Koala-T Assistant (MyKTA)

Sometimes life is a circus and everyone else is the Ringmaster. Don’t let that deter you from getting what you are after. Push through and enlist help whenever and wherever you can. Most people are more than willing to help, 1. if they can, and 2. if it costs them nothing more than a little bit of time and effort, without burden or expectation.

Over the past month I have been focusing on couple of my goals. At times, there are moments that seem to be effortless. At others, I feel stuck and frustrated. I feel like I have hit a wall and my progress has become stilted. It is in these moments that I must remember to forge ahead, think of alternate and different methods of getting to the next desired step of the process.

In getting a task completed, I must talk to various personnel in different state departments. Some people will have an attitude right out of the gate. Well, a less than helpful one anyway. I believe that there are many people who do not appreciate what they do or do not see the value in what they do. Instead of being helpful, they go to lengths to make it difficult for the person on the receiving end to get what they are looking for. So it is my goal to get them on my side by letting them know that I appreciate everything they are doing to help me. They probably feel unappreciated, underpaid, overworked, and undervalued. Well, I appreciate and value what they are doing for me even if in the end I still need to seek out another resource to get the task completed. And, I will let them know that too by thanking them for their time and effort at the conclusion of our conversation.

When enlisting help or getting someone on your side, tell them what you are trying to do and why. Sometimes it brings out the cheerleader in them. It creates purpose instead of just doing the job. They now have a reason to help you succeed and who doesn’t like seeing someone achieve their goal. They get to be a part of your success. And, to be honest, we really can’t do it all on our own without the help of others doing what they can on their side to get to the finished result.

If they are not able to provide you with what you need, ask questions. Ask them where or who you can talk to get the information you need. Ask for suggestions or solutions. Ask for names and phone numbers of possible resources. If they have information, but need some time to collect or process it, follow up with them later. Let them know that you will be following up and when so they don’t feel like you are taking up their time when there is nothing else they can do on their end. They will let you know if they have done everything they can and a nice courtesy would be to thank them for their time and to let them know that you will not be contacting them until you have the information you need to provide to them.

You may feel like you are running around in circles. It is possible that you just might be. Forge on. Move on to another portion of your task and it is possible, with time, the information you are seeking will appear. Sometimes, things need a little bit of time to work themselves out and come together.  I call that,

Giving it time to marinate.

I have found that many things work in an ebb and flow kind of manner. Some things seem to just roll through and you find yourself speedily getting what you need done. Then there are the times when you are at a standstill or even lost in the process. Take those times to recharge, come up with creative solutions, ask for help, and muster up determination. Also, start your day out with a positive affirmation. Something like,

Today is a great day. I will get so much done and everything will come together perfectly for me.

Create a positive attitude in that if you do not get what you need at that instantaneous moment, there is a perfect time that it is supposed to be resolved that is to your advantage. Pushing harder on something that doesn’t give just elevates frustration and stress. Step away and take a look at the situation in a different perspective or angle. Just like a wall, you might need to dig a tunnel to go under it, or you may need to go around it, or find a way to climb over it. Many times our biggest hurdle is our own attitude.

You are the Ringmaster of your life. Don’t let others make you feel like you don’t have the controls. You get to make the decisions and that includes how you treat people along the way. Be gracious, helpful, and accommodating and they will do whatever they can on their end to help you get through the hoop.

Would you like to streamline and create processes for your routine emails? Here are a couple of tools in your Outlook you can use to create your emails in advance and send them without you even sitting in front of your computer.

Create Your Distribution List

If you haven’t already done so, this is accomplished by going into the Contacts section of your Outlook. Select New and click on Distribution List. You can either add email addresses with Select Members or Add New. You can enter in Notes the purpose of that distribution list, assign it a Category, as well as other nice little features. Give the distribution list a Name and then Save & Close.

Create your email message.

Sending a Message at a Specified Time

In Outlook 2007, once you have completed the content and addressed with your distribution list:

1. Go to your Options tab and select Delay Delivery.
2. In the Deliveries options portion of the form, check Do not deliver before: and indicate a date and time and Close.
3. Send.

You may want to edit your Outlook frequency for sending and receiving.

1. Select Tools and then Options.
2. Click on the Mail Setup tab and then click the Send/Receive button.
3. Check Schedule an automatic send/receive every and enter how many minutes. Every ten minutes would keep you pretty current with incoming and outgoing mail.

