Why do we read e-mail all day long? Because we can.
It doesn’t mean it is efficient or a good use of your time. Would you run to the mailbox every five minutes to see if the mail carrier has added anything? Would you stop everything and read each piece of mail? Well, maybe I’d better say “Should you?”
When e-mail was a novelty and a secret pleasure of the techno-savvy we all used to check it a couple times a day, via dial-up and stare in amazement that someone sent us something. Now, with always-on, high-speed Internet connections, we’ve grown into a habit of checking e-mail too often. The instant connectivity may be more an interruption and drain on our concentration than a necessity.
Depending on the nature of your communications, try to check e-mail just at specific times of day, or limit yourself to three sessions. See if that is more efficient for you: To spend 15 minutes reading and replying, instead of 15 different interruptions throughout the day. Think about whether you really need to have your e-mail follow you around via radio frequencies to arrive at your PDA or cell phone.
Etiquette
One outgrowth of the overly informal, instant nature of e-mail has been poor writing style. Bad grammar, lack of punctuation, and overly casual comments are not good communication. My rule: If you wouldn’t sign your name to it as a memo, don’t send it as an e-mail.
Handling is the problem
By definition, shouldn’t the Inbox be only for new messages you haven’t read or responded to? Does the Inbox tray on your desk hold the hundreds of messages and files you’ve already read and dealt with?
If something takes less than two minutes, do it right away. Then move the message from the Inbox – either delete or drag to a folder if you need to keep it.
Make folders that parallel the organization of your paper files - by person, by project, by topic. If you conduct a fair number of online transactions it is helpful to create a folder for registrations, receipts, etc. and purge that once the transactions are completed. Okay, that’s one time when you might want to actually print something – to have a receipt.
File and retrieve
Use e-mail folders in your e-mail program, not paper. Printing e-mails just means you have two places to look when you want them and two things to throw away later. The odds are much better that you’ll find them in the computer because of built-in search capabilities.
Sorting options
1. Sort messages in your existing folders by date, sender, subject and can usually find what you need.
2. Your e-mail program has an edit /find or tools / search function, allowing you to search for a word, a date, sender
3. The ultimate solution is a program like Enfish that indexes your documents, including e-mail messages, so you can quickly search by keyword. You can find anything with Enfish (http://www.enfish.com/).
Backing up
If your e-mail is important, and you have folders with needed historical project or reference information, be sure you are backing up your e-mail when you back up your other data. You do back up your data, don’t you? If you don’t know where your e-mail resides, look in the Preference settings and see the folder location for the mail storage.
Trash
When you delete messages from your inbox, remember they just go to the trash folder – which is garbage. Depending on the critical nature of your messages, you can set the trash folder to empty on exiting from the program, or you can empty it weekly.
Adopt even two or three of these suggestions to keep from drowning in e-mail, and add more productive minutes to your days.
Tuesday, July 06, 2004
Friday, June 04, 2004
Protect any port in a storm
Surge Protectors …
Protecting any port in a storm
April showers bring May flowers, but summer storms just bring brown-outs and power failures.
Be sure you have a working surge protector for your computer and peripherals.
Plugging your computer, printer, fax and radio into that multi-outlet strip at your desk is not just for convenience. That “power strip” might seem like a handy giant extension cord, but if it’s a good one, it’s also a true surge protector, protecting your investment in computer equipment.
Surge protectors prevent your equipment from getting fried, either from a lightning hit to your building, or a surge of power through the lines when there is a problem elsewhere on the electrical grid.
A good surge protector will have an indicator light to show that it is turned on. The best have two lights (usually green and orange) to indicate that the unit is in good working order.
Good working order? What does that mean? How do surge protectors go “bad”?
If a surge protector does its job and stops a large surge, it could get fried when it protects the equipment you have connected to it. (Sort of like a bike helmet – when it protects you once in a crash, it is vulnerable, and should be replaced.)
