You have decided on a structure for your work, but how do you remember what to use what tool for—and when?

This week’s episode of Done! is about what you must do to benefit from the structure for a long time.

How have you reminded yourself of the structure you have set? Write to me and tell me. I look forward to hearing from you.

Do you know these 5 questions that make your out-of-office message clearer?

These episodes are also available as a weekly newsletter to your email. If you rather read than listen (or both!), sign up for a free subscription.

David Stiernholm is a ”struktör”. As such he helps people and companies become more efficient and productive by creating better structure.

His motto is: Everything can be done easier! David is frequently hired as a speaker by all kinds of businesses, from well-established major corporations to entrepreneurial companies in hyper-growth. He extinguishes himself by providing clients with concrete tools and methods that can be applied instantly both at work and in your personal life. During a talk with David Stiernholm, you will realize that structure is both liberating and fun and that establishing a better structure makes you less stressed and more efficient.

🙋🏼‍♂️ Book a talk with David

📚 Read David's book

🍿 Watch short videos with practical structure tips on YouTube

Are you asked to do many ”As soon as possible” tasks?

This week’s episode of Done! is about making prioritizing when you are assigned tasks easier.

Have you done something similar to what Lise-Lotte did? Write to me and tell me about your trick. I will be as happy to receive your email as I was when I heard from Lise-Lotte.

Do you know this trick to stay focused on the right task when other tasks are tempting?

These episodes are also available as a weekly newsletter to your email. If you rather read than listen (or both!), sign up for a free subscription.

David Stiernholm is a ”struktör”. As such he helps people and companies become more efficient and productive by creating better structure.

His motto is: Everything can be done easier! David is frequently hired as a speaker by all kinds of businesses, from well-established major corporations to entrepreneurial companies in hyper-growth. He extinguishes himself by providing clients with concrete tools and methods that can be applied instantly both at work and in your personal life. During a talk with David Stiernholm, you will realize that structure is both liberating and fun and that establishing a better structure makes you less stressed and more efficient.

🙋🏼‍♂️ Book a talk with David

📚 Read David's book

🍿 Watch short videos with practical structure tips on YouTube

You want to have good structure in your work, but what does it actually look like?

The 629th episode Done! is about how to navigate a typical, intense day with good structure.

Do you have a different abstract image of your structured work process? Show it to me or tell me! I would be happy to hear your thoughts. 

Here's how the small structure details can have a major impact on your work.

These episodes are also available as a weekly newsletter to your email. If you rather read than listen (or both!), sign up for a free subscription.

David Stiernholm is a ”struktör”. As such he helps people and companies become more efficient and productive by creating better structure.

His motto is: everything can be done easier! David is frequently hired as a speaker by all kinds of businesses ranging from well-established major corporations to entrepreneurial companies in hyper growth. He extinguishes himself by providing clients with concrete tools and methods that can be applied instantly both at work and in your personal life. During a talk with David Stiernholm you will realize that structure is both liberating and fun, and that by establishing a better structure you become less stressed and more efficient.

🙋🏼‍♂️ Book a talk with David

📚 Read David's book

🍿 Watch short videos with practical structure tips on YouTube

When questions, problems, ideas, suggestions, errors, and the like arise, they need to be dealt with by the right person. But who to ask? 

In this episode, the 539th, I share a tool that helps you more easily delegate an issue to the right colleague.

How have you made it easy to know who to pass the ball to when you receive things or issues that don't concern your area of responsibility? Write to me and let me know. I'm always curious to hear how others solved hassles my clients (and I myself!) encountered, so I would love to receive an email from you. 

I have found three things you can do to come better prepared to your meetings.

These episodes are also available as a weekly newsletter to your email. If you rather read than listen (or both!), sign up for a free subscription.

Microsoft OneNote is an excellent tool for writing and keeping notes, if you ask me.

But, I do not think you should use it for your to-do list. 

In this episode, the 538th, I share why - and I give you two suggestions for tools you could try out instead.

