Month: May 2013

Checklist to Spring Clean Your Office

Spring is the time for cleaning and freshening up our environs, which means it’s a perfect time to clean your office. Here’s a short checklist to help you:

Dust: Start by removing everything from surfaces and thoroughly dusting. Don’t cheat and dust around items. You’ll be amazed by what is hiding underneath. As you put things back in place, you may find yourself tossing things you no longer need.

Vacuum: Thoroughly vacuum or mop the floors. If you can move furniture easily, this is the time to do so.

Declutter: Now it’s time to tackle the piles. Sort through them and toss what you no longer need. File anything you can. Whatever you do, do NOT create a miscellaneous folder. Even if a folder only has one sheet of paper in it, it will at least be labeled for future reference.

Order: Check your supplies. Do you need ink cartridges, paper, file folders? Make a list and get those ordered, if not for the year then at least for the next six months. It will be one less thing you have to remember to do.

Sort: Open your file drawers and determine if anything can be tossed. I have a rule that everything needs to fit within two file drawers. If both are full, I know it’s time to purge. I’m finding I have fewer file folders because of online documents.

Electronic sort: As part of your spring cleaning, take some time to clean your computer. Delete folders you don’t need anymore. Clean out your emails. Update your software.

There! You’re done with your spring cleaning and your office should be good to go until you start the piles again.

Writing Email Subject Lines

A successful email marketing campaign begins with a basic skill – writing effective subject lines.

The same can be said when you write an email to a colleague. I don’t know anyone who doesn’t complain about email overload so why not help your colleagues by writing clear, concise subject lines?

When you do this, you are ensuring that your email won’t be ignored or deleted.

Here are some things you can do to get your emails read:

Identify the content. If I require the person to take an action, I label my email with “ACTION” followed by what I am expecting the person to do. This provides an immediate framework for the receiver. Sometimes, I am sharing information that I think might be useful, but, it’s clearly not urgent. In that instance, I include, “FYI” and the topic in the subject line. This allows the receivers to filter the email to suit them.

Be concise. Nowadays, people are reading emails on smartphones and tablets. If the subject line is too long, they might move on to the next email with a subject line they can read in the entirety. Think of the subject line as if it were a headline. If you can say it in three words, don’t write it in five.

Act now. If the email I am sending requires a deadline, my subject line is simple, “DEADLINE: Tomorrow.” That way the receiver knows there is a deadline looming and when. If it is a tight deadline, the recipient is immediately made aware. If it’s a few days out, he or she can file it and respond at the appropriate time.

A good marketing email must have value. The same should hold true of emails sent to colleagues.