Genuine Curiosity

Author Dwayne Melancon is always on the lookout for new things to learn. An ecclectic collection of postings on personal productivity, travel, good books, gadgets, leadership & management, and many other things.

 

Microsoft Word - with style

I frequently find myself in situations where I need to combine Word documents from multiple people into a single document. This becomes very time consuming when the original authors "hard code" their formatting and fonts into their document (for example, manually applying Bold, Underline, and a larger font size to headings in the document).

When you combine various hard-coded documents created in this way, you end up with a hodge podge of visual styles -- and a very unattractive document. The only way to make these hodge podge documents look consistent is to spend a lot of time manually adjusting the documents (you can save a little time by copying the format from one paragraph to another with the Format Painter tool in Word -- -- but that's still a big pain when cleaning up a long document).

Styles to the rescue

Based on my informal research, most people don't use Styles in Microsoft Word documents they create. I'd like to share a little about these powerful tools.

First, a little background: Styles are used for formatting in documents, but in a different way than describing how a block of text looks - instead, they describe the "role" a block of text has in a document. You "apply" styles to text to let Word know what role to assign to that text. For example:

  • One block of text may have the role of "Title" in your document, so you apply the "Title" style to that text
  • Other blocks of text may be "normal" in your document - you can assign them "Normal" or "Body Text" styles

There are a bunch of other common styles built into Word (and you can create your own if you'd like).

Once a document has been formatted with "Styles," you can easily update the look of a document by applying a different template. This is where the power really comes into play.

You can even save a Template that contains all your Styles, so you can quickly create attractive documents each time without having to redefine all the Styles again. Styles can be assigned hotkeys to make it easier to apply them - see my graphic sample to see some of the hotkeys I've assigned.

Learn about Styles and Templates

For more information on Templates and Styles, consult the help file with your version of Word, or check out the Office Online portal for tutorials. Microsoft offers Word 2003 Tutorials and Word 2007 Tutorials that are quite good.

I have a template that has served me well (see a sample picture above) - feel free to use this one - I've attached Word 2003 and Word 2007 formats below.

After you download and open one of these templates, do a "Save As..." and change the "Save as type:" value to one of the Template formats, as indicated below. This will automatically change the location to Word's default location for templates. Feel free to change the name of the file, if you'd like.

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pzizz field report #1

Recently, I wrote about pzizz, a great tool to help you with "power napping." During a very demanding business trip the other day, I tried a pzzizz experiment. I was taking a short, mid-day shuttle flight from San Francisco back to Portland, and I was dragging due to lack of sleep the couple of days before.

I was getting that "nodding off" feeling anyway, so I took out my iPod and loaded up a 20 minute pzizz "Energizer Nap" soundtrack. pzizz guided me through the relaxation process, I fell asleep, and it woke me up at the end of 20 minutes.

Afterward, I felt much better, and was good for the rest of the day. This is pretty cool. I'm still looking forward to testing out the jet lag angle of this on my next trip to Europe.

Some tips if you try this:

  • Good headphones that block out ambient sound help a lot (see my review of my earbuds)
  • Keep your knees out of the aisle when the cart comes through - I had to do a restart on my nap from that one!


Related items:

  • pzizz: State of the art power napping (7/15/2007)
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pzizz: State of the art power napping

I recently discovered a fascinating tool called "pzizz" and am really enjoying it. Developed by Brainwave Enterprises Ltd., pzizz is software (Windows or Mac) that generates "soundtracks" to help you sleep or take a power nap to re-energize yourself in the middle of the day. pzizz applies techniques learned from scientific sleep research, and creates special sounds that enable you to relax while stimulating your brain at a subconscious level, stimulating your brain waves in a way that energizes you.

Rev up or calm down - it's your choice

The pzizz software enables you to generate customized nap soundtracks of a length you specify. There are two "modules" available for pzizz:

  • Energizer Nap - generates a nap soundtrack designed to help you take the ultimate power nap (you can program it for as long as you want - they recommend you take 20-40 minute power naps for greatest effect. Each Energizer map ends with an "alarm" sound to wake you up so you can continue your day.
  • Sleep Nap - generates a nap soundtrack designed to help you get to sleep and achieve a restful, deep sleep. Sleep naps fade out at the end so you stay asleep.

The software can play the nap files directly on your computer, or you can play them using iTunes or on your mp3 player. If you're playing them on your computer, you can tell the software to automatically shut down your computer or put it to sleep (or do nothing, if you prefer). Each time you generate a nap, it creates a new soundtrack so you don't get bored.

What an experience!

Using a pzizz nap soundtrack is a very interesting experience, and I initially did it just to see what would happen (you can download sample mp3's of the "energizer" and "sleep" modules from the pzizz site). I tried it with one of the "Energizer" naps and found it to be very relaxing and every bit as energizing as they say.

The soundtracks are calming combinations of soothing sounds and music. Additionally, you can turn on an option that tells pzizz to add in some encouraging messages using Neuro Linguistic Programming (also known as NLP, or the power of suggestion) to further improve your state of mind. This isn't the subliminal, "secret message" sort of thing that conspiracy theorists worry about - it's just a quiet voice saying words of encouragement designed to leave a lasting, positive effect.

On the pzizz site, there are some interesting statistics and explanations of some of the science behind this along with scientific data on the value of power naps.

Mid-day power naps

I've been trying these at home and liked it so much, I purchased the software (it's about 30 bucks per module, or you can get both for $50).

Now, I'm going to expand my use of pzizz and try out the Energizer Nap at lunch during the day to see if it helps with my focus, energy level, and - ultimately - my productivity. I'm also going to test these modules next time I'm trying to deal with jet lag to see if it helps.

