The pressure of deadlines

Deadlines looming and you might not meet them if you don’t start working faster? How I absolute HATE that feeling!

Last week, I felt this way a lot. Each minute of every single day last week, I had to jam-pack it full of as much as it could possibly hold – and then cram in yet more. It was intense! Minute by minute, I could feel myself working harder… and harder… and harder – rushing to meet deadlines that loomed one after another after another.

It’s at times like these that our true nature shines through, doesn’t it? When we’re under an insane amount of pressure. It’s how we choose to respond to such stress that defines who we are – and what others think of us! Are we the type of person who, when building up stress, takes the time to stop for a moment and regain some perspective? Or are we the person who lets some of the pressure leak out, when it inevitably lands heavily on a poor innocent nearby, often to their detriment? Because if we cause those around us to want to avoid us during those times when we’re ‘under the pump’, then they’ll always be wondering ‘what sort of mood is he / she in today?’. Trust becomes an issue, because there’s an environment of uncertainty. Not exactly the best of circumstances.

Yes, it’s a reflective entry this week, but this is a topic I’ve been thinking about for a while now – and last week’s incredibly enormous week led me to believe that I wasn’t the only one facing these sorts of pressures! So – over to you. Do you have any suggestions on how to cope, when life gets so busy that you feel as though you’re a bug on the front windscreen of a speeding train – holding on for dear life?!

CC Image courtesy  felizfeliz at http://www.flickr.com/photos/rafimages/3144413361/

The “Headache-Free” Yearbook – Step Six

I’m a huge fan of DropBox. I love how it doesn’t matter if you’re on a Mac, PC or mobile device. I love how it’s in the cloud and accessible from anywhere with just a click. And I love its capacity for sharing.

But I made the mistake of relying on it too much for a yearbook I created last year. And well over a dozen pages had to be manually resent due to errors in the sharing process. Due to circumstances outside of my control, I was at publishing deadline – and the tool I had selected for the transfer process to the publisher wasn’t cutting it. NOT the best situation to find yourself in! Which is why Step Six in creating a “Headache-Free Yearbook” is –

Don’t rely on the tools. Manage your risks wisely!

No, don’t rely on the tools. Not exclusively, and not when there are other options. And I’m NOT just talking about DropBox here! You should plan ahead for any tool you use, from emailing tools to scheduling tools, to cameras and access to computers, software, online programs, and the Internet. Decide what you’re going to do if, or when, each breaks down or doesn’t perform as expected. Be wise!

In hindsight, my risk management was nowhere near where it should have been. I had no mitigation strategies in place, and so I just had to wear the consequences when things didn’t work as I had expected them to.

That’s one of the reasons I strongly recommend the timeline approach that I outlined in Step Four. Managing your risks wisely is going to help so much in the long run, even though it might be a bit of a pain to think about, in the beginning. Trust me – it’s worth it!

Now, I leave myself time to snail mail a USB – just in case the digital version gets corrupted again. Short of a mail strike, my publishing deadlines are still met. And I’m not left feeling embarrassed.

What experiences have you had with tools that broke when you least needed them too? What advice can you share from what you learned?

CC Image Courtesy zzpza at http://www.flickr.com/photos/zzpza/3269784239/

The “Headache-Free” Yearbook – Step Five

If you’ve been following this series on the “Headache-Free” Yearbook, hopefully by now you’re going along swimmingly. Those stories and images are rolling in, the pages are being created, the deadline’s still some way off, but you’re not particularly stressed about it because you’re “dating” your yearbook regularly, modifying plans where needed, and communicating these new arrangements to team. Brilliant work!

This step should be pretty easy for you then. In fact, it’s really just a reminder of something that I’m sure you already know:

Don’t rely on your staff, when the buck stops with you.

If you’re the one in charge, be there. Be in charge. Be seen to be in charge. You’ve probably been in a team before where the leadership shown was less-than-desirable. Think about that person – and don’t emulate their mistakes!

