How to Manage Your Email & Inbox – Lessons 56 – 60

Friday, December 25th, 2009 at 8:22 pm  
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Have you ever taken stock of how many minutes or hours a day you are spending answering e-mail? The average worker in Australia spends around 1/2 to 2 hours a day using e-mail. That really is a significant amount of time. Here’s an interesting question. How many e-mails out of every 10 that you receive are really critical and important? How many e-mails must be answered immediately? When asked this question in my Zero Inbox seminars the answer is usually one or 2/10 are critical. That’s why I have put together my new book called “The E-mail Manual”. It is the book you should have received when you first started using e-mail. I think if everybody had a copy of this book on their desks and read it before they started using e-mail, there would be a fewer problems and issues with using and managing e-mail. Please enjoy these 5 email strategies. Be on the lookout for my other articles on how to better manage your e-mail and reduce the size of your inbox.

56. Back up your address book

Anybody who has worked on a computer for any length of time knows how horrible it is to go through a computer crash and lose so much valuable personal information.

If you have either gone through this trauma or worry about it happening, the advice from the experts is always the same – be sure you back up your most sensitive information.

Within the context of Email, probably the most valuable single source of information in your email system is your address book. There you have perhaps hundreds of email addresses. To lose that information would be a disaster. Back it up.

At work your IT department will do this for you automatically. If you work for a small company, or work from home, you will need to do this yourself.

It’s a good idea to save your address book to a USB stick and store it away from your computer. After all, if you keep the backup on the same disk with your email system, a disk problem will wipe out the backup files as well as your critical information.

There are numerous places you can tuck these files away including on offsite storage sites or external hard drives.

57. Stay away from email chain letters

Bill Gates is not giving away free software and you will not help a child dying from cancer to get into the Guinness Book of records by sending a chain email to 20 other people.  These Emails are spam. If in doubt, visit ww.snopes.com and see if this email is spam or a scam.

58. Don’t read anything into not getting a reply

I know of some people that get upset when they do not get a reply from someone they have just emailed. Please – unless you specifically ask the recipient to reply, don’t always expect a ‘nice’ reply or a ‘thanks’. We are all busy.

Many people can’t afford, nor see the need to keep sending back little ‘thank you’ messages. So, don’t take it personally when someone doesn’t reply; unless of course you have asked them to reply.

59. Use different passwords for different email addresses

One of the most dangerous and prevalent habits people use when they have multiple email addresses is to use the same password everywhere.

The problem is if someone hacks your one email address they can get into all of your email addresses. So if you keep a Gmail account for your personal life, be sure you don’t use the same password for your email account at work.

60. Don’t click on spam emails to unsubscribe from them.

Many spam messages will give you an option to unsubscribe from them. Many spammers hope you will unsubscribe; this tells them your email address is alive and well. Unless the email comes from a reputable company (you know about), create a ‘junk Email’ rule instead, or simply hit delete.

If you would like to learn how to better manage your e-mail or inbox, why not consider my Zero Inbox training program? This e-mail management course is available in Australia and will soon be available online. You can visit, http://www.success.net.au/seminars/zero-inbox.html to learn more about how to better manage your e-mail and reduce your inbox. Alternatively, you can visit: http://www.zero-inbox.com/

Paul is an author, teacher and speaker on leadership, innovation and worksmarts. He is the Training Director of The Success Institute – Australia and for the past 15 years has written over 30 professional development programs, 10 books and other career development material.

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/email-articles/how-to-manage-your-email-inbox-lessons-56-60-1605611.html

How to Manage Your Email & Inbox – Lessons 51 – 55

Friday, December 25th, 2009 at 8:22 pm  
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Did you know that one of the worst things you can do from time management and productivity perspective is to coming to work in the morning and start checking and answering e-mails before planning your day! When you come into work and the first thing you do is log on and start checking e-mails, you put yourself in a reactionary mode to the rest of the day. Would you like to better manage your e-mail and not be so reactionar? If you answered yes I have some great news; I can offer you some ideas and suggestions to take back control of your inbox.

That’s why I have put together my new book called “The E-mail Manual”. It is the book you should have received when you first started using e-mail. I think if everybody had a copy of this book on their desks and read it before they started using e-mail, there would be a fewer problems and issues with using and managing e-mail. Please enjoy these 5 email strategies. Be on the lookout for my other articles on how to better manage your e-mail and reduce the size of your inbox.