The next time a surge hits, it cannot provide protection, and your computer could get fried instead of the surge protector. Surge protectors are built to work this way.
When the light no longer is on, it is time to buy a new surge protector. The amount of surge that a protector can absorb is rated in units called "joules" (a unit of electrical measure). A bigger number is better. A safe minimum would be a unit rated at 300 joules.
So, protect your large investment in computer equipment with a small investment of $15 to $50 on a good surge protector.
Lastly, don’t confuse a surge protector with an uninterruptible power supply (UPS) or battery backup device. Those products are intended to support your computer system on battery for a very limited time, just long enough for you to save your work and shut down the computer. They are priced from hundreds to thousands of dollars, depending on the amount of time they keep your computer on “life support.”
E-mail me with any questions at Helen@cclarity.com or visit www.cclarity.com for more articles.
More power to you!
Protecting any port in a storm
April showers bring May flowers, but summer storms just bring brown-outs and power failures.
Be sure you have a working surge protector for your computer and peripherals.
Plugging your computer, printer, fax and radio into that multi-outlet strip at your desk is not just for convenience. That “power strip” might seem like a handy giant extension cord, but if it’s a good one, it’s also a true surge protector, protecting your investment in computer equipment.
Surge protectors prevent your equipment from getting fried, either from a lightning hit to your building, or a surge of power through the lines when there is a problem elsewhere on the electrical grid.
A good surge protector will have an indicator light to show that it is turned on. The best have two lights (usually green and orange) to indicate that the unit is in good working order.
Good working order? What does that mean? How do surge protectors go “bad”?
If a surge protector does its job and stops a large surge, it could get fried when it protects the equipment you have connected to it. (Sort of like a bike helmet – when it protects you once in a crash, it is vulnerable, and should be replaced.)
The next time a surge hits, it cannot provide protection, and your computer could get fried instead of the surge protector. Surge protectors are built to work this way.
When the light no longer is on, it is time to buy a new surge protector. The amount of surge that a protector can absorb is rated in units called "joules" (a unit of electrical measure). A bigger number is better. A safe minimum would be a unit rated at 300 joules.
So, protect your large investment in computer equipment with a small investment of $15 to $50 on a good surge protector.
Lastly, don’t confuse a surge protector with an uninterruptible power supply (UPS) or battery backup device. Those products are intended to support your computer system on battery for a very limited time, just long enough for you to save your work and shut down the computer. They are priced from hundreds to thousands of dollars, depending on the amount of time they keep your computer on “life support.”
E-mail me with any questions at Helen@cclarity.com or visit www.cclarity.com for more articles.
More power to you!
Does your web site work?
How to judge your site for success:
Visibility
Can your site be found? Keep visible with search engine listings and catalog listings such as Open Directory Project or Galaxy and Yahoo.
Hits
Know where your hits are coming from and whether they are brining you business. Any good web host offers free statistics on visits to your site. If your host does not, consider Bizland.com.
Freshness
Nobody reads the same old magazine issue month after month. If you expect frequent visitors to your site, you have to update the content regularly. Be sure you offer valued information such as resources and tips, and don’t inadvertently invite people to click away.
Meaningful
Be honest. Is your site worth reading? Should someone invest ten or fifteen minutes in what you have posted? Your site should be well organized and match the needs of your desired audience. If marketing is your goal, have a way of gathering information about users – offer a survey, invite them to join a mailing list for newsletters or tell you what their needs are.
Design
Pay attention to appropriate use of graphics, colors, and images but remember the needs of a wide audience. Keep text in a legible font and color. Use mouseover tags on graphics for those who choose to view your site as text, and for people with special visual needs. Visit the site of Dr. Jakob Nielsen, web guru for more web design and usability resources, at www.useit.com.
Visibility
Can your site be found? Keep visible with search engine listings and catalog listings such as Open Directory Project or Galaxy and Yahoo.