You know, from your extensive planning, that creating this yearbook is a huge job. And that this job will be made a whole lot easier if it’s shared amongst a team of people. These are my three recommendations for sharing the load:

1. Get their consent. You know yourself that you don’t like being coerced – and neither does anyone else. So ask politely for help – and convince them, if need be, of the value of their contribution. You’ll get a better result every time.

2. Share your vision, and celebrate the successes. Ensure that your ideas are clearly communicated at each stage of the process. And if the people helping you to create this yearbook only ever see you when you’re allocating them work, then they’ll not be particularly motivated. Be proactive in showing them the value of their contribution, and the chances are higher that they’ll be part of the process again next year.

3. Remember that you’re the one responsible. You need to be the person who is actively checking that each member of your team is meeting the deadlines on that timeline you created in Step Three. Don’t go overboard with checking their progress – but DO make sure that you’re doing it! Otherwise you’ll probably end up the one with the embarrassed look on your face.

Working with others can be hard. If your interactions with your team members are more positive than they are negative, then you’re probably on the right track to retaining your assistance for future yearbooks.

These are the recommendations I follow when working with others. I’d love to hear yours!

CC Image Courtesy Philip McMaster at http://www.flickr.com/photos/dragonpreneur/3880883712/

The “Headache-free” Yearbook – Step Four

You started your Yearbook process this year with extensive planning and effective communicating, writing articles to deadlines, and taking brilliant images. That’s it, right? That’s all that’s required? If only! As Robert Burns noted in 1786, “The best laid schemes o’ mice an’ men / Gang aft a-gley [often go awry]”.The most carefully prepared plans may go wrong. We none of us can predict the future. And often life throws us a curve ball, which means that we change our plans accordingly. Hence Step Four is:

Check, modify and recheck as you go.

Are you ready? Because here are my four tips for keeping on top of it all:

1. Create a timeline

A timeline is a document that details exactly what will be done, and by when. It will include events that need to be covered, and when you expect the story to be written, edited, etc. It will also include when images will be taken, edited, etc. And, (most importantly, I find!) it will detail when each page is to be formatted and completed. Try to balance out your timeline so that the work is spread out evenly, if it’s possible. For times where this is not possible, schedule staff as needed to cover the work.

2. Set timeline ‘dates’

You and your Yearbook are probably pretty close. If you’re the one organizing it all, you’ve probably spent many, many hours with it since its inception. Well, now you need to keep that relationship going with regular dates. And yes, by ‘dates’, I’m meaning ‘appointments’, not ‘days’, and not the fruit of a date palm.

How regularly you ‘date’ your Yearbook will depend on how large it will be, and how close to your deadline you are. A larger yearbook will need to be seen more regularly, and if your deadline is in just a few short weeks, you’d be foolish to not meet on an almost-daily basis.

Treat each ‘date’ like a mechanic treats a car. Check everything is in its right place, and is running exactly as it should be. Then smile, give yourself a pat on the back as you recognize the progress that’s been made, and ensure you’re able to make it to the next date.

3. Modify AS SOON AS you recognize the need

Something’s changed, and your previous plan can no longer apply. Act immediately! Create a new solution to the problem that’s arisen. Don’t just put it off – it’ll still be there when your deadline is looming. And unfortunately, the more time-constraints you have, the harder it will be to ‘fix’ the problem to the same high quality that you’ve set yourself for the rest of the yearbook. So modify those plans, and be prepared to modify them again if you need to.

4. Communicate your new plans

It’s all well and good that you now know where you’re heading, now that you’ve modified your plans to account for that curve ball. But if you’re fortunate, you’ll have a team of others around you, and they’d probably appreciate being on the same page as you. So you’ll need to effectively communicate those plans – especially if you’re relying on them to get you what it is you need.

A word of warning here – your team don’t need to be inundated with emails, texts, phone calls or messages about every little change that’s made. Just the ones that pertain to them will suffice. And you might want to schedule a regular meeting time with your team too – just so that you can plan as a team, get and give regular feedback, and so on. Again – don’t make these meetings so regular that they become meaningless. The last thing you want is a low morale amongst your team. You may need them again next year!

