Drive away distraction

If you’re like me and you get between 50-150 emails every single day, both personal and business, have high speed Internet access so you can watch TV and videos around the clock on your desktop, notebook and smart phone, I’m sure you’re not as productive as you used to be. I realized this after getting an e-mail alert about this article on menshealth.com.

I found it fascinating to read and it certainly changed my perspective on e-mail, instant messaging and live RSS feeds. If you recognize yourself in this the situation, I urge you to read at least the seven ways to stop distraction below.

1) Think by the week.
Most planning tools--calendars, daily planners, and to-do lists--help you be more efficient. But you're only prioritizing your crises each day. Covey's cure-all: a weekly worksheet. Organize your life on a weekly basis; this allows you to schedule time for your top priorities and the actions that prevent crises.

2) Tell people to leave you alone.
"It takes the average person 2 to 15 minutes to recover from each interruption," says time-management coach Joy Baldridge of Baldridge Seminars International. "Interruptions are the biggest time robbers and focus busters." To minimize an interruption, she recommends her "plus, plus, dash" trick. Say two nice things (the plus, plus, or ++), then dash (--) off. Example: "Hey, great to see you. I wish I could talk now. Right now isn't good, though; let's talk at 3."

3) Clear off your desk.
Is your desk a mess? I hope so. Psychologists have discovered that messy desks are a necessity in a wide variety of careers. They're also distracting. Although we're barely conscious of it, we all have the same method to our madness.
We keep a "hot" pile of papers, probably next to the phone; a "warm" pile or two toward the edges of the desk; and various "cold" piles atop the filing cabinet and every other square inch of horizontal space. These last are mostly completed projects or "just in case" materials. Their presence may ratchet up your sense of being overwhelmed. "As emotional arousal increases, focus becomes more difficult," says Nideffer. So take a rainy Saturday to stash or trash that stuff.

4) Straighten out your life.
If your output is down but your workload is the same, maybe something is bugging you. "One of the hardest things to realize is when your own emotions are slowing you down," says Jeffrey P. Kahn, M.D., a psychiatrist in New York City and president of the consulting firm WorkPsych Associates.
"Listen to what people tell you. If they ask, 'Are you okay?' it's appropriate to say, 'I'm fine,' but then ask yourself, 'Am I okay?' " If, on the other hand, you feel frazzled, but everyone admires your ability to juggle a zillion tasks, then give yourself some credit: You're multifocal. "I see that a lot, particularly among very successful people," says Dr. Kahn.

5) Respond right away.
"In high-pressure situations, people tend to rush," says Nideffer. You've done this, I'm sure--you get an e-mail or memo, and because it requires a moment of thought or the retrieval of more information, you set it aside. Later on, you come back to it (when you're even more rushed) and spend time trying to figure out where you left off.
Try not to pick up the same piece of work twice. "Read it and respond," says Dr. Kahn, "rather than put it aside and think you'll respond later."

6) Carve out time.
If you're feeling overwhelmed, break it down. Ask yourself, "What is it, exactly, that I'm not getting to, and how can I get to it?" Doctors need to return phone calls, contractors need to take care of paperwork, salesmen need to sit down and make long-term plans. They all need to carve out an hour or two for these tasks. "Protect that time," advises Dr. Kahn. "Then you don't have to worry about it while you go about your day."

7) Pick the low-hanging fruit.
In the end, your workday will inevitably be a hodgepodge--a crazy salad of big projects, short deadlines, interruptions, distractions, and surprises. Roll with it all, but make sure to do what Dr. Kahn calls "picking the low-hanging fruit--tackling the easy tasks that you can get done quickly. That helps you feel like you're on track."

Can Skype save you money?

The sort answer to this question is a simple YES. I will explain a little more about all the great gadgets out there now to help you get the most out of Skype but first I will elaborate on the cost aspect. Since we are not using Skype here at NextDay Network I will be using my home situation as an example. If you don't know what Skype is, take it for a spin by downloading the software here. If you want to know why this is a good alternative to MSN, Google, Yahoo or AOL messenger and the good old telephone company, just click here.

Do the math
Up until January of this year I used AT&T as my long distance carrier, paying about $30.00 a month for unlimited long distance, which included all those fees, only a few of us know what they are for. In December of last year I received en email from Skype offering me a deal I had never seen before, $29,95 for a year of unlimited long distance for the US and Canada. Yes, that is per year, not per month.