51. Careful about having sensitive information in an email

Never write anything in an email that you are not prepared for other eyes to see. Politically incorrect, rude and just plain stupid email messages have an uncanny way of finding their way into many other email inboxes. In fact, email can travel halfway around the world before you can blink an eyelid.

Be very careful when you include confidential or sensitive information in an Email. Ask yourself if there is a better way of communicating this information before you decide to send it.

52. Send an email followed by a formal document

When you make arrangements for an important document to go to a business associate, their initial reaction to that document is as important as the content of the document itself.

Sending an email first can lay the groundwork for the arrival of a formal, printed document.

53. Be careful when opening unknown web links

When someone wants you to go see a website or a web link, they will usually copy the internet location right into the Email. The link will be blue so you can click right on that part of the email and your browser will go directly to that website.

Be wary of this (unless you know the sender) as the link could take you to a site that automatically downloads viruses.

54. Change your passwords regularly

Spammers and identity thieves are experts at breaking passwords. Keep your email secure and away from ‘hackers’ by changing your password at least once every few months.

Also, make sure you use smart passwords by creating passwords with letters and numbers. Also, use a password that is not an actual word. Don’t use the name of your pet or your child as a password. They are the first passwords hackers will try.

55. Never try to win an argument with email

One huge weakness of using email or any type of electronic communication is that without seeing someone’s facial expressions and hearing their voice tone, any message can be easily misinterpreted or misunderstood.

While trying to communicate your tone when composing an email is challenging at the best of times, it can be absolutely disastrous when you are having a heated conversation or debate using only Email.

When you escalate what starts out as a ‘heated discussion’ your problems start compounding.

How do you correct this?

Whenever you feel that any email conversation is approaching the level of an argument or disagreement, it might be time to pick up the phone or to go see the person face-to-face.

If you would like to learn how to better manage your e-mail or inbox, why not consider my Zero Inbox training program? This e-mail management course is available in Australia and will soon be available online. You can visit, http://www.success.net.au/seminars/zero-inbox.html to learn more about how to better manage your e-mail and reduce your inbox. Alternatively, you can visit: http://www.zero-inbox.com/

Paul is an author, teacher and speaker on leadership, innovation and worksmarts. He is the Training Director of The Success Institute – Australia and for the past 15 years has written over 30 professional development programs, 10 books and other career development material.

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/email-articles/how-to-manage-your-email-inbox-lessons-51-55-1605644.html

How to Manage Your Email & Inbox – Lessons 21-25

Wednesday, December 23rd, 2009 at 2:08 am  
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I get really depressed when I hit send and receive and end up with 30 or 40 new e-mails coming into my inbox. How about you? Are you looking for a way to better manage your e-mail? Would you like to feel more in control, rather than having your e-mail control you? That’s why I have put together my new book called “The E-mail Manual“. It is the book you should have received when you first started using e-mail. I think if everybody had a copy of this book on their desks and read it before they started using e-mail, there would be a fewer problems and issues with using and managing e-mail. Please enjoy these 5 email strategies. Be on the lookout for my other articles on how to better manage your e-mail and reduce the size of your inbox.

21. Colour code important emails as they come In.

One terrific function that can help you pick out Emails that are important is having Outlook colour code your Emails as they come into your Inbox.

For example, you can create a colour rule so that Outlook will colour an email from a certain person, company or group.

By using colour coding, certain Emails will stand out from the rest which is tremendously useful, particularly if you get a lot of Email.

Setting up a message rule to colour code your Emails is just as easy as setting up a rule for moving Emails to certain folders. Just go through the same steps we described above but when you come to the action you want Outlook to take, check ‘Highlight It with Colour’.

Then in the box where the rule is being created, you will see the word ‘colour’ there which is also a hyperlink. Click on ‘colour’ and you can pick the colour you want that email to become in your Inbox.

22. Do not let outlook automatically add people to your address book

There is a setting in Outlook where anyone who sends you an email automatically goes  into your address book.

This is a good way to end up with thousands of  addresses in your address book, many of which over time become essentially useless to you.

Turn OFF that feature in the Options area.

23. Always do a speel and grammer check

Just like in Microsoft Word, you should get Outlook (or your preferred email software) to check your spelling either as you are writing your email or  just before you hit send. It’s a good idea to turn on spell check and leave it on whenever you are writing Emails directly within Outlook.

The steps for turning spell check on are simple. Go to the ‘options’ menu in Outlook for details.

24. Set up message rules so outlook  keeps things organised for you

Outlook allows you to create ‘rules’ so you can have any email moved automatically to any folder you like. A rule can be set up based on who sent it, the subject line or almost any other criteria you choose.

