The Insatiable Solopreneur™

Succeeding and Surviving as a Solopreneur

Archive for the category “Productivity”

03 May 2013

Three Sure-fire Ways to Pick Up the Slack When You Fall Behind

It can happen. And it does happen. Solopreneurs – by nature of being a one person band – sometimes fall behindID-10087370 schedule on their projects and tasks. Though it’s natural to occasionally veer off the productivity track, it’s important to find your way back to the straight and narrow as quickly as possible so you can meet commitments and fulfill responsibilities. Your reputation as a business professional depends on it!

Picking up the slack isn’t always easy, but it’s possible with some assessment, short range planning and willingness to take action.

  • Look at your to do list and prioritize – Carefully review everything that you need to do and decide which tasks should get your immediate attention. Among the things that should receive top honors:
    • Work that’s revenue producing
    • Something that you’ve promised and is overdue or almost overdue
    • Anything related to compliance with rules and regulations
    • Responding to clients’ and prospective clients’ messages that are nearing 24-hours old

 Organize and number your list from most important to least important starting with the high priority items and ending with the less urgent stuff.

  • Look at your calendar to see where you can shift and shuffle – With your list in front of you, take a good hard look at your calendar and schedule time for each and every task and responsibility. Move lower-priority items to later dates and schedule the “must do now” tasks as soon as possible. If you’ve got appointments or projects scheduled that can wait – make them wait. Move them out on your schedule so you can make room for the things that need your attention ASAP. Above all, get all of your “on deck” work on your calendar! If you have your projects and tasks planned, you’ll be better able to offer realistic timelines to clients and be less likely to miss deadlines.
  • Do administrative tasks on your off hours – Rather than take up your valuable work day with administrative stuff that requires less brain power than the work you do for clients, do it on your off hours instead. Yeah, it does suck to work evenings and weekends. But when you need to get caught up on your work, it’s often the best option. Things like adding new Twitter followers to lists or G+ connections to your circles, deleting electronic files that you no longer need, organizing your email, etc. All are things you can do via a laptop or tablet while sitting in the living room with your family. No, it won’t be quality time with your loved ones, but at least you’ll be there and can interact.

And please, when you do fall behind, don’t be too hard on yourself. It happens to ALL of us! But do realize that the more attention you give to staying organized, the less often you’ll find yourself going into emergency pick up the slack mode.

How do you keep organized and manage things when you’re falling behind schedule? Share your secrets here!

 

Image courtesy of Stuart Miles / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Posted in Business challenges, Productivity, Time management tools and tagged , , , , | Leave a Comment
23 Apr 2013

Why Your Solopreneur Business Needs “Wiggle Room” – and How to Fit It Into Every Day

If you’re a professional services solopreneur, there’s great satisfaction in having a full plate of billable projects. After all,

Leaving "wiggle room" between projects & appointments lets you "plan" for the unexpected.

Leaving “wiggle room” between projects & appointments lets you “plan” for the unexpected.

that’s what you’ve been aiming for, right? To fill your calendar with billable, revenue-generating work. But don’t forget that you have only a limited number of hours in every day!

As you build your client base – and the list of projects that need your time an attention – make sure that you build some “wiggle room” into your schedule, too.

Wiggle room involves setting aside time every day for the unexpected.

It’s a simple idea. Yet I suspect a lot of small business owners and solopreneurs don’t embrace it. I hadn’t until recently…but the busier I get, the more I recognize how important it is. If I don’t set time aside for those little things that seem to pop up out of nowhere, I risk falling behind on my commitments.

Get organized first!
Of course, scheduling wiggle room assumes that you already schedule your work. If you haven’t made it a habit, I urge you to start blocking out time on your calendar for the different projects you’re working on and your administrative tasks. Paying attention to deadlines is great, but how do you know you’re capable of handling your workload unless you can see that you have the available hours to get things done? And planning your project work in that way will help you give realistic deadlines to clients.

How to fit it in
Now back to wiggle room! As you plan your projects, ALSO ADD WIGGLE ROOM into your day! You don’t have to add hours at a time, but schedule short bursts of a half hour to an hour every few hours between your planned meetings and projects.

