When you traverse an outline, WorkFlowy displays breadcrumb links to help you zoom out from your current position on the document. You are given one document to create a world of information. Main points are like books, child bullets are like chapters, etc… You can literally map your entire ministry on one easily accessible document. The search feature is simple, quick and accurate and helps you find information fast. The plethora of keyboard shortcuts makes traversing your document super fast.

Finally, the ability to export specific contextual information in plain or rich text is off the chain – yes I throw down some slang when I’m tired. If you’ve been kicking the can to get an idea organized, or you simply need to diagram your workflow to help your productivity, WorkFlowy is a jewel.

I recommend everyone to start your Workflowy document today. It’s dead simple and free to use.

Go to WorkFlowy

My Favorite New Writing App WorkFlowy is a post from: Mister Nifty

Stay Connected

• Subscribe to RSS by Email
• Join The Mister Nifty Newsletter
• Follow Mister Nifty on Twitter

A few months ago, I found a couple of great browser extensions that work really well. I’m able to set which websites to block during my work hours. I know at 5:30pm every night, I’m able to check the news and see what’s happening on my favorite blogs. If you are having trouble staying focused or you need to regulate your kids homework time from Facebook, try these great extensions:

1. LeechBlock (Firefox Extension)
2. StayFocused (Chrome Extension)

This has helped me immensely psychologically set boundaries for my time on the Internet.  If you need a procrastination killer, get to installing these free extensions!

Stop wasting time on the Internet during work is a post from: Mister Nifty

Stay Connected

• Subscribe to RSS by Email
• Join The Mister Nifty Newsletter
• Follow Mister Nifty on Twitter

Information Flow

I’ve identified three information progressions for a team to be efficient:

• Programs need processes
• Processes need data
• Data needs a base

Each of these progressions involves people.

• Programs are administered by people
• Processes are executed by people
• Data is accessed/recorded by people

Core Values

The Centralize Doctrine holds true to the these values:

1. Relevant Data – data is worthless without context
2. Current Data – data is worthless if outdated
3. Accessible Location – relevant and current data are worthless without access
4. Protected Backup – all data is worthless if corrupted/lost
   

Definition

The Centralize Doctrine can be defined as:

Placing relevant, current data in a central,  secure location for team collaboration and optimal program efficiency.

Linear vs. Central Access

An example of decentralized data would be a church who houses their member information on one computer in the secretary’s office. Every day, the secretary fields calls from team members to pass along member data for their programs and processes. This data is decentralized behind the key of one gatekeeper. Team members are not efficient and the gatekeeper is sure to become burnt out on the drudgery of single data access.

An application of The Centralize Doctrine would be to subscribe to an online membership management software that allows team members to access member information at will based on their permission level. Church members can also login and update their information so the database is current at all times. The data now resides in the center of the team (in the cloud) rather than behind the gate of one weary keeper. The team is more efficient and the time saved can be used to make a program more effective.

Data Stewardship

Examine and analyze your programs, processes, and databases and conclude whether or not you are hindering the efficiency and productivity of your teams. If you find that your data is unnecessarily restricted, find a platform to centralize your data that includes the previously listed core values.

We are called to be good stewards of God’s resources. One of the most vital resources of our churches after the Truth of God’s Word and the body of Christ is our data. Are you managing and sharing your data wisely, or are you hoarding that outdated data and burying it in the ground like the foolish servant of Matthew 25?

Cloud Resources

Here are a few platform suggestions to centralize your data:

• Google Apps – Online email, document storage/creation, shared/personal calendars, and collaboration tools.
• Networked Hard Drive or File Server – Store files in a central location rather than on individual computers
• MailChimp – Place your mailing list online rather than in one person’s Outlook where other team members can send newsletters and updates to their segmented groups.
• Church Management Software – There are dozens of great online membership management apps available. A simple Google search for “church management software” will get you well on your way to centralized bliss. A good example The City from Zondervan.
• Enable remote access on your security DVR for security team members to monitor the property from home on off-nights.
• Google Calendar – Create a central web calendar with subscription features rather than storing your events on Excel or Publisher.

