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If your email volume is anything like mine, it’s totally insane. Thousands of messages constantly streaming in and, only a tiny fraction of those are messages you need to see.

Surprising then, that only a few years ago I was literally living inside Microsoft Outlook. Rigid folders, the nightmarish rules “wizard”, and that annoying inbox chime that dings regardless of which folder your new distraction message ultimately wound up.

I completely believe that Gmail saved my life. Okay, that’s pushing it. Gmail didn’t save my life. What Gmail (and a little bit of GTD-inspired respect for my own time) did was save my attention span. Some careful filtering and a bit of common sense returned a half hour or more of uninterrupted concentration per day.

That’s 2.5 hours a week, over 10 hours a month and more than one whole day per year.

So, how did I do it?I follow five simple rules. These rules are gospel, and if you want your life back you’re going to have to treat them like your life depended on them. Email organization is easy, the commitment to continue is the hard part.

Five simple rules for keeping the inbox clean:

1. If you don’t need to read it now, it shouldn’t be in your inbox.
2. If you’ve already responded to it, it shouldn’t be in your inbox.
3. If it comes from a known source (some person, retailer or mailing list that sends you mail more often than once every few months) it should be labeled automatically.
4. No one needs to look at their own inbox more than once an hour (and for many, once every 2-3 hours).
5. To borrow from the cult of GTD, re-factor constantly and mercilessly.

If you’re a pack-rat at the core of your being — or a control freak with organization issues — you may be experiencing heart palpitations after reading the rules. It’s ok, just breathe; I’m here to help you.

DLS readers are smart cookies and, being one of them, you’ve probably noticed a pattern among the rules. Your inbox should be empty.

“What?!”, you exclaim, “That’s impossible!”

True. The real world probably won’t ever allow you to have a completely empty inbox. If it does, you’re probably not busy enough. However, the empty inbox should be the ultimate goal. Think of it as the monster at the end of the final level of the incredibly popular video game that is Gmail. It my take time and patience to beat it, but the feeling of accomplishment when your inbox is clean (the the monster is slain) is unmistakable.

Let’s go through the rules one by one and expand on them.

1. If you don’t need to read it now, it shouldn’t be in your inbox.

Listservs, newsletters, sales fliers, we get them all. They’re a useful part of our work and social lives but, left to fester in your inbox, they are a horrid waste of productivity. Added to which they make easy procrastination bait.

The answer is simple, it’s all in the labels. Create a label for each listserv you subscribe to, apply the labels with a filter, and auto-archive each message. I thought we all did this (then I saw my wife’s Gmail inbox); Turns out, more of us than you’d think could use this simple bit of advice.

Tip: Instead of filtering your lists by subject, (i..e filtering for messages that contain “[downloadsquad]” in the subject) filter them by the To: (i.e. thelist@downloadsquad.com) field. This serves an additional purpose, if someone replies to you off-list, it will end up in your inbox, rather than being lost in the mess of a thread you’re no longer following.

2. If you’ve already responded to it, it shouldn’t be in your inbox.

When you respond to something, archive it. It will reappear when/if there is a reply. This can really help clear your head-space in your inbox. By which I mean; You’ll find that the more diligent you are, and the “cleaner” your inbox becomes, the quicker you’ll be able to decide what to do with each individual email you receive. Having less in your inbox to weed through pays you mental dividends, you’ll notice this almost immediately.

This rule really comes down to a very simple and almost all encompassing directive : If it’s been responded to or didn’t need a response, it should be tagged and archived. Which brings us around to...

3. If it comes from a known source it should be labeled automatically.

Family is fantastic, and I love mine very much; I’d just prefer to deal with them outside of office hours. This is made doubly important for me since I work freelance, and use one email address for absolutely everything.

I created a label named family, and a filter for each of my relatives. For an extra level of mid-day ease, you can set your filter for each family member to archive automatically. The messages will still appear as unread, only they’ll be found under the label you applied. When you’re ready to check in with your family’s favorite email memes and well wishes, they’ll still be there.

You can do the same thing with all sorts of predictable mail. Amazon fliers, domain renewal notices, community newsletters; they all fit this rule well.

(Tip: For predictable mail you want to see immediately, create the same filter but don’t set the “Archive it” flag. This will ensure that you still see it in your inbox, but also allow you to easily archive it without losing the message. )

No one needs to look at their inbox more than once an hour (and most of us once every 2-3 hours).

