Tri-Valley Mortgage News

Many of us in the real estate industry are fortunate to be able to work from our home offices. In the last 5 years in my previous incarnation as a mortgage underwriter and today as an originator, I have worked from home and I love it! However, it does present its own unique set of challenges. Numero Uno on this list is distractions. Of course, no matter where you work, you can fall prey to a host of distractions but when you're at home, your home's inherent distractions conspire to rob you of your productivity.

This quick, 3 minute video  (click on Watch Tutorial and select the first one!) contains great advice on how to beat two common distractions: email and house work. It is presented by my all-time favorite organizing guru, Julie Morgenstern who wrote Organizing From the Inside Out. These two distractions are perhaps my worst enemies. I love email but I confess I check it WAY too many times a day. I have that little pop-up window from Outlook that tells me every time a message arrives in my inbox. Of course, I have to immediately check it. This breaks the rhythm of your workflow and can also be a way of procrastinating (who me?).

The household chore distraction is another I've struggled with. I have however, gotten better at designating certain time of the day for tidying up (with 2 small children it's a must!) and it's in the evening so I've gotten better at mentally ignoring things like dishes in the sink until I'm done with my work tasks. But it has been challenging.

I hope this little snippet will be a helpful reminder. There are also a few other helpful videos regarding working from home on the page. Enjoy!

If you've read any of my previous posts, it's obvious my passion lies in organizing and streamlining pretty much everything to make life more manageable.  One thing I see again and again is an overflowing inbox.  It's fairly simple to devise a process for taming your inbox. Here are some suggestions: 

One word: Unsubscribe.  Today I dove in and unsubscribed to every unsolicited email that hit my inbox. I have the feeling that within the next few weeks, I'll have a lot fewer emails to wade through. 

For all other emails I use folders to categorize them. Since I work in mortgages, when I have a file I'm working on I will devise a folder (in Outlook) that has "@SmithLoan" as its title. The reason I use the "@" sign is because it moves the folder up to the very top of my folder list.  Any email that comes across pertaining to the Smith loan goes in it. When the loan closes I archive the folder just in case I ever need it again. 

I also have folders labeled "@Action" and "@WaitingFor." If you've ever read the book Getting Things Done by David Allen you'll recognize these categories. The "Action" folder contains anything I need to do such as sign up for a webinar or respond to someone's question. The "Waiting For" folder holds any email messages that pertain to a situation where another's response or action is required to move forward. For me this folder often holds responses I'm waiting for from a Realtor or escrow officer. I review these folders at the beginning and the end of every day. 

Finally, I have my reference folders. I get NUMEROUS emails every day from our investors with guideline updates and also tips from my colleagues about certain programs and investors. I have a folder for each of these investors. I also have a marketing folder and a folder for the title/escrow company I use. 

When an email comes in I can usually file it in any one of these folders. Try these tips and you'll find your inbox lighter in no time. ~ Cari

If you are a Microsoft Outlook user I'm willing to bet you use it mainly for Mail and maybe to keep track of your appointments in the Calendar. Perhaps you put your Contacts in there and if you're really cooking, you make use of the Tasks manager. But I want to introduce you to a really nifty function that most people know nothing about: the Notes feature.

Open Outlook right now and take a look at the left side of your screen...oh, you've got mail! Okay, wait to read it and look to the left towards the bottom. You'll either see the word Notes in addition to the other Outlook functions (fig.A) or, if your menu bar has been shortened, you will see a small button at the bottom that looks like a cute little Post-It with one corner curled up (fig.B).

                   (fig.A)                                                                       (fig.B)

So what are these cyber Post-Its and what are they for you ask? Really that's up to you. Do you already have tons of real Post-Its clustered around your work space and monitor? Is the visual clutter starting to bug you? If so, this is a terrific place to digitally store these little references. Note: if you use Post-Its to remind yourself to do things then I'd suggest using the Tasks function but that's another post!

The purpose I use Notes for primarily is to keep track of all my frequently-visited website logins, user names and associated URLs. I have a note for each site and when I open that note it gives me all this handy info. Here is what my Notes list looks like right now:

This works fabulously for me because I did away with my Rolodex years ago and used Windows Address book for a while but I found it laborious. Notes is more convenient since I don't have to open up a new program to access the needed info - I've got Outlook going all day.

