So, it is a bright, sunny and absolutely gorgeous morning. I notice there’s not a spec in the blue sky as I sit at a workstation in an executive office with a beautiful view. Things are looking up. That is until I did an official count on the number of folders in Abby’s (name changed) email Client. I stopped at 300. I could not go any further. Not because I hit the last one, but mainly because I got tired of counting more. I estimate it was over 400. Yes.. over 400 folders to categorize and organize her email! So why am I mentioning this? Well, because when it comes to managing email, the dynamics have changed. Dramatically!

I see a lot of people are still stuck with the old way of managing email. Which is, “filing” it. And what’s wrong with that you might ask? Nothing. It still works. It just a LOT slower now. Yes, a LOT slower. Over the course of the last 3 years, there has been a paradigm shift in email from the focus on Content Categorization to Content Accessibility. Of the many amazing things that came out of this shift – these two deserve special mention.  SEARCH and CONVERSATIONS. Today we look at Search.

SEARCH
Search? That’s not new. Or is it? In the older days (about 3 to 5 years ago), when an email came in, you would normally create some sort of structure to keep that email if you needed it. Some people would even print emails and file them into a physical folder (this is now considered obsolete). Now, many people still create “file folders” corresponding to the physical file folders that we were used to in our daily lives. This has been the trend for over a decade. Hence the 400+ folders mentioned above.

There are 2 main challenges with this approach: The Folder Structure & Message Retrieval.

1. The Folder Structure: The question that naturally arises when using folders is, “how do I file my email?” By contact names? By activity type, like calls to make, things to put into Quickbooks, etc?  Or by business department or activity, like shipping, marketing, accounting? I mean what system do you want to use? And once you create it, what if you want to change it! If you have a lot of folders and emails, just mark an entire day or maybe two, to get that ‘re-organized.’
2. Message Retrieval: The bigger issue arises when you need to look for an email. Where did you file it? and How many messages do you need to scroll down before you find the exact one! And if you are not completely sure about the parameters of the email you’re looking for.. Good Luck! It might be hours before you find it.

So, is there a better way to do this? Yes! fortunately, the newer email Clients such as Microsoft Outlook 2007 and up, and web-based email such as GMail have made searching for and accessing information incredibly easy. In fact, GMail even went as far as to eliminate folders all together. Now when an email comes in, you just archive it or delete it. The same system works wonders when used in Microsoft Outlook 2007 and up.

With Outlook 2007 and up, the advantage is “Instant Search.” You start typing and all messages with that word automatically appear. It is incredibly fast. Now, the instant search works within the folder. So if you have 300 folders, you back to square one. To give you a real world example, I have 4 folders in total for my email. Yes Just 4. And I only created 2 of those 4. Here they are:

1. Inbox: The Inbox is where the email comes in, once it has been processed, it is either deleted, or it is moved to the Processed Email folder noting that the email has already been processed.
2. Processed Email: This is where all emails that are saved, sit.
3. Daily Batch: This is where I have email like Newsletters, LinkedIn updates, and so on automatically moved via “Filters” or “Rules”. It is not stuff I want to look at during the day. I clean it up at the end of the day. It takes about 10 minutes.
4. Sent Items: This is where emails I send are automatically saved.

Very simple. It is incredibly fast to search. The goal is to spend less time managing email and more time doing things that have direct impact on business or in your personal life.

So how many folders do you have in your email client? What happens when you need to look for email? How much time do you spend looking for it? If you are using an email client that facilitates powerful search, then dramatically reduce the number of folders you have. In April I will be posting more about the other feature I mentioned in this post. Conversations… Stay tuned!

JEMNET’s Technology Zen Tip of the Month (February 2011)

Email causing too much stress? It might be in part because you have way too many email addresses. How many is too many? Well, that depends. But in our experience, we have found that anything over 3 email addresses becomes a hair-raising thing to manage. One work, one personal and one other email address. Generally that should do it.

The problem with multiple email addresses is that you have to log in and check every address, unless you have found a way to consolidate them so that all your messages are showing up in either one or two inboxes at the most. This gives you a real idea of how much email you are really dealing with and allows you to systemize your email so that you are more productive. Here are a few ways you can consolidate or aggregate your email addresses:

• Get rid of unnecessary mailboxes. Evaluate whether you really need them. Then cancel/close the ones you do not need.
• If you have not sent out email from an email address in a long time, you may want to think about closing it.
• Almost all email programs including free web email such as Hotmail, Yahoo! and Gmail allow you to setup multiple accounts under them.
• You can use a program like Microsoft Outlook to get email from multiple email accounts
• What’s even better is that you can a business class email and collaboration solution like Microsoft Exchange to consolidate Email, Fax, Instant Messaging, Text Messaging and even your voicemail.