My total savings: 11 x $30 = $330 / year. That's a big enough saving to me to put some effort into it.


The drawbacks
Although we have been using Skype for a good part of the year now and are very pleased with it, there are a few issues I feel you should know about before making the switch.

1. The Skype Unlimited I'm talking about is just for outgoing calls. You can get one or more SkypeIn numbers with your local, or any area code, for $30 a year. So you can link your Skype account to a number in Nevada and a number in New York, making it easy and cheaper for family or customers, without a Skype account, to reach you.



2. You need a decent amount of bandwidth to make it work. Although voip doesn't need tremendous amounts of bandwidth, you need at least a DSL or Cable Internet connection to prevent echo or lag.



3. If you have a DSL connection you will not be able to get rid of your phone line because without a phone line there is no connection. So you will still be paying the $15 a month you were paying anyway unless you had some sort of package deal. The added advantage is that you can still use your old phone number for incoming calls, and if you don't want the added functionality, you don't need to purchase a SkypeIn number.



4. Because I wanted everyone to use our new phone number I thought I could just forward my old phone number to my new SkypeIn phone number. Unfortunately the numbers Skype had available for me in this area code were not local numbers. If I had wanted to forward that number I would have had to get a long distance service which of course defeats the purpose of getting Skype Unlimited. If you decide to get a SkypeIn number and you want to forward your old number to your SkypeIn number like me, check with your phone company if the numbers Skype has available for you, are in fact local numbers.


5. If you want to be available 24/7 you need to have some sort of Skype device connected to the Internet at all times. This means that you will need to have a computer running at all times, to save energy I recommend a old notebook or a System with a VIA processor. If you have a wireless router, like me, you can use a wireless Skype phone like the Netgear SPH200D Wireless IP Phone, which also doubles as a cordless phone for your "normal" phone line NextDayPC sku # 3134256.

Skype Gadgets
Now that you are saving $300 a year, you need a few ideas on how to spend that money on some great gadgets made to work with Skype .

Use it just on your PC
If you only want to be available when you are using your PC or Notebook I suggest getting a decent headset. Expect to pay a little more for a good headset like the Plantronics USB 3-in-1 VOIP headset, our sku # 2963874. A simple $10 headset will work but the quality is poor. If you're dealing with customers you want to make sure you can hear them and they can hear you so it's well worth the extra money.

Use it with your existing cordless phone and a PC
Most of us have a cordless phone and if you don't you can usually pick one up for less than $50. What you need to use this set-up is a so-called Voip adapter. This is a small box with three connections: a USB connection to your PC, one connection to the cordless phone base end the third connection connects to your phone line. Now you can receive and make Skype calls from your cordless phone as long as your PC is on. Look at NextdayPC sku's # 2582097 , 2593590 or 3220655 .

Use it with a wireless router
If you have a wireless network set up at home, at the office, or if you are on the road and have access to wireless Internet, you can use one of these great products :

• Netgear SPH200D Wireless IP Phone, which also doubles as a cordless phone for your "normal" phone line NextDayPC sku # 3134256
• Belkin Wi-fi phone, only works with a wireless network - our sku # 2967774.
• If you have a smartphone with Windows Mobile and equipped with 802.11 connectivity you can also download the PDA version of Skype and use your phone as a Skype phone.

More than a Phone service
Besides making almost free phone calls, you can use Skype to share files, video conferencing (if you have a web cam), play games, share applications and even send money through PayPal.
If you have not tried Skype it is definitely the time to do so. Over the past few months we have noticed a change in the market towards VOIP so if you want to be able to advise your customers, there's no better time to familiarize yourself than now. If anything, you'll save some money in the process. Also check out the software that's available out there. A lot of tools are free (I like free) and are particularly wel-suited for home office or small business use.


The bottom line
Skype has defeinately saved us money and has made communication with friends and family here and overseas a lot easier and cheaper. The hardware and software available makes it a tremendous powerful tool for home and small businesses alike. As mobile internet is becoming more affordable you will soon be able to use Skype wherever you can use a cell phone, making it an even more powerful tool than it is today.


Try it
If you want talk to me about Skype, just click here. If you don't have a question for me now but want to add me to your contact list, just click here. If you want to send me a chat message now, click here.
As soon as Skype has figured out a way to put money in my bank account I will put up that link too :-)