Make it stop! I set up an iPhone shortcut, Start Timer, but it keeps repeating, every time I stop it. Where did I go wrong, and how can I fix it, so the timer runs once, and then stops?
Continue reading “iPhone Shortcut Start Timer Keeps Repeating”
Category: Productivity
Grow Your Small Business–Task Challenge–Summer Season
Is summer a quiet time for your small business? If so, it could be the perfect time to work on growing your business! And I’ve got a couple of free Excel workbooks to help you!
My Contextures site features Microsoft Excel tips, videos and tutorials, and things slow down in the summer. People are at the beach, instead of in their offices or classrooms!
Summer Business Task Challenge
I’ll take some time off too, but I also want to work on growing my business. It’s a never-ending job!
To make things more fun, I created a Business Task Challenge template in Excel (and you can get a copy).
- In the file, I’ve listed about 90 tasks that I could do this summer, or have my summer intern work on.
- We’ll each pick a target number of tasks to complete
- Excel formulas will track our progress
This task challenge will help us focus on getting things done,:
- Our goal tasks will be selected at the beginning of the summer season
- We won’t waste any time, wondering what to do next!
List Your Business Tasks
If you’d like to do a task challenge too, you can get the template on my Contextures site, on the Sample Files page.
- In the Functions section, look for FN0079 – Business Task Tracker
To help you get started, I made a list of 89 business tasks. You can work with my list, or customize the list with your own tasks.
Formulas at the top of the worksheet show the total number of tasks, and how many are finished.
Check the “Done” box, for each task, when you’ve finished it.
- Note: If you don’t have check boxes in your version of Excel, you can use TRUE and FALSE in the Done column.
Filter the Task List
To make it easier to choose your tasks, there are two Slicers on the Excel worksheet.
- Category – click one of the category names, to see only those tasks in the list
- Who – click one of the “Who” names, to see only the tasks for that person
Later, to see all the tasks again, click the “Clear Filter” button, at the top right of each Slicer.
Vision Board Tasks
Another type of task challenge is based on a vision board bingo card.
- Put 24 tasks or goals in a grid
- Cross off the tasks, when you finish them
I made an Excel Vision Board bingo template, that you can get on my Contextures site.
- Note: The vision board template uses the FILTER function, which is available in Excel 365
Video: Vision Board Demo
You can see a quick demo of my vision board in the video below. I show how the Vision Board bingo template works, and how you can customize it, to use your own goals and tasks.
Vision Board Example
The screen shot below shows some of the goals in my sample file.
- I’ve put 92 goals in the file
- You can mark any 24 of them, for the bingo card
- Later, mark different tasks, for a fresh bingo card
You can also edit, delete or add goals and tasks in the list, to customize it for your own business tasks or personal goals!
‘______________________________
Keeping Track of Your Ideas
January is a great time to try something new – for yourself and your business. It’s the start of a new year, and you’re probably finishing up a fiscal year, and reviewing last year’s results. Even if things are going well, it’s good to inject some fresh ideas into your business plan. Are you trying any new ideas this year?
Art Before Breakfast
I try to avoid using Excel before breakfast – how about you? Instead, I read the news feeds, and take a peek at Twitter, and open my email for a quick look. This week, I also tried a little art before breakfast, but that didn’t go too well.
Business Goals for 2019
Happy New Year! Did you make any personal resolutions or business goals for 2019? On Twitter, my friend, Dick Kusleika, shared a cartoon by Josh Hara (@yoyoha), with “Realistic New Year’s Resolutions.” I might try the first one – “Keep my devices charged”. That sounds doable!
Background Music While Working
Do you like background music while working, or do you prefer a quiet office? When I used to go out to visit clients, I had to adjust to all kinds of background noise, like factory machines, piped-in music and snack-crunching cubicle mates (they’re the worst). In my home office, I like to keep things quiet – just me, the fan, and the ticking clock.
Can You Give Yourself a Vacation?
When you work for somebody else, you get vacation time every year. It’s nice to have lazy time away from the office, and think about something other than work for a while. But, when you work for yourself, do you remember to go on vacation? Or do you just take a long weekend now and then, and then get right back to work?
Getting Results the Agile Way
Those are some of my daily challenges, while working on personal and client projects. Maybe there are some good tips in Getting Results the Agile Way, by J.D. Meier, who used to work at Microsoft.
The Kindle version of the book is free today on Amazon, instead of its usual price of $9.99. So, if you’re interested, grab a copy now, before the price goes back up. There is a Look Inside feature on the sales page, so you can skim through that before downloading it.
The description says that it’s 241 pages, which seems pretty long for an “agile” system. However, in the introduction, the author says that you can start in the Appendix section, which has “quick, step-by-step guidance for adopting the three key parts of Agile Results…you can immediately start getting the benefits of work-life balance and focused results”.
We’ll see!
______