That’s the really simplified version without getting overly complex and time intensive, but very easy and gets the job done. However, you will need to make sure that you have Outlook open and are able to send and receive for this to work.

Please feel free to let me know if you find this helpful.  Also submit your suggestions or ideas on how you simplify your emailing process.  Everyone has a set of circumstances that brings into account different techniques. Would love to hear what yours are. Also, don’t forget to share with your colleague if this is the perfect information they may be looking for.

We understand the value of lists, but do we really use them to our best advantage? Is your life complicated? Lists can uncomplicated it and give it more structure. Is it uncomplicated? A list can give you direction in where you want to go in life. Is your life controlled externally, making you feel like your days are dictated by the urgencies of others or circumstances? Make a list.

There are lots of different kinds of lists:

• The To-Do List
• The Christmas List
• The Wish List
• The Shopping List
• The Goals List
• The Procedures List
• The Master List

What got me to thinking about lists were a couple of things:

1. During the week, I work my 8-hour shift, eat dinner, and go to the gym. Needless to say, my place blows up through the course of the week and I am left with lots of cleaning and organizing through the weekend.
2. Two things I need to make a priority to do each day is going to the gym and sending out resumes for promotional positions.

This would consist of a list for each day.

1. Create lists of goals.
2. Break those goals down into their respective tasks of what it takes to achieve them.
3. Incorporate a task from each important goal into the list for each respective day.

Doing something small each day removes it from being a large task later on.

Here would be an example of my Monday:

As you can see, from 7:00am to 5:00pm and the end of the day would be pretty consistent. If I workout 2 days on and 1 day off, that would give me Wednesdays to run an errand during that time, write on here, get in some reading time, or go out with friends or family. My weekends would have room to go to the lake, ride my motorcycle, go to a museum or gallery, have coffee with a friend, have a spa day, or do absolutely nothing. I will be accomplishing all the things that are important to reaching my goals without making me feel like I don’t get a day off to just relax. Those days are important too.

So start creating your lists.

Create a list for:

• Work
• Family
• Home
• Social
• Community
• Spiritual
• Health / Fitness
• Educational
• Fun

You will be amazed at the progress you make in only a couple of months, how much you will rediscover and nurture you, and how much more joy you will bring into your life by living more consciously. You will still have time for the spontaneous, probably more time by living your life with purpose and on purpose.

Problem. You have created a fabulous spreadsheet. You’ve entered text and formulas and all that is required to update the spreadsheet is the data. The user input is entered by others than yourself and you are discovering that certain cells are being modified, such as “Sum” formula cells. The individual doesn’t even have to enter anything because the formula will automatically update that cell. But, no, you’re dealing with a person who thinks they need to update that field with manual input.

Answer. To maintain the integrity of the sheet and its corresponding formulas and links, you are going to want to lock them out. Not the entire sheet of course. After all, you need them to enter their data. You can lock out individual cells. This is what you can do to keep sticky fingers out of your cells.

1. First, unlock all the cells on the sheet so you can pick and choose which ones you want to protect. Click on the left corner (see picture below) or press Ctrl-A to select the entire sheet.

2. Right-click your mouse and select Format Cells. Select the tab Protection and clear the check box next to Locked. It will look like this:

3. Click OK.

4. Back at your spreadsheet, select the cells you want others to stay out of. You can select multiple cells by holding down the Ctrl key and left-clicking your mouse on the cells you want to lock up. You don’t have to do one cell at a time, you can do them all at once. If your cells are consecutive, next to each other, hold down the Shift key and drag your mouse through all the cells you want.

5. Now that you have made your selection, go back into the Protection tab. Right-click in the spreadsheet, select Format Cells, then left-click the Protection tab, and put the checkmark in the box Locked. So now it looks like this:

6. Lock and Load. You have primed your document for selective lockout. You’re going to like this, I promise. In Excel 2007, you will want to select Review in the menu, then select Protect Sheet. You will see three boxes checked (see picture below). You can leave those checked and enter a password in the section that says, “Password to unprotect sheet:,” and click on OK. A dialog box will prompt you to confirm the password. Re-enter the password and click OK.

That’s it. You’re done. You can test this by attempting to type in the cell. A warning dialog box will stop your unsuspecting violator in their tracks. JUST REMEMBER YOUR PASSWORD.

