Randy Dean’s Timely Tips The First 4+ Years A Compilation of Some of Randy Dean’s Favorite Time-Saving Tips, from his Monthly E-Zine, Timely Tips Includes Links to FOUR Bonus Time & E-mail Management Podcasts Copyright 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 Randall F. Dean The “E-mail Sanity Expert” and “Totally Obsessed” Time Management Technology Guy http://www.randalldean.com and http://www.emailsanityexpert.com 1 Randy Dean: The “Totally Obsessed” Time Management/Technology Guy and E-mail Sanity Expert’s Timely Tips© 2004-2008 © Copyright Randall F. Dean 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 Dear Friends, Thank you for downloading my Timely Tips archive: Timely Tips: The First Four+ Years (2004-2008) This 90+ page compilation “e-book” PDF provides you with the first four+ years of my monthly e-zine, Timely Tips©, which features one great time-saving tip per month. And to help save time, each issue’s tip is designed to be read in three minutes or less. You’ll see these tips range from personal to professional and from “high tech” to “no tech”. I hope you find at least a few ideas that will help you save time in your everyday life, and in your professional endeavors. Please visit my web sites at http://www.randalldean.com and http://www.emailsanityexpert.com to learn more about how I can help you and your company become more productive, more efficient, and more balanced. And remember, you can retrieve new issues by visiting my Timely Tips archive – http://www.randalldean.com/timelyarchive.html, visiting my Timely Tips blog, http://www.timely-tips.blogspot.com, -- or just visit my main page for a link to subscribe, as well as for some special no-cost site visitor offers. Thanks again, Randy Dean SPECIAL BONUS: I have also included links to THREE bonus podcasts in the back of this e-book – all related to my time & e-mail management strategies, techniques, and tips, and all hosted by experts related to time, technology, productivity, and organizational management. Check them out! P.S. Please feel free to forward or share this document with any coworkers, clients, friends, and relatives that you believe may have an interest in these tips/ podcasts. Let them know they can subscribe to my monthly Timely Tips©, e- newsletter by visiting my registration page: http://www.randalldean.com/signup.html 2 Table of Contents: Pg. 6: Volume 1 Issue 1: September 2004 — Email Overload (Part 1) Pg. 8: Volume 1 Issue 2: October 2004 — Email Overload (Part 2) Pg. 11: Volume 1 Issue 3: November 2004 — Three Minute Clutter Buster Pg. 13: Volume 1 Issue 4: December 2004 — “Credit Offers Roasting on an Open Fire ...” Pg. 15: Volume 2 Issue 1: January 2005 — “The Travel Maestro” Pg. 17: Volume 2 Issue 2: February 2005 — “The Travel Maestro -- Part II” Pg. 19: Volume 2 Issue 3: March 2005 — “The Travel Maestro -- Final Act (and Internet Password Sanity!)” Pg. 21: Volume 2 Issue 4: April 2005 — “Take a Working Vacation (if even a brief one!) from Your Work” Pg. 23: Volume 2 Issue 5: May 2005 — “Time Saving Holiday Road Trip Tips" Pg. 25: Volume 2 Issue 6: June 2005 — Making the Most of Meeting "Dead Time" Pg. 27: Volume 2 Issue 7: July 2005 — Another E-mail Time Saver: Group Distribution Lists Pg. 29: Volume 2 Issue 8: August 2005 — Stumping the "Jump" Pg. 31: Volume 2 Issue 9: September 2005 — More "Stumping the Jump" for Excel Users Pg. 32: Volume 2 Issue 10: October 2005 -- A Junk Mail Time (and ID) Saver Pg. 34: Volume 2 Issue 11: November 2005 -- Thanksgiving as an Analogy for Life Pg. 35: Volume 3 Issue 1: January 2006 -- Using ICE in your Cell Phone and PDA as a Possible Time AND Life Save Pg. 36: Volume 3, Issue 2; February 2006 -- Courteous Voice Mail Time Savers Pg. 37: Volume 3, Issue 3; March 2006 -- Take an "Empty Satisfactor" Diet to Change the Shape of Your Life Pg. 38: Volume 3, Issue 4; April 2006 -- Keep that Train of Thought Right on its Track 3 Pg. 40: Volume 3, Issue 5; May 2006 -- Save Time (and Money!) on Groceries and Shopping Pg. 41: Volume 3, Issue 6; June 2006 -- A "Simple Stupid" Project Folder Time Saver Pg. 42: Volume 3, Issue 7; July 2006: A Couple New Time-Saving Tools from Google Pg. 43: Volume 3, Issue 8; August 2006: A Handy Junk/SPAM E-mail Time-Saver Pg. 44: Volume 3, Issue 9; September 2006: An "Off The Wall" Timesaver – Literally Pg. 45: Volume 3, Issue 11; November 2006: Call Your E-mails (Part 1) Pg. 46: Volume 3, Issue 12; December 2006: Call Your E-mails (Part 2) Pg. 47: Volume 4, Issue 1; January 2007: The Power of Pocket Voice Recorders Pg. 49: Volume 4, Issue 2; February 2007: Consider YouTube