface, to communicate your work status. Moreover all accumulated “status messages” can be emailed to the manager of the team. This also allows a performance overview over a period of time. Worth a try, though individual preferences might differ.
  10. SmartSheet
    If you are extremely comfortable with using spreadsheets, then this Project Management System is definitely for you. The concept of workspace is used to aggregate sheets for the same project and the likes of it. You can collaborate with clients and upload files for discussion. It does take a bit of time to get used to the system. This is free and they have the beta version underway.
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Outsourcing Disasters – 3 Major Conceptual Errors

This is something that outsourcing naysayers would love to rave about, the dreaded Outsourcing Disasters. They are more adept at providing statistical details regarding the number of outsourcing ventures that hit the dirt coupled with heated, critical arguments. So, I will leave the harangues to them.
For a change, why not take a look at this from the perspective of a business? It has been widely known and understood that being in business means to take calculative risks. Much like our first history lesson, “Man is a social being”, I would say , “Business is a social venture”. It is impossible to launch, thrive and flourish a business venture without any association with other businesses. Outsourcing is no different from this, and the businesses that seek outsourcing services are also bound to this principle.
However, listening to the success stories that came out of outsourcing, many enthusiastic business owners started to look at outsourcing as a miracle cure to cut costs and increase productivity. They failed to look deep into the same success stories focusing on the amount of preparation and governance model that was employed, which eventually lead to the success of an outsourcing deal. This eventually led to the germination of misguided outsourcing deals.

  1. Bird’e Eye View :-
    • Most buyers have only the bird’s eye view of the end result. This is fine when you are actively involved with the project. But when this is conveyed to a certain outsourcing partner, a ‘bird’s eye view’ of things is just not sufficient.
    • Most failed ventures will reflect that the buyer has limited the communication to the ‘bird’s eye view’ of things without giving full details
    • Failed ventures will also reveal that ‘multiple mails requesting information’ were looked down upon , and the outsourcing partner stands the risk of being labeled as ‘incompetent’.Beware, you really need an inside scoop to get this information.This reflect the arrogance of the buyer, and not the much hyped incompetence of the outsourcing partner
    • Eventually creating a huge void in communication and leaving everything to assumption
    • Assumptions lead to misguided project management, leading ultimately to the failed venture
  2. The Aspirin Approach :-
    • No one ever thinks twice before popping an aspirin. Same goes for the outlook towards outsourcing among the buyers who want to ‘get things done as fast as possible’.
    • Buyers jump to the conclusion that outsourcing is a quick fix for all their financial problems. Somehow they fail to realize that cost cutting is only a by-product of outsourcing, while the actual objective is to get the process done elsewhere.
    • This requires the buyers to shed the ‘aspirin approach’ to outsourcing and take up the ’surgical approach’ to things.
    • Failed ventures will most certainly showcase haste in outsourcing their project without due the necessary preparation with respect to the governance model required to see the overseeing of the project’s progress.
    • Pop-and-forget may work for aspirin, but attention to detail and extensive preparation is needed when a surgical procedure is being considered. The surgical approach is certainly lacking in failed outsourcing ventures.
  3. Blame the Mailman :-
    • Both parties are dissatisfied at the end of a venture that has failed terribly. The dissatisfied buyer ends up blaming cultural and geographical differences as the reason for failure.
    • I wonder how come these differences did not surface when the deal was being finalized.… Both parties were well aware of the offshore working model. Both parties would have been communicating in the same language (I assume it is English). I am sure that both parties would have had a satisfactory time period before declaring a venture to be a failure.
    • Just as the mailman cannot be blamed for delivering bad news, it is unfair for the buyer and the outsourcing parther to blame each other soley for the failure. Success is result of compatible team-work, but failure seems always to be the result of incompatible teaming with the buyer and the outsourcing partner.
    • With lack of timely communication and information exchange, irrespective of an outsourcing deal or not, any business venture is sure to fail.
    • I would further site ‘ego-centric’ communication within the buyer’s institution as a cause for failure, such as ‘ Since you (outsourcing partner) did not ask for a certain information, I did not think it was necessary to give you’. With this kind of approach, is it fair to blame the mailman ?

