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FocusMe for Outlook 2013

Thank you for agreeing to download and try our new FocusMe tool. The application builds on the great features you have come to love and depend on including processing your email using the 5Ds, organizing your Outlook items by project, planning your project tasks to achieve your goals, and tracking your time.

Our next generation of Organizer is called FocusMe for Outlook. It adds more tools, a more finger friendly interface, and cross team collaboration features.

Introduction

FocusMe helps you get organized by defining Projects and Focuses and saving them into Outlook's Categories field. To help you better process collection points (e.g. email folders) we added new ribbon buttons that embrace our 5Ds processing method (Do, Defer, Delegate, Delete, put in a Drawer). We updated the Task Pane to promote action focused work, weekly and daily planning, staying organized by keeping projects clearly visible. To help you learn from past execution and plan more effectively, we added the ability to categorize appointments to projects, mileage tracking, and provided for timecard reporting.

A quick start guide has been created to complement the Start Up Wizard to help you hit the ground running.

Quick Start Guide

FocusMe for Excellence

The FocusMe tool organizes itself around the FocusMe for Excellence Model:

FME Introduction

Organize

A project represents a specific body of work necessary to accomplish an objective, and is made up of tasks (chunks of work) and next actions (specific tasks that can be accomplished without any additional or preparatory work).

Organize: Managing Projects & Focuses

Collect

Many people rely on email to communicate and to manage action required of themselves and others. However, email is designed to exchange communication between people; it is not designed with action in mind. Outlook uses tasks to manage action and there is a loose connection between email and tasks designed into the Outlook program.

Collect: Optimizing Collection Points

Process

In the FocusMe tool, there is a set of ribbon buttons and context menus added to each Outlook item, i.e. mail items, appointments, contacts, journal items and tasks to inspire and manage action.

Process: Preparing for Action

Review

By embracing weekly and daily planning, you can be proactive in assuring your make time for your most important projects, manage your tasks, and assure there is time remaining to react to daily chaos.

Review: Planning the Work

Act

Acting is the execution step in the FocusMe model. Going to meetings, creating documents, analyzing information, running errands and all activities that require time and energy. By deliberately acting, where you spend your time will be evident. Only then is it possible to adjust your focus to assure your spending the right amount of time engaged in the right activities.

Act: Executing the Right Work at the Right Time

Track

Using your time deliberately and responding to key measurements inform your action decisions. By taking stock in what has been provides vision for what can be.

Track: A Look Back

Drawer

The drawer is a metaphor for the places materials and outcomes are saved. It is important to arrange the drawer consistently, i.e. assure your storage places are consistent with how your design your action (i.e. projects).

Drawer: Everything in its Place

Troubleshooting

Depending on the specific configuration of the device and the version of Outlook that is being run, sometimes issues crop up. If you're having trouble see the Troubleshooting section.

Troubleshooting: Tuning and Problem Solving


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