If you need to make changes to your protected cells, just follow the same procedure in line item #6. Instead you will see Unprotect Sheet instead of Protect Sheet. You only have to put your password in once here. Remember, passwords are also case sensitive. So if you have Caps Lock on, that’s what you’ll get. I’ve done that, so if you feel like you’ve been locked out and you know for a fact that you know the password, put your Caps Lock on and that should get you in.

I hope this tip helps keep your vagrants at bay and the integrity of your worksheet intact. If you have any questions, feel free to post a comment and I will respond within 24 hours. I have some rather elaborate spreadsheets and a lot of users who input data. This has saved me immense time and frustration in maintaining a lot of associated links located on additional spreadsheet tabs and workbooks that reference those cells where I will receive value error in the field if the cell is modified.

Let me know if you find this tip helpful, if you have any suggestions, or would like to elaborate.  Also, let me know if you find the graphics helpful.  Share with your fellow colleagues and let them know where they can find a great resource for information by visiting this website. Share the knowledge is what I always say!

Zipping programs have their advantages and are really fast, easy, and simple to use. It will truly simplify your life if you find yourself transmitting multiple files to your contacts. Go to the end of this post for the really “quick and easy cheat” directions to zip and unzip.

What is an Archive or Zip File?

• Distribute files on the Internet: Only one Zip file transfer operation (download) is required to obtain all related files, and file transfer is quicker because the archived files are compressed.
• Send a group of related files to an associate: When you distribute the collection of files as an archive, you benefit from the file grouping and compression as well.
• Save disk space: If you have large files that are important but seldom used, such as large data files, simply compress these files into an archive and then unzip (or “extract”) them only when needed.

Program Tutorial

You can access the tutorial from the Menu, select Help, and then select Brief Tutorial.

Zipping Options.

• WinZip Classic: The powerful WinZip Classic interface is preferred if you have a general understanding of Windows and of Zip files. Most users will be quite comfortable with its Explorer-like interface once the basics of Zip files are understood.
• WinZip Wizard: The WinZip Wizard guides you through some of the most common operations involving Zip files. If you are new to Windows or unfamiliar with Zip files, you may wish to start with the Wizard and switch later to the more powerful Classic interface.

Zipping With Classic.

1. In the WinZip window, click the New toolbar button or choose New Archive from the File menu. The New Archive dialog will appear.
2. In the New Archive dialog, specify the location where you want to create the archive and type the name you want to use for your new archive, then click OK. The Add dialog will appear.
3. In the Add dialog, select the files that you want to add to your new archive and click Add.

Zipping With Wizard.

1. In the Select Activity panel, choose Create a new Zip file and click Next.
2. In the Choose Zip Name panel, type the name you want to use for your new Zip file and click Next. For example, if you are creating a Zip file that will contain some files related to yearly reports, you might type “1999 reports” as the name for your Zip file.
3. In the Select Files panel, click Add files to choose the files you want to add to the Zip file. Select the files you want to add and click OK.
4. Click Zip Now to create the new Zip file.

UnZipping With Classic.

1. In the WinZip window, click the New toolbar button or choose New Archive from the File menu. The New Archive dialog will appear.
2. In the New Archive dialog, specify the location where you want to create the archive and type the name you want to use for your new archive, then click OK. The Add dialog will appear.
3. In the Add dialog, select the files that you want to add to your new archive and click Add.

UnZipping With Wizard.

1. In the Select Activity panel, choose Unzip or install from an existing Zip file and click Next.
2. In the Select Zip File panel, click on the Zip file you want to work with and click Next. The Unzip panel will appear.
3. In the Unzip panel, click Unzip Now to unzip (extract) the files in the archive. The WinZip Wizard will open a Windows Explorer window showing the unzipped files.

Quick and Easy Cheat to ZIP.

This is the drag and drop method.

1. Execute WinZip.
2. Open your directory.
3. Select your documents (you can select more than one file by pressing the Alt key or the Ctrl key and clicking the left mouse button).
4. Drag your selections into the WinZip window.
5. It will ask you to provide various information. The most important, giving it a folder name and you can browse your directory folders for a location. The “Add to Archive” name field is already highlighted when the Add window automatically appears.  Provide the name and location here.
6. Click the Add to the right of that field.

Quick and Easy Cheat to UnZip.

This is the drag and drop method.