Don't agree with me that OneNote is not a good place for to-do lists? Have you found features that solve the hassle that I haven't? Let me know! I want to learn more about this, so I would love for you to tell or show me.

Book a talk on structure at work by me and set the tone immediately among your colleagues for an even more well structured 2023!

These episodes are also available as a weekly newsletter to your email. If you rather read than listen (or both!), sign up for a free subscription.

When setting up a folder structure for your digital documents you need to find an order that suits you and your organization.

In this episode, the 537th, I share what to consider when choosing what order to implement.

How have you achieved a folder structure that works well? Write to me and tell me. This aspect of structure is something many people struggle with and I am curious about what you have done to succeed well, so I am all ears.

Here is how to sift out at the source.

These episodes are also available as a weekly newsletter to your email. If you rather read than listen (or both!), sign up for a free subscription.

When you work at the office, you might have agreed with your colleagues that you use the chat app's status indicator to show each other whether you are available or not. But, how do you signal to your family members while working from home that you need to work uninterrupted at the moment? 

There is now an app for that - and I will tell you about it in this 536th episode.

Did you try the app and how did it suit you? If you came up with a different signal, what was it? Write to me and tell me, because I collect clever tricks, as you know. However, I don't just keep them for myself, but love sharing them freely with those who are interested since the more of us who work in a structured way, the easier and better all our lives will be.

Here are five ways to sort your digital folders: https://www.stiernholm.com/en/blog/video-five-ways-to-sort-things

These episodes are also available as a weekly newsletter to your email. If you rather read than listen (or both!), sign up for a free subscription.

Sometimes and some days, you do not find the time for completing all the tasks on today's list. Then, some tasks have to go. 

In this episode, the 535th, let us talk about what tasks you can skip on stressful days. 

Have you done something else to prioritize fairly quickly in stressful situations? Write to me and let me know. Anything that makes our working lives easier is of great interest to me. That's why I'm curious to hear what you'd like to share. 

I mentioned the word "Spuddle" in the beginning of the episode. Do you have a productivity related favorite word? Tell me!

These episodes are also available as a weekly newsletter to your email. If you rather read than listen (or both!), sign up for a free subscription.

How quickly do you have to respond to emails, chat messages and other communication? Well, it depends.

In this episode, the 534th, I share what you can do to make your workdays less fragmented. 

What "channel frequencies" did you agree on? Write to me and let me know. This question interests me right now, so I'm curious to hear what you and your colleagues came up with. 

Here is how to escape regretting a "yes!": https://www.stiernholm.com/en/blog/video-escape-regretting-a-yes

These episodes are also available as a weekly newsletter to your email. If you rather read than listen (or both!), sign up for a free subscription.

We cannot be available everywhere all the time. Sometimes, we all need to work focused without interruptions. This will paradoxically be more easily done if you make yourself reachable - not through all channels, but one specific. 

In this episode, the 533rd, I share what you gain by choosing what channel you use for emergencies.

Do you have any other way to resolve the conflict between being unavailable and needing to be semi-reachable? Write to me and let me know.

As the influx and inflow of messages increase in number, more of us are feeling the challenge of maintaining calm in our increasingly stressful work lives. That's why I'm curious to hear about your best trick. 

Sometimes at work, you need to say no. It can be hard - at least in the moment. But, it will be easier if you create templates for doing so.

These episodes are also available as a weekly newsletter to your email. If you rather read than listen (or both!), sign up for a free subscription.

When your workday consists of meetings back to back, the tasks you manage to get done in between might only be the quick things that not necessarily have the highest priority. Then, the really important tasks will have to wait until later.

In this episode, the 532th, though, I help you make better use of the brief moments you have between meetings.

Do you have other tricks for making the most of the short time between meetings? Write to me and let me know. I am certainly one of those who want to make the most of my working time, so I am curious to see what you would like to share.

And, as I mentioned in the beginning of the episode, I wrote about thirteen ways to clean up when you are short of time.

