1. Strategies to Utilize Technology for Maximum Performance Emily Bennington Coauthor, Effective Immediately: How to Fit In, Stand Out, and Move Up at Your First Real Job

2. I wasn’t asked to speak to you today because I’m a tech-junkie. I’ve never camped out when Apple launched a new product.

3. I’m here because I manage to do a lot of things at once. Author Speaker Employee Mom Entrepreneur

4. What’s impacting our ability to Get Things Done?

5. Focus.

6. DISORGANIZATION!

7. We’re so busy with the demands of everyday life, that we don’t keep up with our big ideas very well.

10. Sill no traction Big idea! Opportunity lost

11. You want to beat this economy? Find ways to turn IDEAS into ACTION!

12. Starting with a systematic way to get organized so we can get productive!

13. It All Starts with Time Management 1.) Don’t just react to the incoming, e.g. emails, people, phone calls, etc. 2. ) BEFORE YOU TURN ON YOUR COMPUTER, list your 5x5, i.e. the 5 things you want to get done by 5pm. 3.) Find your “Alone Zone” and/or “Power Hour.” (Note: You MUST schedule this as a reoccurring appointment on your calendar everyday.)

14. P.S. Turn off email notifications during your power hour! And keep in mind…

15. Success is in the ACT, not the APP!

16. That said, there are still killer apps to increase organization and productivity.

17. Let’s start with the 800 pound gorilla, shall we?

18. Sign in or create a Google Account. (Note: You don’t have to use a Gmail address for this.)

19. Google has a TON of useful tools, but we’re going to dive into one…

20. Google Reader

25. You can even add notes to shared items.

26. Explore tab gives you a list of feeds you may like based on your current subscriptions.

27. To add feeds to your Reader, visit important sites (e.g. clients, prospects, professional development, news, etc.) and look for the RSS icon.

28. (It will look like one of these.)

29. When you click on the RSS icon, it will open up a page that looks like this. Choose the Google button.

30. You will then have a choice between adding the feed to your Google homepage or Google Reader. Select Reader.

31. The feed will appear directly in your Reader. Now, you no longer need to visit the site for the latest updates – they will come straight to you.

32. (Google Homepage sample if you’re curious.)

33. Alternatively, you can go straight to the site, grab the URL…

34. …and paste it directly.

35. Bold items are unread. Unbold items have been read or marked “read” by you.

36. To customize your Reader, click on “Manage Subscriptions” in the lower left corner of the screen.

37. You can delete, file, or rename your feeds from this page.

38. Also, by clicking on the “Preferences” tab, you can set your Reader home (a.k.a Start) page to any feed you choose.

39. You have complete control over what you choose to share in your Reader…and what you don’t.

40. Your turn.

45. Voilà

46. That’s great, Emily. I’m now a Google Power User, but how do I organize projects?

47. I wrote my first book the old-fashioned way.

48. For my next book I’m using….

49. Evernote

52. …is that it eventually gets fuzzy.

53. Best case = you have a decrease in overall productivity. Worst case, you lose a great idea completely.

54. Practical Ways to Use Evernote Project organization. (Notes, photos, and web clips all in one place.) Share notes with your team / family. Meeting preparation / follow-up. Manage your goals and to-do list. Keep track of your children’s projects and deadlines. Save favorite recipes. Take photos of wine bottles, restaurants, hotels, business cards, etc. you want to remember later. REPLACE THE SCRIBBLES!

55. To get started, visit Evernote.com

56. Create an account.

57. Download the site to your computer.

58. Pick up the app so you can use it on your phone.

59. You also want to download the web clipper extension…

60. …so you can have one of these cool elephants on your tool bar.

61. Click on the elephant, and you can save web articles to Evernote.

62. Voilà

63. If you don’t need the whole article, you can highlight text and right-click…

64. This will save only what you’ve highlighted into Evernote.

65. You can even select the folder where you want the note to go.

66. And add text if you like.

67. Voilà

68. This is how I used to keep track of my idea files.

69. This is how I do it now. All online. No more folders.

70. (Not that I could put this in a folder anyway…)

71. Note from a recent meeting. I needed info from this page, but the binder wasn’t mine. Solution?

72. You can even use Evernote to capture tweets.

73. Just go to Settings > Twitter

74. Next, follow @myen and you’ll receive a direct message. Click on the link and you’re all set!

75. Example

77. You can share entire folders with family, friends and colleagues.

82. In other words… ACT!

83. Email me for a link to this presentation! ProfessionalStudio365.com Twitter.com/EmilyBennington Facebook.com/EmilyBenningtonCollegetoCareer LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/emilybennington Email: ebennington@msn.com