1. Double-click on the zip file you have been provided. This will open the zip folder with a full view of all the files within it.
2. View or Save
   2a.   View. Double-click on the document and it will execute in its appropriate program.
   2b.   Save. Select your documents (you can select more than one file by pressing the Alt key or the Ctrl key and clicking the left mouse button).
3. Drag your selections into the directory folder you would like the folders saved.

Today’s challenge.

A colleague needed to send out an email with over 20 attachments (I’m guessing because it was probably more). I came by her office to ask her for some personnel data that I needed for a department budget worksheet that I work on. So the timing was perfect. She puts the email together and has all the documents attached. She asks me if there is another way to attach so many documents. When there is a list of attachments, most people don’t realize they have to go through the scroll bar to see that there are more than the five or eight that are within view and actually miss the extent of information that has been provided.

The solution.

Zip them up. I brought up the Zip program, anything like WinZip will work, grabbed all the files she needed and attached that. It took less than five minutes and now all the recipients will receive the collection of files already foldered up in one place and viewable at a glance.

Tell me what suggestions you would have come up with for this challenge.

This is your life. Don’t let other people tell you who you are. We are all unique and each of us are set apart with our individual talents. We try to conform to the masses and end up feeling lost. We adjust our personalities to feel a part of and end up feeling misunderstood, different, or weird. To tell you the truth we all feel like that.

If we were meant to be cookie-cutter replicas, creation would have been designed that way. And how boring would that have been? When something bad happens to you, learn from it, take something away from it, and use the experience to become a better person and your choices in the future.

Get pissed off enough! Get passionate. Do something about it. If it truly is the system being unfair to a select demographic that you fall in, do something about it. Complaining about it doesn’t change it. Being passionate is the motivator, taking action makes changes happen. Let your passion come through and then do everything you can to change it. Be a force to be reckoned with.

Some Examples of Very Unique Individuals.

• Lady Gaga

• Isaac Mizrahi

• Mother Teresa

• Oprah Winfrey

• Rosa Parks

• Helen Keller

• Amelia Earhart

• Florence Nightingale

• Anne Frank

• Margaret Thatcher

• Sandra Day O’Connor

• Harriet Tubman

• Marie Curie

• Harriet Beecher Stowe

There are so many others, but I hope this list gets you to thinking about people who inspire you, that your story can make a difference. Did any of these people think they would be remembered in history? They are the hero in their own stories and took action to make happen what they believed in. They are unique and different and found their voice along the way in the process.

Every story is made up of a sequence, or series, of events. The way events are ordered to create your story is called the plot. The plot is all the action that takes place during your story. Every story has the following elements:

The Setting.

The setting of a story is the place and time of when a story takes place. Does your story take place at home, work, school? Is it in the past, present, or future?

The characters.

The characters are the people, animals, and other creatures in your story. There are generally two types of characters in a story: the hero and the villain. The hero is the main good character of the story. The hero is the character we are hoping will succeed, defeat the villain, and be happy. It’s safe to say that you get to be the hero as you are the star of your story. The villain is the bad character in the story. The villain tries to prevent the hero from succeeding or being happy. You can have more than one villain.

The Sequence.

Exposition. This is the beginning of your plot. It gives the background, history, and details of the characters past to understand the personalities and present lives of the individuals. It is important to understand these background details in order to understand the plot. The exposition is background information on the characters and setting that provides information about events and may explain what happened before your story begins.

Conflict.

The conflict is the problem faced by the characters. The hero wants something or is trying to help others. The villain is trying to stop the hero from succeeding. The conflict is the most important part of the story. This is the part that makes the story so interesting and exciting. The hero must confront the conflict and find resolution. The story does not end until the conflict is resolved. You can’t cheat the story and give up. Besides that is way to easy and your story goes on as is without resolution. To end the story, you must resolve the conflict. Have you identified the actual conflict of your story? It may not be what you think. It could be something quite simple or something much more complex.

Climax.

This is the part of the story when the conflict of the plot is resolved. This is usually the most exciting part of the story. The climax is sometimes referred to as the “turning point” where the plot of the story changes for better or for worse for the hero. This is where we want the hero, you, to defeat your villain in the climax.

Resolution.

The resolution is the end of your story. It occurs after the climax. This is where you learn what happens to the characters after the conflict is resolved.

You already have elements of your story. You have your setting, characters, and conflict. Detail your exposition; some history and background on your setting and your characters that bring clarification to the conflict you are facing. Then describe your conflict. What are you trying to accomplish and what is holding you back? What or who is your villain?

