Looking for meaty, practical articles that will help to improve your work performance? These 5 links provide some amazing tips, tricks and tools.

Do Business with Style
Are you a small business owner that could use professional looking designs for your presentations, letterheads, invoices, or business cards? Microsoft has published a number of gorgeous templates for its Office 2007 package (older versions may also work for some of the designs). You can choose from 6 different designs and 9 customer colors to create a professional looking template that matches your company’s style. Best of all, they’re free! http://www.microsoft.com/smallbusiness/office2007templates/

Get the most out of your email newsletters
Companies both large and small will benefit from these tips on how to get the most out of your email newsletters. This resource presents a list of best practices, gives some great examples and tells us what to avoid when creating your newsletter. And for tips on getting through spam filters, check out these great recommendations posted on the Webgrrls blog.

Presenting your company’s metrics
For those of you charged with presenting your company’s metrics, this is a must read. Kushik’s article recommends a better way of presenting numbers (financial, sales, web or otherwise) through the use of an “action dashboard” that provides meaning to the reader.

Free tutorials on your favorite programs
If you’ve been searching for free tutorials on your favorite programs, here is a god-send. This article points us to 4 different sites that provide amazing guides on topics ranging from Microsoft Office Programs to the Adobe CS3 Suite and even CSS:

The best RSS readers
There are a number of great RSS readers out there that can help you organize articles from your favorite sites. Here is a list of some of the best: Still in the dark about RSS, read the Webgrrls post about what is RSS.

Webgrrls International Questions Unemployment Numbers

New York City, NY (May, 28 2008) – According to the US Department of Labor statistics, the unemployment rate in the U.S. is at about 5.0%. Not true, says a women’s global technology organization Webgrrls International.

Webgrrls International recently surveyed its U.S.-based users and of over 500 respondents, 36% are unemployed and of those unemployed, 11% have given up looking for a job. 52% have jobs while only 10% are self-employed with steady clients and income.

“Our Quick Poll shows a different economy than that of our Government.” said Kevin Kennedy, CEO of Webgrrls International. “Although this is not a scientific survey, we believe it is a snapshot of the reality not only for the professional women of Webgrrls but it’s indicative of what is happening across the country with skilled professionals.”

Webgrrls International conducts regular quick surveys or polls to gauge what its members, professional women across the country and around the world, are experiencing in the workplace. Their last quick poll showed that 96% of the respondents were interested in low cost/group health insurance, a need that is echoed with workers across the country in increasing numbers.

Do you agree? Do you disagree? Leave us your comments.

Whew! Unplugging…and I mean really unplugging as in no computer, no phone calls, no email, no projects, no meetings…is an uplifting and liberating experience and a great way to recharge your personal batteries.

Over this Memorial Day Weekend I completely and totally unplugged I was able shut down the “digital me” and do some of the real world things that I have been meaning to get to and also do some of the things that I have wanted to do including some long put off errands, I visited parts of New York City that I have wanted to visit like China Town, and Little Italy and even Soho. I took in a movie, I picnicked in Central Park and watched the Sunset in Riverside Park…and more…and I had a great weekend…and guess what? The world did not stop, everything worked as it should, and my monitoring and overseeing was not necessary…I am not even sure if anyone missed me. Huh, who knew?

Unplugging was hard at first…I kept thinking about all of the “very important messages that I must have…oh yea and the work related emails that I had to send (even though there was no one working), the coding that I could get done and the planning…my mind was heavy with worry for the first half a day…and then all was forgotten… and the days were mine.

The Results

When I returned on Tuesday, and although I was only out for three days, I was fully recharged. I felt refreshed and invigorated…I was ready for a full plate and for trouble shooting and for my correspondence…my productivity level soared and my focus was laser like…I got more done on Tuesday and Wednesday and the tasks were easier because I was renewed and my batteries were recharged.

Unplugging to Recharge Tips

• When unplugging, remember, you are the priority now…do the things that you want to do.
• Shut off all electronic devises or only take the calls that will further the goal of unplugging…let the rest go to voicemail, hide the computer if necessary, put down that PDA.
• If you create an unplugging schedule allow for some flexibility….allow yourself to get caught up in your interests.
• Start with things that will help you unwind…relaxing things like walks, yoga, biking, hiking.
• If you take a walk, meander a bit. If you hike, make sure you look around and check out the views, etc.

Unplugging to recharge your batteries doesn’t require a three day weekend. You can unplug for a day, an evening or an afternoon, or even for an hour…but in that time frame, focus on you and some things that you want to do not thing you need to get done. You will return to your work routine relaxed, refreshed, better focused and ready to take on the tasks at hand.

How you unplug to recharge your batteries?

For all you fellow bloggers out there, I wanted to pass along my new favorite tool: ScribeFire. It’s a Firefox tool that allows you to write blog posts for all standard blogging applications like Blogger, WordPress, or Movable Type without ever leaving the web page you want to blog about.

After you install the tool, setup is simple. You just:

• Type in your blog’s URL
• Pick your blogging platform
• Enter your user name and password

So let’s say I run across the movie Reprise on Rotten Tomatoes and want to write a post about it. While on the Rotten Tomatoes web page within the Firefox browser, I just go to the Tools menu and select ScribeFire. The tool opens up in a layer on top of the web page I’m on. This way, I can write the post in context.

Need to add a link? No problem. Simply highlight the text you want to be hyperlinked and click the link symbol. ScribeFire automatically fills in the URL of the page you’re on (which you can of course overwrite).

Continue Reading “Blog About Web Pages Without Opening Another Browser”

Watch a presentation by Microsoft of a really cool software application called C Dragon.  They showcase how this technology can change the way we maybe browsing the web in the near future!