Matt at Signal vs. Noise:
“Studies show it doesn’t matter whether you ask people for their realistic best guess or a hoped-for best case scenario. Either way, they give you the best case scenario. It’s true on a big scale and it’s true on a small scale too.”
Matt writes The only plan is to learn as you go:
“Why don’t we just call plans what they really are: guesses. Unless you’re a fortune teller, long-term business planning is a fantasy. There are just too many factors that are out of your hands: market conditions, competitors, customers, the economy, etc. Writing a plan makes you feel in control of things you can’t actually control.”
This is a great article. Predicting the future is an eductated guess at best.
Matt answers: How many hours should I work per week?
37signallers can set their own schedules but I’d say, on average, we work a typical workday (8 hours) and we don’t work weekends. [...] A normal workweek should be plenty. Even less is ok. In fact, being short on time is a good thing. It forces you to focus on the essentials. There’s no time for things that don’t matter.
My favorite part is the ending: “Worry about the quality of your hours, not the quantity. That’s what really matters.”
Agreed.
Avonelle asked how I use Highrise, and why someone might use it over Outlook. She said:
[Highrise] worked great for keeping track of things associated with people I wouldn’t normally add to my Outlook contacts. But Outlook is such an integrated part of my day-to-day life, I have a difficult time imagining how Highrise could enhance that without weighing me down with extra effort to keep everything in sync.
I use it for a variety of things. Here are the highlights for me:
Follow-ups
When I need a response from someone to keep a project moving, I blind carbon copy my Highrise email address (dropbox+tomorrow.xxxx@highrise.com or +thisweek or +nextweek) . This sets up an automatic to-do that will remind me later to follow up. And when that reminder does comes up, I’ll have a copy of the email at hand, their phone numbers right there on right side of the screen, and a full history of my communications with that person. Last year alone, I used it to track some 1,000 follow-ups.
Not just you, but your company
From any contact’s page, only a click away is the full history of all the conversations I’ve had with anyone at that company. I find that useful, especially when trying to keep track of hundreds of different conversations with people all over the country. This would be of high value for our team to coordinate communications since we all talk individually to our customers in the field. But for now, I just use it to remember my own conversations.
Beyond companies, you can also create add-hoc groups by tagging people. Example: give me a all conversations with people from the local .NET user group, or all conversations with Sales Managers.
Track Important Topics
I also use it to track specific topics. For example, I have a Highrise Case that tracked all of the things around our kitchen remodel from last summer. Cases work well to group all project-specific conversations together.
Better than Outlook Folders
Folders are nice, but they have their limits. When you create a folder in outlook, you can only keep email in that folder. Highrise lets you keep files, emails, and phone-call notes all in one, easily accessible place.
Anyway, I like it
And it seems to work well for me.
Are you managing your follow ups? Can’t remember what you talked about with that co-worker 2 weeks ago? Check out Highrise – it’s an amazing tool for tracking contacts, setting follow-ups, and driving the conversations you have. In my own arsenal, it is a vital support tool I use every day to stay productive.
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