This part of your story has already been written.

Let me say this again… This is your life. You are the star in your own movie. How do you want it to turn out? Do you want people to remember you, after meeting you, that you were authentic and interesting? That you inspired them to remember what makes them special and unique?

Now take a few moments to write out the rest of your story. Really put yourself in it. Feel it, touch it, smell it, breath it. Be very descriptive in everything that you do as if you have already done it. Etch it in your mind the exact process of what you did to achieve your resolution. Exactly what steps did you take in the course of your climax? Detail what you saw, the people you met along the way, what you did. Feel it in your bones and write it down. Then read it aloud. If it does not resonate with you and inspire you to act on your story, edit it, rewrite it, bring it to life.

In everything you do, aspire to be the hero of your own story. I know you can do it and that inspires the rest of us.

Have you ever had something staring you right in the face and you just don’t get it. It happens when you buy a car. All of a sudden the car you buy is everywhere, before, you rarely saw it. Now they are EVERYWHERE.

Let me just say, I didn’t mean for this to be so long. After going through the information, I really wanted to provide the details of what you would see and get. So with that said, I hope you enjoy the post and check it out for yourself.

That brings me to my challenge for today. I work on three different computers: the office, home, and the laptop. I don’t lug my laptop around with me wherever I go. So I was looking for technology that met three criteria:

• My work has become more collaborative, requiring the necessity to be able to share documents with people who are not on my network or server;
• I would need access to the documents when working on a different computer, once again, not on the network or server; and
• I need to be able to work the document in the program I created it in and others can use as well.

There you have my dilemma.

It dawns on me that I have been reading a lot in my “feeds” about Google Docs. So I dove in to see if this was the answer I had been seeking. I work on resumes and require access to the most current version of the document when preparing a mailing series. The document is in Word, complete with graphic lines and WordArt Text.

Google Docs failed my qualifications. Google Docs strips it down to its basic elements. Looks nice, but anything graphical is eliminated. I suggest this as a simplistic method of sharing information. One great use is for students. Kids who are living between two houses and juggling homework between the two. This option eliminates carrying a flash drive in a bag full of books.

My conclusion for Google Docs is a glorified word processor and hard drive in the clouds. Nothing fancy, but it does store your documents for retrieval wherever you are and available when working on various computers.

My second option, Office Live Workspace. As soon as I executed the desired workspace, the Job Search Workspace, loaded the Word document, and then executed the saved document, I got exactly what I wanted. Microsoft Word executed and the exact replica of the document slid onto my desktop. Now I had to test the second criteria: sharing the document. I sent off the invitation to my client to see if she was able to access her documents.

She was floored with what she was presented. She had her resume and cover letter, but she was also greeted with the following: Interview Preparation Notes, Interview Schedule, Interview Thank You Letter, Job Contacts, and Informational Interview Request. I had just prepared her with the perfect “workspace” to keep everything organized, managed, and manageable. And, she could access all this information anywhere.

She divides her time between the office, the place she lives at during the workweek, and her home 100 miles away. She prefers to keep her travel light, so eliminating the need to transport her computer back and forth every week definitely simplifies her life. However, she does travel with a plethora of flash drives and my work doesn’t have to be included when she is searching for all her job search documentation. I just made her computing life easier, arrangement of all her job search information in her workspace environment, and now whenever she needs changes, I have access to all the necessary information at once.

Needless to say, our previous method of manipulating the information was emailing back and forth. When the next round of resume submissions came, I had to request her most recent information. There just had to be a better way. The “cloud.” Now, we are on the ground running.

In the Workspace I have provided her the following documentation:

• Resumes;
• Cover letters;
• The Interview Schedule, listing the company, job position, the event the company is attending or attended, location, the start time, the end time, job description, the interviewer(s) name(s), the interviewer(s) title(s), and the interviewer(s) phone number(s);
• Interview Preparation Notes where she can contact the department in advance to prepare for her interview. She works for the State and is seeking a promotional position. If you have been asked for an interview, you can request their interview questions in advance and they will email it to you. I know, that was weird for me when I first found out.
• The Interview Thank You Letters;
• Job Contacts where she can enter information from their business cards to send their Thank You Letter and follow up; and
• Information Interview Request. It was an option that she had not even considered and may consider in researching what it might take to get the position she wants.