The Centralize Doctrine is a post from: Mister Nifty

Stay Connected

• Subscribe to RSS by Email
• Join The Mister Nifty Newsletter
• Follow Mister Nifty on Twitter

If a recipient does not have the option to unsubscribe from a list, it’s spam. For years, Constant Contact has been the go-to newsletter and communications portal for many ministries and churches. It certainly is a great service, but the monthly cost deters many smaller churches from signing up. Now, there is an awesome  solution that is free and meets the needs of a small to medium size church. It’s called MailChimp.

MailChimp has just reorganized and is now offering free accounts up to 1,000 subscribers and 6,000 sent emails per month. They have tools to easily embed a sign-up form into your website so you can start capturing your visitor’s data. You can also import subscribers on the backend and segment your lists into smaller groups. Email the entire subscriber list or just a small group, it’s all determined by your specific need set.

MailChimp also gives you an analytical look into your subscriber’s behavior. They tell you how many people actually opened and read your email with more intricate data attached as well. With their social feature set, you can easily integrate your newsletters into your subscriber’s social experience. I love the fact that you can design your own custom HTML templates or select from dozens of pre-design template for your email campaigns. It’s free, so go give it a shot!

Go to MailChimp

Free Constant Contact Alternative is a post from: Mister Nifty

Stay Connected

• Subscribe to RSS by Email
• Join The Mister Nifty Newsletter
• Follow Mister Nifty on Twitter

Skype

• Phone  Calls – Skype-to-Skype calls are always free. If you need to call a cell phone, just purchase some credit and ring any phone in the world from your computer screen. This is also a great way for your family to reach you when you are connected to the Internet.
• Video Conferencing – This is a great way to call into your church services and give them a glimpse of what’s going on in your neck of the world. If you’re on a PC, Skype has just released a new version that supports 5-way video calls. This is a great way for you to have meetings with your staff while you’re out of the country.
• Internet Access – If you’re stuck in an airport with pay-to-play WiFi and you don’t want to use your credit card in a foreign country, most public WiFi hotspots accept Skype credit as payment for using their service. Just fire up Skype and type in your credentials, Skype does the rest. Skype Internet access saved the day for me when I was recently stuck in a Brazilian airport with no way to communicate.
• Skype Phone – This is a great way to make calls when you’re near WiFi without lugging your laptop everywhere.

• Download Skype For Free

Google Voice and Gmail Video

• Never come home to an overwhelming voice-mail box. Forward all of your calls to your Google Voice number and it will record your messages in MP3 form for you to check anywhere in the world.
• Google Voice also allows you to send text messages to any phone from anywhere in the world. This is a great way to get in touch with your leaders or your loved ones for free!
• Gmail video chat is another great video conferencing tool

TinyChat

• TinyChat is a great way for you to embed a chat room right into your website for loved ones to come and chat and keep up-to-date with what’s going on real-time.
• Yet another great way to hold a mass video conference.
• Private messaging allows all travelers to communicate privately away from the public room.
• Honorable mention to Tokbox as well who provides a similar service for free.

• Create your own room at TinyChat

Satellite or Cell Phone Rental

• Rent a satellite phone for a very reasonable price. $10-$15/day
• Free incoming calls and incoming SMS in most cases!
• Ability to be reached anywhere in the world
• Most countries also have local phone rentals for a nominal fee with free incoming calls.

• Visit Global Cellular Rental

If you have any other great ways to stay in touch, please add to the comment list! Enjoy your travels!

Communication Tools For Mission Trips is a post from: Mister Nifty

Stay Connected

• Subscribe to RSS by Email
• Join The Mister Nifty Newsletter
• Follow Mister Nifty on Twitter

Click here to view the embedded video.

Go To Google Docs Blog

Google Docs Just Got More Awesome is a post from: Mister Nifty

Stay Connected

• Subscribe to RSS by Email
• Join The Mister Nifty Newsletter
• Follow Mister Nifty on Twitter

A few years ago I came up with an idea to help leaders stay connected with their congregations/leadership teams. This concept was birthed out of observation of many leaders only connecting with their congregation/leaders on a personal basis only during times of crisis or conflict.

We often view relationships as a time-consuming process that involves large chunks of our time. A leader who leads many people or leaders can feel overwhelmed with the burden of connecting. Many simply run from this burden and never make an effort to have any form of personal contact outside the functions of the church. Thus, the concept I call “2MPH” was birthed.

