10 Ways to Make Email Better

Hate managing email? This list of tricks can help.

I have nearly 21,000 email messages in my inbox. I don't file, archive, or delete anything.
Think this hands-off approach is a bloody mess? Personally, I think my approach is working--I try to touch email messages as few times as possible, spend zero time organizing them and feel confident if I ever need to search for a keyword or for someone who works at a particular company, Gmail's search capabilities can find it in my massive pile.

Yet I'm doing it all wrong, according to email-filtering service Sanebox, which advises the opposite strategy--one in which you let its algorithms sift through all your messages and organize them neatly into manageable folders that do all sorts of neat tricks. I've tried it, and it is, indeed, slick.

In fact, the folks at Sanebox argue that keeping all your mail in your inbox is "terrible for your productivity," the company opined in a really helpful (and entertaining) list of 100 email hacks it recently compiled.

Here's a round-up of the company's best tips.

Turn off notifications.
You're humming along with work swimmingly and you hear it--the ping on your phone that tells you an email just landed in your inbox. Now you're curious, so you hop in there to see who it's from and your productivity just stopped dead still. Unless you're waiting for some time-sensitive critical message, don't give yourself an excuse to keep checking email. Silence notifications wherever you're getting them (including visual popups on the desktop). A better bet is to set aside a few times during the day to deal with email.

Never unsubscribe from suspicious emails.
Hate spam? One way to get even more of it is to hit an unsubscribe link in a message you're not sure why you're getting. If you do, you could end up at a website where you're asked to input your email address to confirm your desire to unsubscribe. Now the spammer has verified your email address (it was only a guess that landed the original message in your inbox) and can sell it to others who will barrage you with messages.

Don't use images in your signature.
Sometimes people are looking for a particular file and filter their messages according to which ones include attachments. By including an image (which becomes an attachment) in your signature you're actually mucking up their search results. Plus, tossing around unnecessary graphics is a waste of bandwidth.

Don't use email to discuss a difficult subject.
If someone at work needs straightening out, don't do it on email, particularly if there's a chance the discussion could become contentious or if someone could be hurt or offended. It's much easier to gauge someone's emotions and respond appropriately on the phone, via video chat, or even better, in person.
Never email your credit card information.
Unencrypted email is not secure so you don't want to use it to communicate any kind of confidential information. For one thing, a message may have to cross any number of networks before a recipient gets it, and once it arrives how will that person store it? What if their system is compromised?

Forget about attachments and use links instead.
Dropbox, Google Drive, Microsoft SkyDrive, and the like are great because you can share a file with others and as soon as someone makes an edit to it, the change is viewable by everyone who has access. Attachments, on the other hand, are static--if you find yourself in an email volley including various iterations of the same document things can get confusing. With a URL linking to the cloud, however, version control isn't a worry.

Stop scanning and faxing.
If you've ever been emailed a contract to physically sign and return to someone, you know what a pain this can be. You either have to print it out and find an actual fax machine, or take the time to scan, save, and attach each page into an email.
Instead, use an online fax service such as Hello Fax. The first five pages are free; after that plans start at $10 a month.

Amp your network right inside email.
Rapportive is a free tool for Gmail users that adds a sidebar to each message you receive that shows you what the person looks like, information about what they do, where they're located, as well as what social networks they use. The best part is this: Directly within the window you can send a LinkedIn connection invitation, add someone to a Google+ circle, follow him or her on Twitter, or friend them on Facebook.

Fill in the recipient last.
There's nothing worse than accidentally sending a message before you intend to. Save yourself this embarrassment by leaving the "To" field empty until your missive is perfect. Gmail users can also use Google's "Undo Send" feature which gives you a few seconds after you hit send to change your mind. To turn it on, go to settings (the cog on the right of your Gmail window), then Labs, where you'll find the feature plus a slew of others you might find helpful.

Use an unguessable password that's different for each account.
You've heard this one before, but it bears repeating because lots of people still get in trouble for not heeding this advice. Your email password absolutely has to be one that someone can't guess and one that you don't use with any other account.

To ensure it can't be guessed, use the first letters of a memorable phrase, such as yamsmosymmhwsag, a 15-character password (longer is better) taken from "You are my sunshine, my only sunshine. You make me happy when skies are gray."

Another trick: Think of a two-word phrase at least eight characters long that you can remember, such as "SteakBurrito" and pepper it with symbols that look like letters, like this: St3@kBurr!t0. Then, for each site that you need a unique password, take the first and fourth letter of the site and stick it in the middle of your skeleton key. So, for Facebook, your password would be St3@kfeBurr!t0.

