The document provides tips and best practices for time management, communication, and productivity tools like calendars, email, and Zoom meetings, including how to use tools like Outlook, OneNote, and Zoom effectively for prioritization, communication, and staying organized. Recommendations include using a weekly activity report, daily journals, contextual next actions lists, clear subject lines and signatures in email, and blocking out priorities on calendars.

1. Time Management & Communicating
Lunch & Learn Best Practices & Tips:
Calendars, Zoom & Email
MARCH 11, 2020
Justin Meats

2. Time Management

3. Time Management
Priority Management

4. Culture is how work gets done

9. How do we row in the samedirection?

10. Priorities
&
Communication

11. Q2 Planning
• Reviewing/Prepping Q2 possibilities now
• Planning Q2 offsite early-mid April
• Management team – Quarterly Rocks
• Product Planning 2 Days
• Review Q1
• Prioritize Q2 Roadmap

12. Weekly Activity Report (WAR)
• Top 3 Accomplishments for Past Week
• Top 3 Items for this Week
• Top 3 Monthly Rocks/Goals
• Top 3 Quarterly Rocks/Goals
• Product is sharing ours in #product-team-war
• Helps keep focus on Day/Week/Month/Quarter

13. Weekly Journal / Todo List
• Weekly Planning in OneNote
• WAR
• Deadlines for the week
• Tasks
• Strategy / Writing
• JIRA/UAT
• Meetings to Schedule
• Other Tasks
• Agendas: 1:1s, Syncs, etc
• Personal Tasks / Habit Tracker
• Daily Journals

14. Daily Journals
• Included on Weekly OneNote
• Based on 5-minute journal / Benjamin Franklin
• Morning
• I am grateful for:
• What good can I do today/What would make
today great?
• Daily affirmations, I am:
• Night
• What good did I️ do today? 3 amazing things
that happened today:
• How I could make today better

15. Getting Things Done by David Allen
1. Capture
Get everything out of your mind into a system you
trust
2. Next Action
Have a list of workable inventory of “next actions”
3. Curating & Coordinating
Recognize and prioritized base on commitments with
yourself and others

16. Next Actions - Contextual
• Calls
• At Computer
• Errands
• At Office (Miscellaneous)
• At Home
• Anywhere
• Agendas (For people and meetings)
• Read/Review

17. Zoom / Video Calls

18. Video Call Tips
• Head Room: Eyes should be in upper third of screen
• Indirect lighting is best
• Be mindful of too backlight – try moving closer to camera
• Be Presentable
• Look at monitor with the camera
• Smile!
• Avoid background noises and mute
• Watch for others turning off mute – means they have something to say
• In conference room, join video but not audio

19. My Favorite Zoom Settings
• Click Gear on start screen
• General
• Use Dual Monitor
Breaks video and screenshare into two windows
• Unchecked Enter Full Screen
• Profile > View Advanced Features
• Join before Host
• Keyboard Shortcuts
• Mute/Unmute My Audio > Enable Global Shortcut
Shift + Command + A
• Push To talk: Space
• Slack
• /zoom
• /zoom join <meeting id>

20. Outlook Calendar

21. The key is not to prioritize
what’s on your schedule,
but to schedule your
priorities
-Stephen Covey

22. Calendar Tips
• Block Time on your calendar for your priorities
• Put your name/company first with a descriptive title
For Example: PriceSpider/Sony QBR
• Use “Hold for” is you have offered someone a specific time
• Keep your calendar up-to-date with Free/Busy info
• Respond to invites

23. Multiple Time Zones
• Add up to 3 time zones in Outlook 36
• Recommend Eastern & Pacific
• Offer times in the other person’s time zone, but specify
• Technically, we are in EDT & PDT, not EST & PST
• EST is UTC-5 & EDT is UTC-4
• PST is UTC-8 & PDT is UTC-7
• For simplicity, you can use PT & ET
• Mac: Outlook > Preferences > Calendar > Time zones
• PC: File > Options > Calendar> Time zones

24. Outlook / Email

25. Email Tips
• Turn off Notifications
• Schedule time for email
• Getting Things Done - Getting to Action
• Less than 2 minutes – do now
• Simplify Folders:
• @Action
• @Archive
• @Read/Review
• @Waiting for

26. Sending Email
• Mindful of To & CC – who is the action for?
• Clear Subject Line (might need to change)
• BLUF: Bottom Line Up Front – What is the action?
• Keep short & too the point
• @ Mentions
• Always include a signature with phone #
• Be respectful / don’t email angry
• Email vs Phone vs Slack

27. Resources
• Manager Tools & Career Tools Podcasts
• Getting Things Done by David Allen
• The Miracle Morning by Hal Elrod

28. Justin R. Meats
justin.meats@pricespider.com •Cell: (614) 620-4118
https://www.justinmeats.com/
https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/19462059-justin-meats
https://medium.com/@justinmeats
https://www.linkedin.com/in/justinmeats/
https://fb.com/justinmeats
https://twitter.com/justinmeats