January 2020 Summaries

Creating a meeting agenda automation using Zapier and Evernote can streamline the process of organizing meetings, reducing errors and increasing productivity. By connecting Outlook calendar events to an Evernote note, users can automatically generate a meeting agenda with essential details such as date, time, and event name. The automation also allows for customization of the template, including formatting options and additional fields like tags or reminder times. With this setup, users can focus on preparing for meetings while Zapier takes care of creating and sending agendas to designated teams or apps.

Meetings run better with an agenda, but only if you remember to actually make one. Why not automate the process? Here's how to automatically create an agenda in Google Docs every time you schedule a meeting in Google Calendar using Zapier. To start, set up a new Zap with Google Calendar as the first step and choose whether to use New Event or New Event Matching Search to trigger your Zap. Next, connect your Google account to Zapier and select which calendar will automatically create agendas. You can also add search terms to control which events trigger the agenda creation. After setting up the action, choose Google Docs as your app and Create Document from Template as your Action Event. Select a template for your agenda, add fields such as date, time, and meeting name to the document name, and choose the folder where the agenda will be created. Finally, test your Zap and see an automatically generated agenda in Google Drive. You can also add additional action steps to send the agenda to your team or set reminders.

As a Computer Person who has learned through experimentation and exploration, I've come to realize that there's no secret to mastering technology - it's simply a matter of trying things out. With the willingness to experiment and make mistakes, anyone can learn how to use new apps and programs, regardless of their background or qualifications. The key is not to be afraid of pressing random buttons or trying new features, but rather to approach technology with an open mind and a willingness to learn. By taking the time to explore and experiment, individuals can discover the power of automation and unlock new possibilities for themselves.

The Harris Poll, conducted by Zapier, surveyed over 1 million people in the US to understand Millennials and Gen Z's work attitudes and behaviors. The survey found that younger generations are not as disloyal or irresponsible as often perceived, but instead value loyalty, responsibility, and technology. Most see their job as core to their identity and want to stay in their current job long term. They also spend more time on work-related activities than social media, with many using automation tools to get more done. The survey revealed that younger generations are not "social media addicts," but rather "workaholics" who are often checking work communication tools outside of work hours. Additionally, most see the importance of mental health policies and discussing mental health openly at work. Overall, the survey aimed to challenge common stereotypes about Millennials and Gen Z's work attitudes and behaviors.

Voice assistants like Google Assistant and Alexa are being explored for their potential to boost productivity at work, with features such as creating meetings, reminders, and to-do items, controlling lights and thermostats, sending money, making travel arrangements, and performing calculations. Amazon's Alexa is also gaining traction in the workplace, with its Alexa for Business service offering customizable voice assistant interactions, while Google Assistant is being used by businesses to create private actions for their companies. As the technology continues to evolve, it's predicted that 25% of digital workers will use virtual assistants at work daily by 2021, making it essential for businesses to consider how they can integrate voice assistants into their operations now.

Working asynchronously requires a set of skills and strategies to be effective. One approach is to ask good questions upfront, providing context and references to ensure clarity. Working in public, such as sharing files and links, increases transparency and reduces misunderstandings. Overcommunicating through regular updates and blog posts helps teams stay aligned and informed. Finally, defaulting to action, taking initiative without waiting for permission, can significantly improve productivity and decision-making on distributed teams.

An SEO audit is a crucial process of analyzing a website's current SEO best practices, identifying areas for improvement, and providing a foundation for future SEO efforts. It measures a website's overall health, checking for crawlability, indexability, and optimization levels, as well as monitoring page speed and content quality. An SEO audit tool can help identify issues such as orphan pages, broken images, and incorrect robots.txt files, allowing website owners to make data-driven decisions and improve their online visibility. Regular audits are essential to ensure ongoing SEO success, making it a routine part of digital marketing strategies.

This article highlights six common mistakes that businesses make in lead generation, which can ultimately lead to wasted budget, resources, time, and energy. These mistakes include not establishing product-market fit before generating leads, defining an ideal customer profile, adopting a one-size-fits-all approach to marketing, underestimating the need for multiple marketing technologies, ignoring prospects' pain points, and spreading too thin across various digital channels. The article emphasizes the importance of understanding each business's unique needs and creating custom strategies that address those needs, rather than relying on generic tactics or assumptions. By avoiding these fatal mistakes, businesses can increase their chances of success in lead generation and ultimately drive more sales-qualified leads.

There are several strategies for forming new habits, including starting small with tiny steps, creating milestones, being specific about the habit you want to form, figuring out what's stopping you from turning behaviors into habits, planning ahead to avoid common obstacles, stacking habits onto existing ones, making it easy to start and maintain the habit, and rewarding yourself after completing the habit. By using these strategies, individuals can increase their chances of forming new habits that will stick with them over time.

It can be challenging to remember to follow up with customers after they make a purchase, but using Zapier, which connects Square to 1,500+ applications, allows for automatic reminders to be sent to almost any application, including Slack. To set up the reminder, create a new Zap in Zapier, sign into your Square account and choose the New Transaction trigger. Add a delay step using Zapier's native app and select how long you want the delay to be before sending the reminder. Then, decide where you'd like to send the information, such as Slack, and format the message with relevant details from previous steps. Once customized, test the Zap and it will automatically send reminders based on Square transactions, allowing for efficient follow-up with customers.

I'm great at making New Year's resolutions, but I struggle with following through on them because I think the culture of New Year's resolutions encourages vague goals that are hard to act on. Instead, I believe in resolving to take tangible steps towards a goal, rather than just setting an outcome as my resolution. For example, instead of saying "I want to learn a new skill," I would resolve to spend one hour every day working on it. This approach helps to create a sense of direction and accountability, making it more likely that I will follow through on my goals. By focusing on the work itself, rather than just the outcome, I can make progress towards my objectives and achieve real results.

Don't make New Year's resolutions in January because it's a uniquely terrible time to try to change, with factors like the lack of sunlight and holiday chaos making dramatic changes unrealistic. Instead, focus on getting back into normal routines and build new habits throughout the year, as December is also a challenging month for motivation and self-improvement. The sun's absence during this period can affect human moods directly, especially in northern regions, leading to symptoms of Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) that can make it harder to start new habits. By skipping resolutions and focusing on gradual changes throughout the year, you'll be more likely to achieve lasting success.