SavvySugar

Geek Tip: Work in Several Gmail Windows

GeekSugar — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 11:45:08 -0700

One of the best features of Apple's Entourage and Microsoft's Outlook is the ability to work in several different windows, making composing emails, reading responses, and searching your inbox easy to do without navigating between screens. I figured out a way to do this a while ago, but now Gmail contains this functionality right on the page.

Clicking on the "new window" icon on the top right corner of your Gmail screen will take the window you're working in and open it in its own window. Then, use the original window to search your inbox, pull up an old email, or check your sent items. (You can still use the shift+click option to do the same, if you prefer.) If you open windows to save for later, be careful; the new windows will not stay open once you close your main Gmail screen. Also, this feature doesn't work in Internet Explorer - you'll have to use Chrome, Firefox, or Safari.

Click With Confidence Using These 27 Email Tips

SavvySugar — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 12:00:32 -0700

When you type away at the keyboard all day it's easy to forget that email etiquette can affect how seriously you're taken, and even how well you're liked, in the workplace. Click through these 27 tips for making your email communication more professional and effective before you hit send.

10 Things to Consider Before Clicking Send

7 Unprofessional, But Avoidable Email Sins

How To: Write More Professional Emails

10 Things to Consider Before Clicking Send

SavvySugar — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 06:00:54 -0800

Everyone gets worked up at work on occasion. Sharing close quarters while juggling your co-workers' different abilities, communication styles, tempers, and egos and the overall office hierarchy can create a ticking time bomb. When your temper starts to boil, it's important to address your frustrations in the most professional manner possible so you don't regret anything you say later.

If your instinct is to immediately sit down and write a passionate email (whether to your co-worker, supervisor, or boss), I suggest taking a two-minute break to consider the following things.

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7 Unprofessional, But Avoidable Email Sins

SavvySugar — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 14:45:11 -0800

Writing an effective, direct, and friendly professional email is an art form. It takes forethought, tact, and careful effort. It also means paying attention to possible pitfalls before you hit send. Here are seven avoidable sins you can steer clear of with a little extra care.

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Geek Tip: Send Yourself an Email Reminder With FollowUpThen

GeekSugar — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 11:00:27 -0800

When you have a million things to do at the office, it's easy to forget things you need to remember. Like that proposal you were supposed to review and send back by today. Whoops! You could add a reminder on your calendar, but it's oh so easy to just "dismiss" those Entourage pop-ups, isn't it? Instead, send yourself a follow-up reminder with FollowUpThen. This easy-to-use tool lets you send yourself and/or someone else a follow-up reminder via email just by adding a deadline (i.e; 1day) along with @followupthen.com in the CC or BCC field of your email. FollowUpThen will shoot back a reminder email on the day you specified, making sure you won't forget that important task.

To hear more about how FollowUpThen works, just read more.

Say you're working with a partner on a project for work. You want to send out your notes and follow up with them in a few days to make sure they looked them over. Adding FollowUpThen in the CC field will send you and your recipient a reminder, while BCC'ing will send you alone a follow-up reminder to get back to them on the project. It's easy to use, and it's free!

Funny Tech Stories: Mom Emails to Say She's Going to Call

GeekSugar — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 01:47:47 -0800

A friend of mine IM'd me the following:

"You have got to be kidding me. My mother just emailed me the following message: Hi honey, I'm going to call you later. Love, Mom"

I've written about my family's technical blunders before, from a niece who learned the Wii as fast as my sometimes tech-unsavvy Grandma. And my friend's experience is no different. My mother has definitely sent me short emails during the day to remind me that she'll be calling later. When you think about it, it is a little funny, but it's also kind of industrious. After all, mom knows that I'm more apt to check my email (or, in my dad's case, my Facebook wall) than catch a missed call on my phone. The only irony: if I emailed my mother to tell her I'd be calling later, the chances of her receiving the email before the phone rang later that night are pretty low.

Are your parents or grandparents as tech-savvy as you? Do you have a funny story to share? Then tell us about it by posting to our Funny Tech Stories group! You (and your fam) could end up on GeekSugar.

Geek Tip: Quickly Search Through Your BlackBerry Email

GeekSugar — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 09:00:35 -0800

You can quickly search all the contents of your iPhone 3GS (including emails) with the Spotlight feature, but where's the Spotlight for your BlackBerry?

There isn't one, but if you need to find a specific email fast, you can use this handy shortcut. While you're in your BlackBerry's email folder, hit "S" and enter in any pertinent info; like sender, or keyword that could have been in the subject line. Your results will pop up, and you'll be on your way!

How To: Separate Your BlackBerry Texts and Emails

GeekSugar — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 09:30:34 -0800

It seems like a million years ago, but I used to carry a BlackBerry Curve which was super convenient, except for the fact that I received all of my emails and SMS texts in the same inbox. I hated that. If I would have known about this tip back then, it would have saved me a lot of griping.

You can separate the inbox your emails and texts arrive to by heading to "Messages," then "Menu" and "Options." From there click on "SMS and Email Inboxes," and "Separate." You'll then find that your texts will appear in their own folder for easy sifting!

Have a cool BlackBerry tip you want to share? Post it in our BlackBerry Tips group! Just log in with your PopSugar Network account and get to blogging. Your tip may end up being featured on GeekSugar! Need some help getting started? Here's a detailed guide to posting questions or posts to groups if you are new to the PopSugar Community.

How To: Write More Professional Emails

SavvySugar — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 08:00:23 -0800

How you write a work email isn't going to make or break your career (well, in most cases). But your email etiquette can affect how seriously you're taken, and even how well you're liked, in the workplace. Read on for 10 things to keep in mind before hitting send.

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I’m Asking: Is There Such a Thing as "Reply-All" Etiquette?

SavvySugar — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 04:00:00 -0800

One of my former bosses was a reply-all fanatic. When someone would send an email about upcoming office events or trainings, she'd click "reply all," and let the whole distribution list in on her schedule (one time that included the fact that her dog needed to be groomed). She'd share her take with new company policies with everyone. It was her way of expressing her needs, concerns, and efforts with the group she worked with, but that all email often went to the department staff of more than 40 people or at least five or six people per email.

Email and Internet etiquette is hazy - though it's a topic GeekSugar has explored extensively - but I do think there should be some commonly accepted rules when it comes to replying all. Namely, don't reply all if 90 percent of the people you are responding to don't need to know whatever you are sharing or if your response could offend anyone, and double check to make sure you aren't replying all by accident. People who work at the computer spend hundreds of hours reading email yearly, so it's important to do your part to keep it professional and necessary. What's your take? Are there rules when it comes to sending a blast response?

Photo courtesy of The CW