These episodes are also available as a weekly newsletter to your email. If you rather read than listen (or both!), sign up for a free subscription.

Have you ever put up a sticky note where you see it in order to not miss something, but end up seeing it so much that you after a while do not see it (and still miss the thing that was written on the note)?

This is similar to what happens when you work continously on a task without taking breaks.

In this episode, the 531st, I share why you should refrain from that and what you can do instead.

How often does it suit you to take a short break if you do not get one automatically? Write to me and let me know. I am one of those who find it easy to get lost in a task for a long time, so I am curious to hear what works for you.

And, here's how to search better in Outlook: https://www.stiernholm.com/en/blog/how-to-search-better-in-outlook

These episodes are also available as a weekly newsletter to your email. If you rather read than listen (or both!), sign up for a free subscription.

Some people tend to mark an email as unread after they have read it a first time, since they want to remember to get back to it and do something later.

The 530th episode of Done! is about why that is something to avoid.

How have you managed to keep your to-do list complete - despite new things coming in through many different channels? Write to me and tell me. I am curious to hear what you will share.

Here is how I view structure in relation to creativity: https://www.stiernholm.com/en/blog/structure-and-creativity-are-they-friends-or-foes

These episodes are also available as a weekly newsletter to your email. If you rather read than listen (or both!), sign up for a free subscription.

Your colleague has indicated that they are busy, but does that apply to everything?

Done! this week is about an agreement that reduces friction in the organization.

What have you agreed upon regarding what the different statuses mean? Please write to me and tell me. I am curious to hear what you have come up with!

Here's what to do if a reminder is valuable sometimes and sometimes not.

These episodes are also available as a weekly newsletter to your email. If you rather read than listen (or both!), sign up for a free subscription.

David Stiernholm is a ”struktör”. As such he helps people and companies become more efficient and productive by creating better structure.

His motto is: everything can be done easier! David is frequently hired as a speaker by all kinds of businesses ranging from well-established major corporations to entrepreneurial companies in hyper growth. He extinguishes himself by providing clients with concrete tools and methods that can be applied instantly both at work and in your personal life. During a talk with David Stiernholm you will realize that structure is both liberating and fun, and that by establishing a better structure you become less stressed and more efficient.

🙋🏼‍♂️ Book a talk with David

📚 Read David's book

🍿 Watch short videos with practical structure tips on YouTube

When you finally have time to do that thing that you have postponed a while longer than you wish, it is understandable that you want to get started immediately.

But, today's Done! No. 529, is about a situation when it is actually wise to slow down and not act so quickly.

Do you usually do something special before having a go at a task that has been on the to-do list for a long time? Do you check it against something or check in with someone? Tell me what and how! I am very curious to know how you make sure you are only doing what is actually relevant, important, and valuable.

As mentioned, these episodes are also available as a weekly newsletter to your email. If you rather read than listen (or both!), try it out!

Here is Done! No. 528.

Today, I share a way for you to make sure that you spend your time at work wisely.

If you log your time, what have you found or realized that you have not seen before? Write to me and let me know. Maybe you will give me an idea of something I should also look for that might help me.

In the beginning of the episode, I mention this blogpost about how to update your to-do list: https://www.stiernholm.com/en/blog/sift-out-wash-out

And, here is Toggl Track: https://toggl.com/track/

These episodes are also available as a weekly newsletter to your email. If you rather read than listen (or both!), sign up for a free subscription.

Sometimes, we regret having accepted to do something a long time ago that we now, when the time is here, definitely would not prioritize.

In Done! No. 527, I share a simple trick for saying "Yes!" only to the right tasks.

What are your tricks for not saying yes to too much and sometimes the wrong things? Write to me and let me know. I love to hear about simple tricks like this, so I am curious to hear how you do it.

