#info management

[lyskari]

Lyskari's Feature Highlight: Asana's Update Feature

Ξ Introduction Ξ

Hello and welcome to my first Feature Highlight!

What are feature highlights? Feature highlights are individual features or functions that I personally love to utilise. Frequently, my reasons for loving a specific function is due to how friendly it is for how my ADHD presents.

How does this differ from your tutorials? Tutorials are for when I wish to walk you through how to utilise a function or feature, where as Feature Highlight's are all about expressing what a feature is capable of. It does not, however, guide you through how to utilise said feature.

Can you make it a tutorial? If you see a feature highlighted that you'd love a tutorial on, just send me a note, or send me an ask! I'd be happy to look into potentially covering any topic I post about in these blog posts!

Are these featuring things for personal use or professional? It will depend on the feature I'm highlighting. Some features are available only for paid plans, but I will state when this occurs.

These tutorials and posts are not sponsored. They also will not cover every single fact of Asana's update feature, as doing so would be a herculean task. However, if there is an aspect you'd like me to cover, please ask!

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Ξ Asana's Update Feature Overview Ξ

Asana's Update feature does what it says on the tin. It's updates that you can add to individual project boards, or to individual goals (or sub-goals). These updates will then stick with that individual board or goal for as long as it exists. Updates are a great way to refer back to a project's or goal's process, or to research what potentially caused a hiccup later on down the line.

I've never been a fan of leaving comments as updates as those are frequently too many in number, and not always easily searchable. Asana's update feature, however, removes that concern entirely by giving updates their own special section.

Though I personally do not use updates for personal use, I do utilise them frequently within my profession. Though Monday is my true beloved, I do have to give the point to Asana's Update feature.

The basics of the update feature come with every plan, including the free variation. However, lengthier templates & update highlight widgets are reserved for paid plans only. I will do my best to go over this feature from both lenses. If you feel I've not covered something sufficiently please send me an ask!

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Ξ Asana's Update Feature Basics Ξ

These are the bare basics, these features come with all levels of Asana updates. The features include:

Giving the update a unique name

Update status

Owner field

Date field

Add attachments to the update

Update Summary Section

Toggle switch for reminders to update

For those of you who are visually inclined (like moi):

It looks like this initially.

In the upper left you can see which project it is attached to.

In the upper right you can see the reminder toggle, whether the project is public (to your workspace, not publicised), and how many people will receive a notification about new updates.

It goes without saying that not every feature of the Updates function will need to be utilised. You simply need to utilise what you find helpful.

Note: The name & date fields can be hidden with the "Show & Hide fields" button that you see in the screenshot. You'll notice "Owner" isn't listed despite the fact I listed it as a feature, this is due to the fact I hid the "Owner". It gave me a wonderful chance to showcase the "Hide" function!

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Ξ Asana's Update Feature In Paid Plans Ξ

Although I love Asana's update feature in the basic plan, it's the Update feature in the paid plans that I love and work with the most. It has been game changing for me in the workplace, and is a key reason behind my current deliberations over whether I should pay for an Asana plan for personal use.

In addition to the features listed above, paid plan updates come with:

Priority Field

Team Field

"What We've Accomplished" Section

"What's blocked" Section

"Next Steps" Section

Ability add additional sections

Ability to remove any sections

Highlight Widgets that help showcase different data points of the project, such as tasks completed, milestones reached, and more!

What does it look like?

You can also move the different essay-style sections around to fit your preference. You can also rename (or completely remove) them if your update needs to cover different areas.

TL;DR? Asana's updates are extremely customisable.

Customisation, I found, is extremely important for me when I'm utilising any sort of program. I like being able to adjust things so that they work better for my brain, and this update feature has wonderful flexibility.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Ξ Asana's Update Feature In Closing Ξ

If you are an individual who struggles to remember reasons for why something changed, or someone who struggles keeping their notes together when changing things, consider Asana and their update feature.

Though I would not necessarily recommend Asana's free program for myself personally, if you find that it works best for you, please use it! What's important when it comes to task management software is that it works for you.

If you own a company, or DND group, and you're struggling to keep up with all the work that goes into these things... it may be worth considering Asana. Free or Paid, pending your needs, of course. 🧡

I hope this feature highlight has been helpful!

Please feel free to ask me if you... • Have any questions relating to this highlight, • Have any questions about Asana in general, or • Would like to see me cover a specific Asana topic!

And, finally, if you enjoyed this highlight and would like me to continue making more, please consider liking this post and reblogging it so that I can get more eyes on it. 🧡

If you enjoyed this tutorial and wish to leave a tip, you can do so on my kofi which you can find here: Lyskari's Ko-Fi Whether you share, like, reblog, leave a tip, a mix of these, or all of them, thank you for your support! And please please let me know if you'd like me to cover other aspects of Monday, or if you'd like me to give my thoughts on other programs! And let me know if you liked this tutorial!

If you want to read other Feature Highlights or Tutorials you can find them here: The Lyskari One Stop Shop Master Post under the "My Organisational Tutorials & Highlights" heading.

[omgroupindia]

OM Info Management Ltd is your one-stop shop for managing and securing your business data. We believe that your business information couldn’t be more valuable than it is when you need it the most.

We believe that your business information couldn’t be more valuable than it is when you need it the most.

[starkravingchristian]

THANK THE LORD

I passed my subjects. 

The one I was 94% sure I would fail was two points shy of a Credit. But P’s get degrees, and thank the Lord because I seriously phoned in that last assignment. Like I have never phoned in an assignment before. 

We’re talking I wrote the thing and it was 1000 words short so I just repeated everything I’d already said. Yep. 

