Episode 13 – Start Small to Grow Big

January 25, 2012 in Podcast with 7 Comments

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Ivan covers how you can start small to build a solid accounting foundation for your company. Kevin covers the process he goes through to publish a podcast. We also talk about using templates to be productive and some of the books we’re reading.

Send your questions or feedback to feedback@freeagenttoolbox.com or call (949) 4AG-ENTS.

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Episode 12 – Learn Something New for You

January 18, 2012 in Podcast with 0 Comments

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Welcome back to the Free Agent Toolbox Podcast! In this episode we discuss websites that provide great values for software to improve your business. Ivan tells why he wants to learn a programming language. We also touch on building your business the way you want it to be instead of doing what you think other people expect you to do.

Send your questions or feedback to feedback@freeagenttoolbox.com or call (949) 4AG-ENTS. Record your name, question and website address and we’ll feature it in an upcoming podcast.

Links:

  • Codeyear.com – Learn a programming language in 2012 along with 342,000+ other people!
  • AppSumo – Great place to get deals on software and training to build and improve your business
  • MacUpdate Promo – Find deals on Mac software
  • Fence Posts and Dreams – Kevin’s post on fencing in your fear instead of fencing in your life.

Have a question you’d like us to answer? Mail it to feedback@freeagenttoolbox.com or call us at 949-4AGENTS and leave a voicemail. We’ll play it in an upcoming episode and do our best to answer your questions.

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Fence Posts and Dreams

January 16, 2012 in Free Agent Lifestyle, General with 6 Comments

Free Agent ToolboxOne of the scariest things in the world for me is to have a wide open schedule, whether it be for two hours, two months or the rest of my life. On the surface it sounds nice. Inside though, I have nagging questions like What do I do next?,  If I choose this opportunity, what else am I missing? and Is this what I’m supposed to be doing?  I’ve gotten accustomed to having my days planned out so I don’t have to deal with such questions. But I limit myself by doing so.

This morning I read Mary DeMuth’s post where she asked my friend Justin Lukasavige an awesome question. She simply asked What would it look like for you to live uncaged in 2012?  As I read his answers and turned the question on myself I realized I don’t know what that that would look like in my life. Justin uses the term wide open spaces, something I don’t operate well in.

If life were an open field, I’ve been putting up fenceposts as I’ve gone along, slowing building a boundary between those things I’m scared of and the comfortable life I often choose by default. Each decision is another fencepost protecting me from having to choose a direction to go. Over time, I’ve separated myself, often unconsciously, from painful choices by creating a space I can comfortably operate in. It’s anything but wide open, though.

Continue Reading…

Boomerang for GMail

January 12, 2012 in Productivity with 0 Comments

The 43 Folders system works great for paper and physical items like tickets, postcards and sticky notes. But what about all the email we get that we don’t know what to do with just yet? Or that we know we’ll need in two weeks so we just let it sit in our inbox?

I use a plugin called Boomerang for Gmail which allows me to have an email returned to my inbox at a specified time. It makes achieving inbox zero much easier. Because I often can’t (or don’t want to) act on the email until later, Boomerang allows me to clear it from my mind and inbox knowing it will reappear when I need it to.

Boomerang for Gmail

The Boomerang button sits right beside the other GMail buttons right above the email message. I can select when I want the message to reappear at the top of my inbox.

Boomerang also has two other features I use on a regular basis. The second feature is to send an email at a scheduled time. For example, when I add a meeting with someone in my calendar I often schedule an email for the morning of the meeting asking “Is today’s meeting time still good for you?”.  The third feature allows me to set a reminder if I don’t hear back from someone. This is very useful if I need to hear back from someone before I make a decision on something and need their input.

Boomerang for Gmail

There are free and paid versions of Boomerang depending on your needs, including a mobile option and integration with Salesforce. You can get a free 30 day trial for Boomerang Pro here (affiliate link).

What other tools do you use to make sure nothing falls through the cracks?

 

Episode 11 – Social Media Blunders and Learning Styles

January 11, 2012 in Podcast with 3 Comments

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Welcome back to the Free Agent Toolbox Podcast! Ivan’s taking the morning off as Kevin covers some fresh news about social media blunders and comments on a social media “guru” who thinks his work is being devalued.

Links:

Here’s the Facebook post I mentioned in the podcast from Social Triggers. Notice any glaring assumptions in the comments I highlighted?