Hits
Know where your hits are coming from and whether they are brining you business. Any good web host offers free statistics on visits to your site. If your host does not, consider Bizland.com.
Freshness
Nobody reads the same old magazine issue month after month. If you expect frequent visitors to your site, you have to update the content regularly. Be sure you offer valued information such as resources and tips, and don’t inadvertently invite people to click away.
Meaningful
Be honest. Is your site worth reading? Should someone invest ten or fifteen minutes in what you have posted? Your site should be well organized and match the needs of your desired audience. If marketing is your goal, have a way of gathering information about users – offer a survey, invite them to join a mailing list for newsletters or tell you what their needs are.
Design
Pay attention to appropriate use of graphics, colors, and images but remember the needs of a wide audience. Keep text in a legible font and color. Use mouseover tags on graphics for those who choose to view your site as text, and for people with special visual needs. Visit the site of Dr. Jakob Nielsen, web guru for more web design and usability resources, at www.useit.com.
Healthy mouse habits
One of my favorite computer writers, Jim Coates of The Chicago Tribune, recently curtailed his career as a journalist and computer expert after being diagnosed with Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS). While he’s on the mend, he’s changed his working habits to prevent further aggravation of the delicate hand and wrist nerves. His illness serves as a warning to all about proper posture while using the computer.
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome is a repetitive motion injury, not limited to computer users. In many industries, assembly line workers, machine operators and parts handlers have been susceptible to this problem for many years. With the prevalence of the computer and the mouse as a pointing device, the numbers of incidence of CTS injury has skyrocketed.
According to the medical abstract at personalmd.com, pressure on the median nerve in the wrist can cause pain, numbness and tingling in the hand, wrist or fingers. Check the related links at the end of this article for more, including stress solutions and ergonomic alternative to the traditional mouse and keyboard devices.
As one who uses the computer all day every day, one tip I can offer is to alter your mouse usage. I joke that I’ve become “ambi-moustrous” because I use the mouse with either hand. I’ve trained myself to use the left hand and arm for the mouse at one computer, and use a touchpad mouse on another. The touchpad mouse looks remarkably like a miniature Etch-a-Sketch toy. It stays in one place, does not need a mousepad underneath, and responds to a touch or sweep of the fingertip for quick movement.
If you experiment and add variety to your mousing habits, you’ll save wear and tear on your irreplaceable muscles and nerves.
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome is a repetitive motion injury, not limited to computer users. In many industries, assembly line workers, machine operators and parts handlers have been susceptible to this problem for many years. With the prevalence of the computer and the mouse as a pointing device, the numbers of incidence of CTS injury has skyrocketed.
According to the medical abstract at personalmd.com, pressure on the median nerve in the wrist can cause pain, numbness and tingling in the hand, wrist or fingers. Check the related links at the end of this article for more, including stress solutions and ergonomic alternative to the traditional mouse and keyboard devices.
As one who uses the computer all day every day, one tip I can offer is to alter your mouse usage. I joke that I’ve become “ambi-moustrous” because I use the mouse with either hand. I’ve trained myself to use the left hand and arm for the mouse at one computer, and use a touchpad mouse on another. The touchpad mouse looks remarkably like a miniature Etch-a-Sketch toy. It stays in one place, does not need a mousepad underneath, and responds to a touch or sweep of the fingertip for quick movement.
If you experiment and add variety to your mousing habits, you’ll save wear and tear on your irreplaceable muscles and nerves.
Seven steps to conquer e-mail
1. Control the interruptions
Real mail once arrives once a day, so resist the urge, with an always-on connection to check mail every two minutes. It’s an interruption you should avoid, unless your business requires it.
2. Handle mail once
Like real clutter-buster's advise us, handle each piece of mail only once. That means: act on it, delete it, or put it away. Newer mail programs allow you to label message by status and priority.
3. Use folders
Save time by using folders to keep the items you need, without stuffing the inbox with hundreds of messages. Use Edit / Find to search the folders.