I'll let you know what I find in my experimentation. Meanwhile, go download one of the samples and have a nap - on me!


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7 Wonders of Joyful Jubilant Learning

It's now 07/07/07, and that can only mean that the "7 Wonders of Joyful Jubilant Learning" goes live today (by the way, this very post went live at 07:07:07 on 07/07/07 Hawaii time, since that's the local time zone of JJL's primary author).  Leading up to this special day, the floodgates at the Joyful, Jubilant Learning (JJL) community blog were opened for contributors to offer 7 links that embraced learning. There are now literally hundreds of links there, so head on over and collect your prize!

I chose to offer three sets of 7 - here they are to get you started (by the way, the categories are those used on the JJL site):

First, one 7:

  1. Joy of the Journey:   My Beautiful Chaos - April reminds us of the excellence of parenting like a mere mortal.
  2. Inspired Learning, Good Questions and Great Dialogue:   On Genius - Dick Richards (Unlocker of Genius) on faith and work.
  3. Language, Words, and Vocabulary:   The Happiness Project - Gretchen on finding your "service heart."
  4. Writing and Composition:   Mind Unbound - EM about turning the tables on rejection letters.
  5. Graphics and Photography:   Post Secret - It's amazing what people can share through a simple, anonymous postcard.
  6. Information and Knowledge:   Presentation Zen - Garr Reynolds shares "One secret to a healthy life (and a great presentation)."
  7. Best Practices:   The Daily Saint - Mike's secret to productivity on vacation.

Then, another 7:

  1. Visual Learning:   Beyond Mind Mapping - Nick teaches us about developing a visual vocabulary.
  2. Discipline, Habit and Self-Motivation:   Neat & Simple Living - Ariane's mythbusting about whether you can develop a habit in 21 days.
  3. Good Questions and Great Dialogue:   Make It Great! - Phil shares 20 awesome questions for anyone to make their life better.
  4. For the Love of Lists:   Big Wes's Corner of the Web - Wes shares how he copes with GTD and its lists.
  5. Talent, Skills, and Capacity:   Beyond Code - Raj provides insight to keep you from sabotaging yourself with lame excuses.
  6. BHAGs and Bigger Dreams:   Lisa Haneberg - Lisa dreams big then Makes the dream a reality - she truly inspires me.
  7. Auditory Learning:   MBA On The Run - Some of John's favorite audiobooks to get a veritable MBA using your iPod.

Now, let's make it "triple 7" for the jackpot:

  1. Principles and Values:   Why I Failed - Steve Grossman discusses why "People would actually rather work with someone who is incompetent and likeable than competent and unlikable."
  2. Good Questions and Great Dialogue:   The Remote Control CEO - Greg's insights on great questions we can use to learn from our failures.
  3. Collaborative Learning:   Thinking Faster - How not to shut down the conversation before it even starts.
  4. Connecting and Relationships:   Slacker Manager - Our favorite Slacker enlarged something by 167% in 48 hours - find out more!
  5. Inspired Learning:   Virtualosophy - Stacy learns some cools off and learns cool stuff in an unexpected place.
  6. Inspired Learning:   Ramblings From a Glass Half Full - If a picture paints 1,000 words, how many words does a funny picture paint? Terry tells us the answer.
  7. Storytelling, Yarns and Tall Tales:   QAQNA - A fine (and funny) lesson on why you should be ready to deal with your customers - no matter what they're bringing.

I hope you'll find lots of new learning in these 21 links, and I'm sure you'll pick up some new favorites for your blogroll.

Now, continue your learning with the wondrous resources on the Joyful, Jubilant Learning site!

 


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Me on GTD Update: -Capturing

Update: I've received some great suggestions and links to other resources in the comments to this post - check them out and feel free to add your own tips and experiences.

You should also check out a great riff on this topic by John at Success Begins Today [link]

-- Dwayne

As a long-time Getting Things Done (GTD) follower, I love it and I hate it. I love it because it's simple, powerful, and flexible. I hate it because it's too flexible. I've had a hard time getting a specific workflow down and sticking to it. GTD doesn't have rigid "props" for me to use as mental queues like many other systems (with the Franklin-Covey systems, you can "ground yourself" to the daily task list - with GTD, there are a number of lists).

Reminder Part of my new year reset is to try to streamline my use of GTD and establish better rituals to help me keep up a consistent approach to evaluating my choices, scheduling, etc. (if you've visited here in the past, you'll know that this sort of thing is a recurring theme for me - I'm a bit of a GTD binge user).

If you have experiences or resources that have helped you create a set of daily habits for GTD, please let me know.

Please note that I'm not after yet another copy of David Allen's GTD Workflow chart - I know that one very well. What I am looking for is something that provides periodic nudges to condition me to automatically look to the lists, etc. as I find myself in between scheduled tasks. Something about the way I'm wired causes me to drift away from my lists, and I think I need some cues to bring me back to them.

This might be easier if I had the same routine every day, but I travel a lot and end up doing a lot of opportunistic things based on the work that I do. Rituals that will work regardless of location, time, etc. would be best. Other considerations are that I work with Outlook as my calendaring program (synced to my Treo 650 via Goodlink), and am using KeyNotes and KeyTasks to sync my notes and tasks with Outlook (Goodlink doesn't handle categories - that's a fatal flaw).

As I dusted off the old search engine, I've found some great articles from other practitioners that I think are worth sharing.

The interesting thing I've noticed is how many of my blogging pals have already commented on the articles I've found - I don't feel so alone in this after all

Got others? Please share.

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