Office Live Workspace comes with a variety of workspaces that preload with various templates just for that subject. Here are the choices of workspaces and their preloaded templates you have to choose from:

1. Class Workspace
   • Class List with Contact Information
   • Class Notes
   • Essay Outline
   • Important Dates
   • Syllabus
2. Essay Workspace
   • Paper Milestones
   • Team Paper Outline
   • Term Paper Template
   • Thesis Template
3. Event Workspace
   • Business Event Flyer
   • Directions
   • Event Agenda
   • List of Invitees
   • Notes
   • Party Invitation
   • To-do List
4. Household Workspace
   • Announcement Board
   • Emergency Contact List
   • Grocery List
   • Household Event List
   • Household To-do List
5. Job Search Workspace
   • Cover Letter
   • Informational Interview Request
   • Interview Preparation Notes
   • Interview Schedule
   • Interview Thank You Letter
   • Job Contacts
   • Resume
6. Meeting Workspace
   • List of Attendees
   • Meeting Minutes
   • Meeting Notes
   • Meeting Presentation
   • To-do List with Owners
7. Project Workspace
   • Participants
   • Project Notes
   • Project Overview Presentation
   • Project Post-mortem Presentation
   • Project Proposal
   • Project Schedule
   • To-do list
8. School Workspace
   • Graduation Requirements
   • Notes
   • Semester Schedule
   • Sports Schedule
   • To-do List
   • Useful Contacts
9. Sports Team Workspace
   • Announcements
   • Directions
   • Season Schedule
   • Snack Schedule
   • Team Roster
10. Study Group Workspace
    • Announcements
    • Event List
    • Meeting Notes
    • Report Template
    • To-do List with Owners
11. Travel Workspace
    • Business Trip Itinerary
    • Packing List
    • Personal Data Form
    • Travel Checklist

On the left sidebar you have “My Workspaces” where you can view and select from the various Workspaces you are working with. On the right sidebar you can view “Activity,” “Comments,” and your list of “Shared” persons for the selected Workspace. The preloaded templates use the various Microsoft software applications, but Workspace is not limited to just Microsoft applications. Because you can upload your own documents, you can have access to any of your program documents as long as you have the program application on the computer.

It’s easy and it’s free.

If you found this article interesting, I hope you will share your thoughts and ideas of what you do in resolving sharing issues in an age where sharing information has become essential. How have you simplified your sharing challenges? I look forward to hearing your experience.

The internet provides some great resources to learn basic to advanced skills in various programs. If you haven’t figured me out, I love books and find them to be a great resource in learning new skills, but must admit that it is nice to have the visual on “how-to” do something.  Here is a list of resources to check out various software tutorials.

Excel

Excel appears to have the most dedicated video tutorials on the web. Here are some suggested resources that have a nice selection of tutorials.

YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/user/ExcelIsFun
Name: Mike Gel Girvin
Website: http://flightline.highline.edu/mgirvin/excelisfun.htm
Pros:
1,025 Videos to select from.
8,265 Subscribers
Has a large collection of “Playlists” making it easier to learn a set or series that are related.
You can download the workbook files used in the video.
Very current information and new videos appear to be uploaded several times a week.
Basic to Advanced.
Speaks clearly and provides explanations.

http://www.youtube.com/user/bjele123
Name: Bill
Website: http://www.mrexcel.com/
Pros:
808 Videos
440 Subscribers
I remember this guy from three years ago, so he has been posting excel videos for a while. This is my favorite guy. He brings a lot of personality to it, speaks clearly, and provides great explanation.
Uses the “Playlists” feature. Pretty extensive and allows you to group your training on a related subject.
Very current information and new videos appear to be uploaded several times a week.
Basic to Advanced.

http://www.youtube.com/user/ExcelisHell
Name: None.
Website: http://www.teachexcel.com/
Pros:
184 Videos
345 Subscribers
Has a nice collection of “Playlists” making it easier to learn a set or series that are related.
Very current information and new videos appear to be uploaded several times a week.
You can download the workbook files used in the video.
Basic to Advanced.
Speaks clearly and provides explanations.

http://www.youtube.com/user/DannyRocksExcels
Name: Danny
Website: http://www.thecompanyrocks.com/
Pros:
71 Videos
267 Subscribers
Uses the “Playlists” feature. Not a large collection, but still a feature that makes it easier to group your training.
Basic to Advanced.
Speaks clearly.
On his website you can view video tutorials on PowerPoint. It appears that he is putting together a Word video tutorials page, so I’m sure that is to come.
Cons:
Upload of new videos is a bit random.

