| Greetings!
WOW!! I thought with this economic slowdown that work would slow down a bit too -- certainly not the case as more of us are trying to get by with thinner staff and resources, but also trying to do the same (or more) work. (And with me having a new paperback AND e-course launch in the next couple of months, my workload has actually gone up significantly!)
I've got a really cool teleseminar replay available for you in this month's newsletter, as well as access to a few other bonus items and a really neat "Save the Date", so be sure to read the entire newsletter this month.
I'm actually doing something a bit different in this month's e-newsletter -- I'd like to get your opinion on an e-mail issue I've noticed recently: "Kitchen Sink" e-mails. I'm not 100% sure of where I'm netting out on this, so I'll share my opinion, but I'd also like to get your opinion also -- consider this my first "Timely Tips" Productivity Enhancement Forum! |
| Managing the "Kitchen Sink" E-mailer |
I need your advice. I've run into this issue a few times, and I see pros and cons on both sides of it.
How many of you have ever received what I like to call a "Kitchen Sink" e-mail? This is an e-mail where the sender, in one single e-mail communication, invites you to 2 meetings, addresses 3-5 different projects, inserts at least 5-10 different task items, and asks 10-20 different questions about all of the above (with varying priorities and urgencies throughout!)
I know what the sender is trying to do -- be efficient and not overwhelm you with too many e-mails. But on the other side, I find that when I receive one of these e-mails, I have to read it multiple times to figure out all of the action items, questions, and projects being handled.
Even with the beautiful capability in MS Outlook to convert an e-mail into a task (or multiple tasks/calendar items, etc.) with "drag and drop", I find these "kitchen sink" e-mails brutal and inefficient. Do you agree?
I am trying to formulate a recommendation here, and I believe my recommendation is that, when possible, e-mails should stay on a single topic/project. All events and tasks within that e-mail should refer to that same single project, so there is cohesiveness and clarity. And priorities and deadlines should be clearly stated. And if the e-mail gets too long and unruly even on a single project, an impromptu phone call or "stop by" might be appropriate.
Once an e-mail starts to cover multiple projects and/or unrelated tasks, meetings, etc., I think these should be broken into multiple smaller project-specific e-mails. That way, you can more clearly identify individual tasks/deliverables requiring your action for each individual project or meeting. You can also better identify priorities and take appropriate actions accordingly. And, it makes filing those messages you want to keep for retention much easier -- you don't have to file copies of the same message in six different folders!
Do you agree? Am I missing something here? I'd like to hear from you. I'll post the best responses pro and con on my blog site at http://www.timely-tips.blogspot.com (this is a great place to get the backup issues of Timely Tips, plus I've also linked it to my Twitter feed, so you can get my microblogging tips whenever!) Let me know if you'd like me to use your name or keep you anonymous when you reply -- send your comments to timelyman@gmail.com, or just reply to this message. |
| YES, I'm now on Twitter! |
Can't get enough of me in your monthly Timely Tips and other special announcements? Add me to your Twitter list of people to follow: http://twitter.com/timelyman
Don't forget I'm also on Facebook, LinkedIn, MySpace, and Plaxo Pulse too, so if you frequently use any of those sites add me there too! I will be posting new news items first and foremost on Twitter, including new programs, products, podcasts, and more. Plus, if I stumble across a really cool and quick time saving tip, I'll post it there too!
Looking forward to "tweeting" with you.