Here is how to send tasks from OneNote to To-Do in two different ways: https://www.stiernholm.com/en/blog/how-to-send-tasks-from-onenote-to-microsoft-to-do

These episodes are also available as a weekly newsletter to your email. If you rather read than listen (or both!), sign up for a free subscription.

We all need to declutter our workspace from time to time. But, did you know that good structure can actually ease your cleaning burden? 

In this episode, the 526th, I show you how.

What are your tricks for avoiding clutter? Maybe you have a method or a rule of thumb you would like to share with me? If so, write to me and let me know. I'm curious to hear from you!

In the beginning of the episode, I mention a trick I learned from a lean consultant. Here, you will find that: https://www.stiernholm.com/en/blog/one-two-three-then-no-more-excuses

These episodes are also available as a weekly newsletter to your email. If you rather read than listen (or both!), sign up for a free subscription.

Even the best to-do list app might not support exactly the "thought model" you use for your structure. For instance, what if the app only lets you create groups containing projects consisting of tasks, but you want to divide the projects in sub projects before defining the tasks?

In this episode, the 525th, I share an easy workaround that lets you work how you wish, even if the app actually doesn't support it. 

What emergency solution or MacGyver-like trick have you come up with that you would like to share with me? Tell me!

Also, as I mentioned in the beginning of the episode: please share with me how you handle travel time to meetings in your calendar. Here is a post on the Structure Blog where I elaborate: https://www.stiernholm.com/en/blog/how-do-you-book-travel-time-to-meetings

These episodes are also available as a weekly newsletter to your email. If you rather read than listen (or both!), sign up for a free subscription.

Knowing that you should get enough sleep is one thing. Actually going to bed when you ought to is something else. What if you struggle getting the hours of good sleep you need? 

In this episode, the 524th, I share how to use the built-in functions of your smartphone to sleep better.

How have you used apps to help you get the sleep you need? Write to me at david@stiernholm.com and tell me about your best trick. I'm all ears.

These episodes are also available as a weekly newsletter to your email. If you rather read than listen (or both!), sign up for a free subscription.

Welcome to the autumn season and a new edition of Done! - the 523:rd counting from the start!

I hope you have had a beautiful summer (in the northern hemisphere, that is), as I have. Apart from emptying my sold parental home, I got quite a few hot days lying flat on an islet in the sea close to home and even a nice trip to and around New England (we loved it!). 

This week's edition is actually about mistakes and why it might be wise to collect them.

What was the most recent structure mistake you made? I told you about mine. If you’d be willing to share yours, I am all ears.

Done! is also available as a newsletter to your email. If you prefer to read rather than listen (or both!), subscribe to the weekly email for free.

Sometimes there are just too many meetings. And, one have to ask: do you really need to attend them all?

In this last episode for this season, the 522nd, I share a question that will help you decide. 

How do you make sure you only participate in meaningful meetings? Write to me and let me know. Having many meetings and having meetings often seems to be something many have to deal with nowadays, so I am very curious to hear your ideas.

These episodes are also available as a weekly newsletter to your email. If you rather read than listen (or both!), sign up for a free subscription.

The trick I described then that works very well for me is to do a metaphorical “doctor’s round” which you take every morning and during which you browse through all the different channels and deal with any new messages you have received.

But what if you have a few channels that need to be attended to more often than once a day?

In this episode, the 521:st, I share how to set up recurring tasks in your to-do list to remember to check these channels at the right interval effortlessly. 

Have you solved this nuisance in some other way? If so, tell me how. As you might have guessed by now, I am always curious to hear about new solutions and tricks.

Towards the beginning of this episode, I mention electric motorbike brand Cake. Check out their amazing bikes, if you haven't already!

The talk I gave was "Get super structured!" and I would happily give it at your next meeting. Ask me for an offer and I will send you one promptly!

These episodes are also available as a weekly newsletter to your email. If you rather read than listen (or both!), sign up for a free subscription.

In this episode, the 520, I share four suitable uses for Microsoft Lists.

