Time Management - Marc Mancini
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<strong>Time</strong> <strong>Management</strong><br />
• Don’t “shout.” An Internet etiquette has evolved that customarily<br />
interprets words typed in all capital letters as<br />
shouting. (Not only that, but messages in all caps are<br />
harder to read for most people.) Italics and bolds, used<br />
sparingly, are better for emphasis. Unnecessary “urgent”<br />
message icons are extremely annoying, too.<br />
• Copy only those who need to know. It takes so little time<br />
and effort to copy a message—but if the added recipients<br />
don’t need the message, you’re just cluttering their inboxes.<br />
• Send long messages as file attachments, rather than<br />
putting the bulk of the information in the body of the message.<br />
Use the e-mail as a cover letter, to summarize the<br />
content of the file and indicate any action needed.<br />
• Check your e-mail regularly, but not constantly.<br />
Depending on the quantity and urgency of e-mail you<br />
receive, once an hour to twice a day might be sufficient<br />
for you. Above all, don’t become obsessive about reading<br />
each e-mail as soon as it arrives. That may interrupt the<br />
flow of your work and thoughts.<br />
• Protect your in-box. Use software to filter out unsolicited<br />
messages (spam) and redirect them to a “junk” folder.<br />
• Print out critical information only. If, for example, a colleague<br />
e-mails you her flight arrival time, make a note of<br />
it in your calendar; don’t print out the e-mail. It wastes<br />
paper and it may later waste your time, as you try to find<br />
it. However, if you must compare multiple e-mail documents,<br />
printing them out may be easier and faster than<br />
working from multiple windows.<br />
• Become friends with the delete key/icon. Most electronic<br />
messages deserve to be trashed. Otherwise, forward it,<br />
act on it, or file it.<br />
• Answer questions by inserting responses into the body of<br />
the message. This spares the recipient the inconvenience<br />
of usually jumping up and down in the message. But tell<br />
him or her at the beginning of your reply that you’re doing<br />
this.<br />
TEAMFLY