I need to read several technical books to get up to speed on a new topic. I started reading one book, but only managed a chapter before I stopped reading it.
Should I break the chapters up into Read/Review tasks or schedule time on the calendar? Rarely do I have long periods of time to read larg...
A Community Contribution from Erik Hanberg
Here's how I deal with email and keep from getting too overloaded:
I have one inbox. Everything goes to the same place (accounts either forward to Gmail or I've actually set Gmail up to reply from those accounts).
I only check email when I can reply to it easily. Unless I'm waiting for something specific, I try not to check email from my phone, because it's a recipe for getting an email that requires a length reply that I don't have the time to give on my phone. And that just stresses me out until I can reply appropriately.
I don't use preview windows. It's too easy to only get half the information and miss important stuff. When I used Outlook for work, this happened way more often that I would have liked. I thought it was a feature, but it turns out it wasn't helpful at all. It made me browse email more than read email.
When I do check email, I start at the bottom and move my way up, going through email one at a time in the order sent. It's the only way to know I haven't missed anything.
I know my hot keys. By not using a mouse, I fly through emails much faster.
If I can reply quickly, I'll do it right then. If I need to think on it, or know it will be a long reply with lots of edits, I'll star it (a Gmail feature), so I don't lose track of it. Alternatively, if you have folders, just move it to an Action folder.
Two or three times a year I'll unsubscribe to newsletters I'm not using anymore. It's amazing how easy it is to get onto newsletters without really trying.
It must be the season, stuff is changing but I am finding that I am needing a lot more time to just capture all sorts of crazy and wild possibilities.
Yesterday I discovered a great one:
When K & I went shopping it is a 1.5 hour drive each way. Since I am not driving this time I made a specifi...