Two things about 2MPH

• The Premise – Two Miles Per Hour
  • Slow down from the busyness of life.
• The Application – Two Minutes Per Hour
  • Take two minutes out of every hour and connect with someone.

Get Your Calculator Out

I took this idea of two minutes per hour to the calculator and was amazed at the impact of these small time investments. Before I started my mad calculator skills, I factored in a 40-hour work week which equals 2,400 minutes of work time.

Here’s what I came up with:

• 2 minutes X 8 hours = 16 minutes / day
• 16 minutes X 5 work days = 80 minutes / week
• 80 minutes X 50 work weeks (minus Christmas and Thanksgiving) = 4,000 minutes / year (66 1/2 hours)
  

How It Works

These numbers really got my attention.  By taking 80 minutes out of a 2,400 minute work week, I could connect with 40-80 people in one week.  I realize what most people are thinking right now that one or two minute interactions are not truly connections, but I disagree. As I mentioned before, we tend to look at relationships in the large chunks of time that we spend with someone and discount the value of small consistent interactions.

The 2MPH concept means every hour you take two minutes to  do one of the following:

• Send a short text message to someone
  • Word of appreciation
  • Birthday/Anniversary wishes
  • Encouragement for someone who is hurting

• Make a quick phone call (I realize this is the most time consuming)
  • A call to a patient in the hospital sometimes means as much to them as a visit.
  • Call your kids and tell them you love them and are proud of them.
  • Call a guest that attended last weekend and let them know how glad you were they came.

• Send a quick email to someone
  • A quick note in a businessman’s email box from the pastor or leader can make them feel a part of the family
  • Share a thought from the Word with your leaders or a small group of friends/family
  • Send a note to your mayor or city officials letting them know you’re praying for them

• Write a personal note
  • Prepare  your desk with a box of pre-stamped envelopes and simple stationary to jot a note to someone.
  • For someone struggling, find a few relevant verses, write a quick note of encouragement and include the references.
  • Write a romantic note for your spouse and leave it for them to find.

• Personal contact
  • When grabbing a takeout meal, order an extra meal for a coworker without them asking and bring it to them.
  • If you’re in public, take time to ask a stranger you come in contact how they are doing today. A quick caring conversation can be a great witness

Keep a tally of your time. Your daily 16 minutes may yield sixteen communications, or maybe only two. Just commit to spend 16 minutes during the course of your day caring about someone other than yourself.

If you are employed in the secular workforce, I am not condoning stealing time from your boss to use this concept. Take time during your breaks to connect with others so you can be an honorable employee.

The Power of Small Consistency

The previous suggestions might not seem very impacting to you right now, but concerted, consistent, communication can reap huge rewards in the people around you over the course of a year. The purpose of taking time out of every hour is not only to keep ourselves from becoming self-absorbed, but also to create an awareness of others around us, and to extend the love of Jesus to others in two minute investments.

Certainly this concept is not a replacement for time well spent with those you love, but I see each of these small time investments as reinforcement for the relationship and friendship. These small snippets of time may not be the building blocks, but they are certainly rebar to strengthen the relationship over time.  Thousands of small interactions per year bring people closer to your inner circle and give you easier access to deal with conflict when it arises.

You cannot be everyone’s best friend, but if you’ve showed a party in conflict that you cared about them multiple times throughout the year, there is a built-in trust that accompanies those precious two minute investments.

Consistent communication and caring will open doors with people in your church and in the community that otherwise would have been shut. By taking 3% of your ministry work week and connecting with someone, you can impact up to 4,000 people per year.

Leaders, you will spend a minimum of 2,400 minutes this week working. Are you willing to give up 80 of those minutes to care for others? If you’re so wrapped up in your task list that you forgot ministry was about serving others, try using this concept to get out of the rut.

Make a Connection Plan and Prepare

Take some time and write down the relationships you wish to strengthen over the course of the next year. Use this as a master list that you carry in your wallet or purse. Make a weekly or daily connection plan. This involves who you are going to contact and what form of communication you will use to contact them. Making a plan helps you stick to your guns on the process. No planning means you probably won’t follow through at all.

