As a copywriter for the Outdoors Industry, I have plenty of gear and action-oriented apparel on my Christmas wish list — as you might expect. Unfortunately, my garage is already bursting with kayaks, windsurfers, camping gear (I could outfit a small platoon), bikes, tackle boxes, waders, a hunting bag, rods, and reels.
Fortunately, I have another passion …
Office Supplies!
That’s right, I just revealed my inner geek, and I’m proud of it. On those few occasions when I am not working for myself, I have even warned my bosses to keep a close eye on my office-supply tab. I can get a little bit carried away with Sharpies, wall organizers, black felt tips pens, and such.
Now, you may be wondering what this has to do with the outdoors, but bear with me for a few seconds …
The thing I like most about office supplies is when they help me to get done what I need to do in my office (in the great indoors), so that I can spend more time in the great outdoors with my family and friends.
We call my office “The Treehouse” because it’s like being in the North Woods canopy.
Now, this doesn’t always work too well for those of you who have little say over your work load and hours, but for those of you who can actually benefit from higher productivity, I thought I would share “a few of my favorite things” for the office that really help me work better and smarter, as well as a few things I would like to add to my wish list.
I ask you to carry on the conversation and share a few of your favorite office-productivity tools and how they help you work.
So, here’s my list:
- An Extra Monitor: Once I figured out that I could plug in my old desktop monitor to my laptops, I never turned back. At first, it just seemed kinda cool to extend that “desktop” space like I was in one of those Mission Impossible movies where they are pulling up schematics, video, and satellite imagery all at once, but the benefits of opening up my workspace are remarkable. Working on a computer all day can give you a case of mental tunnel vision. The biggest advantage of multiple monitors is when I am pulling research notes into my writing or revising drafts with those useful, but annoying “tracked changes.” I don’t have to toggle or click back and forth, and it really helps to keep me focused and see the big picture as I am working.
- Year-at-a-Glance Wall Calendar Whiteboard: Here’s one idea that Santa has yet to bring me, but has helped me in the past. Of course, we all have organizers and calendars on our phones and devices now, but nothing beats being able to take a few steps back and see it all at once. Jerry Seinfeld once suggested this technique to an aspiring comic: write every day and put an “X” on each day that you write. Once you get a chain going, you won’t want to break that chain and you just might get better at what you do. Try a recent prospect of mine at www.callonestop.com.
- 8 1/2 x 11 Yellow Pads: I always keep a writing pad on the right side of my laptop to take notes, think things through, draw pictures and charts. With the standard size paper, I can easily tear out the notes and put ’em in a folder that I set up for projects/prospects without needing a legal-folder-sized filing cabinet or drawer.
- Big Newsprint Pads: Again this is all about organizing complex ideas, seeing the big picture all at once, instead of in tiny pieces. I bust out this pad when I’m mind-mapping, creating outlines for long writing pieces, or creating visual flow charts for marketing/sales funnels. Actually, I recently used up my last sheet. Uh, Santa?
- Hitachi Life Studio: This external back-up drive has saved my butt on more than one occasion. Of course, I’ve got things backing up on the cloud all the time. At least I think so. I’m never quite sure what’s up there and how to get it back? But it’s nice to just have something sitting right there on my desk if I ever need an old file or when the new hard drive drives off the deep end without warning. Remind me to back this laptop up as soon as I’m done here. Okay?
- Bi-Fold Bookcase Wall Bed: I might have to earn my way on to Santa’s Extra-Nice List to get this one, but this thing is so cool that you should check it out for yourself if you have a home office that doubles as a guest room or, maybe, you just like to enjoy a healthy nap once in a while during the day — http://www.wallbedsbywilding.com/bookcase-wallbed.php. My office is also a guest apartment, and the blow-up bed just isn’t cutting it anymore when family and friends come to visit. This Murphy bed is a fully functioning book case by day and would give me more room, get my guests up off the floor, and hold up to 400 pounds of my books.
- Federal Supply Service Record Book: My dad was an Army officer for about 27 years and left me a few of these hard-bound, lined record books. Apparently, you can still get them on ebay, Amazon, and other places for about $10 each. I use them for my Writing Log. Each day, I record date, location where I am working, start and stop time, hours worked that day, and hours worked per project, along with a few notes under W.D. (Work Done). I have long been in the habit of keeping track of the time I work, even when on salary. I even keep my basic financial records in the margins (money in and money out), so that it’s simple to put it all together come tax time. I find that when I fail to keep track of my time for a day or two, I don’t work as efficiently and effectively as when I keep track of my time in my rugged Record book. The ones I have from the 1960s are item number 7530-00-222-3525.
Well, that should do it for now. Here’s hoping that your holidays are filled with great days in the great outdoors.
Take Care,
Rich