Technology for Everyone – Newsletter No. 9
Technology for Everyone – Newsletter No. 9
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Products and Services
Email Management
An inbox of over 100 messages is not an uncommon site, in some offices the norm. I use two methods to stay on top of email: GTD and Inbox Zero. Instead of focusing on a specific product or service this week, I wanted to focus on a method (Inbox Zero) that can be applied to any email service/client.
What is Inbox Zero?
Inbox Zero is a term coined by productivity guru Merlin Mann to refer to a method for managing email. The basic idea is that you should ‘process’ email out of your inbox, in the same way you write notes from a phone message and then clear your voicemail. A key concept is that processing does not mean responding. Often people let emails sit in their inbox and use it as a to-do list, scrolling up and down to determine their next task. Thinking about it, you can see how that likely isn’t the most efficient time management technique, as well as being a source of stress and anxiety for many.
Using Inbox Zero, you process any email message with the intent to execute one of the following actions: Delete, Delegate, Respond, Defer, Do. If you receive an email and know you will never need it again – delete it. If the email requires action by someone else – delegate it. If the response will take 2 min or less – respond to it right away. If the response will take take more than 2 min – defer it to a later time. If the email requires action of 2 min or less – do it, otherwise record the action on a list separate from your email.
Processing is “more than checking, less than responding”. I fall off the ‘Inbox Zero’ wagon from time to time and watch my inbox grow and grow, while I continue to check and check. I feel a lot more productive when I process and process. I try to respond to emails immediately if they are 2 min or less, move emails out of my inbox into an ‘Action’ folder if longer than 2 min and maintain a ‘Tasks’ list for actions generated from emails.
Of course, some days are better than others, but overall using an approach like ‘Inbox Zero’ has been helpful.
If you are interested in learning more, I highly recommend watching the Inbox Zero presentation Merlin Mann gave at Google available at http://www.43folders.com/2007/07/25/merlins-inbox-zero-talk
News and Facts
Google Maps Google has recently added more than 130 towns and cities across Canada to Google Streetview. Google Streetview is a free service part of Google Maps. Users can find a particular location on Google Maps and then drag the Streetview icon to the location to view a virtual ‘streetview’ of the location. Try it at maps.google.ca
Augmented-reality Augmented-reality is best described with an example – watching speed skating on TV right now and before the race starts the flag of each competitor is shown on the ice in front of the skater. The flag is not really on the ice, but reality has been augmented through a computer generated image of the flag for the broadcast. Blaise Aguera y Arcas from Microsoft recently presented at TED 2010 and demonstrated incredible innovation in the area of augmented-reality from Microsoft. Video here (8 min)
Tips and Tricks
Olympics We have been watching a lot of Olympic coverage since Friday. CTVOlympics.ca provides a lot of information and useful Viewer’s Guide. You can customize the guide by day, time zone, and channel. A useful feature is the ability to set reminders and receive them by email or text messages on your cell phone.
Technology for Everyone Blog
- Previous newsletters are now posted
- You can post and view comments by clicking on the comments link under the title of a post
- Updated blog roll with links to services mentioned in previous newsletters
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