This is a great way to keep your Inbox empty of things like newsletters or email you know that are not important to read this week, but you do need to file away (for later).

Just let Outlook send every email that you don’t need to read (and has come into your Inbox), into its proper folder. You can look at them by category or based on what you want to see, not simply by what arrives in your Inbox.

25. Set a time at the end of the day to do email maintenance

With so many people sending and receiving hundreds of Emails each week, taking time to manage your own email should become a part of your working week as much as brushing your teeth is part of your ‘getting-ready-in-the-morning’ ritual.

So set aside a certain time towards the end of your week to do your email maintenance. This includes reading new Emails that you haven’t had a chance to review or respond to earlier in the week.

Managing your email also means cleaning out your Inbox by deleting Emails you don’t need, creating address book entries for contacts you will need again, updating your message rules, and making sure there are no important messages or tasks that have been overlooked, misplaced or misfiled.

It’s also a good idea to check your calendar (for appointments due tomorrow) as well as your task list for things to do today and tomorrow.

If you would like to learn how to better manage your e-mail or inbox, why not consider my Zero Inbox training program? This e-mail management course is available in Australia and will soon be available online. You can visit, http://www.success.net.au/seminars/zero-inbox.html to learn more about how to better manage your e-mail and reduce your inbox. Alternatively, you can visit: http://www.zero-inbox.com/

Paul is an author, teacher and speaker on leadership, innovation and worksmarts. He is the Training Director of The Success Institute – Australia and for the past 15 years has written over 30 professional development programs, 10 books and other career development material.

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/email-articles/how-to-manage-your-email-inbox-lessons-2125-1610385.html

How to Manage Your Email & Inbox – Lessons 36-40

Monday, December 21st, 2009 at 5:42 pm  
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Do you dread going away for a few days on a holiday knowing that when you come back you will have hundreds of new e-mails in your inbox? Do you spend the first morning you arrive back at work going through a huge inbox? Would you like to reduce the size of your inbox and feel more in control? If you answered yes I have some great news; I can offer you some ideas and suggestions to take back control of your inbox.

That’s why I have put together my new book called “The E-mail Manual“. It is the book you should have received when you first started using e-mail. I think if everybody had a copy of this book on their desks and read it before they started using e-mail, there would be a fewer problems and issues with using and managing e-mail. Please enjoy these 5 email strategies. Be on the lookout for my other articles on how to better manage your e-mail and reduce the size of your inbox.

36. Be careful about forwarding attachments

Forwarding Emails is a great way to let others know of important updates you have received. But when you hit forward, any attachments go as well.

Delete any unneeded attachments. This is especially important when forwarding an email to a group.

37. Find other ways to send large files instead of using attachments

People HATE receiving huge files by Email. It is slow, clogs up the email server and can waste time. Instead try uploading large files (say more than 3 megabytes) to a shared folder on your organisation’s server, or to a free service like www.mediafire.com.

Once you have uploaded the large file, sites like www.mediafire.com will provide you a url link to the file. This link can be sent to your recipient in an Email, allowing him or her to click on the hyperlink and download the larger file from there.

Please be aware that while these free services are very reliable, use your common sense. Don’t send confidential or super-sensitive files using these free services. While the chances of these files being intercepted by a third party is low, it’s better to be safe than sorry.

For added security, try zipping the file and using an encrypted password.

38. Get to the top of your customers and colleague’s email queue

If you want your email to get noticed, make sure it hits your recipients email box last.

For example, when you open your email in the morning, have you ever noticed how dozens of new Emails fill your screen, withthe older Emails dropping down from view?

The best way to make sure yours doesn’t fall down in the list and will get seen is to send it at the end of the day or when you know they will be probably be checking and reviewing their Email.

For example if you write an email and send it on Sunday night, (not Saturday morning), then it will be closer to the top on Monday morning when your recipient opens his or her email program.

39. Make sure your attachments work

The best way to be sure any files that you send to others will work is to open it and try it first. Make sure that you only use formats that virtually everybody uses. PDF files, Microsoft Word, Excel documents or PowerPoint presentations are common.

Beware. Some newer PDF and MS Office documents are not compatible with older Acrobat or MS Office versions, so send your attachments using the most common format or compatible version.

40. Use short subject lines

Don’t use the subject line to type your entire message (unless it is really short and simple). Keep the subject line short but significant so the person reading your email will see the subject line, know what the email is about and open the email and read your message.