This is the hardest for me. I’m obsessive about checking my email (and, about everything else). If I let myself I can waste a half hour of my day just periodically looking at Gmail. The only way to get past this is, to make yourself trust the system. If you follow the rules really diligently, you’ll find that it becomes easier to let your email “go” for a few hours at a time. Even when you do return to your inbox, your rules and filters will have done most of the mindless busywork for you, leaving you with emails that actually need your attention.

To borrow from the cult of GTD, re-factor constantly and mercilessly.

Any organization system is only as good as your persistence. For the rules I’ve laid out above to work for you continually, you must constantly be on the lookout for emails that get past your filters and into your inbox. Just like in Centipede, if they get past your front line defenses, you’ve already lost. Make sure you keep up the diligent work of creating new filters whenever something meets one of the above rules.

Easier email and, more of your own clock cycles to use any way you see fit. Who can beat that?

Source: Download Squad

What did we do before email? There are few other things that have revolutionized our world on every level. Do you even remember what life was like before email? It many cases it runs our lives. We plug in every chance we get – mostly out of fear that if we don’t, we’ll be so swamped that we won’t be able to come up for air. We check it on our cell phones, our blackberries, and have you ever been over to a family member or friend’s house and asked if you could check your email? There must be a better way so that it doesn’t end up running our lives!

Image via OfficeArrow

The best way to think about email is to treat it like any other organizational system. It needs to be kept simple, clean & managed. Think about your paper files… your items are of no value to you if you can’t access them for your use… in fact, research states that 80% of what is filed is never looked at again. Look at your “inbox” for your email system – if it has more than a dozen emails in it could you really find what you need? If you file an email do you know what you need to do and by when?

Ping! You just got another email… what now? Here are a few quick tips to help you take back control from the technology!

1. Avoid email for first hour of the day

Yep, you read it right… if possible, don’t plug in right away. Instead, train yourself to focus on your most pertinent, highest level thinking project or task. Guaranteed, it’ll be the most productive hour of your day.

2. Set assigned times to plug in

This way, you control your email, versus IT controlling you. Try 3-4 times per day. If something is critical or considered an emergency, your phone will ring.

3. Set up your filing system

Set your files up so that they work for you… for example: 3 folders labeled “action, review, waiting”. Or have your folders listed by topic to keep all correspondence together for each area.

Without your “e-filing” system, your brain has to do double the work by re-checking your in-box to make sure that you got to all of your actionable emails weeded out amongst the new ones coming in. It only takes a few minutes to really think through which emails need to be kept and which file they should end up in.

A good reminder if you get stuck is to follow the F.A.T. system…. File, Act, or Toss. There are no other categories. Remember, 80% of what is filed won’t be looked at again, so do yourself a favor and don’t keep what you don’t need. The reality is that sooner or later you’ll have to go through your emails and weed them out, which always takes more time and energy later versus when it’s in front of you.

4. Utilize technology to work for you

Use “away message”, signatures, filters, rules, colors & flags. There are many quick tools that are easy to use that will essentially do the sorting and purging for you before you even get to your in-box.

A few quick applications of these include:

Set Rules and Filters

Try setting rules & filters to sort emails from specific people and email addresses. For example, all email from newsgroups or newsletters that you subscribe to can be automatically weeded out by creating a “rule” around it when it’s coming in based on the email address. This eliminates these items from clogging up your inbox and allows you to read them when you have a few free minutes. After a few weeks, if you find that you haven’t gotten to these, you might reconsider what you are subscribing to and cut if off at the source!

Set Colors

Colors simply require you to think about what colors make the most sense or appeal to you for incoming emails. For instance, many people choose blue for anything they are BCC’d or CC’d on. This way, they know it’s not a direct email to them and falls lower on their priority when checking emails. Also, you can use red for emails from your boss, orange for emails from your project partners and green for email from your mother!

Set Flags

Flags can be used for follow-up actions on emails. For example, say that you have 5 minutes to plug in before you head to a meeting. You see that you have a few emails that require research follow-up. Instead of leaving them sit, flag ‘em! This will help you do 2 things. First, it lets you see at a glance what is coming up & what you need to get done given the time you have in your day, and second, it will help you better manage your time because you are turning your emails into action items, which then become integrated into your day as a planned task, versus an unknown.