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| Conferences, Conferences, Conferences! |
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Wow -- the word is really getting around about my Finding an Extra Hour Every Day, Optimizing Your Outlook, and of course my Taming the E-mail Beast conference speaking programs. I recently spoke at the Michigan Pharmacists Association Annual Conference and the Associated General Contractors of Michigan Professional Development Day (where I was rated one of the top two speakers at the conference!), and even with the conference sector poised to cut back between 30-50% this year, I've lined up a SLEW of upcoming speaking engagements at several regional and national conferences and meetings -- I hope you can catch up with me at one of these events (and keep me in mind for your event!):
March:
- American Chamber of Commerce -- Czech Republic
- Dallas Chapter -- Institute of Management Accts
- Wayne County Comm Coll District Professional Development Day
April:
- National Ass'n of Legal Career Professionals (NALP) Annual Conference
- HSMAI's Affordable Meetings Midwest
- San Diego Chapter -- Meeting Professionals International
- Webinar -- Michigan Chapter of Meeting Professionals International
May:
- Indiana Chapter -- Institute of Management Accountants
- U.S. Dept. Health & Human Services Professional Dev. Day
- Michigan Recycling Conference
- Law Schools Admissions Council (LSAC) Annual Conference
Rest of Year:
- National Conference: Institute of Management Acct's
- American Dental Ass'n Management Conference
- HIDA MedSurg Conference
- Institute of Continuing Legal Education/State Bar of Michigan Annual Conference
- Michigan Society of Human Resource Management
Of course, I'll be doing a number of corporate and university training programs and workshops too (including events for U. Pittsburgh, Cal Berkeley, MSU, and U.M.) -- this is just my conference and meeting schedule. And with the number of additional sessions we've had inquiries on, I'm sure we'll be adding more events in coming months. Thanks for all of the interest and continued support!
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IN CLOSING ...
How could I not close with an update on the Taming E-mail paperback -- the printer has provided us a proof and I will be reviewing the proof over the weekend. Then, it is ON TO PRINT! I'm hoping to have copies in hand by the end of this month -- obviously more news on that soon. Hope you are staying busy too (but not too busy!) Get out and enjoy the coming of Spring (the daffodils are pushing through the soil here in Michigan today!!!)
Until next time, Stay Timely!
Sincerely,
Randy Dean
Randall Dean Consulting & Training, LLC
PS: We've also made some edits to the look and feel of http://www.randalldean.com -- we're still in the "testing" mode, but welcome your comments.
PPS: Always feel free to use the "Forward E-mail" option below to share this info with your family, friends, & co-workers. |
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Two COOL Podcast Replays |
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First, George Beshara, founder of the Managing My Life series of programs, did an interview of me on "The 3 Key Mistakes Most People Make with Their E-mail". We did this to help support the launch of the upcoming paperback and the related e-course (I'll be sending out a SPECIAL announcement about this in the next week or two.) But the interview in and of itself came out quite good (if I do say so myself) and gives key reminders of the three things NOT to do with your e-mail --
Second, Dr. Joe Rubino, bestselling author of The Self Esteem System, has authorized me to make the full replay of last month's Self Esteem teleseminar available to all of you. This was a great program that I personally learned a lot from, and will give you valuable life- and career-changing ideas and strategies. This is definitely worth a download and a listen!
Also, Dr. Joe has once again opened up his "treasure trove" of self-help materials offered by a plethora of authors and experts (yours truly included), via his unique "777selfhelp.com" web promotion. To take advantage of a whole slew of no cost personal and self-development info, click here. But act quickly -- I believe they are shutting down the downloads this Monday. (Remember, there is NO obligation to purchase anything.) |
| SAVE The Date!!
April 7, 2009 |
Speaking of cool programs, check this one out:
On Tuesday, April 7, 2009, at 9:00 p.m. EDT/6:00 p.m. PDT, I will be hosting a program featuring time and life management and efficiency expert Dr. Meggin McIntosh, PhD:
"Staying Positive in a Freaked-Out World"
How's that for a perfect program for the crazy world we're living in today? (More details, including registration info, will be coming soon.)
You may remember Meggin as the host of my Taming E-mail teleseminar last month, but she is a great speaker and trainer on Time Mgt., Productivity, and Efficiency in her own right. You can learn a lot more about Meggin (and take advantage of some other great programs she's offering right now) by visiting her website: http://www.meggin.com. You can even use the "Downloads" tab on the left-hand side of her site and scroll down to get my Taming E-mail teleseminar replay from last month (she's got some GREAT free stuff -- check it out!)
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