Lessons in Email Management

Please tell me that I'm not the only one struggling with keeping my email in-boxes tidy. Managing emails seems to be an ongoing battle. One that I feel like I'm losing.

With a new school year fast approaching, I really want to get a handle on this. I found some articles that with some email management tips. I look forward to applying the "Two-Minute" Rule". I suppose I should create some rules too for newsletters:

A Simple Guide to Managing Your Email

Managing Email Effectively

10 Tips to Manage Email Effectively

Do you have any tips on how to manage your email that isn't mentioned in these articles? Please share.

Revising My Clean Up Strategy

Summertime is a good time to take a look around to see what you can merge and purge from your home and your life. The end of the school year is normally nutty for me, so my office can become a bit of a dumping ground.

It can be overwhelming and sometimes, one just doesn't know where to start.

Normally, I pick a spot, usually by the computer, and work my way out. When I hit a pile or a bag with receipts and books, I dump it and tackle that for a spell.

Last week, I decided to try something different. See that mess in the top left-hand corner? That's my closest/filing area. On Day 1 of Operation Office Merge & Purge, I plunked myself in the closet. That's right - I put myself in a corner. No breaks until I could actually walk out of the closet.

It was an interesting way to do it. Each time I looked out, I could see my sunny (albeit messy) backyard. But at least, I could look out the window and have the sense that I was getting closer to the sunshine.

I see the benefit of being far away from the temptations of the computer and smartphone. Not sure if I'll do it again that way. The first little while, I felt trapped. I worked my way quickly to open up a path.

At the very least, it felt good to tackle the not-so-fun task of organizing my office and cleaning up my mess from a different angle. It felt fresh.

The next time you tackle de-cluttering your space, approach it from a different angle or start in a different place. You're in for a new experience.

Getting a Handle on Social Media Management Tools

It all started out with my smartphone. I overdid it with the apps, which I suspect was a contributing factor to it getting stuck in an endless restart loop this spring. After it was repaired, I knew I had to limit the number of apps running on it. The glitchy manga reader app had to go. Ditto for the metronome app that seemed to crash every now and again. Next on the hit-list was limiting the app size. Then, it was time to tackle the beast known as social media. Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Flickr, Soundclound, Linked In and Youtube: I know there are more out there, but these are the ones I use. It was important to have one dashboard and one mobile app to manage them all.

My criteria for social media management (SMM) tools was shorter than the one I had for my online scheduling system. I had 10 items to start with:

1. Facebook, Twitter, Linked In AND Google+, Youtube integration

2. Could handle multiple streams/sources: i.e., multiple accounts for a single social network

3. Is cheap ($15/month or less)

4. Has a logical user interface, i.e. attractive, easy to use, easy to navigate

5. Has a mobile app for Android

6. Has the ability to schedule posts and the ability to post the same item simultaneously to several social networks (cross-posting)

7. Can manage more than five streams/accounts/sources

8. Real-time monitoring

9. Reporting tools and analytics

10. Decent tech support

My initial Google search and review hunt came up with the following SMM tools for small business: Hootsuite, Sprout Social, Buffer, Viralheat and BuzzBundle.

A quick comparison of specifications took Sprout Social and Buffer out of the running. Although Sprout Social has a 30-day trial, the smallest package offered is the Standard at $39 US/month.

Buffer, on the other hand, isn't really an SMM tool. Rather it is a powerful tool to share information - posts you've read, or your own. I was contemplating using it to manage the blogs I subscribe to. However, it only has Facebook, Twitter and Linked In integration. SMM tools with Google's API is hard to find.

That left the remaining three.

BuzzBundle - Powerful Listening and Monitoring Capabilities, with a Couple of Snags

I really wanted BuzzBundle to work. A BuzzBundle video review I watched demonstrated its powerful listening and monitoring capabilities. You have the ability to monitor keywords used for SEO (in my case: "music lessons", "music and technology", "practice tips"). Once you've designated a few listening "spots" (e.g. discussion forms, Yahoo Answers, Wiki Answers), you are alerted when someone asks a question. You can hop in and join the conversation, share your information and be off to the next item.

