In this powerful two book e-books combo, you get access to both my recent Amazon.com #1 e-mail bestseller, Taming the E-mail Beast, as well as my first book on personal and professional time and productivity management and work/life fulfillment: Major Satisfactors = Major Success.
The strategies, techniques, and exercises in these two books could fundamentally change your relationship with your inbox, your work, and your life. You will also get access to several bonus e-mail management articles, as well as worksheets to help you with the exercises in Major Satisfactors = Major Success.
I encourage you to read the free preview "Read Me First" document so you have a bit better understanding of everything you will get from this combo.
Here is the full Table of Contents from Taming the E-mail Beast (below that, you will find the table of contents for Major Satisfactors = Major Success):
Taming the E-mail Beast:
45 Key Strategies for Better Managing Your E-mail Overload (and Regaining Your E-mail Sanity)
Introduction: E-mail Insanity
- The Promise of E-mail
- E-mail's Dark Side
- Some Quick Notes on the Structure of This Book
Part I: Daily E-mail Sanity Strategies for the Professional User
Chapter 1: You've Got to Know Your E-mail Flow!
- A Recommended Process for Tracking and Analyzing Your E-mail Activities
- A Social Science Standard: The Hawthorne Effect
- Analysis Questions Following Your E-mail Tracking Exercise
Chapter 2: Have at Least Three! (Accounts, That is.)
- Professional E-mail Account
- Why not give your work e-mail address to family and friends?
- What if they really need to get in touch with me?
- An Important Point: Big Brother May be Watching You
- Personal E-mail Account
- What providers should I consider for this account?
- Internet/E-commerce Account
- A Quick Tip: Use the BCC field when sending messages to groups
- "Ruthless" administration
- Should you ever consider having more than three e-mail accounts?
- Acknowledging "Overflow"
Chapter 3: The Ultimate E-mail Clutter Buster
- The Three-Minute One-Touch Rule
- Filing and Archiving Within the Three-Minute-Rule Philosophy
- Three-Minute Rule as a Work "Flow" Facilitator
- Back to E-mail
Chapter 4: Make Prioritization a Priority
- Prioritize E-mails that Take More Than Three Minutes
- Really? Print All of Your E-mails?
- A Paperless Option
- Use "Drag and Drop" to create new tasks and more
- But I'm a "Paper Tasker" – Can I Do This Too?
Chapter 5: Create a New Habit – Check Your Accounts Only a Few Times Daily
- The Four Standard Times Per Day to Check Your E-mail
- First thing in the morning
- Thirty to sixty minutes before lunch
- Right after lunch
- Thirty to sixty minutes before you plan to leave
- Two Other Flexible Times You Can Check E-mail
- The Logic of This Strategy
- What if You Work in Client/Customer Service?
- A Little "Soapbox": The Culture of Urgency and E-mail
- Urgency Bosses
- A "Managing the Manager" E-mail Strategy
Chapter 6: Don't Bling! (Do NOT Check Your E-mail Constantly)
- E-mail is NOT a Closed-Loop Communications Device
- Blinging Bosses
Chapter 7: Build a Smart and Efficient E-mail Filing System
- Why File?
- Create a Personalized E-mail File Folder Infrastructure
- Moving Messages and Folders: Mouse, Hold, Drag, and Drop
- Moving Misfiled Messages and Folders
- Web-Based E-mail Systems
- K.I.S.S.: Keep it Simple (Stupid!)
- E-mails with Split Personalities, and Losing E-mails in Your Filing Infrastructure
- The "Organic" File Structure System
Part II – Getting to "Sanity" from a Mess: The Process to Get Your Inbox to Zero
Chapter 8: Clean Up Strategies for Those With 250 or Less "Legacy" E-mails
- Set a Goal to Get Your E-mail Account Inbox Down to Zero Once a Week
- Step 1: Build your E-mail Filing Infrastructure
- Step 2: Block designated time on your calendar to file, delete, and "complete" e-mails
- Step 3: One-by-one review
- "Completed" Messages
- If you don't need it, DELETE it
- If you need it, and it is "completed", you MUST file it
- "Active" E-mails
- Three minutes or less – complete the task now!