And don't store all your various passwords on paper or in a file somewhere but in a password manager such as LastPass. Not only can the service generate unique passwords, it's free and available as a plugin for all the major browsers.

http://www.inc.com/christina-desmarais/10-ways-to-make-email-better.html

10 ways to make your business more efficient

Takeaway: If your business isn’t taking off — or worse, if it’s going downhill — it’s time to look for inefficiencies that may be plaguing your systems and practices. If your business isn’t running at top efficiency, you’re failing. In today’s world of instant access, social networking, and constant connection, working with inefficient systems and software could quickly lead to a series of micro-fractures that can bring your company to its knees. Though you may not see it happening at first, at some point the failure will become obvious. To avoid this, your company must be working at peak efficiency. But when you’re already deeply embedded in your systems, software, and managerial practices, how can you retool your company for a more efficient environment? Here are 10 tips that can help.

1. Don’t expand too quickly
I’ve seen this happen many times. Businesses start seeing dollar signs and think that the bigger they get, the better their bottom line. Those dollar signs blind them to the fact that expanding too quickly means the proper systems and training can’t be put into place. When you’re small, your workflow is designed accordingly. If you expand too quickly, you can’t properly adjust workflow, the systems that support workflow, or the employees who must manage the workflow.

2. Don’t employ technology until it is thoroughly tested and understood
This is another issue I have not only witnessed but have fallen victim to. Companies are often seduced by the idea that a piece of software or hardware will make their workflow infinitely easier. A PR-pro can easily sway them with numbers and user quotes. But you can’t always tell whether that piece of software is well suited for your needs and staff. If you’re thinking about new tech, get a demo of it and test it before you buy it or insist your employees start using something that will, in the end, cause serious inefficiencies.

3. Don’t make technology decisions unless you have considered the users
I’ve been on both sides of this coin, and I know how frustrating this can be. There are users within your company who, in many ways, know how things work better than you. They’re in the thick of the workflow every day. Those people need efficient tools and systems in place if they have any chance of getting their jobs done. If you’re about to pull the trigger on a technology decision, make sure you have discussed this decision with those it affects.

4. Make communication a crucial component
One of the last aspects addressed within business is communication. When communication is poor, work is inefficient. Period. Communication could be as simple as an open door policy or as complex as a content management system designed to ensure every single piece of work is documented. Regardless of what you do, place the highest priority on communication. Make sure staff can easily communicate with their fellow workers. Make sure the company can communicate with clients. The second communication fails, efficiency fails.

5. Use secure and reliable technology
There are times I have been on the receiving end of technology that simply doesn’t work. When I work within an office, I make sure I can use a Linux box for the majority of my day because I’m far more efficient with that platform than any other. When you deploy technology, make sure it is secure and reliable. Having to work with unreliable software (or hardware) is one of the prime reasons people can’t get their work done. Viruses, malware, underpowered hardware… it all adds up.

6. Prepare for disaster
It doesn’t take a natural disaster to bring down your business. A break-in, dead server hardware, a disgruntled employee — many issues can cause a company disaster. Unless you have an effective means of dealing with disaster, you will be dead in the water until the ship is righted. And even after the ship is righted, it may take awhile to get workflow back up to speed. Make sure your disaster plan continues through getting hardware back up and running and getting users working productively again.

7. Don’t create redundant management tiers
Micromanaging is bad enough. But when you add redundant layers to management, you wind up with too many cooks in an already complicated kitchen. Those managers can often wind up in a war of egos, causing further roadblocks to efficiency. Make sure your chain of command isn’t clogged to the point of confusion and paralysis. If you expect efficiency from your staff, make sure the managers above them can also work in an efficient manner.

8. Don’t give your employees more work than they can handle
You know when an employee quits and you dump their work on another employee, thinking you’re going to save a dollar? That is one of the single worst roadblocks to efficiency you can put in play. Once employees reach a certain saturation with duties, their efficiency drops exponentially. If you don’t overload your employees, you should be able to expect efficient work from them.

9. Have a sufficient network pipe to handle your network load
How can your staff possibly work efficiently if you have insufficient or unreliable data pipes? With a constantly clogged pipe, your staff won’t be getting much done. As a remote engineer, I have experienced plenty of instances where a data pipe was either too slow to do my job or a network connection was dropped. This is one of those issues that’s simple to resolve: Just upgrade your pipe. Don’t let those things that are easily controlled caused problems.

10. If an employee has an idea for a more efficient way of handling a task, listen!
Sometimes, those whose job titles don’t start with the letter “C” might come up with a brilliant idea. Not only will you benefit from that great idea, but employee morale will get a nice bump from the understanding that you trust and respect your staff. Besides, those staff members are the ones who actually have to do the bulk of the work — they probably have some killer ideas on how to improve it.

Other tips?
Efficiency should be one of your top priorities if you want your business to thrive and grow. Without efficient systems in place, each phase of growth will only cause more issues, perpetuating the cycle of inefficiency. Take a close look at your company. If you can honestly say that everything was designed and built for the most efficient workflow, you’re already miles ahead of your competition. Have you experienced inefficient practices and environments with your own work? What suggestions would you add to this list?

http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/10things/10-ways-to-make-your-business-more-efficient/3499

The Upside of Inefficiency

In the last few days, I've heard New York City described as a tale of two cities: one city of people who were drastically impacted by Hurricane Sandy, and another of those who were merely inconvenienced by it.