Are you already using Lists? If so, tell me what you use it for. I am very curious to hear what use you have put it to, so write me a few lines, please.

Here is how to search better in Outlook (and my three favorite search terms!).

These episodes are also available as a weekly newsletter to your email. If you rather read than listen (or both!), sign up for a free subscription.

Do you struggle to find time for reflection and to work undisturbed?

This week's episode of Done! is about letting Outlook schedule your focus time automatically.

Here, you'll find the step-by-step instructions about how to start a focus plan in Viva Insights.

How have you used the focus plan feature in Viva Insights? Perhaps you have found an unconventional use you want to tell me about. If so, write to me and I will read about your experiences with great interest!

See my short video about the two steps you need to pick your next task in when you keep your to-do tasks in two lists.

These episodes are also available as a weekly newsletter to your email. If you rather read than listen (or both!), sign up for a free subscription.

David Stiernholm is a ”struktör”. As such he helps people and companies become more efficient and productive by creating better structure.

His motto is: everything can be done easier! David is frequently hired as a speaker by all kinds of businesses ranging from well-established major corporations to entrepreneurial companies in hyper growth. He extinguishes himself by providing clients with concrete tools and methods that can be applied instantly both at work and in your personal life. During a talk with David Stiernholm you will realize that structure is both liberating and fun, and that by establishing a better structure you become less stressed and more efficient.

🙋🏼‍♂️ Book a talk with David

📚 Read David's book

🍿 Watch short videos with practical structure tips on YouTube

What else distracts you in digital meetings and what have you done to prevent yourself from getting distracted? If you have nifty solutions or tips, feel free to share them with me. In these digital times all ideas and solutions could be useful to others with the same problem.

As promised in beginning of this episode, here is the video about how I cured my time optimism.

In this episode, the 518th, I walk through a rather extensive handful of things to hide in these stressful situations. 

How do you handle having too much to do and/or feeling overwhelmed by the sheer amount of work that needs to be done? What is your trick to getting things done and remaining focused? Write to me and share your tip. I am all ears. 

Done! is also available as a newsletter to your email. If you prefer to read rather than listen (or both!), subscribe to the weekly email for free.

How have you decided to name versions of files at your company? Write to me and share your method or syntax. As always, you'll reach me by emailing david@stiernholm.com and I'm very curious to hear how you've solved this seemingly small but very annoying problem. 

Done! is also available as a newsletter to your email. If you prefer to read rather than listen (or both!), subscribe to the weekly email for free.

Sometimes we get involved in a project or workgroup where everything is happening very fast. All participating colleagues are eager to get moving on what you decide to do and it becomes difficult to keep the decision-making contained to the regular, formalized meetings. So, you make decisions on the fly. But, what if you forget to inform the colleagues that were not involved in the decision what you actually have decided? In this episode, the 588th, I share a tool for keeping track of what you have agreed on.

How have you kept track of past decisions made and how has it been useful to your and/or your team? If you have any experience with this method, please get in touch and let me know what difference it has made to you and your company, department, or team. You will reach me by emailing david@stiernholm.com and I will be all ears. 

“Storing” and “doing” are not the same thing. Still, confusing them often leads to a very common structural mistake I see many of my clients make. In this episode, the 515th, I share how to differentiate between "storing" and "doing" and what you will gain by doing so.

If you are being honest, is your overview also a jumbled mess of both reference materials and tasks? If this used to be the case but is no longer so, how did you solve the problem? Write to me and tell me. You will reach me, as always, byemailing david@stiernholm.com and I promise to be all ears.

(Yes, words do matter. Here, you will find a tip about four words to beware of when writing your to-do list.)

And, if you want to, you can even download the simple model for free. You will find it at https://www.stiernholm.com/en/ambition-step-down

Do you have your own method to handle the madness that can sometimes grab hold of us when trying to meet a deadline and finding ourselves with too much to do before it is upon us?

Please write to me and share your thoughts - I'm sure you know that I am always on the lookout for tips, tricks, and methods that simplify our lives and structure. you will reach me at david@stiernholm.com. 