What’s it good for?
So, what types of activities might you use your wiggle time for? Here’s the short list of the activities that typically tap into my wiggle room…

  • Responding to a quote request
  • Returning a phone call to a client
  • Tweaking work that requires minor changes
  • Meeting with a client or lead on short notice
  • Providing advice and guidance to business colleagues who have asked for direction
  • Refreshing my brain with a quick wog (walk/jog) on our treadmill

Other less common uses of wiggle room…

  • Cashing it in if I’m feeling run down
  • Driving my daughter’s forgotten packed lunch to her school
  • Medical appointments
  • Grocery store run

Really, you can use your wiggle room for anything that you haven’t otherwise planned for. Again, the essential element to making wiggle room work is to be well-organized in the first place. That may take some practice and discipline at first, but your efforts to plan your work – and your wiggle room – each and every day will make you a more effective, more efficient business professional.

What would you use your wiggle room for? Already doing this? How do you use your wiggle room?

Posted in Freelancing, Life balance, Productivity and tagged , , , , , | Leave a Comment
12 Mar 2013
2 Comments

Clear the Clutter – How to Straighten Up Your Solopreneur Act this Spring

As solopreneurs, there’s A LOT we need to keep tabs on. Marketing best practices, prospects and leads, our client

Clutter

Ready to clear the clutter, solopreneurs?

records, accounting details, and on and on and on it goes. We save this. We save that. Some things we save because we absolutely know we’ll need them. Others we save simply because we think there may come a time when we’ll need them. It doesn’t take very long for all the stuff (paper and electronic) to pile up.

With the spring season just around the corner, why not put a little spring cleaning on your agenda to help weed through the mountains of “save for a rainy day” odds and ends that you’ve accumulated? Sure, it takes a little time and effort upfront, but shedding that extra “winter weight” will help you operate a more agile solo-business.

Here are a few ideas about where to begin…


Business Cards Be Gone

If you’ve got a pile anywhere in close proximity to your desk (I know you do!), grab it now and look at each card one-by-one. As you do, ask yourself these questions and consider taking the actions suggested…

  • Do I already have this person’s info in my email contact list or am I connected with them on Linkedin? If yes, toss the card. If no, ask yourself the next question…
  • Do I want – or would it be professionally advantageous for me – to add this person to my email contacts and to Linkedin? If yes, add them – then toss the card. If no, just toss the card.

Farewell Flyers and Brochures

Got a collection of other businesses’ flyers and brochures taking up valuable real estate on your shelves or file cabinet? Like business cards, you’ve probably acquired an impressive supply of these types of marketing materials from other local companies. Time to grab that stack of collateral and, for each piece, ask…

  • Does this company have a website that provides the same info? If yes, toss the brochure. (And if it’s a company you definitely want to keep on your radar, either bookmark their website or connect with them on their social media channels). If no, ask yourself the next question…
  • Is this company one that I could see myself doing business with either as a customer, partner or vendor within the next 6 months? If yes, save the brochure somewhere where you can easily retrieve it. If no, toss it.

Ax Antiquated Emails

Not only is it easy to let print materials take over much-needed space in your office, electronic files can just as easily bog you down by making you sift through stuff that you no longer need. Sure, it’s helpful to keep email strings on hand for reference purposes, but at some point certain pieces of correspondence become no longer relevant or necessary. Though it’s your call to make regarding when it’s appropriate to delete particular communications with clients, you could safely start to get rid of unneeded baggage by going through your email folders and deleting past messages in email strings that have more current messages intact (which include the message you’re deleting). Just be careful that you first save any needed files or documents that were attached to the soon-to-be disposed of messages.

Ditch Duplicate Documents

Sorting through documents and files to distinguish keepers from those that you can comfortably kick to the curb can be daunting. A simple and less time-consuming way to get started is to actively look for drafts that were saved, but that have a more current version also preserved. I’ll often save drafts of the content that I’m working on for clients by saving the document with the date I’m submitting it to them for review. Then, when I make and send requested changes, I save the document as a new file with the same name, but with a more recent date or a remark to indicate that it’s a “final” version. Provided the project is here and gone, that makes it easy for me to quickly identify which files are “old” and no longer needed. You’d be amazed how much memory you can free up on your hard drive by visiting just a few folders and cleaning house by applying that approach!