Remember that incorporating new systems in our life is a process, which requires flexibility and patience. It’s like trying to cross your arms the opposite way than you normally would – it feels different and you have to stop and think about it. That is what a new system is like. It’s not automatic and it requires you to stop and think. When life changes, so must our systems!

Source: OfficeArrow

Image via entrepreneur.com

1. Form Quality Improvement Teams
The quality movement has been around for quite some time. Unlike many new management concepts, quality seems to be here to stay, fortunately. The Toyota debacle certainly ensured that fact! Quality involves change: Looking at processes, policies and procedures takes effort. Most people do not like change because it involves them having to do something differently, like learn a new skill or technique, move to a different office, or interact with different people, software or machinery. However, when employees truly understand the need to investigate and improve the quality of operations in an organization, they are usually willing participants, interested, and even excited about the change, as long as they can see the benefit of it.

Although the interest may be there, the knowledge and skill base may not. This is a wonderful opportunity to stimulate the growth and development of some of your employees. Form quality teams to investigate any of a variety of aspects of your company. In fact, empower the people who will be on the team to decide what aspect of organizational life to look at. Then, either send them to an external seminar or hire an expert to come in and teach the basic quality improvement methods to the team. Then set them loose on your organization. You are almost guaranteed to see an increase in enthusiasm for the job, morale, self-esteem and productivity.

2. Ask Employees What Will Make Them More Proud of Their Work
Most people come to work to have their self-esteem reinforced. They enjoy coming to work. They enjoy being productive. They enjoy taking pride in their accomplishments. Pride, progress and productivity can almost always be improved. If the goal is to increase individual satisfaction and pride in one’s accomplishments, then many employees would work earnestly to do so. They just might not be sure how to increase their pride in the workplace.

Create a “Pride Development Team” to look at various job functions and help determine what can be done by management and by individual employees to improve pride in the work. The key here is to look at how easy it is for employees to see the direct or indirect impact they are having on the outcome of their work. When the work is done well, when an employee feels he/she had an impact on the outcome, pride follows.

3. Create Mentoring Relationships For Employees
There are many advantages to creating mentoring relationships in organizations, especially for new employees. “Learning the ropes” can be a daunting and time-wasting period; usually, it takes months or even longer, depending on the complexity of the job description. New employees often learn by “On the Job Training” that is replete with errors, omissions and compromises. There is a better way.

Pair up a mature, experienced individual with a new employee, but make sure there is no direct reporting relationship between them. The role of the long-term person is to educate the new employee by providing informal guidance and direction on how things work. (What are the unspoken norms, processes and procedures for accomplishing a certain task? Who are the key people to get to know; who are the ones to avoid? What does the new employee have to do, learn and experiment with to become a success?)

4. Create an Effective Performance Appraisal System.
We need to know how we are doing on the job. This most likely comes from being evaluated so often in school, by our parents and by friends. So why should it be any different in the workplace? Employees need to know when to continue performing in a certain way and when to stop or change. Management has the distinct opportunity and responsibility to make that happen.

First, the manager or the leader needs to agree with the employee on exactly what the specifications are for the job description. Then they need to set up goals and objectives for how the job will be performed and what the markers are for success.

Ideally, once each quarter the boss and the individual need to meet for an evaluation of the progress toward accomplishing the goals. Unfortunately, in reality, this process usually only occurs once per year. The value of the more frequent meeting is to provide more timely feedback and advice on how to maximize employee performance. Prior to this information session, both the manager and the employee need to fill out the performance appraisal questionnaire and evaluation form. This way, both parties are prepared for meeting and can share their perspectives. Finally, the tenor of this meeting needs to be positive, not punitive. That is not to say that negative or incorrect performance should not be discussed; it should. It is to say, however, that performance appraisal needs to be geared toward learning and improvement.

The end result is that both the leader and the employee will know exactly how well the latter is doing on the job, what improvements, if any, need to be made, and how far along the route toward completion and success the employee is.

5. Go Out and Find Someone Doing Something Right
We are all social animals. We need and like to interact with others–some more, some less. And during this process, we need to receive feedback. Am I liked? Am I doing good work? Am I doing the right thing? Do I need to change my behavior in some way? Should I be working with a team or continue independently?