So, my recommendation is, that if you want your Yearbook to be as headache-free as possible, you MUST keep on top of your timeline. Refer regularly to it – set yourself deadlines for ‘timeline checking’ and modify and communicate your plans as soon as they occur. After all, who wants to be in situation where, a week or so out from publishing deadline, you suddenly discover that a large number of your pages aren’t completed due to changed events, and that these could have been fixed weeks – or even months! – earlier!

Well, these were my four hints for dealing with those inevitable curve balls. I’d love to hear yours!

CC Image courtesy ZacVTA at http://www.flickr.com/photos/isaachsieh/2522262234/

The “Headache-free” Yearbook – Step Three

Get those photos happening!

I find this, the photos, the most time-consuming part of Yearbook creation. Which is sad, because I also see it as the most creative – and therefore interesting – part. And the reason why I find it so time-consuming? Simple. The lack of decent images to work with. So below are my 5 tips for making the addition of photos to your yearbook a LOT less frustrating.

And remember – it’s always going to help if others can see where you’re going with an idea. You need to ensure, up front and before you do anything else, that you, and anyone else who takes photos for you, is one the same page. So – my 5 tips…

1. Check the permissions!

In any organization, there are going to be those who do not give permission for their photo (or child’s photo) to appear in marketing / promotional material. Which means that you’re going to need this information on your database, and anyone who takes a photo needs to be aware of who they cannot include in photos. I have, several times now, been asked by my clients to remove images from material I’ve created for them, because they’ve provided me with images containing people who had not given permission for their photos to be published. It’s very unprofessional, so that’s why this is number one. Get your permissions checked, and DON’T take photos of people that you “can’t”!

2. Watch your resolution.

One of my closest friends once took an absolutely gorgeous photo of my then-2 year old. It was far-and-away the best photo I had of her at the time. Unfortunately, the photo was only 40KB. Weird, I know. But it taught me, very early, that there’s nothing you can do to enhance the quality of a photo once it’s been taken. You can always reduce a photo’s size, but you can never add to it. Especially if you’re going to need to crop the photo prior to inserting it onto your Yearbook page. Make sure that they’re at least 1.5MB. Each.

3. Prepare – make aware

Decide ahead of time what shots you’ll need. Then, if you’re relying on others to take these photos, you need to make them aware of these decisions. If you need to create half a page on an event (say, Junior Primary Sports Day) then you’re going to need between 6 – 10 good photos, depending on the sizes you want them. And you’re probably going to want photos showing all aspects of the event, rather than all 6 photos of the under-10 girls 100metre sprint. So plan, ahead of time, what photos you want taken. Then organize who’ll be taking these photos. Then, make sure that they know they’ll be doing this for you! Some guidelines on the exact sort of photos you want might be good here too. Headshots of the runners at the starting line, or of the winners crossing the finish line… A boy going over the bar in High Jump… a girl about to land in the Long Jump pit… and so on. The more that people can see where you’re going with your ideas, the better the odds that you’re going to get the images you need.

4. Shoot, shoot, and shoot some more.

This is often my biggest dilemma. I have the shots, and they’re good ones, but there aren’t quite enough of them for what I had imagined. This again comes back to preparation. If others are taking the photos for you, then my suggestion is to ask them to take double the number of photos that you think you’ll need. Or if you’re taking them, apply the same rule. If you’ve got double the number of photos to work with, then you’re going to end up with a much better page, because you can cull the less-than-perfect ones.

5. Crop. And manipulate where needed.

This should go without saying, but unfortunately I’ve seen Yearbooks where numbers of the images aren’t presented their best. Backgrounds are distracting, and should have been cropped. Photos are too dark or too light, and the exposure should have been adjusted. Or red eyes have been left un-corrected. The list goes on. If you’re creating the pages as the events occur, then fix the images then. This will make much less work for you then if you’re trying to create the pages all in one go, with a publishing deadline fast approaching!

Follow these 5 tips, and adding images to your Yearbook pages should be less ‘the frustrating experience’, and more ‘the creative process that you know it could be, if everything went to plan’. Which is what we all wanted when we first signed up for this job, wasn’t it!