Of course, there are many other ways to clear clutter and eliminate the mess of too much stuff in your physical and electronic business space. I welcome you to share your own “spring cleaning” tips and ideas – because there’s no such thing as a too-organized solopreneur!

Click here to register for the FREE Referral Source Secrets from Solopreneur Superstars telesummit!

Posted in Business challenges, Home office, Productivity and tagged , , , , ,
07 Mar 2013
4 Comments

Two C’s Every Solopreneur Needs to Consider BEFORE Accepting Projects

When considering “yes” or “no” about taking on a project, it’s tempting to jump in with a resounding, “Yeah, I’ll do that!”Thumbs up. Thumbs down. if the price is right. But as your business and base of clients grow, accepting every project and new client that comes down the pike can become problematic. Some of the adverse effects include failure to deliver quality work, not having enough time for your long-time loyal clients, and jeopardizing your well-being.


Let the Two C’s Guide You

Though I think you should always consider them, I strongly recommend that these two C’s stay in the forefront of your mind when you find yourself exceptionally busy. BEFORE agreeing to work on any project, assess your…

Capability

Do you have the skills required to do what the client is asking you to do? Remember, your reputation depends on doing quality work. If you’re presented with a project opportunity that requires talents and experience that you don’t possess, it might be in your best interest to decline it. That’s especially true if you’ve already got enough work to sustain you. Never try to be the square peg squeezing into the round hole. That’s never a good fit!

Capacity

Do you have the time to complete the project and meet the client’s deadline? The foresight to plan ahead and strong organizational skills are your best friends when making the call. You need to get a good handle on the scope of projects, determine how much time they’ll require, and reserve space for them on your calendar. If you don’t, you’ll never know whether or not you can comfortably take on any additional client commitments.

Keep in mind that capability and capacity are interwoven. If you’re presented with a project opportunity that’s similar to those that you tackle on a regular basis, it will likely take less time and effort than a type of project that you have little or no experience with. Always pay attention to both capability and capacity when a new client or an existing one brings new work to the table – or you’ll risk making a poor go/no-go decision!

What other ways to you qualify work before you accept it? Please share your tips for taking on work that’s a good fit!

 
Click here to register for the FREE Referral Source Secrets from Solopreneur Superstars telesummit!

Image: digitalart / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Posted in Business challenges, Freelancing, Productivity and tagged , , , ,
26 Feb 2013
4 Comments

It’s OK! 12 Things Solopreneurs Should NEVER Feel Sorry About

Being your own boss has its upsides, but many solopreneurs who I know admit to being the toughest employer they’ve Approved signever had. Really, that’s not all that hard to understand. When you’re running your own business and you solely are responsible for setting strategies and executing those plans, you’ve got to crack the whip on yourself. And while there’s nothing wrong with being fully vested in your success, you shouldn’t drive yourself to the brink of mental or physical breakdown. There comes a tipping point – and it’s one you don’t ever want to reach.

So, how do you avoid crossing the line that runs between “motivated & dedicated” and “burned out & checked out?” I don’t have all the answers, but I do have some words of advice that I think will help… “Tell yourself it’s OK!” What I mean by that, is don’t be afraid to make decisions or take actions (or lack of action!) to help you regain focus, de-stress, and rejuvenate your mind and body.

As a solopreneur, it’s OK to…

  • Fit a workout into your day.
  • Make yourself a healthy meal.
  • Take a nap if you worked late the night before or got up extra early.
  • Buy something to make running your business easier.
  • Ignore your email and phone after hours.
  • Take a vacation.
  • Take a long weekend.
  • Not be available at a moment’s notice for meetings and phone calls.
  • Ask clients if meeting by phone rather than in person would work so you don’t lose valuable project time because of a commute.
  • Say “no” to work that you don’t want to do.
  • Decline or resign from a volunteer opportunity if you’re time-strapped and the answer to the question “What’s in it for me?” is “Not enough to justify the time and energy.”
  • Say, “I don’t know,” when you don’t know.