If you would like to learn how to better manage your e-mail or inbox, why not consider my Zero Inbox training program? This e-mail management course is available in Australia and will soon be available online. You can visit, http://www.success.net.au/seminars/zero-inbox.html to learn more about how to better manage your e-mail and reduce your inbox. Alternatively, you can visit: http://www.zero-inbox.com/

Paul is an author, teacher and speaker on leadership, innovation and worksmarts. He is the Training Director of The Success Institute – Australia and for the past 15 years has written over 30 professional development programs, 10 books and other career development material.

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/email-articles/how-to-manage-your-email-inbox-lessons-3640-1607635.html

How to Manage Your Email & Inbox – Lessons 31-35

Monday, December 21st, 2009 at 5:42 pm  
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Could it be possible that you are addicted to e-mail? Do you get withdrawal symptoms if you haven’t received an e-mail within 15 or 20 minutes? Do you constantly feel the need to look at your Blackberry or iPhone? If you have answered yes, you might be addicted to e-mail overload. Wasn’t the world less complicated before e-mail arrived? Well, whether you like it or not, it is a reality. E-mail is here to stay and it is only going to increase in the weeks, months and years ahead. That’s why I have put together my new book called “The E-mail Manual“. It is the book you should have received when you first started using e-mail. I think if everybody had a copy of this book on their desks and read it before they started using e-mail, there would be a fewer problems and issues with using and managing e-mail. Please enjoy these 5 email strategies. Be on the lookout for my other articles on how to better manage your e-mail and reduce the size of your inbox.

31. Learn to tell urgent email from unimportant messages

The problem with having a very active Inbox is that it won’t take too long before you starts overlooking Email. So learn how to flag the important Emails and give them priority attention.

Those other lower priority Emails can usually wait to be reviewed and answered after lunch. Seriously, unless you have nothing else to do, don’t waste huge amounts of your valuable time with low priority Email; especially before midday.

32. The value of using a ‘‘Read Receipt’’

A powerful companion to setting an email to high priority is to request a read receipt once the recipient of your email has read it. In this way you can confirm that your message got to your recipient and that they have read it (or at least seen it).

While people get annoyed with seeing too many read receipts in their Inbox, they do serve a useful function. Because you ask the reader to take the step of sending you an acknowledgement, they will probably consider that your email has some importance to you.

WARNING! You should use read receipt with some care and discretion. You should not use it if you feel there is any chance it might offend or be considered a bit too pushy.

Never use this function for trivial Emails.

By the way, consider the fact that you are probably not going to get an email back on every read receipt that you send out, so use it only when the issue under consideration needs fairly urgent attention or confirmation.

33. Don’t rely only on a ‘’Read Receipt’’

While using read receipt can be useful, remember that getting a read receipt doesn’t mean the recipient read or even understood your Email.

If your reader didn’t have preview on, they may not have understood what was in your message. If you need someone to read, understand and then action your Email, it’s best to follow it up with a phone call.

34. Clean out your ‘’Sent Items’ folder often

A Sent Items box with thousand of Emails is of no value and just makes your email system slower. Once every couple of weeks review your Sent Items folder and if there are any messages that you want to keep, move them to a folder.

Any other Emails in your Sent Items folder that do not need saving can be deleted.

35. Learn what you should do if you lose an important email

Outlook (and most other email programs) can help find lost or misplaced Email. For example, all sent Emails go to your Sent Items folder.

Even if you delete an Email, it doesn’t leave your computer, it goes to your Deleted Items folder. So before you panic, look there first.

If you believe the email you are looking for is gone from your email program, you can first of all check with your IT department or internet service provider. Sometimes there is a backup service which means that the IT department or ISP might have a copy. This request will be time consuming and not 100% guaranteed, so why not call the person who sent you the message, explain your situation and ask if they could resend the Email. This option is usually faster.

If you would like to learn how to better manage your e-mail or inbox, why not consider my Zero Inbox training program? This e-mail management course is available in Australia and will soon be available online. You can visit, http://www.success.net.au/seminars/zero-inbox.html to learn more about how to better manage your e-mail and reduce your inbox. Alternatively, you can visit: http://www.zero-inbox.com/

Paul is an author, teacher and speaker on leadership, innovation and worksmarts. He is the Training Director of The Success Institute – Australia and for the past 15 years has written over 30 professional development programs, 10 books and other career development material.

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/email-articles/how-to-manage-your-email-inbox-lessons-3135-1607756.html

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