Seriously, Jesus had something to do with this because I should not have passed that subject. 

[laura-mystudentlife]

iPads In Business

Over the past four years, iPads have revolutionised computing and communicating. Once seen as more of a gaming device, iPads have recently been marketed towards organisations and are now used as equipment in business workplace environments. Controversy has arisen as to whether tablets such as the iPad are effectively useful or merely expensive distractions to a business’ employees. Do tablets really belong in business organisations? The benefits and potential failures must be assessed of every new technology introduced to the workforce, and companies need to make decisions based on production effectiveness rather than picking up the ‘latest fad’.

  iPad: Strengths

iPads are an innovative new technology, first released by Apple in 2010. They were revolutionised the world of tablet computing by creating a touch-screen device that could function wirelessly, download applications, multi-task, and communicate easily with both phones and computers (particularly Apple products). iPads are generally quite user-friendly and aesthetically appealing. According to Basline Magazine, tablets are the future of business technology.

In a business environment, iPads can improve productivity by increasing the speed of finding information, as well as being completely portable and still able to function similarly to a laptop. Each updated version of the iPad is released containing new technologies to enhance the device, such as in-built cameras, retina display screens, smaller and lighter handling, etc.

Vice President and CIO of a hospital in Madera, Kirk Larson is very impressed with the benefits that his staff receive from incorporating iPads in their daily tasks. “They can easily carry the device with them and avoid the hassles of carrying a heavier laptop or searching for an available desktop computer. A clinician with an iPad in hand can quickly and easily access a patient’s record from anywhere in the hospital, thereby enhancing his or her ability to deliver patient care,” Larson states (Baseline 2011).

Apple claims that “there’s an iPad for every business… iPad transforms the way you work” (Apple, 2014). iPads are delivered with a suite of Apps already built in. “Features like Mail, Contacts, Calendar, Safari, Siri, AirDrop, Control Centre and smarter multitasking make your everyday work easier, faster and more enjoyable” (Apple, 2014). On top of these features comes a year of warranty and advanced security.

    iPad: Weaknesses

Unfortunately, there are also many weaknesses and risks involved with initiating iPads into a business context. People are generally not happy to deal with change in the workplace, and iPads have the potential to be confusing and difficult to many employees, rendering them useless. “Losing the keyboard will be the biggest change that employees resist” (James Kendrick, 2012). All new technologies come at a price – in purchasing the product, converting mobile platforms and transferring data, and of course training the employees to use the new technology.

iPads are smaller and more portable, however this does pose some security issues because they are easier to steal and/or damage than desktop computers. Theft of laptops has always been a serious concern for IT workers. In many workplaces, laptops have been physically constrained to desks because of this very issue (James Kendrick, 2012).

While they certainly have contain resourceful apps that hold high potential for increased productivity, iPads have been most commonly known for the gaming abilities. Using iPads in the workplace will make it more difficult to monitor the tasks of employees, as well as create a much higher temptation for them to get distracted with other tasks on their iPads during work hours.

    Conclusion

iPads are an innovative new technology that have the potential to revolutionise workplace relations. When used correctly, iPads definitely have a useful role in the workplace. They assist in communications between workers, efficiency of tasks, and compliment ways of external marketing through their simple function and mobility. However, iPads are expensive to purchase, implement and secure, so an organisation must first review it’s situation to determine whether the benefits will or will not outweigh the costs.

[laura-mystudentlife]

Avoiding Errors in Excel

In using Excel, it is SO easy to make mistakes and not even realise it. Excel is used for processing large amounts of data, and simple mistakes can easily go unrecognised - and throw off the whole spreadsheet.

Here are some handy tips to avoid errors:

Select the cells by clicking on the ones you want, rather than typing their coordinates.

Double-check your entries as you go. It's scarily easy to hit a '5' instead of a '6', for example, and this will put errors in calculations all the way up to final results. Also check that your formulas are producing correct answers.

Know the formulas you need. If you're unsure, look them up in the 'help' tab, or on the internet. Don't guess what you're doing.

Always name your worksheets (don't leave them as 'Sheet 1' and 'Sheet 2', etc)

Use appropriate labels for all of your data entries. They should be specific and relevant.

Make use of the formatting. This will make it easier to understand and differentiate between data columns at a glance.

Resize your cells so that they are big enough to display all the data they contain. If they are too small, parts of the data will be hidden.

Excel is relatively new to me and I am still confused by how to set up spreadsheets. I've entered data into them a lot through my job in Avondale's Advancement department, and they were especially handy when we were planning and running Homecoming, however I have no idea how to use formulas and add up totals or even how to set up a document like that. I think it'd be handy to know since I'm entering the business world and will probably use Excel a lot more often.

[laura-mystudentlife]

Forum: Introduce Yourself

Hi everyone! My name is Laura Mitchell and I am a second-year in-dorms student, studying a double degree of Business & Arts. I'm specialising in Communications and majoring in Marketing, hopeful to eventually work in Public Relations. 

I have a passion for people, music, and writing - in my spare time I love to read and collect books; sing, play my saxophone, I'm currently teaching myself the guitar; and I occasionally write articles for The Voice. Unfortunately I cannot pride myself in being organised, nor focused, and as much as I try, I live in somewhat of a half-organised chaos! One of my goals this year is to learn to focus more on my studies, keep my dorm room tidy and become a more organised and therefore prepared person. Wish me luck! :)

I'm looking forward to spending this semester with you all, and I hope I can learn a few valuable skills from this ICTM for both my personal life and future career. 

[njsocmed]