Don’t devalue the impact of minute things. It’s not hard to start connecting. It just takes a small consistent two minute investment. It’s time to put the brakes on at least one time per hour, and give to others.

Slow down and connect!

2MPH – Slow Down and Connect is a post from: Mister Nifty

Stay Connected

• Subscribe to RSS by Email
• Join The Mister Nifty Newsletter
• Follow Mister Nifty on Twitter

Install WordPress

• Install WordPress – I used a subdomain (http://team.mydomain.com)  Most hosting companies have a One-Click application installer so you don’t have to mess with setting up a database or ugly FTP interfaces.   All you have to do is fill out a simple form where you want WordPress installed, give it a few minutes, and viola, it’s up-and-running.

Install the P2 Theme

• Log in to the admin interface (http://team.mydomain.com/wp-admin/) and go to Appearance->Add New Themes
• Search for “P2″ in the search box and install the theme.
• Activate the theme under Appearance->Themes
• If you have problems, download the theme files to your computer and upload them to your WP directory using an FTP client.

Make your WordPress Private

• You probably don’t want the world reading your posts, so let’s make your WordPress private.  Go to Plugins->Add New
• Search for Private WordPress and install the plugin (Install button is to the right of the search results table)
• Make sure Private WordPress is activated under Plugins->Installed

Setup Your Preferences

• Go to Settings->General and give your portal a name and description.
• Go to Settings->Reading and enter the number of posts you want to appear on each page under: “Blog pages show at most”
• Go to Settings->Discussion and enable threaded nested comments (Choose how many levels you desire – this is basically how many levels down people can comment on other’s comments)
  • To keep non-users from commenting, check “Users must be registered and logged in to comment”
  • Un-check “An administrator must always approve the comment” and “Comment author must have a previously approved comment

Force Posted Links to Open In New Pages

• Go to Plugins->Add New and search for “Target Blank In Posts And Comments”
• Install and activate this plugin.  The functions will work automatically without any additional settings.

Add Your Team Members

• Go to Users->Add New  Create profiles for your team members.  Assign them the role of author so they can only edit their own posts.  To assign a moderator, give them a role of administrator, or editor.
• Team members can have their own personalized user icon by registering the same email address in their profile at: http://gravatar.com  This is a universally recognized avatar that will work on any site they use the registered email address on.

Install Additional Features

• Try installing other plugins for added functionality.
• Allow users to be notified of additional comments with the plugin “Subscribe To Comments”
• There are dozens of YouTube plugins that allow users to embed videos right in their posts.

Set Up Your Own Twitter-like Communication Portal is a post from: Mister Nifty

Stay Connected

• Subscribe to RSS by Email
• Join The Mister Nifty Newsletter
• Follow Mister Nifty on Twitter

Go To TokBox

TokBox Is Intensely Awesome Video Chat is a post from: Mister Nifty

Stay Connected

• Subscribe to RSS by Email
• Join The Mister Nifty Newsletter
• Follow Mister Nifty on Twitter

Organizing Your Email

If you aren’t familiar with the native star tool, just click the little star in the upper right hand corner of each email.  If you have superstars enabled in the settings properly, you can click multiple times to iterate through the list of superstars.  You can tag an email with on of the above stars or orbs to identify that email later on.  I have four categories for my star usage:  Urgent, Important, Info, and Reply-To.   By simply adding star I can easily file that email, archive it and retrieve it later with all other emails that need the same action.

Creating Quick Links

Stars are great, but to get a list for a specific superstar you have to enter a cryptic code in the search bar.  Entering “has:green-check” will give you a list of all the starred items with a green check.  But, who wants to do that every time?  Gmail created a great little feature called Quick Links.  It’s basically a quick way to save frequent search results.  I use it for action folders to organize my email and access my action items quickly.

Gmail Superstars Cheatsheet

I created a handy dandy cheatsheet for you to use when searching for each superstar in Gmail.  Download it and make your Gmail experience more fun and productive!

Tranparent PNG’s

You can use these recreated images for your own projects.  Here are the transparent PNG images.

Super Productivity with Gmail Superstars is a post from: Mister Nifty

Stay Connected

• Subscribe to RSS by Email
• Join The Mister Nifty Newsletter
• Follow Mister Nifty on Twitter