Keep in mind that it takes some self-training and discipline to fully accept that it really is OK. Fortunately, like with any other professional skill, practice makes perfect. The more you exercise your right to treat yourself like the star employee that you are, the easier it will be to make your solo business a workplace you’ll never want to leave.

Your turn! What else should solopreneurs give themselves permission to do without apology?

Click here to register for the FREE Referral Source Secrets from Solopreneur Superstars telesummit! The place to be for tips and tools to build your solo business!!

Image courtesy of Digitalart / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Posted in Business challenges, Life balance, Productivity and tagged , , ,
22 Feb 2013
4 Comments

Help Wanted! When It’s Time for Solopreneurs to Outsource

Professional services solopreneurs know the term “outsource” intimately. We’re generally the folks who certain projectsHelp Wanted or responsibilities are outsourced to. But sometimes the tables need to turn and WE need to do some outsourcing of our own.

In our familiarity with performing as our own “one man/woman show,” the thought of handing over business tasks to an outsider can cause some uneasiness (and even queasiness!). Delegating isn’t always one of our strongest skill sets as solopreneurs.

But not letting go of responsibilities when the time is ripe for change can wreak havoc on you and your business in a number of ways. Holding onto tasks that would be better done by someone else will…

  • Limit the time you have to grow your business (i.e. networking and business development to generate leads).
  • Result in errors if you just don’t have the mindset, skills or time to accurately tend to certain areas of business (e.g. bookkeeping).
  • Drain your energy and adversely affect the quality of your billable work.
  • Push your stress level through the roof.

How do you know it’s time to start outsourcing?

  • If you’re ineffective in a particular area of your operations, it might be a good time to outsource.
  • If you genuinely despise tackling a task, it might be a good time to outsource.
  • If you need to get out of your office and get your feet on the street to nurture leads and give more sales presentations, it might be a good time to outsource.
  • If you have an abundant client base and more billable work than you can shake a stick at, it might be a good time to outsource.
  • If you can’t find downtime and carve out adequate time to enjoy family and friends, it might be a good time to outsource.

If you’ve come to the realization that you really should consider outsourcing, now you’re probably wondering, “But what duties should I outsource?” Great question!

Here are some ideas to help you get your solo-brain thinking about where you might gain some efficiency – and time to do what you love to do best – by entrusting work to another professional.

  • Accounting and bookkeeping
  • Competitive research
  • Blog writing
  • Sending thank you notes or Christmas cards
  • Proofreading of important communications and collateral
  • House cleaning (not necessarily a business task, but it will buy you back some much needed time)
  • Social media assistance
  • Scheduling and confirming appointments
  • Logging data into spreadsheets
  • Website updates
  • Event planning

Really, the options are nearly limitless because you’ll find virtual assistants and other solopreneurs who offer an array of services to accomplish whatever tasks you decide are better left to someone who has the dedicated time and specific talent for doing them.

Of course, the rub is that you will need to relinquish some of your hard-earned dollars in the process. Ouch! Though your situation will be different from another solopreneur’s, the odds are that you’ll find what you pay to outsource the work will be worth it. Until you factor in what your time is worth and that it probably takes you much longer to accomplish the tasks than it will for your contractor to handle it, outsourcing will likely make good financial sense. Be sure, however, to compare rates, expertise, and references of your potential candidates before committing. First and foremost, you want to find someone who is not only capable of handling the tasks given to them with little or no oversight, but who is also committed to your success as a solopreneur.

I’d love to hear from you about your outsourcing successes – and about any advice that you’re willing to give if you’ve had less-than-stellar experiences with contracting work out to others. Please comment and share! 

Posted in Business challenges, Outsourcing, Productivity and tagged , , ,
04 Jan 2013

4 Reasons Why You Might Be Missing Your Mark as a Solopreneur – And How To Get On Target

Without a doubt, it sucks to work hard on a project only to find that what you’ve delivered doesn’t meet your client’s Target w/dartexpectations. But it happens to all of us now and then – especially to those of us who deliver a service or product that doesn’t have a black and white definition of what’s “good” and what’s “not good.”

