Tips and Tricks for working more efficiently and effectively in a world of information overload

1. 1
FIVE STEPS TOWARD
DIGITAL SANITY
by @jeremycaplan
CUNYJ Orientation ‘14
2
FIVE STEPS TO A SUCCESSFUL
FIRST SEMESTER
by @jeremycaplan
CUNYJ Orientation ‘14
SIMPLIFY
Step 1
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STREAMLINE YOUR STUFF
Image By Justin Leibow
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Pick. Stick. Dig.
Image By Justin Leibow 6

2. Evernote
A powerful, flexible, easy-to-use digital file cabinet
Desktop: Store and Find Notes
Web: Clip and Save Anything
Email: Forward Key Messages
Mobile: Collect on the Go
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Evernote
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EVERNOTE = NOTES
GDRIVE = DOCS
DROPBOX = BACKUP
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3. TOODLEDO Simple Task Lists
Specific, Small Next Steps
Imminent vs. Someday
Google Calendar Google Calendar
Trello
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Trello

4. TOODLEDO = TASKS
GCAL = CALENDAR
TRELLO = PROJECTS
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Key Tools
Some of the services I find useful
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‣ Dropbox
‣ Evernote
‣ Toodledo
!
!
‣ Gmail
‣ GDrive
‣ GCalendar
‣ GContacts
‣ GVoice
SIMPLIFY
Step 1
Step 2
BE AN EMAIL NINJA
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Search, Don’t File
Finding a message by hunting through folders
takes 3.4 times as long as searching for it.
FOLDERS
Source: IBM Research 24

5. 25
Find Web Info
= Google Search
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Find Email Info
= EMail Search
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Use Email Tags:
#fms
#projectx
@pat
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Send @ 6am Not 4pm
A message sent at 6am is three times as likely
to have a link clicked on than one sent at 4pm
Source: ReviveYourInbox.com
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Be Super Brief
73 Seconds
Email replies take an average of 73 secs to compose
!
47% of emails are read
on a mobile device
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!
!
!
!
Source: Litmus Email Analytics Report April 2014
Source: ReviveYourInbox.com 30

6. 31
See
five.sentenc.es
= a plea for short email
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4 Useful Searches:
has:attachment
from:caren
subject:budget
newer_than:2d
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Or use a combo:
has:attachment budget
4 Gmail Shortcuts
C"="Compose"
R"="Reply"
A"="Reply"All"
F"="Forward
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Batch, Don’t Squirrel
Focus on one thing at a time.
Your attention is valuable.
Don’t squander it.
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7. Check email every hour,
not every minute
Schedule Email Time
12 substantial messages per day take an
average of 90 minutes for reading & response
Source: ReviveYourInbox.com
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Act, Don’t Postpone
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37% % of emails on which
recipients defer action
Source: Carnegie Mellon Research
Do, Defer or Dump Inbox Diet = Filters
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Do = <2 Min Reply
Defer = Sked/Delegate
Dump = Archive
Sender’s Name or Address
Subject Line
Keywords
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8. 43
Unroll.me
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Use Email to Send to:
Evernote
Instapaper
Pocket
Dropbox
Toodledo
super.cc = Add to calendar by email
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SendToDropbox.com = Email into Dropbox
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Email Adoption Curve
The hottest thing in email keeps evolving...
Sparrow, Mailbox, Boxer
New email tools are recognizing
how email has changed
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Hotmail
The first mass-email product that
got the attention of the masses
The Chasm
AOL
The first email account many of us
had: not fancy, but eye-opening
Gmail
Revolutionary. Rethought everything - from
account size to conversations.
Innovators Early Adopters Early Majority Late Majority Laggards
Boomerang
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9. Boomerang
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Nudgemail
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Nudgemail
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Rapportive
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10. Rapportive
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WiseStamp
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WiseStamp email
signature
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Step 2
BE AN EMAIL NINJA
Step 3
SHARPEN YOUR PHONE

11. 8 Handy Mobile Apps for Efficiency
Additional Notes: bit.ly/ninjamobile
TASKS EMAIL CALENDAR READING
TOODLEDO BOXER REFRESH INSTAPAPER
NOTES PODCASTS CAMERA PHOTO EDITING
EVERNOTE DOWNCAST CAMERA+ SNAPSEED
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Snapseed
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Quora
Up to a two line subtitle, generally used to describe the takeaway
for the slide
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Step 4
UPDATE YOUR TOOLKIT

12. picmonkey.com bufferapp.com
quickcast.io otranscribe.com
typeform.com GetCloudApp.com

13. 73
otixo.com
New Sites and Startups
Useful resources for staying up to date
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BetaLi.st ProductHunt.co JournalismTools
New Sites and Resources New Startups Ranked pinterest.com/JournalismTools
ProductHunt
BetaLi.st
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BetaLi.st
pinterest.com/journalismtools
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Tech Updates
Useful resources for staying up to date
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Netted Lynda.com MakeUseOf
A daily tech tools newsletter Top-notch online learning Free guides and tip sheets

14. Netted
Useful Tech Resources
Top news sources for new sites, apps, and tools
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ReadWriteWeb The Next Web Alltop
Smart tech industry news Rising star in tech coverage Aggregator of top blogs
Figuring Stuff Out
Help for queries
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Quora Lifehacker Mashable
Expert questions and answers Great tech pointers Social media news
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A good toolkit has more than
a single hammer
Image By Justin Leibow
Step 5
CREATE TIME
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Agileroute.com/clipboardhistory
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Up to a two line subtitle, generally used to describe the takeaway
for the slide
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Automate Typing
Type something once, fine.
Type it twice, fine.
Type the same thing 50 times?
You’re wasting time.
89 90

16. TextExpander
IFTTT (IF This, Then That)
The best way to create triggers to automate common tasks
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17. 97
IFTTT (IF This, Then That)
The best way to create triggers to automate common tasks
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someone who gets things done
Image By Justin Leibow
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someone who has time to be creative
… and time to savor life
Image By Justin Leibow Image By Justin Leibow
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First Things First
Start the day with the most important project
“Launching my work day by
focusing first on whatever I've
decided the night before is the
most important activity I can do
that day. Then taking a break
after 90 minutes to refuel...”!
!
- Tony Schwartz, !
Harvard Business Review

18. !
Tech Sabbath
No-Tech Saturday Morning
No Tech 1 Hour Before Bed
No Tech Before Breakfast
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jeremy@jeremycaplan.com
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