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8 Tips to Effective Email Management

03/11/2021 /

While email is intended to facilitate communication, it sometimes becomes a counter-productive tool because we spend so much time managing our emails.

This article provides 8 useful tips to improve email management:

  1. Prioritize 20% emails; Defer 80% ones

Not all emails are the same. According to the 80/20 rule, 20% of inputs are responsible for 80% of the outputs in any situation. Hence, to be effective, we should focus on 20% inputs that lead to 80% outputs. Likewise, we should focus on 20% high value emails that lead to maximum output. Give your 20% emails high priority.

  1. Realize you don’t need to reply to every mail

Despite what you think, you don’t need to reply to every mail. Sometimes, no reply after a certain time period can be considered a reply in itself too. Reply if it helps, but if the costs of replying don’t outweigh the benefits, then maybe it’s not worth worrying about it.

  1. Create template replies if you often send similar replies

If you look through your sent folder, you’ll probably find a trend in things you reply to. Try to elaborate and use templates that you have written beforehand. As you reply, customize them accordingly to fit the needs of the original mail. This will saved you huge amounts of time.

  1. Structure your mails into categories

Folders (or labels, if you use gmail) are there to help you organize your mails. Firstly, use a relevant naming system to what you’re doing. Secondly, use hierarchy structure. Using filters to automatically organize mail into folders works wonders.

  1. Use filters

Filters are tools that help you sort out the mail automatically when it gets into your mail. There are 2 basic things are required for a filter: the term to look out for and the action to apply if the term is matched.  Depending on what filter it is, the mail will be automatically sorted into a respective folder / archived.

  1. Use the 1-minute rule when replying

If it takes within 1 minute to reply, reply to it immediately and archive it. Don’t let it sit in your mail box for ages. It’s going to take even more effort letting it hover around your mind and being constantly reminded that you need to reply.

  1. Set a limit to the time you spend in the inbox

Limit the overall time you spend in your inbox. See how long you take to process, read, reply, and sort through your mail. Then ask yourself how much of that time is well-spent.

  1. Unsubscribe from things you don’t read

In your cruising around the web, you probably sign up for a fair share of newsletters and feeds on impulse which you lose interest in afterward. If you find yourself repeatedly deleting the mail from your subscriptions, it’s a cue that you should just unsubscribe immediately.

Image Source: Pixabay – Geralt

7 tips to improve your memory

25/08/2021 /

Can’t find your car keys? Forget your grocery list? You’re not alone. Everyone forgets things occasionally. Still, memory loss is nothing to take lightly. Although there are no guarantees when it comes to preventing memory loss , certain activities might help.

This article provides seven simple ways to sharpen your memory:

1. Include physical activity in your daily routine: Physical activity increases blood flow to your whole body, including your brain. This might help keep your memory sharp.

2. Stay mentally active: Just as physical activity helps keep your body in shape, mentally stimulating activities help keep your brain in shape.

3. Socialize regularly: Social interaction helps ward off depression and stress, both of which can contribute to memory loss.

4. Get organized: You’re more likely to forget things if your home is cluttered and your notes are in disarray. Jot down tasks, appointments and other events in a special notebook, calendar or electronic planner. Keep to-do lists current and check off items you’ve completed. Limit distractions and don’t do too many things at once.

5. Sleep well: Sleep plays an important role in helping you consolidate your memories, so you can recall them down the road. Make getting enough sleep a priority.

6. Eat a healthy diet: A healthy diet might be as good for your brain as it is for your heart. Eat fruits, vegetables and whole grains. Choose low-fat protein sources, such as fish, beans and skinless poultry. What you drink counts, too.

7. Manage chronic conditions: The better you take care of yourself, the better your memory is likely to be.

Image source: Pixabay – Tumisu

7 tips on how to give clear and understandable instructions

04/08/2021 /

Giving clear understandable instructions is one of those things that sounds easy to do but in real life can actually be more complex, especially in an office environment or within a business. Mixed messages, assumptions and multiple options mean that the message received might differ from what we actually meant.

This article, provides 7 useful tips to give instructions that are clear and get the job done:

1. Don’t assume everyone know what you mean: An imperative when delivering clear instructions is to not assume the recipient knows what you mean, and this can be for anything from industry acronyms to who to contact in different departments or organisations. It will only take you a few seconds more to explain the details, but this will give a crucial help for achieving the result.

2. Be clear and specific: Whilst you don’t want to ramble on in your set of instructions, you do want to ensure that your instructions are clear, specific and concise. Using bullet point reduces the temptation to waffle on and it helps your instructions and actions be more focused.

3. Give time frames: Do not confuse matters by not being specific with your time frames and deadlines. What you consider as “soon” might be very different from your colleagues.

4. Give examples: Whenever possible, make sure you give examples. This will be especially beneficial if they are new to the role, or if they haven’t carried out the task before. This will help to add clarity to you instructions and help form a clearer picture of what it is you mean and want.

5. Give alternatives: When delivering your instructions it is worth considering giving some alternatives just in case our preferred option of instruction is not viable or available. By giving alternatives you are empowering your staff to get the job done with minimal fuss and constant checking back in with yourself.

6. Set boundaries: Once a task is set, the instructions should be clear enough that further confirmation and clarification is not needed. If this rings true with you then you need to make sure that your instructions are clear so that they are certain what they are doing and don’t feel the need to keep coming back with questions.

7. Get clarification: Before you let your staff loose on the basis of your instruction, it wouldn’t hurt to seek clarification from them to ensure that they understand what the task at hand is and what is expected.

Image source: Pixabay – kvrkchowdari

Understanding how to build new habits

07/07/2021 /

There are many studies and articles concerning the best way to create a new (hopefully good) habit. Based on these studies James Clear, author of the book Atmic Bomb, has created a simple strategy guide in 5 points that can help us:

1. Start with an incredibly small habit.
2. Increase your habit in very small ways.
3. As you build up, break habits into chunks.
4. When you slip, get back on track quickly.
5. Be patient. Stick to a pace you can sustain.

For more details read the full article by James Clear

patience

Image source: Pixabay (CC0)

 

 

Top tips for becoming a confident, effective speaker

16/06/2021 /

Having to give a speech in front of an audience can cause some people to shake, sweat, get sick, or freeze in terror. The root of this fear is simple: It’s scary because it’s unfamiliar to anyone who doesn’t regularly perform to a crowd.

The best way to become a better public speaker is through repetition and feedback from a trusted source, but there are several habits you can establish early that will make your journey easier.

Here are some of Joshua Rinaldi, the former president of New York Toastmasters, top tips for becoming a confident, effective speaker, published on the World Economic Forum:

  1. Practise transitioning from a transcript to your memory.
  2. Use notes sparingly.
  3. Release nervous energy with controlled breathing.
  4. Take your time.
  5. Play to your strenghts.
  6. Don’t apologize at the start of your speech.
  7. Know your audience.

Read more here 

Image source: Pixabay (CC0)

The benefits of learning a new language

09/06/2021 /

English has become the world’s universal language, and instant translation technology is improving every year. So why bother learning a foreign language?

In this TED talk, Linguist and Columbia professor John McWhorter shares four alluring benefits of learning an unfamiliar tongue, which can be summarised as:

  1. If you want to imbibe a culture, if you want to drink it in, if you want to become part of it, then you have to control to some degree the language that the culture happens to be conducted in. There’s no other way.
  2. It’s been shown that if you speak two languages, dementia is less likely to set in, and that you are probably a better multitasker. Bilingualism is healthy.
  3. Languages are just lot of fun.
  4. We live in an era when it’s never been easier to teach yourself another language.

 

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