Even if we work digitally most of the time we sometimes need to print things. It can be something that needs to be signed, something we need to bring, something you need to complement your hand-drawn sketches with, or something else. 

But, we might not have a printer available at any given moment. 

If it is not urgent you will have to wait until you are conveniently close to a printer, but then you need to remember that you needed to print whatever it was. 

So, in this 513th episode of Done!,  I share three simple ways to make this problem smaller.

Do you have another solution to this problem? Tell me about it in an email to david@stiernholm.com.

By the way, if you prefer to read as a compliment to listening to my weekly tips, they are also available as a newsletter. Sign up here.

How do you manage your recurring tasks? How do you keep track of when they need to be done, and the next time, the time after that? Write to me at david@stiernholm.com and tell me. I am all ears. 

When the tempo is high at work, we all need to prioritize among all the tasks on our list.

One popular way to address the issue of what to prioritize is to determine if a task is urgent or not, then if it is important or not, and then put it in the right place in some kind of model (many people use a four-field matrix) or system.

Generally, the tasks that contribute to the goals you are responsible for are the important tasks.

But, what if you don't have any goals? Or if your goals are unclear? Are you then stuck with prioritizing only by urgency?

In this episode, the 511th, I share how to figure out what is important if you lack goals.

How have you figured out what is most important in your job? Please share it with me. I collect useful tips, tricks, and methods to simplify both my own and other peoples’ lives. You will reach me, as always, by emailing david@stiernholm.com.

If you are more selective about which meetings you attend, and your colleagues do the same to create more room in their calendars, will you ever be able to schedule a meeting with all the key participants again?

In this week’s episode of Done! - No. 626 - you will discover how it’s still possible to find a suitable meeting time with colleagues who occasionally want to work without interruptions.

How do you choose which meetings to attend? What is the deciding factor? Write to me and tell me, because I am curious.

Here's why you should log what you have said no to.

These episodes are also available as a weekly newsletter to your email. If you rather read than listen (or both!), sign up for a free subscription.

David Stiernholm is a ”struktör”. As such he helps people and companies become more efficient and productive by creating better structure.

His motto is: everything can be done easier! David is frequently hired as a speaker by all kinds of businesses ranging from well-established major corporations to entrepreneurial companies in hyper growth. He extinguishes himself by providing clients with concrete tools and methods that can be applied instantly both at work and in your personal life. During a talk with David Stiernholm you will realize that structure is both liberating and fun, and that by establishing a better structure you become less stressed and more efficient.

🙋🏼‍♂️ Book a talk with David

📚 Read David's book

🍿 Watch short videos with practical structure tips on YouTube

Welcome to the 509:th episode of Done!, about how to more easily say no when you need to.

Welcome to the 508:th edition of Done!, about how to work more efficiently from home.

Welcome to the 507:th edition of Done!, about how to make your emailing more efficient.

As AI becomes a frequently used tool, you develop very good prompts that you want to use often. 

However, it’s cumbersome to formulate them again and again!

This week’s episode of Done! - No. 625 - is about how you can save AI prompts.

Do you save your prompts differently? How? Please write to me and let me know!

Here's how an AI can reveal what you’re not talking about during your meetings (but should)!

These episodes are also available as a weekly newsletter to your email. If you rather read than listen (or both!), sign up for a free subscription.

David Stiernholm is a ”struktör”. As such he helps people and companies become more efficient and productive by creating better structure.

His motto is: everything can be done easier! David is frequently hired as a speaker by all kinds of businesses ranging from well-established major corporations to entrepreneurial companies in hyper growth. He extinguishes himself by providing clients with concrete tools and methods that can be applied instantly both at work and in your personal life. During a talk with David Stiernholm you will realize that structure is both liberating and fun, and that by establishing a better structure you become less stressed and more efficient.

More from David:

🙋🏼‍♂️ Talks

🍿 Videos