Using iDoneThis to Figure Out What the Heck I Did Today

I struggle with remembering everything I accomplished during my work day. I think iDoneThis will help.

"What did you get done last week?"

If answering that question would be a struggle, iDoneThis might be able to help.

My Problem with Logging Tasks

I've been using Google Tasks + Google Calendar to document my plans and accomplishments for the day. But, inevitably, I leave something out. I may, for example, spend several hours running unplanned reports and forget to add it as a completed task, or I get bogged down in email correspondence (which I never add to my calendar) and wonder where my day went.

And when it comes to preparing my timesheet, I sometimes struggle to see exactly how my week went.

Where iDoneThis Comes In 

After reading about it somewhere (Lifehacker? Twitter? Eh, I forget.) and only finding team account pricing, I suggested that iDoneThis should have a free personal account. Turns out, they already do. Yay!

While the name makes me cringe a little, the functionality is rather cool. Simply put, it lets you easily track what you accomplished each day by either 1) adding it to an online calendar, 2) replying to a daily email with a list of tasks or 3) adding things as they happen via email or the web interface.

It works for teams or individuals. I'm using it just for me.

There are some additional handy features, such as:

• Being able to sync your iDoneThis calendar with your Google Calendar
• Seeing everything you accomplished for a specific period of days
• Generating an email report based on date range
• An optional daily email of what you accomplished in the past - 1 week, 1 month, 1 year, etc.

So far, I haven't missed a day; today will be my fifth day of use. I like the tickler that helps me remember what I got done.

I'm excited about the potential of displaying my iDoneThis daily reports on my Google Calendar (shown in purple in the screen capture below). I've contacted their help desk to suggest some improvements, but it's a great start.

Time will tell if iDoneThis becomes part of my long-term productivity plans. But, I definitely feel like it fills a gap in my process and I plan to continue using it.

Side note: iDoneThis hasn't asked me write this post, or compensated me in any way. I'm just a happy user wanting to share my experience.

Jenna Weiner is a rather geeky girl with average social skills and an affinity for: Google Apps, Salesforce.com, Pinterest, Firefly, dresses, indoor plants and life-hacking. Have a suggestion for a post or a question? Feel free to get in touch. Email: rathergeeky@gmail.com Twitter: @RatherGeeky LinkedIn: View My Profile

How I Use TextExpander to Link to a FogBugz Case in Gmail with 0 Clicks

Here's an easy way to use TextExpander to insert a link to a FogBugz case... with 0 clicks.

You heard me. 0. Nada. None.

Why?

I was tired of copying a FogBugz case url manually and pasting it as a link when emailing coworkers. So, I came up with a shortcut.

I knew that case links were formatted consistently like this: https://ourdomain.fogbugz.com/default.asp?casenumber

Here's how: 

I created a snippet in TextExpander to pass all of the url except the case number and prompt me for it. I gave it a shortcut of 'casel' for 'case link'.

In Gmail, I know that the shortcut to insert a link is CMD (Mac) CTRL (Windows) + k.

So, when I've highlighted text to link, here are my keystrokes.

1. [CMD] + [k]
2. casel
3. case #, eg: 3158
4. [enter]
5. [enter]
6. Done!

No clicks! Just typing and a few [enter]s. After a few times, I swear that my muscle memory kicks in and this process takes just about a second. Woo hoo!

Notes

• If I wanted to speed this up even more, I could change my shortcut for this snippet to something even shorter than 'casel'. 
• I also avoid clicks by highlighting text with my keyboard (for Mac, [shift] + [option] + arrow keys to highlight words).
• You can use any text expansion software that prompts you with a prompt/fill-in field to accomplish this.

Jenna Weiner is a rather geeky girl with average social skills and an affinity for: Google Apps, Salesforce.com, Pinterest, Firefly, dresses, indoor plants and life-hacking. Have a suggestion for a post or a question? Feel free to get in touch. Email: rathergeeky@gmail.com Twitter: @RatherGeeky LinkedIn: View My Profile

Getting Over Google Reader

Have you heard the news about Google Reader? (In case you hadn't, here's the low down.) The official date to say goodbye is July 1, 2013.

