This presentation, first presented at the Silicon Valley VMUG on May 1, 2013, offers some common sense and real-world tips and tricks for being productive and effective.

1. Tips & Tricks from a (Wannabe)
Productivity Geek
Some thoughts and ideas for being productive and effective in today’s
fast-paced industry
Scott Lowe, VCDX 39
vExpert, Author, Blogger, Geek
http://blog.scottlowe.org / Twitter: @scott_lowe

2. Before we start
•Get involved! Audience participation is encouraged and
requested.
•If you use Twitter, feel free to tweet about this session (use
@MyVMUG or hashtag #SVVMUG)
•I encourage you to take photos or videos of today’s session
and share them online
•This presentation will be made available online after the event

3. •Know the metrics
•Reduce the friction
•Find a trusted system
•Process your e-mail
•Know when to stop
•Some tools I use
Agenda

4. Knowing is half the battle

5. Knowing is half the battle

6. •Try to understand where improvements can be made
•Ask yourself questions like these:
•What tasks am I constantly performing?
•What takes up most of my time during the workday?
•What causes the most disruption to my focus?
•Once you know the answers, you can make progress on
being more effective
Know the metrics

7. •Find ways to streamline and simplify common tasks
•Use automation tools (macros, scripts)
•Use text substitution applications (TextExpander, Breevy,
AutoKey)
•Use keyboard-based application launchers or search tools
(Quicksilver, Launchy, Gnome Do)
•Learn and use keyboard shortcuts
Reduce the friction

8. Demo time!

9. •Which system you use is less important than actually using it
•David Allen’s Getting Things Done (GTD) is one popular
trusted system
•Lots of applications designed to fit into GTD, if that’s your
trusted system
•GTD isn’t for everyone, though—find what works for you!
•Reduce the friction to make your trusted system easier to
use
Find a trusted system

10. •Don’t just manage e-mail, process e-mail!
•Four rules for processing e-mail:
•Rule #1: If you can do it in under 2 minutes, do it.
•Rule #2: If it takes more than 2 minutes, put it in your
trusted system.
•Rule #3: If you need the information, archive the message.
•Rule #4: Otherwise, delete the message.
•Reduce the friction to make this process easier
Process your e-mail

11. •Pay it forward—help others process their e-mail
•Useful subject lines help; consider these prefixes:
•“Info:” for FYI-type messages
•“Request:” when you’re asking them to do something
•“Inquiry:” when you’re asking a question
•“Confirmed:” to confirm the receipt of a request or task
•“Delivered:” means you’re completing the request or task
and delivering the item(s)
Process your e-mail

12. Know when to stop

13. •Quicksilver
•FastScripts (with custom AppleScripts)
•OmniFocus
•Typinator
•TextSoap
•Markdown
Some tools I use

14. Questions &
answers

15. Thank you!
Don’t forget to provide feedback and rate this session on the last
page of your Program Guide.