as a “Spot Training” Resource Pg. 51: Volume 4, Issue 3; March 2007: Two More Air Traveler Handy Tips Pg. 53: Volume 4, Issue 4; April 2007: A Great Web Browsing Tip: Right-Clicking Links Pg. 54: Volume 4, Issue 5; May 2007: Set Your E-mail's Auto Send/Receive for Every 60-90 Minutes Pg. 56: Volume 4, Issue 7; July 2007: Two More Killer Keystroke Combos: Windows+D and Windows+E Pg. 57: Volume 4, Issue 8; August 2007: Multiple Monitors for Multiple Reasons - Why adding an extra monitor to your workstation could bump up your productivity Pg. 59: Volume 4, Issue 9; September 2007: A Quick Tip for Air Travelers PLUS Randy is “Linked In” Pg. 61: Volume 4, Issue 10; October 2007: A Third E-mail Account? A Tip from Randy's New Book: Taming the E-mail Beast: 45 Key Strategies for Better Managing Your E-mail Overload (and Regaining Your E-mail Sanity!) Pg. 63: Volume 4, Issue 11; November 2007: "Drag & Drop" to Create New Tasks A Tip from Randy's New Book: Taming the E-mail Beast: 45 Key Strategies for Better Managing Your E-mail Overload (and Regaining Your E-mail Sanity!) Pg. 65: Volume 4, Issue 12; December 2007: Planning to Call Just a Little Late 4 Pg. 66: Volume 5, Issue 1; January 2008: How About Eleven Timely Tips This Month? “Roughcut” Taming E-mail Video Tutorials posted. Pg. 67: Volume 5, Issue 2; February 2008: What’s Randy Reading? Pg. 70: Volume 5, Issue 3; March 2008: Too Many Mail Catalogs? Pg. 72: Volume 5, Issue 4; April 2008: Using E-mail "Out of Office" to Set Expectations Pg. 74: Volume 5, Issue 5; May 2008: The Shift & CTRL Keys as E-mail "Organizers" Pg. 77: Volume 5, Issue 6; June 2008: An Awesome E-mail/E-Commerce Tip Pg. 81: Volume 5, Issue 7; July 2008: Saving Your Summer Fun (and Electronics!) Pg. 82: Volume 5, Issue 8; August 2008: A Great Tip for Using E-mail to Make Phone Calls More Productive and Effective Pg. 85: Volume 5, Issue 9; September 2008: A Great New Browser Tool for Searching and Shopping Pg. 87: Volume 5, Issue 10; October 2008: A Decision “Tree” for Every E-mail You Receive Pg. 90: Volume 5, Issue 11; November 2008: From Google: A Phone Directory Time and Money Saver Just in Time for the Holidays Pg. 91: Volume 5, Issue 12; December 2008: A Holiday Gift for Those In Need (and a Tax Write Off for You!) Pg. 93: Links to FOUR BONUS PODCASTS on Time & E-mail Management featuring Randy Dean, and hosted by the following experts: Shelley Holmes – Founder of http://www.Align-Lead-Inspire.com Todd Jungling – Internet Marketing/SEO/Web Site Expert – http://ww.LeadingWSIwebsolutions.com Sara Bereika – Professional Organization Expert and Internet Podcast Interviewer – http://www.neat-organizing.com Tony Goodson – Host of The Productivity Show on The Podcast Network – http://www.productivity.thepodcastnetwork.com 5 Timely Tips© Volume 1 Issue 1: September 2004 Dear Subscriber: Welcome to the first issue of the Timely Tips© monthly e-mail. This e-mail will provide you with useful tips and proven strategies to help improve your professional and personal efficiency and effectiveness. Designed to be read in three minutes or less, Timely Tips© will help you find a few extra minutes each day of that precious commodity: Time. Timely Tips©: Volume 1, Issue 1; September, 2004 E-mail Overload (Part 1) A recent study conducted by Forrester Research and John Carroll University found that the average professional now spends nearly two hours of each normal workday reading and responding to e-mail. And many professionals regularly report that they often spend half or more (4+ hours) of each workday simply reading and responding to e-mail. Even senior executives are getting caught in the e-mail trap – a recent Harris Interactive/Wall Street Journal Online poll found that C-level executives average five hours per week, or one hour per day, processing e-mail. As long as the time spent processing e-mail is productive and leads toward the accomplishment of business and personal goals, it is time well spent. But many professionals are finding themselves overwhelmed by the sheer quantity of mail received, as well as the amount of limited or zero-value e-mail (junk, spam, unnecessary CC’s, and time-wasting personal messages). This and the next issue of Timely Tips will share some strategies for handling and being more efficient with e-mail. It is not meant to be a fully exhaustive list – instead, look at these tips as some simple starters toward e-mail sanity! Tip #1: Use Discipline! Because of the ability to quickly respond to and immediately receive gratification from e-mail, many professionals now spend their entire day checking their e-mail.