Various Software

Websites:

http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/training/
http://cbt.brainstorminc.com/microsoft/
http://www.lynda.com/
http://h30187.www3.hp.com/

Assessment Testing:

http://www.brainbench.com/
You must sign up for this website to access its features.
There are free assessment tests available.

You leave an impression and establish an image with every correspondence you make where you are not able to present yourself visually. This is your visual presentation of how you look. This is your pressed suit and tie, and crisp white shirt with polished shoes. Let people know that you are a professional and know what you are talking about. It also impresses upon people the respect you have for others and your compassion as well. The email says a lot about the person you are and the values that you hold. People like nothing better than dealing with people they like. Make it count.

Communication is everywhere and unavoidable. Really great communication is hard to find. If we can’t be in the same room with someone or know their specific location, contact is not that far away. I remember when there was a phone booth at every gas station and in every restaurant. It was like having access to a bathroom. You could always find one somewhere nearby. Today, I don’t think I can find a single phone booth anywhere. If you don’t have a cell phone, you have been living under a rock.

Today we have mobile phones, computers, faxes, On-Star, voice mail, e-mails, texting, and now we are “tweeting.” It’s amazing that we can communicate nearly everywhere, I don’t know about under water. I would have to ask an oceanographer. I don’t even keep a home phone, I just use my mobile phone as my primary communication for talking on the phone. I do have a desk phone. It pretty much just looks nice sitting on the desk, as most of my communication is done through email or face-to-face.

Electronic mail consists of e-mail and voice mail. I prefer email over voice mail, as it leaves record to both the sender and recipient of the exchange and the specifics of the message. Documentation of an interaction is sometimes preferred.

Here are some suggestions for using electronic mail effectively.

Choose email when information is better conveyed in writing.

Some information can be quite detailed when leaving several names, numbers, and addresses. The recipient will need to write the information down anyway and guess at the spelling, unless you are spelling everything out over the phone as well. Still, it reduces error in communication specific information that would be more difficult in retrieving over a voice message or phone call.

Use a phone when you need immediate feedback or need to follow-up.

Some communication requires tact and more of a personal touch. A computer screen can be a bit “cold” and impersonal. Some communication just shouldn’t be done by email, but rather communicating where the other person can hear the inflection in your voice, such as a call of condolence, or in person if possible. Determining the sensitivity of the information will help you select the right medium to use.

I would probably say that firing, laying someone off, or breaking up with someone should only be done in person. If extenuating circumstances dictate that this is not possible, first consider something like Skype, then, as a last resort, by email or correspondence.

Bad news, in general, is best done in person, unless your safety is a concern or the other person is unreachable for some reason. Take ownership and responsibility of the information you need to convey, giving the other person the respect and opportunity to respond. It’s a tough thing to do, but has the capacity to create respect and a level of compassion rather than coming across like a jerk or someone who is just looking for an easy way out.  Ultimately, negatively impacting your image and professionalism.

Write an eye-catching subject line.

Don’t forget the subject line. Also, make sure that you get to the point in your subject line so the recipient can determine its importance. Avoid using words that have the probability of landing in their “spam” folder, such as using the word “free.”

Preview the content and limit the information to one screen if possible.

Get to the point early and organize the information so that it is easy to scan through and retrieve the necessary information by using lists, bullet points, headings, etc. The first paragraph should be your summary and the rest is your supporting information.

Review.

Before hitting the send button, review. I cannot stress this enough. The impression you leave will be immediate, so don’t let typos and incorrect language detract from your message or your image. If it has some length to it, print it. For some reason, a printed document will expose some glaring errors that may have otherwise been dismissed or missed altogether. If it is information that reveals a high state of emotion, such as stress or anger, leave it for a day and go back to it once you have had time to get yourself back to center.

Signal your close and wrap it up.

State or restate what it is that you seek from the recipient what you would like to get from them from this email and a nice complimentary close with your name is always a classy and professional touch.

What important elements would you suggest to our readers that I missed? The more you write the easier it gets. Well, most of the time. Leave me a comment and let me know if this information helps to make it easier for you put your emails together. Let readers know what you find to be the most difficult aspect of writing and sending emails. Or just share your nightmare email elements that you have received, giving us an idea of what not to do.