Page 161 - Time Management

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

®
Team-Fly