These are conditions upon which a bathroom scale will work, Sally learned and taught me. So if you WANT an accurate answer, seek such surfaces.
Clear Desk -> Clear Mind
I learned that having a completely clear desk makes it much easier for me to think and focus, and makes me want to sit down and work.
This is true even if the desk is clear only because I have methodically swept the contents of the desk surface into a big bag in advance of showing my office to a visitor.
Whatever.
Hold the Phone
I learned that I can save $25 a month, all winter, by suspending phone service in our Ocean House.
What took so long to figure this out?????
Be. Here.
Barbara found this quote from Henry Ford and said he was right!
What do you think?
Winter and Guitars Don’t Mix
I learned, from Steve, who learned from Andy, that you should always keep a guitar humidifier on duty once you turn the heat on in your house. Otherwise, the bridge can dry out and warp and lead to serious guitar problems requiring expensive repairs and leaving you without something fun to play while it’s being fixed.
Validation from Within
I have learned that it doesn’t really matter how you are rated by anyone outside of your own soul. Unless it’s your friend who she gives you a 5 for being a friend. On a scale of 1 to 5. Where 5 is good.
An Attitude of Gratitude
I learned this from Yoga Journal (BTW I love Yoga Journal):
“Cultivating gratitude is less an act of creating something that isn’t there and more of a practice of realizing what is. It’s about reminding yourself of the miracles embedded in every second of every day—from the largest blessings to the smallest moments. By practicing shifting your attention to what is real (and not clinging to an idea of what you think should happen), you become more appreciative of even the most mundane moments in life, and for the richness all around.”
Visio Prints using PowerPoint
Visio diagrams are just NEVER going to print right on my 1990’s ink jet printer. So after spending a long fruitless time trying to make that happen, I learned that I can just copy manageable chunks of the Visio to Powerpoint slides, and just print from there.
It worked like a charm!
WebEx Delegation
I learned that there are two kinds of delegation in WebEx, and they work independently.
You can delegate someone to SCHEDULE your meetings. It’s a setting on your own profile and applies to all your meetings from then on. Then when they scheduling from the WebEx interface, they will be prompted to ask if they are doing it for themselves or for you. This is perfect for any assistant.
You can also schedule someone to START and RUN your meetings. You do this when you schedule the meeting, and it’s specific to that meeting. Then, when they log into their WebEx account, they will have the option to Start, rather than Join, that meeting.
The best part about learning this is that I went to figure this out after hearing that someone else had “delegated” a WebEx meeting and I later learned that I had misunderstood and she didn’t know about this feature either!
Sixteen of one…
I just learned, from Kat, that all books come in multiples of 16 pages, and each is called a signature.
Jane's Lessons Learned 