Business: Doing It Differently with Technology

No one needs to tell you that the role of a community manager is extremely demanding. First off, you need to know it all, without being a “know-it-all.” Secondly, you need to act immediately, if not before. It also helps to have your own crystal ball to anticipate issues before they arise. Let’s face it, we are inundated by: • Overloaded schedules • As soon as possible tasks • Daunting personal lists • Back-to-back meetings • Unreachable deadlines

So, how do we do everything that is on our plate? One common response is to try to multi task. The problem is multitasking usually means that nothing is done well. I read it all the time. “The most productive people do not multi task.”

How is one person supposed to handle it all and remain a healthy, mindful professional? If you are trying to multi task – STOP! It doesn’t work. You may think it does, but you’re wrong. I have had the pleasure of working with some really productive people and have seen how they get things done.

If you are looking for ways to be more productive and use technology to your businesses advantage, here are some tips and tricks that will allow you to free up some time and let you to get back to what really matters in life.

Evernote www.evernote.com “For everything you do, Evernote is the workspace to get it done.”

Do you remember the 5-tabbed notebook that you used for your school subjects? Maybe you carry around several journals? This is what Evernote is, but digitized. This app allows you, the “busy user,” to make different notebooks, share them to whomever you want, collaborate with clients and vendors, tag notes for easy access, take photos of jobsites, and many other features that are all saved in the cloud, which allows for review and immediate recall from any of your devices.

I currently have 52 different notebooks with over 450 pages of documentation. If you haven’t tried this and are searching for a place to keep you organized give it a try!

Dropbox www.dropbox.com “Simplify your life.”

Who doesn’t want to make their life simpler? Virtually everyone in business today who sends and receives emails has been caught staring at the screen wondering if the file that they are sending is going to get lost in cyber space. This used to happen to me all the time until I found Dropbox.

Dropbox allows you to create folders, upload files and share them with different access to each user. When you share your file, it is sent with a link that allows the user to download the file. This is the future of file sharing to save time, money and energy. Since using this app, I have been able to work on over $5 million worth of projects and use only three reams of paper in just over a year.

If you don’t start thinking about different ways to get your work done and make your business more efficient, your employees will continue to feel “work burnout.” Your business will then lose clients, while your competition is figuring out ways to get it done better, faster, cheaper and build the human relationships that are needed for a business to thrive!

Slack www.slack.com “Be less busy.”

Business is hard. Our workforce is often overloaded. If your business is buried in emails and

Business: Doing It Differently with Technology

Continued from page 49 constantly living in a “text cemetery,” then Slack may be the tool for you. Slack allows team members to actively discuss projects in real time. It replaces emails, text and other messaging apps. You can have a running conversation of several projects with several team members that stay with the users for the duration of the project.

Xyicon www.xyicon.com “Think outside the spreadsheet.”

“Today, many properties are managing assets with manual spreadsheets, paper floor plans and struggling to keep current on equipment details, repairs, warranties, and reserve study items,” said Jason Chavez, CEO, of Xyicon.

Xyicon has a great tool called SpaceRunner, which is a webbased asset planning and management solution. It offers the ability to realize solid ROI and increase homeowner satisfaction by viewing plans online that are mapped with icons representing a variety of assets such as fire sprinklers, valves, lighting and plants.

Blab/Meerkat/Periscope and now Facebook? “Live streaming opens up the world.”

It is only a matter of time until live streaming is at every board meeting, site walk, project review and business conference room. Many in this industry have been to a board meeting where homeowners, board members, property managers and vendors must attend. Everyone schedules the time and fights the traffic – and what happens? A very small number of homeowners show.

Imagine when you will be able to easily set up a live stream broadcast from your cellphone within seconds. Those that cannot make the meeting in person can interact with everyone on one video, audio and messaging platform. You no longer have to imagine it. It’s here.

In your business it is time to start doing things differently to keep the cutting edge. Now that you have been given some tools to alleviate your workload and maximize your ability to get it done, it’s time to go for it. The next time you feel like there must be a better way, I challenge you to go out and find it. If it doesn’t exist, make it.

Keven R. Hempel is the Director of Operations at Rayco Energy in Hayward.

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