Everyone wants to succeed in their business. The buyers want an outsourcing deal to succeed because someone else can do it better for less, and the outsourcing partner wants to ‘be in business’, which is possible only if his client is satisfied with the performance. Both parties aspire for the project to succeed.
My request to the naysayers of outsourcing would be, to consider that every business venture starts out with an aspiration to succeed. It is no different for outsourcing deals. It would be prudent to only look into the actual cause that lead to a certain failure and not thrust the blame solely on the outsourcing partners. I am sure that you will agree that business involves making deals and taking calculative risks. Isn’t this the basic principle of running a business? With every business, there are some great deals and some disaster deals. Then why is it that everyone is coming down heavily on failed outsourcing deals?. Perhaps, that ’s because everyone loves to say “I told you so!”

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Work Smart Not Hard: 5 Reasons to be a part-time Virtual Assitant

Part-time jobs usually invoke the image of students working behind the pizza or fast food joint counter. Then, there are people who do two or more jobs, especially over the weekend to keep their family going. Students tend to love this hands one experience while on job, and enjoy the interaction they get with their customers. Moreover, the students always have the option of quitting the fast food job as the college resumes for the next academic year. The managers also do not seem to mind. A fresh supply of workers is always available.
However, this is not the case with people who are forced to work on two jobs for personal and professional reasons. For these people it is not a matter of choice, but that of sustenance. Factory and construction workers, and teachers often also work part-time during evenings and/or weekends. It is indeed a tough life. Sooner or later the stress shows in their performance at workplace.
With affordable PCs and reduced internet costs, it is possible to have your part-time work at in the comfort of your home. Have you ever consider working as a virtual assistant on a part-time basis? There would be no more double commute, and so much less stress. As you will be back home after your regular job, you will feel mentally more relaxed to handle your part-time job. No more traffic jams and road rage during those late night commutes.

  1. Leverage your skills :-
    I believe every person has at least three marketable skills. The trick is to identify them and tap into it so that you are duly rewarded. This could be something you are good at, like a hobby. For example, if you are a teacher, you would also be adept at writing tutorials and other instructional documents. So, take a second look at your skills and identify three most marketable ones. Every skill has a market, and there is a client for every market.
  2. Networking is the key :-
    Having decided to work as a part-time virtual assistant, you need to set the ball rolling. As most of the work happens via interent, networking is the best way to get the word out. This should be easy once you have identified your key marketable skills. Do not spend more than a couple of hours for networking, or else you will not have time to work on the actual assignment
  3. Part-time is not full-time :-
    When you start on your part-time virtual assistance, from home ie after your regular office hours, does not mean you have to continue working until past midnight. Like any other part-time job, stick to a schedule. Otherwise, it will be very hard on the family. Family comes first, not the job. You are working for the family, so enjoy your time with them, you deserve it.
  4. One bite at a time :-
    The allure of accomplishing more in less time is great, and many fall into the trap of biting off more than they can chew. This is a sure shot recipe for a failed part-time venture. When faced with two offers at the same time, accept the one that suits your schedule or skills, and, either request a later date to start on the other, or politely refuse to work on it. This will show you are forthcoming and responsibile and clients respect that in a virtual assistant.
  5. Work smart, not hard :-
    Searching for jobs at job-portals drain valuable time and energy, which you can otherwise use to deliver results that compliment your skills. The trick for being a successful virtual assistant is in working smart, not hard. You can either choose to scout for jobs at these job portals, or act smart by getting in touch with sources that can provide you with assignments that match your skills.
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Outsourcing – The Elephant in the Room

Outsourcing is often represented in the popular media as an approach for cost-cutting in large organizations at the expense of job loss in various sectors. As these facts stand, they represent only a small part of the whole picture. It is, of course, a sensitive subject–emotions rage over outsourcing on blogs and in other media outlets. With all due respect to to workers who have lost jobs, I humbly request you to stand back and try to look at the bigger picture.
To help make my point, I wish to cite the story of four blind men attempting to comprehend an elephant by touch only. One stated that an elephant is of cylindrical shape, the other insisted that it is long and rubbery, another maintained that it is just a huge bulging structure, while the last insisted it is only a few inches thick with hairs at the end.
Like these men and the elephant, we often have a largely blind approach towards outsourcing. Each person in the above story is correct in his own way, or, should I say, from his perspective. But it takes vision to put the pieces together and arrive at a complete picture that conveys each perspective as part of the whole.
There is a historical precedent for this kind of response. When the industrial revolution was first in progress, machines were sabotaged. The working class believed that their employers would maintain their output volume by using machines and cutting labor. Why would any company maintain a steady volume, if they can double it with the combined efforts of labor and machines in half-time? Even though the industrial revolution saw job cuts during its initial days, it was only a transitional period. Later, more factories began to emerge and a larger work force was employed to run these machines, thereby increasing the productivity volume.
It may sound preposterous that job-cuts as a result of outsourcing are only transitional. But I have come across both people who have lost jobs on account of outsourcing as well as companies calling back employees to handle responsibilities that augment increased productivity. The catch is the company might not call back an employee for the same exact role. There will be a redefining of roles and responsibilities.
So, the onus is on us to understand and foresee these changing roles. This requires a paradigm shift of our mindset and our approach to the issue. Although this might be difficult given the current circumstances, it is not impossible. Resilience is the need of the hour.
We respect your perspective, but humbly urge you to hone the vision that will allow you to see other perspectives, too. Share your perspective with us, and we will share ours. Perhaps we can piece the elephant together and succeed at taming it too.

