Step One - Embrace technology

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Embrace technology - Microsoft Surface / iPad

First-things-first - Equipment



    I have been working for my company for nearly 12 years now and have been a manager for 10 of them. The biggest thing that has frustrated me over time being a manager responsible for a large number of people, various sectors of the business and planning my time is that you end up with a lot of paper. This includes a bulging planner, or lots of scrap paper with small notes you've written that will *definitely* be collated and organised in the future (only to end up lost, or a mess in your bag or in the bin). 

    What you need to do is do away with the planner, the paper and consolidate everything onto a tablet. If you're an advocate for Apple, get an iPad, prefer Windows? Get a Windows tablet. I have tried them all, and my current tool of choice is a Microsoft SurfaceBook 3. Why? Here are some good reasons for owning one:

  • It has full MS Windows, that means you can run any software a PC can run.
  • It works like a laptop, and if you shell out, it can be as powerful as a desktop (and even play some decent games).
  • You detach the screen so it becomes a standalone tablet.
  • The surface pen allows you to easily write notes and draw.
    Obviously there are some drawbacks to all devices, however I find that this has been my best purchase, despite some of the drawbacks, which includes:
  • Battery life of the tablet itself is quite poor.
  • It has a slightly dated design.
  • Can be top heavy when using it as a laptop.

The benefits to having a digital planner compared to a paper one are:

  • It's so much easier to find information.
  • You can print things over and over again.
  • If you have a list for someone, you can e-mail it to them so there's always a record of it.
  • It's a space saver.
  • Things save to the could, you can back things up to a USB meaning losing your device won't result in loss of data.
  • Everything can be secured and encrypted.
The drawbacks to having a digital planner?
  • You may need help understanding how to use it (luckily I hope to help you with that).
  • Power - they run out of battery, so always have a charging cable.

Software

    Now, it is all well and good having the equipment for the job, but you'll need to make sure that you are using the right software. Now, of course, software needed will vary from person to person, sector to sector and business to business, but, I'll focus solely on the software I use for productivity and I'll delve into them further in the future.

    You'll need Microsoft Office if you want to read any further, and I recommend 365, which is a subscription service which doesn't cost very much each month, but is always up to date and has everything you need.

Enter OneNote 



    What can I say about OneNote, I wish I'd found it sooner. You can plan how you want with OneNote, and it all syncs to the cloud, and can be accessed on almost every device. It is my favourite tool for planning and writing notes and works seamlessly with my surface pen (and apple pencil if you have an iPad). Please look out for future blogs which will show you all of the potential to using One-Note.

All hail Microsoft Excel



    Anyone who's anyone knows what Excel is, and when it comes to helping you stay productive, you don't even need to be proficient at using it. It is a jack of many trades and can be useful in so many situations. If you need to do some number crunching, use Excel, how about a table to display data, or a quick checklist, Excel's your guy. Don't under-estimate the power of MS Excel.

Where to buy stuff


Surfacebook 3


The bog standard SurfaceBook that I can recommend to buy is the Surfacebook 3, 13.5" Core i5 model.

You can get this from amazon at https://amzn.to/3aoCQh6

There are plenty of other spec'd versions of the Surfacebook, but for tablet purposes if you spend a lot of time on the go, walking around I'd recommend any 13.5" one.

Surface Pen





The surface pen completes the package and is essantial for people who prefer to write in notebooks. You can get these from amazon at https://amzn.to/39GS8Pf

You can get MS Office online from http://www.office.com.




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