The user interface was easy enough to use and my requests were responded to between 24 - 48 hours. Unfortunately, the free version is extremely limited: five accounts and you can't save your projects (each stream/profile and keyword search is a project). That's a huge time waster if you have to input your social network profiles and SEO keywords every single time you open the program.

I almost forked out the $199 one-time package. I liked the idea that it was a one-time fee. However, a bit more digging revealed that there is a monthly maintenance fee, which you start paying after six months.

There were other drawbacks for me: no mobile app, with no plans of offering one. BuzzBundle is a software download (versus an online application) and finally, there's no integration with Flickr and Soundcloud.

I didn't realize going in that software download versus online application would be a deal breaker, but it was. If I was only working off of one computer, then it wouldn't be so bad. However, I flit back and forth between my office computer, studio computer and netbook. Therefore, running an web-based social media management tool is ideal.

Viralheat - Slick Design, Sweet Package for Very Small Businesses

I really loved Viralheat's set-up. The layout is extremely smart - aesthetically pleasing and easy to navigate. The reports and analytics were what this part-time writer wanted. Like BuzzBundle, Viralheat has the capabilities to monitor topics or keywords.

Navigation was a snap and the cross-posting and publishing tools were just what I was looking for. Then, I hit a snag in my test run.

The Pro Package ($9.99 USD/month) is good up to 15 accounts.  If I only ran a music studio with a single blog, no problem. However, with multiple Twitter and Youtube accounts, two Facebook business pages, a Google+ page, Linked In, Soundcloud, Flickr and seven blogs - 15 is not enough. Unfortunately for me, the next level up (the "Premier") is $99/month. That brought the test run to a screeching halt.

And then there was one. Stay tuned for my HootSuite Pro experience, coming up next.

Taking Time to Heal Versus Presenteeism

Have you ever noticed that whenever one person gets sick, the bug spreads quickly throughout the workplace (or classroom)? Not only that, by the time the bug has made its way around once, it has metamorphosed into a different strain and the cycle repeats?

Why is that? While we're at it, why does it take so long to get better?

A few thoughts have been floating in my mind as I convalesce over a summer cold/flu. Generalizations, really. I jotted some notes down between naps yesterday. I'll share the parts that actually make sense:

We tend to continue working (or attending school) while sick: I've heard friends say, "X had to get done today" or a student tell me, "I couldn't rest because I had a test the next day." One thing that I'm guilty of saying when sick is, "There's no one I can delegate to and it has to get done."

Does it really? Can't it wait a day or two for us to get better? Isn't it possible to get an extension on an assignment or to make-up the test once you're well? And for my friends with "normal" jobs, surely there is someone who could take care of that "very important task" at work.

Sometimes, I hear people say that taking a sick day is actually frowned upon at work. I once worked in an environment that was like that. Let's just say that it wasn't the healthiest workplace to begin with and leave it at that.

Generally speaking, we spend too much time in enclosed spaces: Viruses and microbes thrive in enclosed environments such as schools, offices and shopping malls. They spread through ventilation system. Perhaps if we spent more time out in the fresh air, we wouldn't get sick as often (or as badly).

We don't give ourselves enough time to heal: I've seen it time and time again when I worked in an office and read about it on the various social networks. We tend to take one work day off, just before or after the weekend and give ourselves only that much time to get better. I don't know about you, but I find that it takes me one to eight weeks to heal, depending upon whether it's a cold or bronchitis/laryngitis.

One thing I've done differently with this cold/flu is face it head on from the beginning. Thankfully, I'm on a lighter teaching schedule in the summer and don't have to worry about rescheduling a bunch of lessons. I tossed all clothes and sheets containing the virus in the wash (hot), took hot showers, ate a lot of hot soup, drank a lot of hot liquids and slept, swaddled in blankets (in the summer heat) to "sweat it" out.

