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simplifid tips

Here are a few tips which have helped simplify our online and offline existences as busy people and information junkies. We'll add new tips as often as possible.

- simplifid staffers

1. Fez, The I.T. Guy blog

Check out the Fez the I.T. Guy blog. It's a great resource for tech/productivity-related tips and info.

2. Inbox : Unsubscribe from electronic mailing lists and get an RSS reader.

For those unfamiliar with thetechnology, RSS stands for "Rich Site Summary" (a.k.a. Really Simple Syndication) and displays a website's key informational points.

You may not even realize how many mailing lists you're on, so sort your inbox by sender and give it a quick scroll to see who your most frequent senders and offers are. If you see periodic groups of unwanted messages from a particular group or retailer, look at the bottom of the message for unsubscribe information. Your inbox will clean up and you'll be spending less time searching for the messages you really need to find.

If some of those email subscriptions are really worth keeping, check their website for an RSS feed. If they don't offer one, write to the webmaster or list moderator and ask them to add one. Sites that have a feed are usually denoted by an orange and white icon (below) in the address bar or somewhere on the page.

3. Clutter : Ditch old periodicals, keep the info.

Many people often save two hundred page magazines because of one page of writing on the "I might need that someday" premise. Over time, those magazines (and newspapers) become messy and remembering why you kept them in the first place is a chore of its own.

A simple alternative is to find the article in electronic format and store it on your computer. A service like Find Articles or a web search by title and author will most likely produce the information you were saving on physically printed pages. Simply use a word processing document or preferrably PDF document(to prevent editing of original content) to save the files. Come up with your own naming convention, like date, magazine, article (i.e. 2006-08-28-simplifid-clutter.pdf) and store these files in their own "articles" directory for easy access in the future. If you can't find the info online, tear out the pages and keep them in a binder.

Now you can dispose of the rest of the magazines but, make sure to recycle!. A more cost effective online version of the publication may be available, saving a few bucks, a few trees and a few pounds of clutter.

4. Clutter : Opt out of offers

I am incredibly annoyed by the dozens of pre-approved credit card offers I receive every week. This makes my large mail pile larger and wastes lots of time and paper in the process. Security experts now suggest shredding unwanted credit card offers to prevent identity theft, wasting even more time. Other than a Tyler Durden approach to sticking it to credit card companies, you can cleanly cut credit card clutter at the source.

OptOutPrescreen.com is a website set up by the credit bureaus (Equifax, Experian, Innovis and TransUnion) expressly for opting out of pre-approved credit card offers. You may also opt-out via phone at 1.888.5.opt.out (888.567.8688) If down the road you change your mind and want back on the list you may opt back in using the same methods. It usually takes about 60 days before the offers stop rolling in.

5. Finances : Opt for EFT and ACH, pay online

The glut of statements, invoices, bills, checks, stamps and envelopes required to pay bills is enough to make anyone papyrophobic. On top of that, you'll get whacked with a late fee if you didn't mail your payment far enough in advance.

A great way to simplify dealing with finances is to utilize online and automatic payment methods, EFT and ACH. EFT (Electronic Funds Transfer) and ACH (Automated Clearing House) are the behind-the-scenes names of online and automatic payment systems.

An EFT transaction is a manual authorization for a one-time payment to a vendor, usually via their website. You can make an EFT payments each month, but you are in charge of initiating the payment and still responsible for meeting payment deadlines.

An ACH transaction is usually a recurring payment debited from your account monthly on a specified date and for a predetermined amount. This eliminates accountability for meeting due dates, as long as you have enough in your account to cover the payment.

To use either one of these services, you will need to know your checking account number and your bank's routing number. The routing number is 9 digits and located along the bottom of your checks, usually on the left hand side. Your account number is normally the 8 digits listed along the bottom right of your checks.

A few of the things you can pay via EFT/ACH include credit cards, phone, cable, student loans, life insurance, car payments and auto insurance. Some banks even offer (slightly) discounted rates on car loans if you use an auto deduction from an account you hold with them. It saves time and eliminates quite a few checks, envelopes and a few bucks in stamps.

6. Essential E-Etiquette

Address People by Name
Use Paragraphs!
Punctuate
Don't Type in caps
Make the Subject Line Specific
fw: Clean Up Forwards
'Sign' Messages

Address People by Name
Begin messages by addressing the recipient directly. This is a basic consideration and should be included in all emails.

Use Paragraphs!
Even if a message isn't long, use paragraphs to separate changes in tone or subject. It is often extremely difficult to a long block of run on sentences. It is better to use bullet points to quickly convey a message rather than string unrelated sentences together.

Punctuate!
The comma and period are our friends. If this has to be explained, you shouldn't be reading this article.

DON'T TYPE IN CAPS
This is difficult to read and makes your message seem hastily written. Everything appears too intense and makes it difficult to distinguish changes in tone. Without verbal inflection, proper capitalization is important as all caps seems like YELLING. On the other hand, don't type in all lowercase, either.

Make subject lines specific.
Specific subject lines make your emails more easily actionable and less likely to be discarded. Subject line information that will get your e-mail read and responded to includes:

1. - Have a reason for writing, and use it as your subject. This may sounds obvious, but many people ramble without conveying information. Keep a clear focus on what you want to achieve from the email and use it as the subject line to keep you on track. Otherwise, your wasting both your time and the recipient's.
2. - Action items. Say if an action or response is required in the subject. i.e. Action Item: Purchase Software
3. - Say why. your message is important, not just that it is important.
4. - Links. When sending someone a link, make the subject line the link to which you are referring.
5. - Give a frame of reference. People save and search emails for future reference, and non-descript subject lines make this harder to do. For example, instead of "subj: Report", try something like "subj:Simplifid.com traffic report."
6. - #END If your message is short enough to fit within the subject, type #END after so the person doesn't have to spend the time to open the message.

fw: Clean up forwards!
>>>>How many messages have
>>>>you
>>>>received that look
>>>>like
>>>> this because
>>>> they have been sent
>>>>to
>>>> everyone on the
>>>>east (or west) coast?

Also be sure to remove long strings of email addresses that often precede actual message content. People get discouraged when they have to scroll through a page and a half of addresses and time-stamps before they reach the actual content. Try using the "BC" (blind carbon copy) rather than the 'CC' (carbon copy) option, as the names of other recipients will not be displayed. In addition, deleting the "fw:" tag gives the message a more personal appeal, and is less likely to be deleted without being read.

Sign Messages
Respectfully, Sincerely, Yours Truly... add a touch of class. Including your phone number and title is also a helpful addition to a signature.

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