Four Simple Steps to Tame Your Inbox

There's a "dirty little secret" that's no secret at all -- most of us have no idea what's in our email inbox, and we have precious little hope of ever getting to the bottom of it.

Want to be free of this and join the tiny cadre of folks who can see every unread message in the inbox at a glance?  Here are four steps that you can take to battle the "incoming tide."

1. Form the habit of handling your correspondence regularly. Don't skip a session. If you are someone who works religiously from your calendar, then put a time block on your calendar strictly for handling email.  Make this a regular and systematic part of your day and you'll notice the backlog begins to dissolve.
2. Vigorously unsubscribe from lists that fill your inbox with offers and specials that you are not going to use. When you sign up for a new community or a new service when you purchase something, be sure to uncheck those boxes that opt you into a notification stream. When you see offers and notices that you did not specifically request, take a moment to click through and unsubscribe.
3. Stop using the Inbox as a To Do list. If you see something in your inbox that reminds you of a task you must complete, add the item to your To Do list (the REAL one) and then archive the email on the matter.  Gmail and Outlook both have To Do lists integrated with your mail reader now. If you don't like how they work, then try out Remember The Milk. It's free and very useful.
4. Admit that messages over 90 days old are already beyond reach. Archive them in bulk and count on finding the important stuff by search. In fact, begin using search as your primary way to read the mail rather than subjecting yourself to the random tyranny of default inbox ordering.

There are many things you can do to convert your email box from a  into your tool, but if you do only these four things, you'll be well on the way.

Communicating in 3D

So it goes like this.

The ones among us who love the shine and polish of a new technical idea, or the view from a new plateau -- we adore the possiblities of 3D.

Those among us who have struggled and won the battle to communicate in a real world using only a two-dimensional language and medium -- those folks despise 3D. (Well not all of them...)

The transition one makes into a world of using 3D tools for drawing, communicating, playing, and even creating art ... that transition is a one-way journey. You can't be happy on the cave wall when you've discovered a luxurious cotton bond stationery that absorbes your ink like the most incredibly faithful messenger.

And you cannot be happy drawing on a flat surface when you've learned to draw in the space of three dimensions.

If you don't believe this, then I invite you to learn just a little bit about SketchUp Make.

This free tool invites anyone, from elementary school students to frustrated civil engineers (and working ones for that matter) to easily draw and design in three dimensions.

There is a professional version of the software that can be used for serious design and planning. But Make is here to let any of us get a start in a rapid fashion.  By downloading the software (there are multiple versions) and spending just a short time with tutorials that demosntrate the principles of the design tool -- just about anyone can be off to an endless adventure in design and speculation.

Give it a try and then come back to tell us why 3D is just a fad and that our brains aren't quite meant for it. I dare you!

What's in a Cloud?

If you're paying attention in the technology workplace these days, you cannot help but encounter a lot of talk about Cloud Computing.  The term is not new, but its increased usage is a characteristic of the modern IT discussion.

So what do we mean by Cloud Computing? Let's take a look

Redefinition of Terms

I haven't quite known what to do with this blog lately, and so there hasn't been much to say.


After consideration, I find that I have these things to say:

• Purpose of this blog
• Who I think you are
• Why you would choose to stay tuned