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Momepreneur– 5 techniques to Follow your Career & Kill the Guilt

The female workforce is constantly having to make choices between career and family. After investing heavily both financially and emotionally in their education and building their careers, motherhood can often complicate even the most well-laid plans. Whether plagued by pangs of guilt while sitting in the board room when her child is under the babysitter’s care, or fears that she is no longer able to concentrate on her job during those late night meetings, it is an unenviable position for a mother to be in. Not to mention, she may face ridicule from judgmental colleagues and supervisors who doubt her ability to juggle home life and her work load.
However high paying your job might be, it is certainly not worth your skill and time if you have to face this kind of pressure, day-in and day-out. You stand the risk of diminishing self-esteem coupled with an unhappy work and home environment. Sometimes a little soul searching can help you realize you are really worth much more than what you’ve gotten credit for.
In jest, it is sometimes said that women have a “built-in multi-tasking chip”. But jokes aside, this does seem to make sense when you take into consider all that is expected of modern women. I remember seeing a promotional video telecast on Mother’s Day. It showcases a 5 year-old trying to draw pictures of the members of her family. The father is portrayed seated at his desk, working. The brother is portrayed playing soccer; the sister is portrayed by the phone. But when it comes to drawing her mother, the little girl is so perplexed, that she ends up drawing her mother with 8 arms, which seemed to speak volumes to me.
It is time for you to do some thinking and put your skills , and time to good use while keeping your priorities straight.

  1. Your Talent : –
    • Isn’t this the reason you were hired in the first place ?
    • Do you still retain the spark , the love for what you do ?.
    • How close do you follow the developments in your area of expertise?
    • Does your job continue to use your talent, or have you been under utilized?
    • Does your salary justify long working hours. ?
  2. Your Time : –
    • Do you have to commute for more than 2 hours to reach your work ? ( That makes 4 hours a day and x gallons of gasoline per week. Do the math)
    • Does your commute mean, you are compromising on your sleep? Without a decent 8 hrs sleep, you are burning the candle at both ends.
    • Do you have at least 2 hours a day , just for yourself ? And no multi-tasking…just for yourself. Sometimes even doing nothing can be a great energy booster. If the answer to this is a resounding “NO”, then your time is being abused, by you and by others.
    • Do you bring your work home ?
  3. Your Money
    • Do you have enough funds in the family account to manage for at least 3 – 4 months, if you decide to take a break from work ?
  4. Your Plan
    • Go over the financial implications and intricacies over and over again
    • Will you be able to acquire 6 uninterrupted hours per day , by working from home ? Could be 3+3 or 2+2+2 or 6 straight hours.
    • Do not go overboard and fall into the trap of thinking ” I can work for 10 hrs, I save on commuting time”. You fail to consider telephone calls, un-announced guests , sales people and other unforeseen interruptions.
    • Do you have the resources that supplement your talent and time? Like, Uninterrupted internet connection , voice mail among other things.
    • Do you have the determination “Not to work beyond my 6 hours” ? After all, what is the point if you are toiling for 10 hours a day. You might as well work at the office.
  5. Your Resources :- YOU CAN..
    • Devote 2 hoursrs ( out of 6 hourrs), to identify potential clients who can use your skills over the internet.
    • Plan the type of work you are willing to handle, and, prepare documentation
    • Maintain a log of your work activities right from Day-1.
    • Keep Personal and professional correspondences / contacts separate.
    • Get yourself a paypal account ( or look into other options )to receive funds
    • Get in touch with sources that can give you a steady stream of work, without having to scout for them yourself.

