Graduated & Advertising!
It has finally happened. I graduated in May 2007 with an MA in Mental Health Counseling and a certificate in Marriage and Family Therapy. Thus far I have not been actively looking for work in the Mental Health field, as agency work is not financially practical (seems it would drop us to poverty level WITH a Masters!) so I have contributed time as a Volunteer at the House Next Door in Deltona on Mondays. Thank you for the support and encouragement - it feels good to put the MA at the end of my name (now we work on the DR.)

That being said, my schedule is open. I have taken on classes at the International Academy of Design and Technology (teaching Web Fundamentals and College Success) two days a week, but have quite a bit of flexibility. Please remember that if you refer someone to me - it may be months before your next time with me, but I intend to give $20 off your next session - so REMIND ME. I need the referrals and love the support!

This Quarter's newsletter has a lot regarding productivity with EMAIL, something I am often working with clients on. Take a look...

How many times in a day do we get going on a project only to hear that twinkle that indicates fresh email has emerged and then stopped our train of thought to scan and decide what to do with the new messages, often deciding we can back to it until it is buried beneath a days worth of other emails that have distracted us? With a large portion of our time eaten by emails and responses, here are some tips from LifeHacker that I have found useful.

• Determine your Purpose: Every email message has a specific purpose - either conveying information or requesting actions from the recipient. Know what you expect to get out of the exchange - keep it brief and simple.
• Use an Informative Subject Line - Make the subject relevant to the purpose just like a headliner in the newspaper. At Webskinz we started adding "To Do" at the start of the subject with the client name so I can easily sort emails by items to do and then client.
  • Examples of BAD Subject lines:
    • Hi!
    • Just wanted to tell you
    • RE:
    • Can you do me a favor?
    • IMPORTANT!!
  • Examples of GOOD Subject lines:
    • Tomorrow's Meeting at Darden
    • Questions about Monday's Presentation
    • QUESTION: May I quote you in an article?
    • FYI: Out of the office Thursday
    • REQUEST: Pls comment on the proposed redesign layout
    • IMPORTANT: Must fax contract before 3pm today
  • Notice the optional use of prefixes (FYI, Request, Question) that convey the type of message type before addressing the content in the rest of the line. They can be shortened to Q (?), IMPT, REQ.
• Put your Messages on a Diet - never assume that your emails come out the way you send them. Differing speeds and size limits for other user may prevent your message from getting across.
  • If attaching photos, be sure to rotate them to the correct orientation and resize them (they should be less than 800kb each).
  • Don't assume everyone has HTML enabled (HTML is what makes your emails pretty with smilies, colors, changes in font size, backgrounds, etc)- savvy users often turn this off in order to avoid marketing trackers and long message downloads.
  • In some emails, a long web site address that wraps in the message may be unclickable. Use a service like TinyURL.com to shorten that address before you send your message.
• Don't forget the Attachment - If you are prone to dashing off an email without the attachment, make a habit of attaching your file before you write the message. Additionally, a plug-in for Microsoft Outlook (free trial, $20 a license) available at EmailAddressManager.com notifies you when you try to send a message with the word "attached" or "attachment" in it and not file is attached.