• The False Productivity of Email
    Email

    The False Productivity of Email

    How many ways can you check your email? I would be willing to bet that you do check them, and frequently, as well. Email is my default activity. I seem to be always in it...and it feels productive, but it really is a false productivity.

  • Consolidate Email Addresses
    Email

    Consolidate Email Addresses: How and Why

    How many places do you have to check email? Do you remember to check them all? Or have you found yourself checking a little-used email and found hundreds of messages? I have a lot of email addresses. I've been using email for many, many years, and have switched services from my internet provider to Hotmail to Yahoo to GMail. And then I have email addresses for the blogs (5 total blogs), my company and work. If I had to check all of these individually I would be sunk!

  • Labels vs Folders
    Email

    Email Labels vs Folders: An Explanation

    If you file something, and can't ever find it again, you don't have a filing system, you have a pit. This applies not only to paper, but also emails and computer files. Since we're looking at email today, I wanted to give you the foundation knowledge of how email can be filed.

  • Inbox Zero
    Email

    Inbox Zero: Myth or Fact?

    Email can quickly get out of control. And when you have dozens (if not hundreds or thousands) of emails in your inbox, it will kill your productivity as you try to find and act on the emails. I used to keep everything in my inbox until the item was completed. This led to chaos, and I missed several deadlines, as well as misplaced important information as I was working on a project. Today, there are no emails in any of my inboxes, and all emails are promptly acted on. I haven't lost an email in a long time, either. My secret? I practice Inbox Zero.

  • 12 week year
    Books,  Planning

    12 Week Year: Skyrocket Project Completion By Shrinking Your Year

    Have you ever set yearly goals and then put off working on them because you had plenty of time left? Did you actually accomplish them? The 12 Week Year: Get More Done in 12 Weeks than Others Do in 12 Months can help you break through that barrier. I have set yearly goals for 5 years now. I go through all the effort of envisioning what I want, breaking it down into projects, and putting it into my planner. And then I blissfully ignore everything, in spite of monthly reviews, until it comes to be about August, and I realize that I am not going to get everything done. Talk about a morale killer! I knew I needed a better way. So I picked up this book.