I'm sad to see a tool with such potential shut down, especially considering my affection for most Google products.

Did you know? You can use Google Takeout to download your Google Reader data.

I've been trying to reorganize the blogs that I follow recently, as I tried stepping back from Facebook as my preferred method for updates. So, I went through and relabeled, reorganized, unsubscribed and resubscribed. That's when I heard about the announcement.

I'm looking at this as an opportunity to start fresh... again.

I've taken a look at a few alternatives, like Feedly, Bloglines, Google Currents, Good Noows and Taptu.

I haven't found anything that I like as much as Google Reader. But, I think Feedly is my favorite option so far.

Have you settled on one yet? Let me know in the comments.

Jenna Weiner is a rather geeky girl with average social skills and an affinity for: Google Apps, Salesforce.com, Pinterest, Firefly, dresses, indoor plants and life-hacking. Have a suggestion for a post or a question? Feel free to get in touch. Email: rathergeeky@gmail.com Twitter: @RatherGeeky LinkedIn: View My Profile

Video Tutorial: How To Use a List of Record IDs as a Report Filter in Salesforce

I sometimes have to generate reports based on specific record ids.

I've found a little trick to format these ids (if they are in a list) so that I can pop them in as either a report or list view filter.

View the tutorial by clicking on the screencapture below.

Jenna Weiner is a rather geeky girl with average social skills and an affinity for: Google Apps, Salesforce.com, Pinterest, Firefly, dresses, indoor plants and life-hacking. Have a suggestion for a post or a question? Feel free to get in touch. Email: rathergeeky@gmail.com Twitter: @RatherGeeky LinkedIn: View My Profile

KeyRocket: A Handy Chrome Extension for Gmail Newbies

KeyRocket for Gmail is a Chrome extension that can start you off on the road to being a Gmail power user.

Gmail supports quite a few keyboard shortcuts that help you navigate without moving your hand to your mouse. Although I've been an enthusiastic Gmail user and keyboard shortcut aficionado for years, I still find myself clicking on occasion because I forget about them. (I'm not talking about the 'c', 'r' or '#' shortcuts. Those have become second nature.)

This extension pops up unobtrusive tips right after you click to accomplish rather than using a keyboard shortcut (if a keyboard shortcut exists for that particular function).

For example, when I click on 'Inbox' to go back to my inbox, it pops up the keyboard shortcut for that function in the lower right hand corner. It disappears in a few seconds and it's well out of the way (so it doesn't bother me at all like many app popups do).

If you are a new Gmail user or just looking to brush up on your productivity, give KeyRocket for Gmail a try. It's easy to disable when you find that you don't need the help anymore.

Do you have any Chrome extensions for Gmail or any other Google Apps that help you to be more productive? I'd love to hear about them in the comments.

Jenna Weiner is a rather geeky girl with average social skills and an affinity for: Google Apps, Salesforce.com, Pinterest, Firefly, dresses, indoor plants and life-hacking. Have a suggestion for a post or a question? Feel free to get in touch. Email: rathergeeky@gmail.com Twitter: @RatherGeeky LinkedIn: View My Profile

How I Changed My Attitude Toward Internal Tech Support

In the past, I've been inclined to have an 'it'll be quicker if I do it' attitude when it comes to providing tech support.

An important point to keep in mind if you're going to educate vs. enable is this: It's probably not going to save you time right now. You've got to think long term.

I recently realized that I was training my coworkers to be dependent on me. I decided I'd much rather educate than enable.

My new perspective:

• I want to be prompt, polite and helpful.
• I want the person I'm helping to be able to remember what I showed them.
• In-person sessions can be useful but often forgettable and not everyone has the time.

With those points in mind, I've been putting a few handy apps and practices to good use to help me educate more and enable less.

Continue reading to find out why it doesn't always work, the name of my favorite app and how the magic actually happens.

Combining, Segmenting and Managing Salesforce Campaigns with AppExchange Apps

Recently, I faced a rather daunting task to launch a 2-part multi-segment marketing campaign of around 14,000 members.

It is possible to use out-of-the-box tools plus a few free apps to create segmented campaigns and get your sales team involved in campaign planning.