Note: As a rule of thumb, the more inboxes you have, the more the likelihood that you will be overwhelmed, and a lot less productive. This includes all inboxes including Snail-Mail, Voicemail, Fax, Text Messages, Instant Messages, Social Media inboxes such as those of Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook, etc. Aggregating content and minimizing the number of places you have to go to check messages will make the difference.

Technology Zen Tip of the Month (December 2010)

Note: This article only applies to the Windows Operating System.

Constantly switching between the keyboard and the mouse while at the computer is like driving in city traffic. It requires constantly changing gears and ends up consuming a more fuel, much more energy, while not getting much further.

Although quite trivial, we have compiled the top 7 time-saving keyboard shortcuts using the Windows Key on your keyboard. The Windows Key is grossly under-used, but it something that you may not want to ignore. It allows for doing things much quicker and with a lot more ease. Here they are the top 7 Windows Key Shortcuts. To use these, hold down the Windows Key and the letter key, and then release, just like you were using the Shift or the Ctrl key :

1. Windows Key + D
   Show Desktop. This shortcut shows the desktop regardless of any dialog boxes open, that can block access to desktop.
      
2. Windows Key + E
   Want to quickly open the Windows Explorer to browse files on your computer? This shortcut allows you to do so.
      
3. Windows Key + F
   Open up the Search window quickly to search for files on your computer.
      
4. Windows Key + L
   Use this shortcut if you are going to be away from your computer for a few minutes and need to quickly lock your computer.
      
5. Windows Key + M
   Minimize all windows instantly and see your desktop. Note that if there are any Dialog boxes open, you may not be able to get to the desktop with this. Instead, use the Windows Key + D shortcut. Using Windows Key + Shift + M restores all minimized windows.
      
   Advanced Users can also use the following shortcuts:
      
6. Windows Key + R
   Opens the ‘Run’ Dialog Box. This is really handy when the Run option is not on the start menu.
      
7. Windows Key + Break
   Opens System Properties for that computer.

Start using the Windows Key shortcuts more often and you will not want to be without it.

Technology Zen Tip of the Month (November 2010)

The email notification pop-up in Outlook (Desktop Email Alerts feature) is one the biggest distractions to an office worker. You may find it useful to be able to turn off the email notification feature. This is especially important if you constantly feel distracted by email or do not get a lot done due to constant interruptions. Email Desktop Alerts are a big productivity killer. Here is how to turn off your email notifier in Outlook 2010.

An Outlook  desktop alert looks like the one below.

To turn the alerts off, Click on the ‘File’ tab as shown below and and then Click on ‘Options’ in the left Navigation Panel.

The Outlook Options window will pop-up. Scroll down to the Message Arrival section and uncheck the Display a Desktop Alert option. If you don’t want to see the envelope or be distracted by the sound of a new email coming in, you can uncheck those options too. Click the ‘OK’ button to exit this screen. The changes will now be saved and you will not receive notifications of new emails.

---

If you use Microsoft Exchange services like JEMNET‘s ZenXchange, you have more control and can use the “Work Offline” button (under the Send / Receive tab) to stop incoming messages altogether until you choose to get your email. You can then click the same button again to start getting new email. Note that the “Work Offline” button affects all services including Calendar, contacts and tasks. So any changes you make will only be synced when you start working in ‘Online’ mode again.

---

 

This is one of the most trivial, yet most effective things we can do to increase our  productivity instantly. You may have to work on your urge to check your email despite the Desktop Alerts being turned off.

Guest Post by Patricia Diesel (Keep It Simple Now)

Millions of people each day are trying to keep up with the pace of life and trying desperately to squeeze in pleasurable “down” time – whether that means quality time with family and friends or simple alone time.

It’s difficult enough trying to  manage our time with working long hours, running various errands, and car-pooling the kids all over, but now we have to factor in time for unlimited texting, countless emails and unlimited voicemails.  It appears no matter where we turn, something is competing for our time and leaving our personal time on the back burner.