4. Set up filters
Use filters to weed out the trash. Read the Help file in your mail program to learn more.
5. Create templates
If your e-mail program allows you to create templates, use them.
They’ll save time for those responses that require the same or similar information on a regular basis.
6. Cut, Copy, Paste
One of the most powerful features of today’s operating systems
is the ability to cut and paste information to transfer from one document to another. Save the typing time. Copy from other documents and paste into e-mail.
7. Make use of the Delete key
Nothing can free up your inbox more than deleting email
you don’t want. Hitting the delete key or delete button is the
best way to dump data.
Real mail once arrives once a day, so resist the urge, with an always-on connection to check mail every two minutes. It’s an interruption you should avoid, unless your business requires it.
2. Handle mail once
Like real clutter-buster's advise us, handle each piece of mail only once. That means: act on it, delete it, or put it away. Newer mail programs allow you to label message by status and priority.
3. Use folders
Save time by using folders to keep the items you need, without stuffing the inbox with hundreds of messages. Use Edit / Find to search the folders.
4. Set up filters
Use filters to weed out the trash. Read the Help file in your mail program to learn more.
5. Create templates
If your e-mail program allows you to create templates, use them.
They’ll save time for those responses that require the same or similar information on a regular basis.
6. Cut, Copy, Paste
One of the most powerful features of today’s operating systems
is the ability to cut and paste information to transfer from one document to another. Save the typing time. Copy from other documents and paste into e-mail.
7. Make use of the Delete key
Nothing can free up your inbox more than deleting email
you don’t want. Hitting the delete key or delete button is the
best way to dump data.
USB Jump Drives
Backing up your data on floppy disks? Move ahead to the 21st century by purchasing a USB Jump Drive, also called a Flash drive.
These keychain-sized drives have a capacity of 64 MB, 128 MB, 256 MB or even 512 MB, which is half a gigabyte (GB) of removable storage.
Where to buy: Common brands, such as Lexar and Belkin are available at major retailers like Circuit City, Best Buy, and my personal favorite: Office Max. They are often half-price after rebates, so watch the ads in the Sunday paper and get one for yourself soon.
How to use:
In a Windows XP computer, just plug the device into the USB drive. It will be instantly recognized and will have the next available drive letter. If your hard drive is C:, and your CD or DVD is D:, it will likely be the E: drive. Drag any files to the USB for safe backup or to use anywhere else.
These keychain-sized drives have a capacity of 64 MB, 128 MB, 256 MB or even 512 MB, which is half a gigabyte (GB) of removable storage.
Where to buy: Common brands, such as Lexar and Belkin are available at major retailers like Circuit City, Best Buy, and my personal favorite: Office Max. They are often half-price after rebates, so watch the ads in the Sunday paper and get one for yourself soon.
How to use:
In a Windows XP computer, just plug the device into the USB drive. It will be instantly recognized and will have the next available drive letter. If your hard drive is C:, and your CD or DVD is D:, it will likely be the E: drive. Drag any files to the USB for safe backup or to use anywhere else.
What's a Blog?
From the town crier, to the wanted posters nailed to a saloon wall in the Old West, we've come a long way. Newspapers and magazines are supplanted by online communication. E-mail, web sites, instant messaging, and now blogs, all provide a way to communicate with people in a virtual space.
A blog, or web log, is a chronological database of entries made by a host, that's me. The audience, that's you... is invited to read the material and post questions and comments.
Give it a try and see if you like it.
Helen Gallagher
Computer Clarity
Bridging the great divide between people and technology
All contents copyright by Helen Gallagher, Computer Clarity
A blog, or web log, is a chronological database of entries made by a host, that's me. The audience, that's you... is invited to read the material and post questions and comments.
Give it a try and see if you like it.
Helen Gallagher
Computer Clarity
Bridging the great divide between people and technology
All contents copyright by Helen Gallagher, Computer Clarity
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