Motherhood is a wonderful thing. But this does not mean that you have to compromise your career goals. All it requires is a little preparation and lot of perseverance to achieve your objectives on personal and professional levels. Your family is already attuned to your current work schedule. They do not interrupt you at work when you are at the office. So it will take some time for them to realize that when mom is working from home, she is actually working. A little fine tuning of the family schedule should eventually give you at least your 6 hours of work time.
You will now be a “work at home mom”, not an on-call employee. This means you gain control over your time and make it truly yours. You should never feel guilty about doing things for the sake of your family and you shouldn’t have to sacrifice your aspirations either. It is time to stand back and contemplate the larger picture. This will motivate you to gain control and give you much needed perspective.

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Selective Outsourcing: – A Strategic Perspective

The outsourcing industry typically encounters two types of investors. Those who are willing to outsource few of their business operations, and know how to do it, and, those who nourish an inclination to outsource, but also harbor doubts because of stories about potential that portray outsourcing disasters. This (second) group of investors, falls into the category of people who would want to see for themselves if outsourcing will work for them, without relying on unreliable third party information strewn all over the internet. This means, they are willing to take the risk, but want to form their own opinion out of experience, and not draw conclusions from the contents of studies, websites and blogs.
“Selective Outsourcing” is aimed at building trust and establishing compatibility between the investor and the outsourcing partner before any long term agreement is reached with mutual consent. This means, while the outsourcing partner works on specific modules, the investor retains control over the overall function. Payroll Management is an excellent example of Selective Outsourcing. Payroll is classified as an HR responsibility. The concerned personnel has to account for each salary component such as leave policy, performance pay, overtime compensation, increment policy in accordance to labor laws, etc. for every employee in the system. The figures need to be meticulously entered and painstakingly double checked to avoid any mistakes, all under the pressure of delivering the completed report before 72 hours of salary due date. Many companies are wary of outsourcing their complete HR operations, but are more than willing to outsource the payroll management.
Payroll Management is time consuming, repetitive and a critical time-bound task. The HR department is under tremendous pressure.This creates a backlog at other HR functions. By selectively outsourcing their payroll management system, companies have saved time, money, and valuable man-hours that can now be channeled towards other HR activities that directly affect the company’s overall performance, such as recruitment and induction training, workforce management, grievance redressing and welfare schemes.
Selective outsourcing is also considered to be the most practical way of identifying the right kind of outsourcing partners. Let us consider a case, where you, as the Investor (or Small Business owner) have a series of graphic demands. With several self proclaimed graphic experts all over the internet, it gets hard to identify, who is actually qualified. In this situation, instead of handing over the complete list graphic needs to a certain “expert”, you can check them out , by having them handle just a part of your graphic needs, eg. a logo, a banner, an icon. Each will be considered as a separate project. This will allow you to evaluate your “graphic expert” on the following grounds:
Reliability:- Does the person deliver what has been promised ?
Acceptability: – Does the end product meet your requirement?
Compatibility: – Does the process of deployment and delivery suit both of you?
Communication: – Are response time and other things satisfactory to both?
In other words, Selective Outsourcing allows the investor to see beyond the “all or nothing” approach to outsourcing, and to see the development of customer specific strategies that are tailor made to suit the investor’s needs.
Steve Cameron, senior vice president of managed services at Steve Cameron, senior vice president of managed services at Siemens Business Services on his interview with IT Business Edge says,

“The number-one benefit our clients are seeking is cost savings through the innovative application of the selective service. This also gives the client transparency in the cost structure because of the fixed scope of the selective IT element under management”


t has been noted that about 80 % of Irish businesses use Selective Outsourcing in one way or another. The Outsourcing Evolution remarks that several companies struggle with the costs associated with printing and have opted to use selective outsourcing to fulfill their needs by using the services of Outsourcing partners like Ergo
A Survey conducted by Watson Wyatt predicts that steadfast growth in Selective Outsourcing will be seen among small and medium sized business in the coming years. Companies need to step back and take a broader look at how outsourcing can work towards the overall benefit of business by employing the Selective Outsourcing Model.