I am fortunate: I live on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, which was minimally affected. Our kids were out of school for several days but we never lost power and our apartment suffered no damage. We also own a car, which we filled with gas the night of the storm, "just in case."

So when we received several emails announcing an effort to collect and deliver supplies to some hard hit neighborhoods, we were prepared to help.

By the time I arrived at the Jewish Community Center in Manhattan, its lobby was piled high with clothing, food, toys, toiletries, blankets, flashlights, and other necessities, all packed in black garbage bags. There were people to sort, people to pack cars, and a leader who was sending people to designated distribution spots in the hardest hit areas.

They had already sent a hundred cars filled with supplies and by the end of the day, they sent over a hundred more.

Isabelle and Sophia, my two oldest children, joined me to take part in the distribution effort. It took volunteers about 60 seconds to fill our minivan and send us on our way to Staten Island.

Then I got a call from a friend who told me not to go to Staten Island. The distribution centers were full, he said. Go to Far Rockaway instead.

Several hours of traffic later, when we got to Far Rockaway, the distribution center was already maxed out. So we went to a church we heard was acting as a distribution center. Again, we were turned away — they had as many supplies as they could handle. We found a third, bigger distribution center but were turned away again.

As we slowly drove through Far Rockaway looking for distribution centers, we witnessed devastation of a kind I have never seen. Entire blocks of houses destroyed by fire, with only the front steps standing, leading to charred rubble. Sand and debris — including entire boats — strewn on the streets, left by receding waters. And mounds of discarded wood, furniture, toys, even walls piled high at the curbs for the sanitation department to pick up.

I simply could not believe that the people in these neighborhoods had all the supplies they needed. And yet, here we were, a car filled with supplies but without a distribution center to give them to.

That's when I realized the problem: All this coordination was invaluable — to a point. It got our car to the right place, filled with the right things. But now? The coordination was getting in the way.

I can't quite explain the enormity of this mind shift except to say that with this realization I shifted from an employee to an entrepreneur. I stopped doing what I was told to do and started doing what I saw needed to be done.

So we drove down a random street where we found a number of people clearing debris from their houses.
That's where we met Mike and Kelly. Their just re-finished basement had flooded to the ceiling like a pool, the water level rose so high it completely submerged and totaled their two cars and, after three asthma attacks from all the dust, they finally sent their son to stay with his grandmother in Westchester.

Yes, they told us, we could really use your supplies. And so could others on this street. So we all worked together to unload our car onto Mike's porch where he said he would distribute things to his neighbors.
Mike and Kelly described the night Sandy came, the loud bang when the water broke through the basement wall. Kelly took the time to teach my kids about the ocean and the bay — how the water came from both sides and flooded everything. She talked about how they were sharing food with neighbors and trying to help each other in the clean up. And she gave my kids way more leftover Halloween candy than I approved of.

As I heard about Mike and Kelly's devastation as well as their courage, I felt the blessing of the organizational breakdown.

Without coordination, I never would have gotten to Far Rockaway with a minivan full of necessities. But had it all worked smoothly, my kids and I would have given it all to a nameless bureaucracy and never would have met Mike and Kelly and heard their story. And they would never have met us or had the opportunity to tell us their story.

New York City is not two cities; it's eight million cities. This hurricane affected each one of us in a particular way. And to reach across the darkened neighborhoods, debris-strewn streets, and waterlogged houses to hear those stories is a critical — and inspiring — step in this recovery.

Yes, food and clothing and blankets are necessary for survival. But so are the conversations, connections, and sense of community that come from real people sharing with other real people.

Those are things we're losing as we distance ourselves from each other in large organizations and efficient modes of communication — as our digital lives overwhelm our in-person ones. We don't have to lose them — after all, organizations are made of people. But the more we act like employees, operating to get the job done as efficiently as possible, the less human we become.

Sharing supplies and stories with neighbors is inefficient. Maybe Mike and Kelly will end up with things on their porch that they can't use and can't give away. Maybe they weren't the people who needed the supplies the most.

But our trip to Far Rockaway helped me see the usefulness of that inefficiency. How much better is it for a neighborhood when one neighbor tells the others to come to his front porch and take what they need instead of signing up for necessities through a distribution center?

At first, I'm embarrassed to admit, I'd had the thought: What if they keep it all for themselves? That's precisely the mistrust that leads to — and emerges from — impersonal bureaucracies.

The truth is, maybe they will keep it all for themselves.

But I doubt it. Mike and Kelly are good people; that was clear from way they treated me and my kids. As soon as we arrived at their house, Kelly offered us some of their limited supply of bottled water. They'll take what they need and share what they can.

As we drove back home late that night, we felt great. Not just because we helped out a neighborhood that could use the help. And not just because we tapped into our entrepreneurial initiative, which we were proud of. But because we met Mike and Kelly and connected with them.

That, it turns out, is the upside of inefficiency.

http://blogs.hbr.org/bregman/2012/11/the-upside-of-inefficiency.html