Each time I blew my nose, I washed my hands or use the hand sanitizer. I even took to spritzing my dog with a diluted mix of lavender and tea tree oils so that he didn't become an unwitting virus carrier.

I stopped taking cough syrup because it made me queasy and turned to older remedies: the neti pot, aromatherapy and the Hot Toddy (virgin or alcoholic). The lady at the liquor store recommended Jägermeister. However, everything I've read indicates that it works best on mild colds, not what I have been battling.

Even with all that, I'm sitting here, Day 10. I suppose I should be thankful. if I didn't fight this bug as aggressively, I'd be sitting here with bronchitis AND laryngitis (again). However, I can't help but think that I would have kicked this a few days ago had I rescheduled the few lessons and appointments I did have this week.

One thing I keep circling back to is the question, "Is it worth it?" Is it worth plowing through an illness to get that "all important task" done on time?

From my experience, I can tell you it takes me twice as long to get my bookkeeping done. By the time I'm well, I have to redo all the entries that I did when I was sick due to human error. Ditto with learning or memorizing music. Even my notes from last night are messy and ramble aimlessly for pages before reaching a point. My practice instructions to students are vague in their notebooks when I try to teach sick.

When I look at what I just typed, the answer is pretty clear: no it's not. My productivity is shot. Presenteeism  — showing up to work when sick — just doesn't pay. However, if you need a bit more convincing, I've found the following: The Cost of Going to Work When Sick from GoToMyPC.

In "What Can You Do to Combat Presenteeism", the author reports that "Studies of some chronic conditions and health risk factors found that lost productivity from presenteeism was 7.5 times greater than productivity loss from absenteeism." Then the author gives a more concrete example: "if a company has 150 employees and salary costs totaled $6,240,000. Absenteeism would cost the employer about $187,200 while presenteeism would cost about $1,638,000."

While you mull over whether or not it's worth it for you to continue working while sick, or how to convince your sick boss that he or she isn't doing anyone any favours by coming in today, I'm going back to bed. It would appear that my brain and body have decided that we've done enough work for today.

Tips on Project Management and Learning Music

For those of you doing a music exam or playing at the music festival, you're probably feeling the pressure from your music teacher and parents. After all, we're in exam and music festival season and the clock is ticking!

To help keep my students on track, I've helped them come up with a Project Management Timeline for the areas that need work. When I first used this backwards project timeline, it was during my co-op term at CPO. I had to plan out when I needed to write my press releases for upcoming concerts at the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra. Working backwards from the radio, TV and print media's submission deadlines, I was able to figure out when I needed to write the press releases for the spring concerts. It works well for music too:

D-day in this case is the week leading up to the APTA Festival. I had my students count out how many weeks they had till D-day. Then, I informed them that they needed to give themselves at least one month to let their memory settle and to polish their pieces. This is represented by the first two numbers on the LH side of the page.

From there, we calculated just how many weeks they had left to memorize "Piece X" and how many weeks they had to finish learning the piece.

Next, we looked at the RH side of the page; at the total number of lines in the piece, the number of lines learned already and finally, the number of lines left to learn. Then it was time to put the math hat on:

• 9 lines to learn DIVIDED by 3 weeks learning time = 3 lines to learn per week

• 18 lines to memorize DIVIDED by 7 weeks = 2.6 lines to memorize per week, give or take a bar or two, depending on phrasing

In this example, the student needs to spend some practices learning the rest of the piece and some practice time on memorizing a section.

With the formula, the music memorization deadline thus becomes the week of March 27. You can also use this formula to help figure out your practice milestones for the week.

Give it a try with your current pieces - good luck!

P.S. Now, the milestones will change, depending upon the level of difficulty of the piece and the student's work habits