It’s likely that you have several subscriptions to newsletters and email blasts from various websites. And if you’re anything like me, you don’t like a lot of things cluttering your inbox. Today I will tell you how to use Gmail to manage your subscriptions.
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Those of you who know me might be surprised that I got a Droid less than one year after I got the Blackberry Storm. Those of you who really know me aren’t surprised one bit. As soon as I saw an Android phone come to Verizon, I was interested. I’m highly dependent on Google (Gmail, Contacts, Calendar, etc. etc.), I missed a physical keyboard, and I did my thesis on Android, which means I can program on the platform. I’ve had it for about 3 weeks now- here are my thoughts.
This seems like a silly title, since GMail is an email client and all. However, wouldn’t it be nice if you could have all of the conversations you’ve with with the same person in one place, at the click of a button? As it turns out GMail’s search and a labs function called Quick Links makes that very easy to do.
This is for all of use Blackberry (possibly only on Verizon Wireless) users. The Blackberry Web Panel allows you to manage (add/edit/delete and filter) all of the email addresses going to your blackberry device. You can also change PINs if you ever switch devices. I use it to skip sending emails I send to my device, as well as a few filters to make sure I don’t get repeat emails. I strongly recommend taking a look at it if  you have several email addresses forwarding to your Blackberry.
It used to be the case that Sunday truly was a day of rest. Shops closed, people went to church, had an early dinner, and called it a day. Then stores started to stay open on Sundays. The hours got longer. Now some places are open 24 hours, 5 days a week. Some 24/7. It used to be the case that once you left the office for the day, you were done working. How could you work? All your stuff was at the office. How would anyone reach you? Now we have cell phones, IM, email on our phones; we are reachable all the time. “Open†24/7. And that’s what people expect now. Our culture is moving towards a 24/7 work mentality to be more productive, and make more money. That needs to change.
It’s more coincidence than anything that I started to have these thoughts before, but on the same day that, I started reading The Four Hour Work Week. I’m just into it, and this post is not a book review, but Ferriss does talk early on about some of the stuff that spurred these thoughts. I wrote a while back about not responding to email right away. It’s not to be rude, but to set a precedent and draw some boundaries. If people think you are always available, they will expect you to be on call all the time. This isn’t healthy for you or them. And it’s not just with email.
I’ve had clients call me at midnight because they ‘needed’ to talk to me. I get calls on the weekend, and people who want to schedule meetings on Sundays. And it’s not that I’m lazy that I don’t want to do that; people can’t work all the time. It’s not physically or mentally healthy. So how do we solve this problem?
Don’t be afraid to draw those boundaries. Tell your clients or co-workers that you’re only available during business hours. Don’t answer business email on the weekend. Take the weekends for yourself. I took the 4th of July weekend completely off. From Friday to Sunday I did no work- I even put up an email auto-response. It was the first time in a long time I did that because I have the same mentality others do- I work a lot. Usually I take the weekends for side projects or small rush jobs I want to get out of the way. But it’s that mentality that causes a lot of people to burn out hard and fast.
Maybe it’s that we are in front of a computer anyway, or we think, “Well I’m not doing anything now,†that we take that call or work on that project. But we don’t have to produce all the time. It’s ok to do nothing. Having a lazy day is perfectly acceptable, and in some cases, needed. So far I like The Four Hour Work Week because Ferriss talks about how to be more productive in less time, and how to take time for yourself. I’ll post more about it as I read it, but remember this: Working 24/7 is NOT a good mentality. I think we should remember the days when Sunday really was a day of rest.
Email correspondence is my normal and most practiced form of communication because of the convenience for both parties. It allows you to quickly send a message to someone and know (in most cases) they will get it the next time they check their inbox. I feel it’s also better than instant messaging or phone conversations in some instances because it allows me to think about what I want to say. However, with the amount of emailing I do, I notice many people don’t know how to write what I deem a proper email.
Since I am a TA, I get a lot of emails from students like this:
Hey do u take off for late assignments
This is sometimes forgivable as it’s mostly freshmen who are relatively new to email as the defacto form of communication. I am sure when I was a freshman, my emails weren’t up to my own current standards. However, even dealing with clients I get some of those emails that come off as less than professional. Using SMS shorthand or incorrect punctuation, spelling errors, etc. are some of the problems I run into. Here is an example of what I would say is a proper email:
Joe,
I hope all is well. I was wondering if you took off for late assignments.Thanks,
Jim Student
The later email includes some important details the sooner email lacked. Here are some ground rules for a good email:
These four simple checks will make for an infinitely better, more professional looking email which in turn reflects better on you. Did I leave anything out? Disagree with me? Let me know in the comments.
If you are anything like me, you are always connected to the Internet in some fashion. I have 2 laptops, a desktop, a blackberry and most recently, an iPod Touch (more on that later). Because of this, I get my email right when it’s sent to me unless I’m asleep or without my phone(which is veryrare). I am always tempted to respond right away, just as I do with text or instant messaging. It’s all instant for me. However, I realized it might not be best to respond to an email (specifically a client email) right away.
I know some might think the sooner the better, however immediate response can have some negative effects. First, it’s important to know that most people are not like me- they aren’t always connected. They check their email at most hourly. So it’s a safe bet that they won’t be checking their email for your response right when they email you. Unless of course, you set a precedent.
If you do respond right away, people will expect you to all the time. With my clients for example, if I consistently respond immediately, they will expect it. If you make it seem like you’re always available, people think you are, and that can really eat into any free time you try to set aside. I had a client who called me at all hours because I made it seem like I was always available. I had to explain to her that calling me at, for example, 1AM was unacceptable. But I was always there for immediate response. Besides that, it’s always helpful to put some thought into what you’re going to write back.
Immediate response doesn’t allow you to think about what you write- it’s just what first comes to mind. For a quick note to a friend or a thank you email that might be fine, but in a professional relationship it looks bad. At the very least take some time to think about what you want to say and word it correctly. That extra time from when they email you and then hear back will show them you actually put some thought into what you want to say.
As for me, I should heed my own advice. I have been trying the last few weeks and have already seen a difference as far as what’s expected of me goes. Now let’s see if I can maybe check me email less often…
According to alex, you should have 3 e-mail accounts….I have about 7. I use like 4 and have them all forwarded to one address. I have a business, a personal, a spam and an email address for Casabona.Org which is somewhere in between business and personal. Later!
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