Long weekend, short HOH

The simplest home office hack to date.

Sometimes the path to improving efficiency is literally right in front of you. It’s probably something you have heard many times before and never truly put into action. That’s this week’s home office hack (HOH): the desktop text file.

Don’t let the name scare you. It just means creating a Notepad file of the notes and letters you send most frequently on your desktop.

For example, I try to send a note to each LinkedIn connection as I make them. So, you get a customized note to attempt to connect and a thank you for connecting note. While the “ask to connect” note varies, the thank you for connecting note is pretty much the same. So, I’ve created a file in Notepad and put it on my Desktop.

Why on your Desktop?

We’re trying to keep things simple. It doesn’t get simpler than going to your Desktop and opening a file.

Why in Notepad? Why not Word?

The web designers and other techy people have gotten to me. A text file has less code, less hassle. It pastes easily and you can tailor it to the message you’re sending.

Remember, we are keeping things simple with this tip. Though I’m about to complicate it.

In writing this tip the thought occurred to me this text file could contain all the notes I frequently use. For example, I do a lot of follow up notes for clients. While there are some specifics to include, its essentially the same note. So that note could go into this file with a few spaces between other notes and a proper title (e.g., “Follow-up note for clients” or “Follow up note for networking 1-1s”).

This tip can come in very handy for those of us with large fingers who don’t like texting long notes but still want to write properly without overdoing the acronyms. Just pair your smartphone or iPhone to your desktop. You can then copy and paste from your text file your commonly used notes for those folks who prefer text to e-mail.

Here’s an article below explains how to pair your cell and laptop.

Since this week we’re focusing on being more efficient, here’s another nugget. I think.

I stumbled across this site called BetterSheets.co. It shares pointers on how to work with Google Sheets, Many WFH’s and home-based businesses utilize Google Sheets, including yours truly. So, I thought I would try it.

A subscription is $19 per month. BetterSheets.co does let you try out a few tips for free. That’s what I signed up for. If anybody else would like to give that a whirl and compare notes—or sheets--let me know.

Funny, how short tips always end up just a little bit longer.

Remember, if you have not signed up for My HOH, you can do below.

As always, please….