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Greetings!
BOO!!! Hope that you all are getting ready for a fun Halloween. Myself, I'm trying desperately to get this October E-news out after an insane month of client work and travel (can you say Iowa (twice), New York City, Charlotte, Detroit, Missouri, Ann Arbor (twice), and MSU all in a single month? That right there is scary!) And November looks just as nutty, right up to the holiday, with visits to Texas, Pennsylvania (twice), Saginaw, Northern California, and MSU again. But you have to love that I've basically achieved FF status on two separate airlines this year! (Thanks clients for your support in that.)
Even with me being somewhat quick with this issue, I think this month's Timely Tips is actually filled with some outstanding content. First, the actual Timely Tip below is an excellent discussion on the better use of e-mail in the workplace, forwarded to me by one of my frequent Timely Tip readers and contributors. Second, to the right, you'll see a new feature: the "app of the month". I myself have recently upgraded to a new Android platform, with a new Droid Bionic phone, the connected webtop device (which effectively turns the Droid into a fully functional laptop computer.) I've also ordered the new Android-powered Kindle Fire, to test out my time & productivity strategies on both Droid phones & tablets (so far, so brilliant!!)
My wife has new Apple IPhone 4S and an IPad 2, so I can test out some of these productivity apps and strategies on her platforms too. This is one of those times of "seismic shifts" in the technology and productivity worlds -- where new hardware and software platforms are changing everything. That being said, many of the same basic principles and strategies still apply -- it is just figuring out how to apply these principles to the new platforms most effectively, allowing you to achieve your work and personal goals and aspirations. I'm trying my best to help!
Let's get into this month's Timely Tips:
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Online Discussion: The E-mail "Charter"
| This is ALWAYS the place to look for your Timely Tip!
All of you know that I am an email organization and effective usage "addict". Related to that, I'd like to think Rob Chabot, a frequent contributor to Timely Tips, for sending me the information on the nonprofit "email charter" website. This site was created by a group of professionals interested in discussing some of the worst e-mail etiquette and communication behaviors as well as their possible solutions, and is highly consistent with some of the email etiquette behaviors I like to cover in my Taming the E-mail Beast program. I even went out on the blog link on this website and added a couple comments from Taming Email program. Take a look and feel free to share within your organization. Perhaps this can be the basis for a brown -bag discussion with your work or team on how to better manage email behaviors so they are less distracting and more conducive to productivity. Here is the link to the email charter: http://www.emailcharter.org/ When you visit the site don't just read the charter, but also look into some of the drop down menus. There are some interesting comments in the blog and comments section (where yours truly made a post too!)
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Don't eat too much candy
Since we are talking about apps, you might want to find a good calorie counter app since we are heading into heavy food season, with Halloween this week and then the sprint to Thanksgiving and Christmas/New Years. (My wife swears by the Weight Watchers app.) ;-) Remember to think about your efforts and activities so that the holidays don't throw you off your regimen! Seriously, one thing I'd like to ask all of my readers is for your recommendations on other really useful apps for your SmartPhone platforms. I'm especially interested in those that are either free or very low cost, since it seems so much of what is available out there is both highly rated and inexpensive. Hoping that I might see some of you out and about trick-or-treating with the kids tomorrow here in East Lansing, although I probably won't recognize you due to the awesome costumes you'll be wearing.
Sincerely,
Randy Dean
Randall Dean Consulting & Training, LLC
or http://www.emailsanityexpert.com
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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New Feature: App of the Month
| This month, I'd like to start a new feature. With the increasing prominence of both the Droid and the IPhone and related tablet pads, it is obvious that "apps" are taking over the world. Some of these apps are purely fun time-wasters (think Angry Birds), but some can actually be wonderful productivity tools.
This month, I'd like to feature what I consider one of the very best: Camscanner. This handy app, available on both IPhone and Droid, turns your onboard camera phone into a quick, usable scanner that automatically resizes and turns any document "scanned" right into a usable PDF document.
CamScanner for Android
CamScanner for IPhone
It is one of the final pieces in my productivity suite that gives me the possibility to seriously consider going paperless in my home office (which I think I may intend to do over the holidays.) I was even scanning articles from the Sky Magazine on a flight last week so I didn't have to bring the full magazine with me off the plane. It is VERY cool.
The initial download is a limited freeware version, but only allows you a certain number of scans until you have to buy the full license, which is $4.99 (although, if you are on the Droid platform, you can download the freeware version AND full license for $1.99 on Amazon.com's app store.)
Definitely an app to review and get -- I'm using it quite often.
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Another GREAT Quote!
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"Randy, I enjoyed your presentation and have put many of your tips to work already. In a single day my inbox has gone from 800 e-mails to 200! I found your methods to be simple to follow and extremely helpful enabling me to complete more of what I actually get paid to do each day!
I left the office yesterday with no new e-mails in my inbox!"
Tom O'Neill
Plant Manager
Lehigh Cement Company LLC
PS: Tom sent me a note two days after this -- he was all the way to e-mail ZERO! Awesome!
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