As a solopreneur in a creative field (like freelance writing, photography, web design, fine arts etc.), your work naturally gets evaluated and judged through subjective eyes. What you produce has more to it than its face value; it carries emotions and feelings with it. And so, you’re at greater risk of not hitting your mark because that mark quite often isn’t  defined very well for a number of reasons.

You didn’t listen or take the time to understand.

This is probably the easiest pitfall to fix. Be fully, mentally present in meetings and on phone calls with your clients – and take thorough notes. Missing the mark can happen all too easily if you didn’t pay attention. If you think you missed something during your conversations, backtrack and ask your clients to repeat what they shared. And always recap the details and confirm your understanding before you leave the building or drop off the phone call.

You rushed through it.

Nothing will deliver lack luster results more effectively than rushing through a project. Be sure that you’ve allotted enough time to do it justice and focus your full attention on the task at hand. And never, ever multi-task. You can still have other things on your plate, but schedule them for another time. If you find that you’ll have trouble doing quality work because of trying to meet an unrealistic deadline, approach your client about extending it. Chances are your customer would rather have your best output a few days later than something mediocre or worse with a fast turn-around.

They didn’t provide you with enough information.

Sometimes clients will expect you to just run with a project without giving you the direction you need. If you’re not clear on their expectations or the details that need to be included, don’t proceed until you gain some clarity from them. Explain that to do the best job possible and to keep on budget, you need the info up front.  If they can’t – or aren’t willing to – cooperate, it’s in your best interest and theirs to put the project on hold until they can put some meat on the bone.

They don’t know what they want.

Occasionally, you might work with clients who bring you into their projects too early. Because they haven’t gotten a grasp on what they want to convey to their audience, they’ll be unable to provide you with the essential information that you need to do your work. It’s pretty much impossible to meet a client’s specifications if there are no specifications! Though it can be tough to gauge a client’s readiness, use your intuition and look for clues that indicate your customer might need to more fully think things through before contracting your help. Some key signs to watch for

  • They constantly change their minds after giving you direction.
  • They don’t respond promptly – or at all – with answers that you need to move the project forward.

Though tweaking is a natural part of the process when you’re a solopreneur in a creative field, you can avoid the frustration of substantial re-dos by paying attention to your own readiness and that of your clients. Your preparation and focus – and theirs – will make the difference between hitting the mark and missing it.

Ever miss the mark in any of your projects? What was at the root of the problem and how did you get beyond it?

Image courtesy of pakorn / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Posted in Customer Satisfaction, Productivity and tagged , , , | Leave a Comment
02 Jan 2013
4 Comments

5 Tips for Getting More Mileage From Your Most Valuable Resource

As solopreneurs, we try our best not to take for granted our most valuable resources. But do you downplay the

Want a boost - go for a green smoothie!

Want a boost – go for a green smoothie!

importance of sustaining the one resource that you absolutely could not do without?

I’m talking about YOU! And I’m talking to you. Do you push yourself too hard and not give your own well-being the time and attention it deserves – and needs? The only thing worse than being overworked and underappreciated by your boss is being overworked and underappreciated by yourself. And too much of that WILL take its toll mind, body and soul.

What can you do to avoid depleting your business’s most important resource? Here are a few ideas to help you maintain your well-being and sustain your productivity…

Drink In a Little Sunshine – Every Day!
They’re bright and sunny looking, but even better is that lemons help boost your energy level and your immunity to colds (always a plus at this time of year!). Besides their cold-fighting kick of Vitamin C, lemons are also full of potassium which helps increase brain function and regulate blood pressure. AND warm lemon water purges toxins from your body and aids in digestion. Start every day with it – and for an extra dash of energy, add a splash or two of hot sauce. Trust me, it tastes much better than it sounds!

 

Let In Some Light – And Levity.