- Longer than three minutes – task it or print it
- Getting to "E-mail Zero"
Chapter 9: Clean Up Strategies for Those With More Than 250 E-mails
- Sacrifice Some Accuracy for Speed by Using Sort to Mass File and Delete
- Step 1: Create a "New E-mails" file folder in your infrastructure
- Step 2: Use "Sort" function to identify message groups to file or delete en masse
- Step 2A: Sort by sender and move en masse
- Step 2B: Sort by subject and move en masse
- Step 3: Sort by date, and either file or delete remaining messages
- Litigation Risk and E-mail Deletion vs. Retention
- Formal Document and E-Document Retention Policies and IT vs. Legal
- Step 4: Move the messages in "New E-mails" folder back to inbox
- Step 5: Take remaining messages and follow Chapter 8 process
Chapter 10: Once You've Got It Clean, Don't Lose Control!
- Set a Personal Maximum to Number of E-mails You Allow in Inbox
- You Can Be a Bit More Flexible With Your Personal Account
- Within Striking Distance of Zero
Chapter 11: File Nothing? And a Quick Discussion on Searching and Sorting
- File Nothing?
- Knowing How to Use Search and Sort Creates Confidence in Filing
- Using Search
Chapter 12: Using Your E-mail's Archiving Function for Speed and Stability
- Your E-mail Account Will Operate Faster, More Efficiently, and with More Stability
- Learn How to Properly Set Up and Use Your E-mail's Archiving Function
- Creating an Archive Folder in Microsoft Outlook
- Consider Setting Up Auto-Archiving Properties Upon New Folder Creation
- Consult with Your IT Staff Before Creating/Modifying an E-mail Archive
Part III – Carbon Copies, Forwards, "Crisis" E-mails, and Junk/SPAM Strategies
Chapter 13: Dealing with Excessive E-mail CCs, Forwards, and Replies
- End the FYI / "Just Thought You'd Want to Know" E-mails
- Only Forward or CC Messages Where All Recipients Have a Defined Task
- Consider Deleting Unnecessary Historical Text When Forwarding/Replying
- Change the Subject Line when the Subject Changes
- Stop the Insanity of Unproductive E-mail Loops
Chapter 14: Don't Use "CC as a CYA"
- Never CC / Forward a Message with an Open Task with No Defined Owner
- Diffused Responsibility for Tasks Means NO Responsibility
- Identify Those Using "CC as a CYA" and Encourage a More Sensible E-mail Philosophy
Chapter 15: Handling the E-mail "Firebomb" (E-mails Carrying an Impending Crisis)
- A Recommended Process for Handling the E-mail "Firebomb"
- Confirm Both Receipt and Acceptance of Tasks with Delegated Crisis E-mails
Chapter 16: E-mail and the Lost Art of Conversation
- In All Communications Situations, Consider Whether E-mail is Most Efficient and Effective
- Remember Other Available Technology-Enabled Communications Tools
Chapter 17: Junk and SPAM Strategies
- Nine Ways to Recognize Spam E-mails
- Never Open Suspicious E-mail Attachments
- Use "Shift-Delete" Combination to Bypass Deleted Items Folder
- Don't Click Embedded URLs or Web Addresses You Don't Trust
- Never Enter Information into Open Boxes or Fields in E-mails
- "Spoofing"
- Blacklist Only REPEAT Spammers
- Spam E-mail vs. Junk E-mail
- Using "Rules" to Auto-File and Auto-Delete Messages and Senders
Part IV: E-mail Strategies for PDA/Smart Phone Users and Additional Useful E-mail Services/Functions
Chapter 18: Common Sense E-mail Strategies with PDA's and Smart Phones,
and a Couple Quick Out-of-Office E-mail Strategies
- When Replying by PDA/Smartphone, Consider Replying By Phone vs. Text
- Use PDA/Smartphone Extensively for Text Activities? Consider External Keyboard
- Use PDA/Smartphone to Keep on Top of Junk and Spam Messages
- Two Quick "Out-of-Office" Strategies
- Use "out-of-office" autoreply to set reasonable expectations
- Consider "fibbing a little" to buy extra "sanity" time
Chapter 19: Group Distribution Lists and Other Useful E-mail Services and
Capabilities
- Set Up Group Distribution Lists within Your E-mail Account
- Send Promotional/Informational E-mails to Large Audiences? Consider Commercial E-mail Distribution Service
- The Commercial E-mail Auto-Responder
- Other "Cool" E-mail Tools
Chapter 20: Share These Strategies!