These pertinent questions and others can easily be answered both informally and formally. You as a leader create positive morale when you simply Manage By Walking Around (MBWA). As you stroll though your building, stop and ask people how they are, what obstacles are in the way of getting their work done, what works well, what does not, and what their successes are. When you ask these and other questions, be sure to identify something positive that the individual is doing; in fact, make a definite point of finding something good to say, and be clear when you state it to your employees. You will certainly see a smile on their face. First, they will probably be surprised that their leader found something good to say about their work, and second, they will feel an increase in self-esteem. Both are clear motivating factors that also improve morale.

Source: Entrepreneur.com

The number one activity online is email even with the growth of broadband internet and new Net tools such as podcasting. A Gallup poll found over 67% of Internet users send and receive email regularly and email outranks other online activities including shopping, downloading music, or reading blogs.

Email communication is nothing more than write and click … or is it? Although email use has proliferated; proper and professional email use has not. It’s easy to resist the need for email management and manners. Look at the telephone. It’s assumed we never had to learn how to use that.

Actually, when Alexander Graham Bell first created the phone people were baffled on how to use it. The new technology presented challenges of how to answer the phone, what could be discussed, and what was the best use for the device. Even today after a century of using the phone, businesses continue to enhance their learning of better phone techniques.

Now in the Internet age, the email represents the new technology we must master. Take home these email management tips to effectively take control of your business email communications.

6 Simple Small Business Email Tips

Collect’ Em: With the low cost of email communications, email trumps more costly marketing methods such as direct mail and telephone. A study by Jupiter Research found email campaigns targeted with web analytics can produce 18 times the profits of broad mailings. Relentlessly collect customer and lead email addresses all the time. Use a contact management program to handle your growing list.

Remove Barriers: Customers want fast and easy communication from companies they want to do business with. Your website contact page should have your email address. Asking web visitors to fill in a form to send a simple mail will stop many in their tracks. Gather more customer information once you have gained the initial contact. If you are worried about being spammed, invest in a good spam protection program.

Avoid Sensitive Issues: Never handle sensitive issues by email. The chance for miscommunication can make matters worse. There are times when you need to pick up the phone or set up a face-to-face contact instead of taking the easy way out with email. When you are full of emotions, stay clear of your email.

Handle at Once: Don’t fall into the trap of reading emails and thinking I’ll respond later. Later never arrives and soon your inbox is full of important and unimportant mail. Scott Allen, Co-Author of “The Virtual Handshake” recommends “Most people configure their email reader to interrupt them every time an email comes in. This means you are interrupted throughout the day. Instead, we suggest keep your email reader closed most of the day. Only check email once a day.”

Use the 10 Second Rule: We all lead busy, time-pressed lives. Receiving a long-winded email with one big paragraph creates a response to file for later use. Readers have a tendency to skim and miss critical details. Before you send out your email message, edit down to short sentences, add bullet points, and be concise. When someone opens your email they should be able to know within 10 seconds or less what your message is about.

It’s the Law: Know the rules of using email in the business world. Be aware of the laws and regulations in your business, industry, country, and state surrounding email usage. Our world is becoming increasingly transparent and customers expect your small business to handle their data in a private and confidential manner.

Incorporating these 6 simple business email tips will put you on the road to effective email management. Spend the time to master the essentials of email. Once the habit is established your small business will be email savvy.

Source: About.com

Think about your team, what are the types of people on your team?
Have you ever wondered why some teams are so quick to work together and others are not? The ultimate understanding is the chemistry. When the chemistry is right teams work. In the event your team is not jelling follow these six quick tips

1. Share responsibility among all team members. This is one of the easiest ways to get the team to develop mutual accountability. If team members know they must count on each other then each member does not want to be the one to let the team down.

2. Get everyone to know each person’s strengths and weakness. This will aid in getting everyone to build on each other. We cannot all share the same strength so when Sharon’s strength can assist Bob’s weakness, it creates a win-win for the team.

3. Team as well as member role understanding. Too often team members do not understand how what they are doing plays vision of the organization. This is critical on an individual basis as well as having the team know what the entire team does for the benefit of the whole organization.

4. Encourage members to praise each other. Like Canadian Geese that honk along their flight it is important for team members to motivate and encourage each other. One of the largest misconceptions in business today is that motivation must come from management. Motivation must come from within and each member can play a part in increasing others’ desires to improve and self motivate.

5. Get everyone to know something on a personal level about each other. This one is a little sticky with some employees because they feel they are there to work and not to socialize. While on the surface this is 100% correct – it has been shown that when employees know something about each other they can more easily empathize and help the team to grow stronger. Key factor here – do not force the issue with someone who absolutely does not want to share. Give them time to come around or if they do not they may naturally see they are not a good fit for this team and may leave of their own accord.