 

Have a question you’d like us to answer? Mail it to feedback@freeagenttoolbox.com or call us at 949-4AGENTS and leave a voicemail. We’ll play it in an upcoming episode and do our best to answer your questions.

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43 Folders to Start the Day

January 10, 2012 in Productivity with 3 Comments

43 FoldersI’ve written before about my morning routine and how it helps me hit the ground running each day. One of the tools I mentioned is 43 Folders. This technique is great for physical and paper items where you  need to send yourself a reminder in the future. Here’s how it works:

  • You have a folder for each day of the month (31) and a folder for each month of the year (12). See how it gets its name?
  • Use one hanging folders to hold the days and another one to hold the months, both in the correct order. I put both hanging folders at the very front of my most easily accessible file drawer.
  • To set the system up to get started right away, the very first folder should be for tomorrow. The rest of the days should follow through 31, followed by the folder for next month and then the daily folders from 1 thru today.  For example, if it were July 4th you would put the folder labeled 4 at the front. The August file folder would go behind day 31. Days 1-3 would be behind the August folder.
  • The remaining monthly folders come last.  In our example, the folders would be from September thru July.
  • Each morning take out the first folder. Items in the folder are for you to act on that day. Put the empty folder behind the last daily folder.
  • At the start of a new month, take anything in the monthly folder and move it to the correct day in the future. Put the monthly folder at the back of the other monthly folders and put next month’s folder after the folder labeled 31.
  • Keep doing this in perpetuity.

If you are more of a visual and/or auditory learner, here’s the video I originally linked to that is pretty straight-forward:

I’ve been using the 43 Folders system for 7 years and it’s been amazing how many things I have completely forgotten and would have fallen through the cracks. But each morning, the information or paper I needed was there to greet me, saving me from myself.

In the next post I’ll discuss how I use a tool that lets me do something similar with my email.

Do you use 43 Folders or a similar system? I’d love to hear about your experiences. Please share in the comments.

Close It Out!

January 5, 2012 in Free Agent Lifestyle, Productivity with 0 Comments

As we enter a new year there are high hopes and enthusiasm for things to come. But it helps to make sure everything from last year is finished and all the loose ends are tied off.

Accountants use what’s known as a close list to help them keep track of the tasks they need to complete at the end of each month, quarter and year. Financial numbers must match, reports must be created and taxes must be paid. All things that make my head hurt.

I have my own version of a close list, though. It includes some financial and tax related tasks, but most of the items are related to following up with clients, filling out my editorial calendar for the month, refreshing my Twitter lists and Google+ circles and a ton of other things that a free agent has to take care of to keep the business running smoothly

If you create the same list of tasks over and over as you remember them, you’re duplicating effort. I recommend creating the lists in your favorite word processor so you can either view when the time comes or print off a few copies. Then you can get those extra endorphins as you cross those repetitive, recurring tasks off your list.

What’s on your close list?

Episode 10 – Version Infinity and Beyond!

January 4, 2012 in Podcast with 0 Comments

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As free agents we can be flexible and make small changes to get big results. We talk about “version infinity”, “minimal viable products” and other fancy terms that mean “take action and ship!”

Send your questions or feedback to feedback@freeagenttoolbox.com or call (949) 4AG-ENTS.

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Episode 9 – To Do, Doing and Done

December 28, 2011 in Podcast with 0 Comments

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Task managers are plentiful and often overkill. We discuss how we keep track of our projects and to do list. From high-tech to low-tech, we’ve hit them all and share what we think is most important when using tools to make you more effective and efficient.

Send your questions or feedback to feedback@freeagenttoolbox.com or call (949) 4AG-ENTS.

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Have a question you’d like us to answer? Mail it to feedback@freeagenttoolbox.com or call us at 949-4AGENTS and leave a voicemail. We’ll play it in an upcoming episode and do our best to answer your questions.

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Episode 8 – Your Pipeline and the Holidays

December 21, 2011 in Podcast with 0 Comments

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We discuss how to keep your pipeline full while things may be slowing down and setting expectations with clients during the holidays.

Want to win a copy of John Maxwell’s “The Maxwell Daily Reader”? Be one of the first three folks to submit a question by email or voicemail and we’ll send it your way!

Send your questions or feedback to feedback@freeagenttoolbox.com or call (949) 4AG-ENTS.

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Have a question you’d like us to answer? Mail it to feedback@freeagenttoolbox.com or call us at 949-4AGENTS and leave a voicemail. We’ll play it in an upcoming episode and do our best to answer your questions.

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