Bring some vibrancy into your workspace with lighting fixtures and light-colored (but not pure white) walls to make you more alert, but not distracted. Got windows? Keep those shades open to let in as much natural light as possible – except for when the sun’s glaring on your face or your computer screen of course.

And don’t forget to bring in some mood-boosting feel-good items like family photos, artwork, plants, wind chimes, piñatas, or whatever else to add some whimsy and creativity to your space. Whether you’re working from a home office or elsewhere, make your workspace one that you don’t mind spending time in.

 

Go Green to Beat the Mid-morning or Mid-afternoon Energy Slump

I know you don’t need to be reminded that veggies are really, really good for you. I will, however, venture to guess that it’s not always easy for you to fit them in during your busy days. As you’re feeling the need for a little something to replenish your energy reserves, toss the following ingredients in a blender for a smoothie that’ll give you a delicious lift and help you meet your greens quota:

  • 1.5 cups Romaine, Green Leaf or Red Leaf Lettuce
  • 1 frozen banana
  • 1 Tbsp. ground Flax Seeds
  • 1 cup water

Make sure that you blend it really, really well so it’s completely smooth if you’re averse to chunks. Vitamin-packed and full of fiber, it makes a nice energizing alternative to coffee and processed snacks.

Take a Break
But you don’t have time you say? Make time. Having your foot constantly on the pedal leads to fatigue and lack of focus. One of the 7 habits of highly successful people according to Inc. Magazine is to recharge by taking breaks after every 60 – 90 minutes of work. Of course, that could extend your day, but those hours will feel less arduous and exhausting because you’ve given your brain and body the rests they need rather than subject them to a marathon work session.

 

Give Yourself a Break

Above all; don’t be too hard on yourself! You’re human; you’ll make mistakes and fall short of your own expectations at times. Rather than beat yourself up about it, take a step back and figure out why. Chances are you’ll find that it’s not because you’ve been lazy or apathetic, but because you’ve been trying too hard and putting too much pressure on yourself. If you’re consistently missing the mark because of overdoing it, consider outsourcing certain work or home tasks. Are there elements of your business that you can hand off to someone else so you can focus on more important revenue-producing aspects of work? Is it time to hire a house-cleaning service?

Trite perhaps, but true for solopreneurs: Without your health, you have nothing. Take time for and give attention to doing things that will keep you feeling well and put you at the top of your game. If you don’t, your business could get sidelined.

 

What are your tips and tricks for being a healthy solopreneur? I’d love to hear your food, exercise, and lifestyle suggestions!

Posted in Life balance, Productivity and tagged , , ,
21 Sep 2012
2 Comments

Cool Tool Alert: Put Your Important Appointments in Evernote with KanMeet

As solopreneurs, we’re always looking for ways to be more productive and organized. Among the tools galore to helpProductivity with that: Evernote - my personal favorite for a variety of reasons.

Evernote on its own has given me more control over my to do lists and has enabled me to manage projects better, but the cool apps and extensions developed by third parties who strive to enhance the Evernote user experience add even more value to its software and services. I’ve been using InQloud to painlessly forward select emails directly into Evernote notebooks for months, and now I’ve discovered KanMeet.

KanMeet (which is free by the way) lets you “quickly and easily save and synchronize your Google calendar with your Evernote account.” In short, Google Chrome users can post their events to their Evernote notebooks. So, if you use Evernote as a central point for keeping tabs on client projects and tasks lists, you’ll probably find it ultra-convenient to save important appointments there, too.

It’s easy to establish your default settings via the KanMeet extension on your browser. You choose if you want all new appointments to automatically be saved as notes in Evernote or if you want to manually post them.

KanMeet website

You can set your default settings for KanMeet directly in the browser bar.

Also, you can select (via a dropdown box that contains all of your Evernote notebooks) which notebook you want Google Calendar appointments to go to. KanMeet automatically sets up a “Google Calendar” notebook for you, but you can change that to any one of your other notebooks. In reality, your default notebook doesn’t really have to be a “default” at all. Each time you set up an event in your Google Calendar, you can go to the KanMeet extension, pick the appropriate notebook you want it to go to, and save the appointment. It will then post precisely where you directed it.