In our org, we've been managing our campaigns for 5+ years using the standard Campaign object, but we're definitely feeling the need for a marketing automation tool that would make this process a whole lot easier.

But for now, we've got Campaigns.

I thought I'd share my process if you too are not in a position to invest in a marketing automation tool.

Step 1: Define criteria to add contacts to campaign. 

We wanted to pull in active contacts (custom picklist field) based on the most recently won Opportunity for the Account that they belong to (custom rollup field on account). So, I created a report with those criteria. Then, I added them all to one big "For Review" campaign using the 'Add to Campaign' button. You'll find out why in Step 3.

Google Calendar Tip: Change Event Color from Calendar View

When the ability to change colors of individual Google Calendar events (rather than all events on a particular calendar) was released, I thought it was a bit silly. I scoffed at what I saw as a throwback to Outlook.

But, my opinion has changed.

Check out this list of 8 useful Google Calendar hacks.

I've started color coordinating some of my events. For example: recurring chunks of time that I want to devote to my education. I've decided to try and spend a bit of my time every Friday to research Salesforce updates and contribute to the community.

In the past, I've found modifying the color of an event to be rather cumbersome. I usually don't go into full event edit mode to create an event. I use the 'Quick Add' functionality... and it frustrated me that I couldn't modify the event color from there.

I was apparently wrong. It is possible. Yay!

Here's how:

1. You can use Quick Add (click on the dropdown arrow next to the 'Create' button and type your event description, date, time). 
2. Click on the body of the event that has been added to your calendar (clicking on the event title takes you to the full edit page for the event). 
3. There's a color dropdown to the left of the event name. Choose one from the list.

Easy peasy!

Jenna Baze is a rather geeky girl with average social skills and an affinity for: Google Apps, Salesforce.com, Pinterest, natural light photography and finding creative ways to avoid doing dishes (which includes updating a handful of blogs).
Email: rathergeeky@gmail.com | Twitter: @RatherGeeky | Facebook: Rather Geeky Tips

Seattleites, join me at Cloudforce on Nov 13!

If you're located near Seattle and you're interested in learning more about the Salesforce.com platform, you should make plans to attend Cloudforce next Tuesday, November 13th from 9am-1pm.

It's a great event for those that are considering using Salesforce, but there is benefit for current customers too. Networking, reviewing new technology... and especially if you didn't get a chance to be at Dreamforce last September, it's a great way to catch up.

Salesforce will continue emphasizing the social revolution and how we can leverage the platform to connect more with customers.

The Details

WA Convention Center @ 800 Convention Place Seattle, WA 98101
9am: Registration
10am: Keynote
12pm: Networking Lunch

There is limited space but registration is free. (Note: Parking isn't.) It's a half day, so spend your morning getting revved up at Cloudforce with me!

Want to meet up? Let me know! You can email me at rathergeeky@gmail.com.

Jenna Baze is a rather geeky girl with average social skills and an affinity for: Google Apps, Salesforce.com, Pinterest, natural light photography and finding creative ways to avoid doing dishes (which includes updating a handful of blogs).
Email: rathergeeky@gmail.com | Twitter: @RatherGeeky | Facebook: Rather Geeky Tips

Google Tasks Tip: Add a Hyperlink to Task Name to Jump To It

Here's a brief tip if you're a Google Tasks user.

I often create a task for myself that involves visiting a specific website, eg: modifying a Salesforce report or reviewing a particular record.

To save myself some time and avoid having to bookmark the link or look for it in my inbox, I add it to the task name.

I used to add it to the Notes field, which is just fine. But, it's not hyperlinked. I had to copy and paste it.

When I append it to the end of the task name, it creates a hyperlink that saves me a few seconds. I can click on it when I click on the task name in my calendar view.

Have a Google Apps tip that saves you time? Feel free to share it in the comments, or reach out on Twitter! Make sure to mention @RatherGeeky and I'll pass along your tip.

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Jenna Baze is a rather geeky girl with average social skills and an affinity for: Google Apps, Salesforce.com, Pinterest, natural light photography and finding creative ways to avoid doing dishes (which includes updating a handful of blogs).
Email:
rathergeeky@gmail.com | Twitter: @RatherGeeky | Facebook: Rather Geeky Tips