6. Encourage open communication up the chain of command. When employees feel 100% comfortable in coming to the team leader about issues, then the team grows significantly. Be careful not to talk outside of class here. One of the best tools can easily become a deadly one if the leader shares personal information. The critical part here is to make sure the entire team recognizes this and follows suit. Everyone needs to remember, you can do one of three things when you talk with an employee or co-worker.

Source: EzineArticles

In a world of burgeoning media and 24-7 communications, we are constantly bombarded by messages and distractions that ultimately compromise our ability to perform efficiently on the job. Email, texting, Facebook, Twitter, etc. all play a part in taking our focus  away from the task at hand. Here are some simple but effective ways to increase your productivity:

Set aside a block of time
Compartmentalizing your time gives you the ability to create and absorb instead of reacting to communication stimuli. This is probably best scheduled in the morning when you are freshest, and serves in part, as a time of meditation when you get the proverbial mental juices flowing. These quiet moments can ease you into our day — fully engaged and ready to accomplish great things.

Create a clean workspace
If you want to be most efficient, you need to be aware of your work environment. Organized files and desks sans clutter go a long way toward a work-conducive environment. Perhaps soft background music will help you focus and limit outside noise. Also, something as simple as shutting the office door, or ‘holding all calls’ for a specific amount of time will sharpen your focus, enhance your creative thinking and help you reach your goals quicker.

Only dummies decline to delegate
For those of us with a highly developed sense of responsibility, it can be easy to over-manage every task and project that comes within our radar. Perhaps you fit into this category and easily find yourself adding more and more to your workload throughout the day, by convincing yourself, ‘this shouldn’t take long.’ Eventually, the sheer number of these tasks will overwhelm even the most productive person, endangering long term goals. Be able to trust that your coworkers are competent and capable of handling projects and meeting crucial deadlines without your constant monitoring/micromanaging.

Prioritize tasks into “now” and “later”
When overwhelmed with projects and communications, try to prioritize tasks using two types of lists: 1) urgent tasks to be completed that day, and 2) future goals. With this game plan, projects on a strict deadline will get your immediate attention, while any time left over will be put toward achieving the goals you’ve made for a later date. In this same vein, if you make lists on a weekly, monthly, and yearly time-line, you will have a bigger picture of where you’re going, and what needs to be done, taking baby steps to accomplish future goals.

Block out time for correspondence
If you have an overabundance of daily work emails and phone calls, it may be best to set aside a regular time dedicated to responding to those communications, perhaps an hour or two out of the day. This way you can respond to everyone effectively, without having your entire day peppered with hastily answered calls/emails in between other job responsibilities and deadlines.

Decrease “insecurity work”
Insecurity work describes the activities performed throughout the day which don’t have any bearing on positive outcomes. In plain English, busy work stemming from neurosis. Checking and rechecking information. Unconsciously, we’ve all become accustomed to constantly checking online media — such as email, stocks, credit information, and breaking news, throughout the work day without really being aware of the time it steals from our schedule. Rather than compulsively peeking every few minutes, set aside a block of time, perhaps 20 minutes, to keep abreast of important information or headlines without monopolizing a huge chunk of your day.

Your work environment will always be somewhat chaotic — dealing with co-workers and clients and others make constant stimulation and distractions inevitable. Being aware of the entire process, taking it all in, prioritizing time and enhancing the quality of your environment, will help you become a more important and effective part of the team without going crazy in the process!

Source: California Psychics

Email use is on the rise. Daily, people on all rungs of the corporate ladder complain about the number of emails they receive, how much work it is for them to handle, and how just opening up the inbox stresses them out. But, instead of letting excessive amounts of email control you, here are 10 sure fire ways to manage your email going out to reduce the numbers of email coming in.

1. Be very clear. By making sure that the content of your emails is very understandable, you can avoid people emailing you with questions. Taking a small amount of time on the front end to read through the email you are about to send can go a long way in avoiding a return question.

2. Make the subject line detailed. By including detailed information in the subject lines, your recipients will be able to sort and respond to your message with the right priority. The detailed subject line will also help YOU sort and handle responses.

3. Use only one subject per email. The reality is that most people skim. If you put two requests in one email, there is a strong likelihood that only one of the requests will be responded to. It is more effective to send two emails with different subjects, than to incorporate two subjects into one email. This practice is also helpful for people who want to file the messages.

