I adore the first few weeks of January. That magical time when my blog traffic spikes with Googling visitors newly resolved to “get organized” in the new year. That makes me so happy. You know how I love talking to-do lists, productivity and Moleskine.  So, without further ado, here are my top tips to help you get and stay organized in 2012:

Keep one to-do list: you only have one brain, which frets over everything from that memo you need to write, to the dentist appointment you keep forgetting to make and the day care check you that OMG-YOU-MUST-MAIL-TODAY. Your brain doesn’t keep separate “work” and “personal” to-do lists, so why do you? Consolidate all of those calendars, post-its, napkins and lists into ONE. Then, prioritize the lot. This works; trust me. My to-do list of choice is Good To Do. That said, you may be like my husband and find a paper to-do list more productive. Whatever floats your boat. Just use ONE.

Clear your inbox(es): this one always gets me the crazy-eye. But I’m serious. Your inbox is not a filing cabinet; it is not a to-do list. Watch this video or read this book. Then, take a deep breath and start taking action, delegating, filing or deleting! This one is super-empowering, though it does take a while if your inbox has 5,500 emails in it. One great way to keep the clutter from returning is to unsubscribe from all that junk email you get each day; feels so good!

Write it down: you know how you wake up in the middle of the night, freaking out over something you forgot to do that day? Some email you forgot to send? The dog’s medication you forgot to give him? Keep a notebook beside your bed. When you wake up fretting, write it down. Then, go back to sleep. You can’t do anything about it at 3:35 a.m. anyway–without looking like a crazy person. I keep a notebook in my purse, too. And for a while, when I was really stressed with work and personal stuff, I kept a notebook by the shower! Hey, we do what we need to do. When you wake up/get back to your desk/dry off, you’ll then transfer those random thoughts and to-dos to your ONE LIST. See how this works!

Create a file system: you don’t have to go 100% David Allen with your files, but you do need a system for work and home. I use colored file folders and keep two cabinets: one in my office; one in my home closet. Every project and meaningful task gets a folder. This keeps my desk clear of clutter, while enabling me to hoard relevant notes, business cards plans, receipts, agendas, etc. When the project/task is done, the folder gets filed away.

Use an RSS reader: point all those blogs, news sites, job postings, friend’s baby pictures, critics’ Tweets, Google Alerts and time wasters to ONE PLACE. I use Google Reader. But there are many others out there. This way, my inbox is free of “alert” clutter and I don’t have to spend time surfing the Internet to get caught up on news, tech, gossip and flickr feeds. This technique may or may not work for you. Some folks find an RSS reader more trouble than it’s worth, but it works for me!

What organizational tools do you swear by? Share your suggestions in the comments!

Nothing brings out the worst in folks quite like anonymity. Under the misguided belief that the Internet was created to catalog negative comments and painfully poor grammar, Internet trolls rant and pillage the Web–and leave in their wake you, with a helpless, panicky feeling.

Every public relations person has a different theory on how to handle ridiculous, demeaning and downright false comments; here’s mine:

Don’t delete: folks have the right to disagree with you–even they are snarky and mean-spirited.  As long as the comment isn’t a threat, patently offensive, spam, bigoted, libelous or keeping you awake at night, leave it be. These are comments from trolls, not statements from the Pope.

Count to 4,567: as bad as the troll’s comment is and despite how angry/hurt/sad it makes you, it’s not the end of the world. Take a deep breath, step away from the computer and think before you respond.

Just the facts, ma’am: should you decide to respond to the the troll in a comment of your own, do so with a level head, refuting the troll point-by-point using factual statements with as little emotion as possible (Trolls hate that). Under no circumstances are you to fight with the troll or engage in it in sarcastic comm-versation.

Use your real name: transparency is key when responding to an Internet troll. When you respond, it should be under your real name. In my book, if your comment is anonymous it doesn’t count–and you’ve become a troll, too. Read More…

Oh, boy! Looks like more folks are discovering public relations truths via Google. This recent Flackrabbit search query needs no introduction…

…but it does need an answer. Here, let me: Read More…

It’s not the numerous legitimate privacy concerns that scare me about Google Buzz. I get nauseous nauseated* thinking about the first time someone–you, me, an elected official or famous person–mistakes a Buzz reply for an email and says something patently offensive, evil and/or downright embarrassing.

And it’s public. But you thought it was private when you hit send because the Buzz reply was IN YOUR INBOX.

Who’s horrible idea was this? I can’t imagine anything WORSE than putting a very public communications vehicle in someone’s PRIVATE email inbox. Read More…

I’ll never tire of folks emailing, DMing, Facebook messaging and calling with geek/productivity/PR questions. It’s amazing what a little perspective and encouragement will do for a person; I’m honored to be someone you call on when you need that.

Here’s the thing though: you seldom ask your question in the comments on my blog(s) or on Twitter. You seem to like your privacy. That’s cool, but I’d like to encourage you to share the Q & A luv; that’s what makes the Internet so fabulous, ya know? Wisdom of crowds and what not. Read More…

I’m excited that you “nailed that interview,” I just hope your soon-to-be boss isn’t following you on Twitter, watching you talk about it like this. It’s not that you’ve said anything patently offensive – and you aren’t alone – it’s just that any and all snarky/job-related comments are now out there for the Whole Wide Web (and HR recruiters) to see.

Folks, you’ve heard me say it a hundred times: there is no privacy on the Internet. All of your social sayings are Google-able. Sooner or later, your co-workers/bosses/peers are gonna see this stuff. And then we’ll all blog about it. And we’re not laughing with you.

So, stop kicking yourselves in the rear and think before you Tweet. You’ll be glad you did.

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I’ve now had four days on Google Wave (if you want a quick primer, go here) and I really dig what it could mean for future office collaboration and editing. Not to mention how it will change the way we think about email.

It’s hard to explain what Wave really is, but I’m having fun with it. At this point though it’s very much like hubby describes it: “a glorified chat room.”

We’ll need more folks Waving with us (only 10 of my contacts have Wave access) — and more features, Gmail integration, etc — before we’ll really discover and appreciate its potential. In the meantime, a few quick observations:

Potential use I love most:

Live editing – in theory, you could invite the five folks who have to review and approve your copy/press release/statement/etc. to a Wave and everyone could tear up your draft make their edits while the everyone else is watching in real-time. Within minutes, you could have an approved draft for release; and if someone wanted to see how those edits were made, by whom and in what order, you can invite them to that Wave to “play back” the conversation.

Thing that scares me:

Folks must watch you type: at this point, anything you type is visible to the person you are Waving with — as you are typing. So all those typos and Freudian slips will unfold like a train wreck. Not cool, Google. I’m ready for that little “Draft” box to actually be clickable so I don’t break out into a sweat when I start putting thoughts to pixels.

Oh, and I’m not ignoring you JM, AH, Matt, TL, etc. Although I received my Wave invite because Dave shared one with me, I don’t yet have invites to send around. If/when I am granted some, I’ll share! I promise!

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