Month: December 2013

G014 | Productivity | Resolution for 2014

SMART w/ P

2014R1. (Blog) It is now 12pm Saturday 2014-03-01, I now have 180 articles written. I can see the list with my own eyes and I am very happy with myself.

2014R2. (Health) It is now 12pm Sunday 2014-06-01, I now weight less than 80kg. I can see the scale with my own eyes and I am very happy with myself.

2014R3. (Health) It is now 12pm Monday 2014-09-01, I now feel more energised than last year due to my intake of supplements, my regular twice-weekly exercise routine and my blogging on health topics. I can see the scale with my own eyes and I am very happy with myself.

2014R4. (French) It is now 12pm Monday 2014-12-01, I have now passed my C1 exam in French. I can see the certificate with my own eyes and I am very happy with myself.

G008 | Productivity | Adopt a Routine to Turbo Your Day

I had a lunch with my friend Ed and we were chatting about personal development, educational methodologies, techie stuff, the art of networking, among other things. We were talking about the power of routine and Ed was referring to me to his post on this topic and I feel fairly inspired. In the article, he talked about his routine to ease the transition between his work hours and evening hours.

I intend to take the following actions

  • Blog about my routines
  • Focus on my early evening routine inspired by Ed.

My evening routine plan as of 2013-12-31

  • S1 Change into comfort clothes while tidying away my work clothes
  • S2 Put on relaxing music or motivation audio
  • S3 Make a cup of camomille tea
  • S4 Quick shower

It’s Your Turn

What do you think? Do you use any routine consciously or unconsciously to be more productive? Do you have any tip that you can share. Do you have an suggestion? Do you want to me expand on any section. Share your experience in the comments box below.

G007 | Experiment | Less Forgetfulness

Combining the technique of anchoring and checklist and mnemonics, I intend to experiment with the following:

Tap my left shoulders with mentally going through the following checklist.

I. At home

  • Charge Phone and Gadgets
  • Organise my Stuff (with Trello)
  • Mini Plan – Reverse planning, JIP (Just in time planning)

mnemonics: a cop at home

II. When leaving house

  • Phones
  • Money (bank card and some cash)
  • Stuff for travel (tickets, Oyster/Navigo etc)
  • Keys

mnemonics: PM TK –> Afternoon shopping at Tk Max

G005 | Social Skills| Step-by-Step Guide to Develop the Art of Conversation

“Conversation, like certain portions of the anatomy, always runs more smoothly when lubricated.” ― Marquis de Sade

Please nod your head if you’ve ever felt that you are not very good at having conversations with new people in a party, new colleagues in your company, or new people in general.

When you decide that you want to walk with a particular person for whatever reasons, maybe you feel that you are supposed to be talking since you are in a social situation which demands so, or that you find that person attractive or for whatever reasons actually, you just feel that your jaws are kind of stuck together and no words can come out. Trust me, lots of people feel the same from time to time.

… But you know you are a nice person, and you want to connect with a particular person. So, what do do?

Well, I have thought about this topic quite a bit like most people and I have read around the subjects as well, I am writing this article as a reminder to myself but I also hope that you find some ideas here helpful for you too.

First, I will talk about the principles for a great initial conversation. Then I will share some tips for the opener. Finally, I will suggest an action plan for you so that you can hone your skills.

I. Principles

  • Mindfulness
  • Good feeling
  • Rapport & Reciprocity

Principle 1: Mindfulness

Have you ever talked with someone and you feel that he is not there with you and that he is actually miles away so to speak? This is obviously a no-no. Mindfulness, in a sense, is an attitude of attention and art of awareness. (mnemonics: 4As) Most people say that eye contact is key, for a long time, I don’t actually know what that means as it does not feel concrete enough. Without moderation, I have found watching the eye movement of your conversation partner to be an easy way to anchor my attention to him, I suggest that you can try this or something similar too.

Principle 2: Good feeling

People like people who are like themselves and people like people like people who like them. I am more or less convinced this is one of the main foundations of social dynamics.

Principle 3: Rapport & Reciprocity

These are two ideas from NLP, I will discuss these two ideas in a separate article.

II. Openers

  • OAR (Observe, Assume, Relate)
  • OO (Opinion Openers)
  • SC (Situation Compliments)
  • AI (Advice Invitation)

I will discuss the first 4 ideas in a separate article.

The KISS principle is basically universal. So, something like “Hi, My name is Ben and I’m a Paris-based IT guy” or “Hi, my name is Ben and I am here because I know Bob” is actually great. Talking about jobs can be a turn-off for certain people, keep this in mind.

Personally, I feel that speaking your mind honestly is indeed the best policy, so, it’s absolutely fine to say, “I feel a bit nervous to talk to new people in this event, I have an intuition that you would be someone easy to talk to, so, my name is Ben and I’m a Paris-based IT guy, you?

III. Action Plan

I will discuss this in a separate article.

It’s Your Turn

What do you think? What strategies do you use to network? Do you have any tip that you can share. Do you have an suggestion? Do you want to me expand on any section. Share your experience in the comments box below.

G004 | Productivity | 4 Steps and 3 Tips to Use Trello to Stay Super Organised

Smiley face

Please nod your head if you’ve ever felt overwhelmed by the seemingly endless number of todo items on your plate.

When you decide what you want to do, there are seemingly hundreds of little creatures of the todo species battling for your attention, you feel overwhelmed and paralysed, you then decide to shoot some more birds on your smartphone, check on the statuses of someone you’ve haven’t met in like over 10 years or reorganise your desk for the 8th time this month. You then feel guilty afterwards and this is basically a vicious circle.

… But you know you are in intelligent person, and you want to feel that you are in control and that you are actually taking meaningful actions to bring you closer to your goal. So, what to do?

Well, there’s good news: managing your life, both professional and personal in Trello doesn’t have to be that daunting. With the right attitude and ideas at your disposal, you could easily visually manage your workflow and get great things done — all without reading more self-help books, paying for more overpriced Moleskin or constantly making boring todo lists.

To help you make the most out of Trello, we are creating Trello Ninja Guide. We’ll walk you through to the most crucial elements of maximising productivity through Trello, and give you 10+ templates you can use in your new or existing Trello setup.

4 Steps to Get the Most from Trello.

1) Sign up for Trello and install native apps

  • Sign up to Trello here.
  • Install native iOS or Android or Windows 8 apps with guide here

2) Explore and play with the Welcome Board

3) Create several boards depending on how you like to work

I would recommend

  • Main – this is basically a board of boards
  • Project: ABC, Project: XYZ – I recommend a project based organisation
  • Projects – where you can have an overview of your projects
  • Someday – a board for things you may want to do one day. This is a GTD concept. Read this guide for more information.

4) Constant use and constant evolution

I recommend that you look at your main boards at least 3 times a day and that you evolve and tweak the board set up every 4 weeks to keep the novelty factor.

3 Tips to Get the Most from Trello.

1) Use keyboard shortcuts

2) Use label as status updates

Instead of constantly moving cards around, I like to use Trello labels to indicate status, I personally use red for high priority tasks, yellow for in progress and blue for completed tasks

3) Use the Trello Resources Board for more ideas

It’s Your Turn

What do you think? What strategies do you or your business use to stay organised? What has your experience with Trello been so far? What aspects would you like me to explain more? Share your experience in the comments box below.