4. Place the main point, assignment, or request in the first two lines of the email. People have a tendency to build up to a conclusion when they write; this tendency makes it very difficult, at times, for readers to figure out what the main issue or request is. By putting your main point in the first two sentences, you can avoid misinterpretations and get readers focused on exactly what you want, right from the get-go.

5. Copy only the people who need to read the message. For every extraneous person copied on an email, you have potential to receive a response. Now, you’ve just created more unnecessary email for the both of you!

6. Resist getting involved in threads that are not related to your work. This tends to happen most often when we respond to emails that we were excessively “cc”ed on. If this happens to you, just don’t respond because once you involve yourself, you become a player in the game and your workload increases.

7. Send less email. While this may seem a no-brainer, email begets email. Sometimes it is better and easier to pick up the phone, or to just not respond.

8. Have a detailed signature line. Make sure that all of your contact information is in the signature line of every email you send. This way, anyone who needs to contact you will not have to email you asking for your address, fax number, etc.

9. Make it a group standard to use the electronic calendar. When everyone places all of his or her appointments in the electronic calendar, it makes it very easy for people to schedule meetings. This avoids emails going back and forth with questions like “are you available next Wednesday at 2:00 p.m.?”

10. Avoid controversial or argumentative emailing. When you engage in an emotional discussion via email, the emails will fly. Emotional issues should never be handled by email; a phone call or person to person handling of the situation is best, both for the sake of your inbox, and the health of the office dynamic.

While each one of these may save only a small amount of time, or may reduce your email only by a few, collectively, they have potential to enormously help you control the number of the emails you receive. Email is here to stay; the sooner you develop productive habits regarding its use, the more time you will have for what is really important in your life.

Source: EzineArticles.com

If you’re an entrepreneur–whether you’re working solo or with employees who share the load–time is your most valuable commodity. There simply aren’t enough hours in the day to stay ahead on the job, let alone have a personal life. The answer isn’t to work harder–chances are, you’re already putting in 50 to 60 hours a week–but to work smarter. And that means doing what you do in a more productive way.

Photo via Entrepreneur.com

1. Stop Thinking Of Time as an Unlimited Commodity
Essentially, just as a closet is a limited space into which you must fit a certain number of objects, a schedule is a limited space into which you must fit a certain number of tasks. When you realize the actual limits of your time, you become much more selective about what you put into the “closet” of your day.

2. Create A Time Map
Subdivide your day into three blocks of time–morning, midday and afternoon–and decide what category of work you will tackle during each chunk of time. The regular structure creates mini-deadlines throughout the day that keep you focused on your goals and priorities. Here’s how:

• Set office hours: Say, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. If you like to jog or eat a leisurely breakfast, wake up early so that you can be ready to hit it by 8.
• Divide your day into three parts: An example would be serving existing clients, marketing for new clients and taking care of administrative tasks. If you feel you have all day to do all things, you’ll be less productive.
• Keep a schedule: For example, devote 8 a.m. to noon to existing customers, 12:30 p.m. to 4 p.m. to marketing, and 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. to tasks such as printing invoices and updating your contacts list. Look at it this way: In the morning, you’re working to make money. In the afternoon, you’re selling your business.
• Dedicate 10 or 15 minutes at the end of each day to planning: Specifically think about what you will do in each of the three parts of the next day. Break projects into small steps: One morning can be devoted to polishing up Project A and getting halfway done with Project B.
• Create three-day plans: Once you get used to planning a day ahead, start looking further down the road and update those plans at the end of each workday.

3. Group Similar Tasks
Batching your to-dos will allow you to build momentum and boost efficiency as you repeat each action. For example, doing a series of prospecting calls in a row saves time. With your sales “hat” on, your spiel gets clearer and sharper with each consecutive call. If you have several proposals to write, it’s more efficient to blast through them sequentially rather than switch to financial activities in between.

4. Don’t Write To-Dos In A Million Places
Scattering your tasks and reminders between a variety of Post-its, notepads, planners and applications is a recipe for confusion. Hours are wasted transferring information, second-guessing what to do next, and living in fear of what might be forgotten. Commit to one single, consistent system. Once you get into the habit of writing everything down in a single location, you’ll stop worrying that you’re forgetting something and will be able to concentrate on getting things done.