Our new technology that has promised to make our lives easier, now seems to take more of our time in the most unexpected ways, which can create not only learning curve challenges but built in distractions. 

For example, have you ever noticed how you can go to great lengths to map out your day the night before, and then upon rising the following morning, with all good intentions, mind you, you open up your phone or computer, and then bam, you read a text or email and your whole day can get derailed.

When did we begin to allow our inbox to dictate the course of our day and technology to govern our schedule?

I am not advocating that we toss our laptops, blackberry’s and phones aside, they certainly are tools that can enhance our lives when used constructively.  However, there is this aspect of “addict” ability instead of predictability that seems to seep in every now and then, creating an illusion on what the tools real purpose is.

I mean, they are supposed to help us right.

So how do we overcome these obstacles and prevent them from becoming intrusions in our lives?

I think in order to work towards a balanced life, we first must figure out where we are spending our time, and by doing so, we will be able to see clearly, where we have been defining our priorities. 

Once we begin to look at where our time goes, we will get a new perspective on making the necessary changes to a more balanced life.

List It

Make a list of all the activities you do during the course of a day and then write next to each one the amount of time you spend on each task. 

Time It

From the amount of hours you calculated from your time list, prioritize them according to the most time you spend on each, putting the most hours spent first.

Check It

Now as yourself the following questions:

1.  Am I happy with the way I am spending my time?
2. Are my priorities in alignment with the way I want to spend my time?
3. Does my life look balanced?

Most people find they spend anywhere from 50-70 percent of their time on their work and the remaining time is spent on family activities and chores, and on an average, one-third of our day is spent asleep. 

I am curious about something – did you include the time you spend checking your emails, texting and talking on the phone or did you factor that time in with everything else? 

Take Action

Now that you know where you are spending most of your time, you are ready to take the action to change the course of your busy life.

For example, if you are looking for more peace and quiet, honor that request by giving yourself permission to have “me time.”

Whether you choose to ignore your emails for a bit, shut your phone off for a while,  take a walk, or simply read, creating this new priority for yourself will help to ensure your peace of mind.

When with family and friends, try to be present without distractions.  If you are not ready to leave your phone aside, then try silencing it, or re-programming it for a “special” ring for urgent matters only.  This will help wean the “addict” ability factor.

Acceptance

Finding strategies and solutions to compliment our lifestyle, not complicate it, is what we are seeking.  We are not after perfection here, but we are seeking a fine balance of acceptance. Sometimes subtle changes can be the most powerful.

Welcome to the empowering conversation of Technology Zen.

Since the day our ancestors first created some really primitive tools a couple hundred millennia ago, it seems we have never been able to turn off the ‘Create-More-Mind-Blowing-Technology’ switch. And our love affair with technology is only growing. The pace at which we are developing new technologies is staggering. It is only getting faster. I think if we were to chart the rate of technological developments over the last 500,000 years, it would look like some variation of an infinity curve. And we’re approaching the steeper part of the slope really fast.

We are completely immersed in the technology. It is not something separate or outside of us. We are it. We create it. We live in it. And we are more dependent on it that we think. Just try living without electricity for a week. Or your cellphone for that matter. All technologies have been beneficial on one hand, and produced other challenges on the other. For example, automobiles have made it really convenient for us to travel, but that has also led to the challenges of air and water pollution, sound pollution, collisions, accidents, etc. Information Technology has helped make information so accessible, literally at our finger tips; it has helped us automate mundane tasks, create better work-flows and so much more. It has also fueled email and internet addictions and disorders, the Blackberry thumb, 3000 emails a week and growing, less privacy and geek wars!

As I mentioned before, the pace of technological innovation is increasing rather rapidly. What happens if we continue on the same path? How much more technology is going to be developed? Are we going to be able to keep up with all of it? Do we really need to keep up?

The answers lie in the way we choose to use technology, the habits we create and the mindset we operate with. Yup, we get to choose. We call the shots individually, as organizations, as communities, or as nations. I am excited to start a whole new conversation for all of us – an empowering frame of reference that will help create more balance and happier lives. We have invited some amazing Guest Writers to write for our blog. Please check out the Guest Writers page to see who they are.

Be a part of this conversation by joining us here:
Facebook: facebook.com/technologyzen
Twitter: twitter.com/technologyzen
Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/jemnet

Now, without further due, I present… Technology Zen!