The Office Gal

Being a fairly simple, one-person team when it comes to writing, I need to really focus on how to keep my productivity up when reviewing future topics; I tend to wander around the web, looking for nothing in particular. That is my first reason to look into a time management tool. My second reason; keeping track of the sites and blogs I should be on to make sure that I am using my time productively while I am visiting.

As I am opening up my newsletter from Business Week, I stumble onto an article, You Don’t Have to Ditch the Day Job by Tony Wright. Although this particular article has nothing to do with this post, the author - Tony Wright - does; particularly his on-line startup, RescueTime. A new time management tool that looks into how I use my time on-line, RescueTime is exactly what I need it to be; my babysitter of both time and the web to help me manage my time to be more productive.

Now of course I love that it is a free download. No reason to not try it, right? Once the tool is downloaded, RescueTime feeds to the on-line ‘dashboard’ and shows me: each site I have visited and the amount of time spent at each (in easy to use time allotments). I can view by day, week, month, or year, and even have the ability to tag sites so that I can view productivity in a clearer format.

Yes, I downloaded it. Yes, I am still processing. Yes, I am happy so far. I have really been able to look at the sites I visit and narrow down their use into my grand scheme and see how to take that time and split it up. I also know when I am most productive and can better fill that time actually utilizing the web best to get my blogs out there.

For the loaner like me, this application is a great tool and will keep me on track, but don’t you managers out there fret. RescueTime Business is on the way. Very much the same tool as the one-man team, with the business application, managers will be able to track employees time and where it is spent. Can be a useful tool for the employee that seems to never get anything done.

Popularity: 11% [?]

Time is everything when you work independently from a corporate office or as a freelancer. Home offices can be scrutinized tremendously for being lax, having more free time, and just not being under the same regiment that a corporate office is. Entrepreneurs may also find it difficult to keep documentation on hours worked for a client by logging manually.

What is the best way to squash the rumors? Track the time to better serve your company, or for entrepreneurs, serve yourself. Tracking is as simple as downloading software onto your computer that will automatically log your work and associated time. In turn, logged information will benefit personnel for payroll and attendance; for freelancers, it will help with billing clients correct hours spent on projects.

There are several companies that offer tracking software. Two that I found are TimeClock Plus and Time Sprite. Both are very easy to install and use, and will offer a great reporting system for attendance, payroll, project time, taxes; just a variety of tasks that will keep both the corporate office or freelancer on track and on time.

The following screenshots will give you an idea of what each application will look like during use.

TimeClock Plus

Time Sprite

Other suggestions to stay organized and on track - The BusyBodyBook®

Popularity: 9% [?]

If you haven’t read The Right Tool For Blogging - Part 1 click here.

OK… so, I downloaded Windows Live Writer and gave it a whirl now it is time for Blog Desk.

Blog Desk Offline Weblog Editor

Well, right off the bat, the look is much different - very basic, but that doesn’t mean bad. I am using Blog Desk now to write this post and writing and formatting is not different then Windows Live Writer. You are still given the same excellent features - creating links, adding pictures, creating tags for Technorati, and even a space for trackbacks. Still a very usable, friendly format.

I do like that you are able to save your post as a file for future reference or to use as a backup, just in case. Windows Live Writer gave me the option to Save As Draft , but I could not save it as a file for backup.

One big that I noticed with Blog Desk is when you first begin set-up it does not automatically begin the process to set-up your first blog. You will need to manually set up your first blog by going to File - Manage blogs .

I did try the Preview view several times to see what my post would look like once uploaded, but it would not give me a preview on the actual blog page. Unfortunately, that is one reason why I might not continue to use this editor.

Honestly, there aren’t many difference between the two editors that I can see other than the visual and view options, both worked extremely well and I would say that it will come down to personal opinion which editor you choose.

So there you have it, a simple look at both the Blog Desk and Windows Live Writer offline weblog editors. Go take a peek at the sites for yourself and see which one will work best for you. I do suggest that you download them both and do a couple of test runs because this will be your best process to decided which one is best for you.

I do want to thank Jennifer Chait and Freelance Writing Jobs for discussing offline editors in her post Help My Post Vanished! Jennifer’s post gave me the idea to take this little journey.

Popularity: 10% [?]

Learning about a new tool for blogging is as wonderful as opening a present up on Christmas morning; exhilaration as you rip open the wrapping to find a box full of – gift cards. OK, so I am a bit difficult to buy gifts for, but there is nothing difficult about the choice to switch to an offline weblog editor.

Although offline weblog editors are not new, I just recently learned of this tool and so far I am pleased with what I am seeing. Currently, I use Word to write all of my posts and then upload into my blog. Formatting of pictures and links are usually always lost and re-working can become frustrating and time consuming. So, when I heard of the editors, I needed to give them a look see.

Two editors commonly used for Windows operating systems are Blog Desk and Windows Live Writer. I wanted to make sure that I gave them both a fair chance to win me over, so I have downloaded both to give them a test drive. This post - Part 1 - has been created with Windows Live Writer. See below for my thoughts.

Windows Live Writer

Downloading was extremely easy and the look is traditional Windows theme. I am actually using the Windows editor right now and so far, so good. One feature that I really like is the Web Preview view. Yes, you are given several view options in Word, but this particular view allows me to see exactly what my post will look like once in my blog.

There are of course all the bells and whistles like adding pictures, inserting links, videos, and tables plus you have the added feature of looking through additional plug-ins to gain more options. The wonderful thing about editors, you won’t lose formatting once you upload to your blog. Wonderful! Another great feature, Writer will publish your post for you directly into your blog, so no having to open up the blog editor to copy.

The only issue so far - the Web Layout view. When I chose this view to type in it skews the look of my post. I have yet to have a clear view of what I am typing. I thought this was a downloading issue, so it was removed and downloaded again, same results. After writing this post, I realized the view really depends on the theme that used for your blog. So, if you choose to use Windows Live Writer just be aware that you might have an issue with this view. All in all, I am very pleased with this editor.

OK…now on to Blog Desk.

Click here for The Right Tool For Blogging - Part 2. 

I do want to thank Jennifer Chait and Freelance Writing Jobs for discussing offline editors in her post Help My Post Vanished! Jennifer’s post gave me the idea to take this little journey.

Popularity: 9% [?]