Source: Entrepreneur.com

Do You Make These Mistakes in Your Emails?

A subject like the headline above can irresistibly pull readers into opening your message and reading its every hypnotic word. Often, it will not – and what if you don’t have anything to sell?

Your email’s subject line is, next to your name, the first thing the recipient sees. It is important.

In your email subject, do not:

• Arouse interest and curiosity.
• Say “Hi”.
• Be wordy.
• Respond without giving context.
• Be vague or general.

Write a Good Email Subject

To compose the perfect email subject:

• Give the message’s bottom line. If your email comprises multiple topics, consider breaking it into multiple messages.
• Summarize the message – why you are writing and what you want to be different after the recipient has read your email – instead of describing it. If you invite somebody to a conference, use “Invitation: Email Efficiency Conference, Bangalore Aug 14-16″ instead of a plain “Email Efficiency Conference”.
• Be precise. Include detail that allows the recipient to identify what you are talking about quickly and unambiguously.
• If your message requires the recipient’s action, say so; preferably with the first word.
• Leave out unnecessary words.  Email subjects need to be concise. Skip articles, adjectives and adverbs.

In Taroby, the “Email Subjects” are editable, and hence any inappropriate subject can be replaced with a good one anytime. We can also revert back to the previous subject line using the history feature.

Source: email.About.com

Managing a project with confidence is a necessity for a Project Manager.  The team he leads will look to him for encouragement when the project is going well and for reassurance when the inevitable problems and doubts arise.

Fortunately, developing that confidence can be simple when the project plan is followed faithfully and key principles of project management are put into practice.

1. Justifications.  A worthwhile return on investment is an essential guideline for any project.  Before the project sponsor and upper management commit to any significant action or expense, the benefits of the project need to be clear and thoroughly understood by the stakeholders.  It is up to the Project Manager to ensure the benefits are clear and the expenditure is worthwhile.  Circumstances affecting the project can change quickly during its life cycle, and the Project Manager must closely monitor the situation and developments.  If at any time the project loses its feasibility and a positive return on the investment is no longer likely, the Project Manager must recognize these changes and cancel the project before any further time or money is wasted.

2. Definitions.  Each member of the project team must be given a clearly defined role that helps them understand their places and purposes on the team.  The Project Manager determines the responsibilities for each team member and institutes the hierarchy of accountability.  Without this information, team members will not be certain what they are to do or to whom they report.  This lack can create a chaotic environment and jeopardize the progress of the project.

3. Exceptions.  The Project Manager is responsible for the daily running of the project.  This allows the project sponsor to focus on the larger picture instead of getting distracted by the minutia of project details.  Too much involvement by the sponsor is a hindrance to the project team and their progress on the project.  It is the duty of the project sponsor to determine the boundaries of time and cost, and the duty of the Project Manager to provide scheduled deliverables within the allotted budget and time.

4. Stages.  Use the timeline of tasks as a guide to break the project into stages.  After completion of a stage, the project sponsor will have the opportunity to review the current progress and make the critical decisions regarding the continued value of the project.  If the project remains worth the investments made, and the risks are still acceptable, the project sponsor can confidently approve continuation.  By dividing a project into stages and committing to only one stage at time, the sponsor and Project Manager have a low-risk approach toward project completion.

5. Deliverables.  Clients, or customers, must have a clear idea of the product or deliverable required before the project begins.  Being clear about the requirements helps ensure satisfaction from the client, or customer, and enables the project team to develop a realistic and achievable plan with less risk involved.

6. Experience.  Learn from previous projects to help minimize the risks of duplicating mistakes on later projects.  Review the project and determine what went well and what caused problems.  Incorporate both sets of data into the documentation and approach of the next project.  Recreate the successful circumstances and ensure that the next project team understands the risks of errors.

7. Customize.  The project management methodology must be tailored to the working environment and suitable for the needs and expectations of the project.  The Project Manager must avoid blind adherence to methodologies and be able to adapt existing procedures to the current project.  The planning of a two week project is going to be different from the plan for a two year project, but the resourceful Project Manager will be able to customize a methodology to create whatever framework is necessary for the successful completion of the project.

In conclusion, these key principles can be applied to any project.  Many years of practice, trial and error, and review have proven these principles to be valid and utilizable by any good Project Manager.  Instead of the struggle of a plan without coherent strategy, being mindful of these principles increase the project’s chance of success.
Source: projectmanager.com