Have I missed any? Do you have other tips that you use to ensure that the ‘images’ part of your Yearbook goes smoothly? I’d love to hear from you!

CC Image courtesy Paul Reynolds at http://www.flickr.com/photos/bigtallguy/182641756/

The “Headache-free” Yearbook – Step Two

This is Step Two in my series on How to Create a Headache-free Yearbook. So you’ve planned your content, and you know what’s going where, and by when. Now it’s time to START! Huh? Really? Yes! The more you get written now, the less there will be to do later.

Start writing, Day 1 of Week 1.

I know what you’re thinking. “It’s Day 1 of a brand new year! The events haven’t even happened yet! How am I meant to write about a future event?!!” Well – that’s easy. You can get the bulk of the writing out of the way, because it’s only the ‘facts’ that haven’t yet occurred. And although yes, these facts are important, they’re not the be-all-and-end-all. You probably know enough to at least nut out a rough draft – and this will then help, as you’ll know exactly what ‘facts’ need to be collected later, as the events are happening!

As I write, this is what I keep in the back of my mind:

1. The audience needs to understand the context, and I need to explain this clearly.
2. The audience needs to understand the principal players, and how they ‘fit’ into the context.
3. The audience needs to understand what happened – this is where the ‘facts’ come in. These are the bits you’ll need to fill in during, or immediately after, the event has occurred.

I also watch that I’m writing clearly. Spelling, grammar, punctuation – all of these are important. Again, get them right NOW, as this will save significant time later on.

Do you agree? Do you have any other hints for the writing of Yearbook text?

CC Image Courtesy LucasTheExperience at http://www.flickr.com/photos/lucastheexperience/3469305764/

The “Headache-Free” Yearbook – Step One

Well, the year’s begun, and you’ve been delegated the task of coordinating the Yearbook. (Or perhaps you volunteered, because you’ve never done this before, and you’d like the experience?! Or maybe you do one each year, and would like to offer some advice to me and my readers?) So. What do you do first? Where do you start?

Step One – Plan. A lot. And communicate this effectively.

For me, I start with planning. There are five different questions that need answers, and it’s these that will inform the parameters of my completed product. Get the answers to these five questions, and you’ll be well on your way to getting the process right.

 

Question 1. What is the purpose of this Yearbook?

This may seem a silly question, but it’s really not. Unless you know what the Yearbook is going to be used for, you’re going to be working in the dark regarding what content to include, and how to word / angle that content. So, have a clear direction regarding what the intention is behind the Yearbook. What is its point? For some businesses, their Yearbook might be just a marketing tool. You want to use it to promote the best possible aspects of your business to attract new customers. For other businesses, the purpose of a yearbook might be to reflect on the year. In such cases, the contents of this Yearbook will include the highlights of the year, displayed in such a way as to confirm the positive opinions of your current clients. It may also be used to attract potential customers. So find out why you’re creating it – it will make things easier when it comes to content decisions!

 

Question 2. What is your budget?

This is a very important question to determine, as your budget will determine its size and its overall look. At St Paul’s, we moved from a 30 page black-and-white Yearbook to a 70 page full-colour Yearbook in the space of two years. Obviously, the budget for the Yearbook increased, in line with clarifying the Yearbook’s purpose.

 

Question 3. What do you want your content to include?

In this one, you need to plan out approximate pages for your important items. In a school you may want to have specific pages dedicated to sports or the arts. Obviously you’ll also want pages that are specifically for your class photos or your formal photos of musical  / cultural / sporting groups. I start with a Table of Contents, and ensure that I’ve covered all aspects of the business. I then get this checked with the boss, as there’s no point covering items that don’t need it – and equally as time-consuming is forgetting something that needs to be included, and only remembering at the last minute!

 

Question 4. Who is responsible?

By that, I don’t mean you  - the Yearbook coordinator – but I mean the people who will be putting the individual pages together. Unless that person is you, and you’re going to be creating each and every page, you have a team of people who you’ll be relying on to get the work done. If this is the case, then you need to communicate, communicate, communicate!

