Category Archives:
Reduce unnecessary CCs by empowering your team
Prefer to listen? Listen to Dermot’s audio recording below: I am noticing a recurring behaviour with many people who email me. I’m not sure if I’m noticing it because it is happening more frequently, or if it’s just grabbed my attention for some other reason, but it’s a behaviour worth talking about, as I believe […]
Read MoreThe value of an empty Inbox
Many of you will know that I am a big fan of the ‘Inbox Zero’ way of working. A good friend recently challenged this idea and suggested that having an empty inbox was not necessarily an indicator of productivity. I totally agree. You can spend your whole day clearing emails and regularly get to zero. But that does not mean you have worked […]
Read MoreAre your subject lines fuzzy or focused?
I recently helped a team create a more productive culture around email usage. They were all past alumni of Smart Work, and all passionate users of the system, but they still struggled with the high volume and poor quality of email communications they received each day. One of the big breakthroughs they had on the day was to agree on a set of email subject abbreviations […]
Read MoreHow Wasteful Email Habits Can Cause a Productivity Drought
The early 2000’s brought the worst drought in recorded history, which in Sydney meant severe water restrictions. We couldn’t wash cars, water the garden, or allow the kids to play in the sprinklers on hot days. Hard as this seemed at the time, it made me change my behaviour around water wastage, and to this […]
Read MoreYou get what you give
I’m in the middle of an amazing holiday in Europe, with just a few work commitments needing my focus, including this blog. Not too bad though – I’m writing this from sunny Dublin, with a good coffee in my hand! One of the things I’ve noticed over the past few weeks is how few emails […]
Read MoreMake reply all a nuclear option
I was running a workshop recently in a large financial institution when three of the participants started talking to each other in whispers. This went on for a few minutes, and they eventually shared with the group that someone in their wider team had sent an email to the entire group of three hundred. People […]
Read MoreDo you trust your inbox?
I spoke to a friend recently, who mentioned her struggle with saving useful information and research she found online. Typically, she would come across a useful article or fact, and then not know what to do with it. I suggested doing what I do. When I come across something interesting online, I will email the […]
Read MoreFocus your inbox
Most of us don’t like change, me included. Anything that turns my comfortable world upside down is always unsettling. Especially when the change affects one of my favourite productivity tools – Microsoft Outlook. Anyone using Office 365 in their workplace will no doubt be used to regular updates from Microsoft. Most changes are tweaks that […]
Read MoreTurn information into intelligence
I had an appointment with my local GP this week. Being a little early, I whipped out my iPad and Apple pencil and started sketching out an idea for my next book (NEWS ALERT: Smart Teams to be published by Wiley in May 2018 – you heard it here first). When the doctor was ready, […]
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