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GTD – Getting Things Done ( Your way)

Before we delve into the principle and tools of GTD, it is my responsibility to tell you that GTD® is the acronym for “Getting Things Done ®“, and is the trademark of David Allen Company
Don’t we all have our deadlines to meet, personally and professionally ? Isn’t it a common scenario that you contemplate and decide to complete a certain report over your morning cup of tea, but by the time you reach your office, you are so engrossed in the immediate activities to an extent that, compiling the report literally slips out of your mind until it is time to head back home ?. I was a victim to this kind of scene up until recently.
While I was blog hopping, a casual glance at Getting Things Done , cleared my mind to such an extent that it feels like opening your window overlooking the beach: Fresh air not only penetrates the room, it permeates into your thoughts too. So, allow me to share what I have learnt about GTD in the past few weeks.
GTD is something that will push us, or rather motivate us from “Must do a task” to “Actually doing it”. You cannot just think “Must eat this apple”, and not actually eat it. Understanding GTD will allow us to become better performers, as we will be actually doing the things that we ought to be doing.
The principle behind GTD is … our mind is filled with plethora of thoughts, and every passing second we are putting more thoughts into it. We believe that our mind records the thought and remembers it for us. This puts lot of pressure on our mind, and that is why we end up with a “burnt out feeling”. If we would transfer our thoughts from the mind to an external medium ( say a notepad, physical or digital ), then this act would free our minds to give more attention to actually doing the task.
To quote from Wikipedia at Getting Things Done
GTD rests on the principle that a person needs to move tasks out of the mind by recording them externally. That way, the mind is freed from the job of remembering everything that needs to be done, and can concentrate on actually performing those tasks.
GTD is a 5 phase process, and takes practice for at least 15 – 30 days initially to get used to the idea, after which it becomes a habit.
PHASE 1 :- Record your thoughts now
PHASE 2 :- Collect them at one place
PHASE 3 :- Organize them as natural flow of events
PHASE 4 :- Review on resources
PHASE 5 :- Do it now
We have a wide range of GTD tools before us, and perhaps some of you might be already using them without realizing that they are infact GTD tools.
PHASE 1 : Record Your Thoughts Now

  1. Stenographer’s Note Pad:

I have them all over the place with a pen tied to the binding. This does not give me the excuse to “I will write when I find a pen”. So, if anything is on my mind, I would write it down, tear off the page and put in my pocket. This also works when I am on the move, and does not require wifi connectivity.

  1. Handy MS Excel :

I have an Excel window open while I am working at my desk. The rows and columns are already in place. All that is expected from me is jot down my train of thoughts, which usually follows after reading an email. Nothing elaborate here, something like, “Request for project specifications from Mike”, or , “Collect agenda from Stacy”, or “Remind Joe about module submission,”etc . Do not forget to write the date on top.
So, one is digital while the other one is not. Yet both gives me complete flexibility to progress with the next phase of GTD without depending too much on internet connectivity.
PHASE 2 : Collect Them in One Place
My thoughts are safely recorded but strewn all over a >notepad and Excel sheet. Just as one would “collect one’s thought” before delivering a speech, I have to collect my thoughts into a single streamlined course of action before acting on them. It is here I actually “Think about how to do this task”.
Now, in a new sheet in Excel, I write down the course of action in order of their execution. On a typical day, my task list will look something like this.

Mike Request Specification email
Stacy Collect Agenda
Joe Remind module submission phone
Team Upcoming status email
Me Research on Product A internet
Me Compile report
Boss Submit report

For actions to be taken on later date, I add a new column and note the date. Btw, Having dates also helps to keep track of events along the timeline.
PHASE 3 :Organize Them as a Natural Flow of Events
There is nothing much to do here, if you would perform Phase 2 with due diligence. Plus, Excel always allows you to insert a new row in between tasks.
PHASE 4 : Review the List
This is like double-checking to see if anything has slipped out while writing them down.
PHASE 5 :Do It Now
Well, Now is the time. You no longer have excuses for not doing the things on your list. Handle one thing at a time. Remember to add a new column that says “Status” and write “DONE” in big bold red color once you have finished doing it.

Mike Request Specification email DONE
Stacy Collect Agenda DONE
Joe Remind module submission Phone DONE
Team Upcoming status email DONE
Me Research on Product A internet In Progress
Me compile report Pending
Boss Submit report Pending

It really feels good to see so many “DONE” items in the list. Believe it or not, once you get used to doing this, you just cannot wait to get “DONE” across all the things in your list.
The best thing about GTD is it really “Gets Things Done”. But there is a catch – You have to make a conscious effort towards Phase 1 and Phase 2. If you fail these two phase, then you fail at GTD.
Tell us about how you organize your daily routine. The idea is to “get things done”. If a system works for you do share it with us. We would like to know. Do you use sophisticated GTD tools , or do you have a “Back-To-Basics” approach?.

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