Something that may work, if you had the time, is to organise a meeting with these people, “get them on board” so to speak, in that as a group, THEY make decisions regarding timelines and content. That will always work better than just telling your team of people what they have to do and in what specific time frame.

 

Question 5. What are your own deadlines?

Schedule your own deadlines. You need to be responsible for your team. You are the person with whom the buck stops, so it is up to you to create interim deadlines for yourself. At each deadline you need to ensure that you’re touching base with each team member, collecting their work, and generally monitoring that they will meet their deadlines. This point is probably the most crucial, if you want to avoid the end of year Yearbook headache.

 

These are the questions I ask myself when planning. I’d love to hear yours!

CC Image Courtesy premasagar at http://www.flickr.com/photos/dharmasphere/1351111010/

Avoiding the annual “Yearbook headache”

Does your business produce a Yearbook each year? Ever have problems with creating it? If you answered ‘Yes’ to these two questions, then you’re not alone. Creating a Yearbook can be a huge hassle, and when not supported by your staff, it can also be a huge sap to everybody’s morale. So – how can you avoid that this year?

Below is a six step plan I follow; experience has taught me to stick with it if I want a headache-free Yearbook. And as each step is far too large to explain in this one post, this marks the beginning of a series on ‘The Headache-free Yearbook”. My six steps are:

1. Plan. A lot. And communicate this effectively.
2. Start writing, Day 1 of Week 1.
3. Get those photos happening!
4. Check, modify and recheck as you go.
5. Remember, the buck stops with you.
6. Don’t rely on the tools!

A quality Yearbook takes time to create. Teamwork helps. So does helpful advice, and a plan to follow. I love producing quality work, and I also enjoy challenging myself to improve each and every time. Each post in this series details my ‘Yearbook process’, but I’d love to also hear your thoughts, comments, and suggestions on how I can do this better!

CC Image courtesy jugbo at http://www.flickr.com/photos/jugbo/416097099/

Pinterest? Loved it. Past tense intended.

I’ve been a Pinterest user for well over a month now. It took maybe half-an-hour to get the hang of it, originally; and I remember tweeting “I had thought #Pinterest would have been more intuitive”. But after than first half-hour, I became an avid fan. The thought of pinning images I liked, or that inspired me, onto boards that I could categorise according my my own needs – and being able to use this as a way of collating all the images I needed from everywhere over the web – was pretty cool. The way I could then embed these images anywhere I wanted, as not only did Pinterest give me the embedding code but also accredit the original pinner, was also a huge time-saver from the drawn out accrediting process I had used previously, was the clincher. Plus, there were one pretty great images on there!

But no longer. The growing number of of articles on the copyright laws being completely flouted by Pinterest is just too concerning.

And today I read this one.

http://ddkportraits.com/2012/02/why-i-tearfully-deleted-my-pinterest-inspiration-boards/

Pinterest user? Got a few minutes? It’s definitely worth a read.

And now I’m off to delete my account…

Well…

Just one last ‘pin’… and I’m going to try to justify it to myself by thinking that it’s okay because it’s accredited on the image itself…)

The Top Four Layout Hints that will keep your Website Visitors from leaving

The first think I look at, when checking the analytics of a website, is the bounce rate. This is the percentage of visitors who enter the site and then leave again without viewing any other pages, often within a matter of minutes. My aim is to keep the bounce rate as low as possible. And to do that, the site needs to engage with each and every website visitor as quickly as possible.

Source: teachingmycalling.blogspot.com via Kelly on Pinterest

 

So – how do you optimise your website for visitors? Below are four hints to help you achieve a successful website design for your business.

1. Design with your audience in mind.

2. Make your site easily navigable.

3. Ensure that your information is clearly communicated.

4. Leverage your site’s content with links.

I’d like to think that I can create something worthwhile. Maybe not a Colesseum that will stand for thousands of years, but perhaps the online equivalent, with an effective website that will stand the test of time. And the way to keep it effective is to ensure my vistors don’t leave at the first available opportunity.