Another popular use is to copy clips of text from a website to store as reference. Just open a new note (CNTL+SHIFT+N or use the top File menu or the "New" button directly underneath) and drag the selected text onto the note. The first line of the text you selected will be the default title of the note but you can change the title by typing it above the first line of text in the open note.

When you have more than a few notes you'll want to keep them organized. I like to keep mine in alphabetical order. This is not as user-friendly as it should be in my opinion but the way I've figured it out is to go to View -> Customize Current View -> Hit "Sort" -> Choose "Subject" and click the "Ascending" button. This will alphabetize the icons. I find that I have to do this over again every time I add a Note which is a little annoying but no big deal.

Also, you can create different folders to sort your notes into categories. On the File menu choose New and then Folder. You'll see a new note icon folder on the navigation pane to your left. Then you can drag and drop notes into this folder. Here are some other options for the folders:

• Drag notes between folders by pressing and holding the CTRL key while dragging the note between two folders.
• Put the same note in multiple folders by making copies of the note.
• Forward a note to someone by attaching the note to an e-mail message by right-clicking the note, and then clicking Forward.
• Print a note by right-clicking a note, and then click Print.

 You can make the Notes function of Outlook as simple or as complex as you want. Tailor it to your needs and you'll never miss the mountain of Post-Its around your monitor!   

You can also see my previous postings on Keyboard Shortcuts for Outlook & Saving Time with Keyboard Shortcuts for additional information.

I hope you've been using a few of the keyboard shortcuts in the last post. Now if you're ready to really up your game, let's look at some handy shortcuts for the Microsoft Outlook interface. Many of us live in Outlook. I not only use Outlook for my email but I'm also a fan of the Tasks and Notes features which greatly help me organize my life. But even if you only use the email feature, these shortcuts are sure to help. Again, just try implementing a few at a time until they become second nature. A Post-It on your monitor will help to remind you. Good luck!

Microsoft Outlook keyboard shortcuts:

In addition, here are some other general shortcuts not included in the previous post. These will also work in Outlook or any other Microsoft Office program:

Perhaps the number one thing we all chase is time...we need more of it right? Well time is time: we can't have more than 24 hours a day. And really we can't manage time itself. However, we can manage what we do with the time we have. Efficiency is the key and finding ways to be more efficient with our time is a worthy pursuit. To that end let's look at one way you can put efficiency to work for you today. I'm willing to bet you spend quite a bit of your day at your computer. Did you know that you can navigate your way around your computer much more efficiency if you just learn a few (or lots of) keyboard shortcuts?

Most of us use our mouse to manipulate our computer aside from typing text. But it has been proven that utilizing keyboard shortcuts can save you some serious time. Below are a few shortcuts I've learned and that I use most often. I'd suggest selecting two or three that you can practice using in lieu of the mouse for a couple of days and see how much quicker you breeze through your actions without the mouse. You can stick a Post-It on your monitor to remind you - old habits are hard to break! Try implementing these one at a time and you'll become a keyboarding wizard in no time. Your mouse might get lonely but you'll be thrilled with your improved efficiency and you may just feel like you've actually gained some time in your day!

(Since I use a PC, I've only listed PC keyboard shortcuts here. If you search "Mac keyboard shortcuts" you will find a plethora of sites to help you)

Basic Windows text keyboard shortcuts:

• CTRL+C:   Copy
• CTRL+X:   Cut
• CTRL+V:   Paste
• CTRL+Z:   Undo the last command/ Undo typing
• CTRL+Y:   Redo the last command/ Redo typing (in case you didn't mean to just hit CTRL+Z!)
• CTRL+B:   Bold
• CTRL+U:   Underline
• CTRL+I:    Italic
• Shift+Right Arrow, Left Arrow, Up Arrow or Down Arrow: Highlights a block of text in any direction you choose.
• ALT+F4:    Closes the current window

Windows Explorer folder management shortcuts:

• F2:             Rename folder/object
• F3:             Find all files
• CTRL+X:     Cut
• CTRL+C:     Copy
• CTRL+V:     Paste
• ALT+Enter:  Open the properties for the folder/object (same as right-clicking with mouse)

Try these simple shortcuts first and see how truly easy it is. You know what? It's kind of fun too! Next I will post an entire entry on Outlook shortcuts - stay tuned!

*PS: for even more (yes, there are TONS!) keyboard shortcuts click here.