APPENDIX A: 45 Key Strategies for Better Managing E-mail Overload
APPENDIX B: List of Video Tutorials from Taming the E-mail Beast
More About the Author: Randy Dean
Table of Contents:
Outline: Major Satisfactor = Major Success
A New Way to Look at How We All Spend, Use, and Waste Our Time that Leads to Greater Professional and Personal Success, Fulfillment, and Happiness
by Randall F. Dean
Copyright Randall F. Dean
Introduction: The Ultimate Nonrenewable Resource: Time
Chapter 1: The Beginnings of a New Theory of Effective Use of Time
Fighting the Complexity: Discovering a Simpler Way
Chapter 2: The Four Categories of Time Use
- Necessities: Things We All Need To Do
- Major Satisfactors: Your Passions and Your Calling in Life
- Minor Satisfactors: Fun, Adventure, Diversity
- Empty Satisfactors: The Opportunity Set
Chapter 3: A New Theory of Effective Time Use
A New Kind of "Pyramid": Dean's Hierarchy of Time Use
A Time Use "Pyramid" That Moves and Changes Throughout Life
Chapter 4: A Deeper Dive into the Four Categories of Time Use: Finding Available Time
for Success
Necessities
- True Necessities
- Civil Necessities
- Callout: The Importance of One Particular Necessity: Sleep
- Reallocating Some of Your Necessity Time
- Callout: The Necessities "Budget"
Major Satisfactors
- Why Define Your Major Satisfactors?
- How Many Major Satisfactors Can You Have?
Minor Satisfactors
- A Personal Philosophy Toward Major and Minor Satisfactor Balance
- Callout: A CRITICAL HABIT: Scheduling Time for Major and Minor Satisfactor Accomplishment
Empty Satisfactors
- Minor Satisfactors Becoming Empty Satisfactors
- Empty Satisfactors as Your Opportunity Set to Positive Life Change
- A Useful and Simple Tip: The Empty Satisfactor Diet
- A Particularly Nasty Empty Satisfactor: The Overcommitment
Chapter 5: A Moment for Reflection and Redirection
Redirection in Application: Using What You've Learned
Chapter 6: Society's Super Achievers and Their Success Secret
- Similar Habits and Characteristics of Super Achievers
- Callout: Popular Examples of Super Achievers (The Theory in Action)
- Richard Branson
- Michael Jordan
- Steven Spielberg
- J.K. Rowling
- Bill Gates
- Oprah Winfrey
- The Time Use Grid of Future Super Achievers (Those Just Starting Out)
Chapter 7: The Average Performer
- Callout: The Current Competitive Reality, and Finding Your "It" (Part 1)
- Your Job vs. Your Career vs. Your Passion
Chapter 8: Reframing Your Life and Work: The Work/Time Analysis Process
- The Satisfactor Work Process Analysis Grid
- A Little Side Discussion: Work as a Personal Choice
- Business Critical Tasks
- Urgency on the Job
- Callout: The Problem of Chronic Urgency and the Case of Urgency Lovers
- The Culture of Urgency
- Back to the Work Process Analysis Grid and Work Process Analysis Document
- Expanding the Work Process Analysis Document to Your Work Team
Chapter 9: Your "Personal" Satisfactor Time Analysis Grid and Document
- Callout: The Importance of Maintaining Your Body and Mind for Optimum Performance
- Recommended Time Use Percentages
- The "Shortcut" Plan: Charting Your Empty Satisfactors
Chapter 10: Charting a New Direction: Finding Your "It" (Part II)
- Callout: Understanding Your Personal Motivation Triggers
- Making a Plan for Major Satisfactor Accomplishment
- Mentors
- Outside Resources
- Brainstorming
- Developing an Outline/Project Plan
- The Outcome Procedure Process
- Software Planning Solutions
Chapter 11: Time for Action!
What If Your Plan Doesn't Work?
En Finio (In Conclusion)