KanMeet: New Google Calendar Event

When you create a new Google Calendar Event, you’ll see a “Post to Evernote” check box.

Besides sending new Google Calendar Events to Evernote, you can save existing appointments there, too. Also very simple to do by opening the event, making sure the “Post to Evernote” box is checked, and then resaving the appointment.

KanMeet - Post Existing Google Calendar Event to Evernote

Even existing Google Calendar Events can be posted to Evernote.

The only potential “gotchas” to share about KanMeet:

  • It’s only available to Google Chrome users – but there are lots of us out there!
  • You’ll need to mentally adjust to paying attention to it:
    • If you default your settings to post all events to Evernote, you’ll probably send far more appointments there than you really want to.
    • If you default your settings to selectively choose which events go to Evernote, you’ll likely find yourself needing to go back into Google Calendar to check off the “Post to Evernote” box later because you forgot to when you set up the event.
  • Occasionally, KanMeet gets a little fussy about posting events that have ampersands or other non-alpha characters in their titles. Luckily, however, a window pops up to tell you what you’ve done wrong, so you can correct it.
  • You’ll need to figure out how you can make the most of it. I’m still trying to decide to which notebooks it makes most sense to post events. Currently, I’m sending them to the default “Google Calendar” notebook and reviewing all posted appointments there to stay on top of what’s coming down the pike. However, I might try creating brand new individual “client calendar” notebooks named after my clients where I would save conference calls, meetings, and deadlines specific to them.

Although I’m still in the getting-to-know-you stage with KanMeet, my impression is that it’s “a keeper.” If, like me, you’re using Evernote as a sort of project dashboard/repository, KanMeet can help keep upcoming project-related appointments in better view than trying to pick them out of the many other events on your Google Calendar. That certainly makes life easier, and anything that makes a solopreneur’s life easier scores big points in my book!

Your turn!  What Evernote extensions and apps have you been using? If you’re not an Evernote user, what productivity tools have helped you most?

Posted in Evernote, Productivity and tagged , , , , , , ,
06 Jul 2012

Cool Tool Alert: Emailing to Evernote Made Easier

Besides the opportunity to work with a variety of interesting and talented people, there’s another thing that really rocks InQloud web pageabout freelancing. From time to time, I get to try out new stuff so I better understand the products and services I’m writing about in press releases, articles and web content.

For about a month, I’ve been participating as a beta user for a client’s new service, InQloud. With it coming out of beta status, I thought it appropriate to make a “Cool Tool Alert,” so you can check it out, too. If you’re an Evernote user, you’ll want to make a note of this one!

What InQloud does…
As simply stated on its website, “InQloud does one thing – and does it perfectly. It lets you send your emails directly to Evernote notebooks in one simple step.”

Although you can send emails to Evernote without the help of InQloud, it’s not exactly a quick or easy process; you have to remember your Evernote email address and specific notebook names, and then add them manually into your contacts to do it.

The beauty of InQloud is that it automatically creates email addresses for each of your Evernote notebooks and adds them to your Google Contacts. Then whenever you want to forward an email to one of your Evernote notebooks, just select the contact for the appropriate notebook, and send the message on its way.

Why use it?
I primarily use it to keep important emails from slipping through the cracks. When I have emails that require action, I forward them to the specific “To Do” lists that I have set up as Evernote notebooks where they become “notes”.

Others have found a lot of value in streamlining their email review process by setting up Gmail filters that automatically send emails from specific sources directly to their Evernote notebooks. I haven’t done that yet, but I can see how that would considerably lighten the load when sifting through my inbox.

InQloud is coming out of beta now, and is available on a 30-day free trial basis. After that, you have the option of either subscribing for $1.99 monthly or for a full year at $19.99. It’s quite cost effective. Note that the number of emails you can forward daily from your email to Evernote follows the limits set by your Evernote account. Users on the Free version of Evernote can send up to 50 emails per day, and those on the Premium version can send up to 250 per day.

If you’re an avid Evernote user, I recommend that you give InQloud a whirl. And if you decide to give it a try, please keep me posted on your experience with it!

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