• What's New at Mise En Place? – Mise En Place partners with Rochester Business Alliance (RBA) to offer workshops and webinars!
• Feature Article – Feeling Overwhelmed?
• Ann Michael Recommends - GO System® graduates check out the new section of Pondering Productivity devoted specifically to expanding on and reinforcing what you learned during the workshop.

You might think that I'm crazy when I say I am blessed to be a migraine sufferer. I have three triggers for migraines - MSG, not eating right, and feeling overwhelmed. The first two are easy enough to take care of. The last one, however, I have to work at every day.

When I get a migraine, I have no choice but to stop what I am doing, head to a dark room armed with a cold wash cloth for my forehead, and take a nap. Initially, my headache gets worse as I stress about what isn't getting done. Then, to escape the pain, I give into the coolness of the washcloth and the warmth of the blankets and sink into a deep restorative sleep.

Migraines have definitely changed the way I live my life. Ironically, I discovered that one of the benefits of stopping is that when I returned to work I feel less overwhelmed and much calmer. I learned that it is OK to stop. Now, when the overwhelming feeling begins to creep in, I do just that, I stop. I use that technique as a preventative strategy instead of a curative strategy. Avoiding the pain is so much nicer!

Mise En Place is pleased to announce that it has partnered with the Rochester Business Alliance (RBA) to offer two of our signature courses:

The GO System®
Thursday, December 9th, 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

The GO System, a proven course that helps you become more focused, organized, and productive, addresses seven major issues that help significantly improve workplace results:

• Establishing strong foundational habits
• Processing incoming items
• Prioritizing
• Using time rationally
• Effectively managing projects
• Understanding personality issues
• Understanding psychological issues

The bottom line - you get more done! To register, click here.

Escape the E-mail Vortex: Tips, Tools, and Techniques to Tame Your In-box
Friday, December 10th, 12:00 to 1:30 p.m.

Are you are tired of drowning in e-mails. Tired of e-mailing all day and not getting anything done. Wishing your e-mail tool was doing what it claims to -- to be a productivity tool -- versus hindering your productivity? If so, than this is the webinar for you!

This course is taught in webinar format -- no matter where you are located, you can participate with your PC and from the comfort of your office. To register, click here.

Feeling Overwhelmed?

When we get overwhelmed our tendency is to go faster and faster -- to do more, to work later, and to work harder. Is it any surprise that in addition to feeling overwhelmed we are also exhausted and wary? And, feeling exhausted and wary feed that overwhelmed feeling resulting in finding ourselves in a crazy unending, unsatisfying situation.

What can we do about it? Think like a migraine sufferer:

• Stop - Get up and walk away from the situation. Clear you head. Get some fresh air. Take a break. When your brain gets overloaded and overwhelmed, it can't process everything in a productive fashion; it's literally a biological issue that can only be resolved when you stop and rest.
• Reset - Has your PC every frozen up preventing you from working? What do you do? You close down all of the programs and restart the PC. All of this may take a few minutes yet once it's done, you are able to move ahead and make progress with ease. You can do the same by re-prioritizing your to-dos and then tackling the most important one first.
• Say "no" - In general, we have big hearts; we want to be helpful to people because it feels good to help out. Plus, we like the variety. It's time to stop believing that there isn't any one else who will do it or that everything has to get done or that it all has to be perfect. All of this feeds that overwhelming feeling and reality has taught us that none of those thoughts are true.

There are limits to your workday and to your life. We all have 86,400 seconds to use everyday. Do you really want to spend it feeling overwhelmed all of the time and, therefore, missing out on other aspects of life?

Welcome GO System® graduates! As a GO System graduate, you know that being focused, organized, and productive at work is more about the habits than the gadgets. In that spirit, this section will be devoted to reinforcing good habits, debunking myths, and expanding on the topics covered in the workshop. We will feature tips, new ideas, and answers to questions that you may have.

Now that you have been practicing the principles of The GO System for a while, you may be curious about some things -- and you probably aren't alone. Have a question? Wonderful, please submit your question here. Please note, questions will be answered in this column only and may be combined with other similar questions. We will do our best to answer in a speedy fashion.

If you aren't a GO System graduate and are curious about this workshop, we would be happy to talk with you about it. Send us an e-mail with your contact information, and we will give you a call promptly.

Create Perfect Lines in Your Document

Have you ever wanted to create lines in a document that look clean and neat? You could just tap the underscore key to give the look of one long line, but it often appears "broken" with the right margin ragged and inconsistent. However, a really cool shortcut for creating a line that is fluid and leaves the margin with a clean, even appearance is a trick using the Underline formatting with Tabs.

For example, if you want to create a form in a registration document where you are asking for key contact information as in this example:

• First, type the word NAME (or the content you want right before the line). Add a space for a little bit of separation between the word and the line.
• Next, click on the Underline formatting function (or as a shortcut, Ctrl U). Use your Tab key to tab over as many times as you would like the line to be long. If you want the line to break at the right margin, stop there. Press Enter to go to a new line.
• Be sure to turn OFF the Underline tool by clicking the U in the toolbar (or Ctrl U) so your new text is not underlined.
• Enter your text (in this case we will use ADDRESS). Add a space. Tab over as many times as you would like the line to display.
• Keep repeating this pattern by turning ON the Underline when you want to create a line and then turning it OFF where you do not want it.
  

Ann Michael Henry is the Founder and The Productivity Chef for Mise En Place -- an organization and productivity consulting firm devoted to working with clients to discover the right ingredients for managing e-mail, digital data, paper, and workload so that they can "get cooking" at work and still have time to satisfy their appetite for life.

Her personal philosophy...let's get the work done so that we can go out and play is what motivates Ann Michael. If you liked today's issue, you'll love Ann Michael’s productivity tools, products, and training designed to help you improve your focus, organization, and productivity at work so that you have time to experience all that life has to offer.

Having the right ingredients – tips, tools, and proven techniques – to accommodate an individual's work style is what makes the difference. This is where Ann Michael thrives! Her ultimate goal is to find the recipe that works for you!