Choosing your communication method

Call, email, text, Skype? Far too often I look down at my phone to contact someone, only to get stuck with the question, "Should I call? Text? Email?" With so many options right at our fingertips, what format of communication is best used when? Your distinctions may differ slightly with industry norms, but here is a general overview of when to use which communication method and what kind of urgency is most appropriate.

Phone
When to use it: When you need something immediately (a task or an answer) or need to schedule something for the future. Also good for meetings or discussions when getting together in person is not feasible. I've noticed the phone has fallen by the wayside for many people who don't have assistants, but if the person you're trying to reach has an assistant you can call, that's often the most direct route to reaching a real person.

Urgency: Medium to high.

Email
When to use it: When sending attachments, longer explanations, requests for information or to follow-up on a previous conversation or phone call. Email is also a nice format for long form personal communication, like keeping in touch with old friends. Check out additional email tips in this post (one of my first on the blog).

Urgency: Any, but make it clear in the message if you have a deadline or timeline to meet. If you need it within the hour, a phone call would be better—there are no guarantees that emails will be read right away.

Instant Message
When to use it: Some good uses for IMs include asking a clarifying question, prepping for a meeting or making plans (for a meeting, lunch, etc.). If you're asking a question that requires a lot of explanation, just walk over—IMs are best for one or two sentence answers.

Urgency: Low to medium. Since people may not be at their desk or available to chat at all times, you should expect that they'll answer on their own timetable.

Text Message
When to use it: To find someone in a crowd or at an event, or when meeting up outside of the office. Best used sparingly and when you only have mobile access.

Urgency: Medium (though it varies). In my head, I often think of text as the most immediate, second only to phone. Because of this, I have my phone set to vibrate on text, but never for email.

Social Media (Facebook or Twitter)
When to use it: Facebook and Twitter are most useful in a business setting to build personal rapport or to make new connections. When making new connections, use social media to bring the conversation off-line or to more traditional business communication by getting email or phone info.

Urgency: Low.

What is the communications urgency hierarchy in your industry? How do you decide what format to use?

I rock the iPad

Left these at home for my trip, but brought them with me on the iPad.

For the first time in a long time, I went on vacation without my computer. Although I did have access to my parents study room, I went on it only once, to print my boarding passes for our return flight. I did, oh, about 5 minutes of actual work, too (reviewing my latest post over at the Daily Muse). Aside from those two tasks, I stuck to my phone and iPad, which more than did the trick.

I'll be the first to say I was skeptical about the iPad. And then I received one as a gift (thanks, M&B!), and now I'm addicted. I've had it for about five months now, and it's been a great tool. My favorite uses for the iPad?

• Reading. I wasn't looking for an e-reader of any sort, but I have to say, I read more now than I have in years thanks to the iPad. Not just ebooks (I use the Kindle app and iBooks, depending on price and where I have a gift card), but also magazines and blogs. Nearly all of my print subscriptions have digital counterparts that are free with my existing subscription. It really comes in handy when I don't want to lug a pile of magazines with me on a plane or to the treadmill. As for blogs, I use MobileRSS free, which syncs with Google Reader and easily opens posts in the browser when I want to comment.

• Blogging. I never thought I'd need it, but I bought a blogging app and love it (I use Blogsy). If I already have photos uploaded into my Picasa or if I'm using a creative commons photo from Flickr, it's super easy to get my text ready and publish from the iPad. More often, I type a post and then save to draft to polish and add photos on my computer. 

• Communication. Though I already have a smartphone, I prefer to use my iPad to respond to messages when I have it handy. I've also started using Skype and FaceTime since I've had my iPad. It's easier to hold than my laptop so I can walk around with it (I gave my friend a video tour of my apartment on our first Skype chat), and it's nice to be able to video chat with my iPhone-toting friends (I'm a Droid owner myself).

• Entertainment. I keep up with HGTV and Bravo shows through their apps, and have been known to like a few games as well. And then, of course, there are those Saturday mornings spent rifling through YouTube videos in bed.

Just to clarify, I am not an Apple fan girl. I've never even bought an Apple product (my MacBook is a hand-me-down). But I see iPads everywhere, and have found mine to be really useful. I hope this post will be useful for fellow iPad owners who want to get more out of their tool. There are many other tablet options out there that probably have similar features if you're on the market for one.

No iPad post would be complete without a link to this gem (possibly NSFW), which came out years before the actual iPad. Enjoy!

Tablet users—what are your favorite apps and uses?

You don't need clown school to learn how to juggle

[source]

This post is not about juggling objects. If you want to learn to do that, go here (and don't forget your dexterity!).

This post is about juggling projects. Namely work projects and outside projects. More and more, folks are turning to alternate business ventures or hobbies that may or may not make any money.  Etsy shops, freelance projects, start-ups, photography gigs.  They all take up lots of time, and with 40 hours (and sometimes then some) of regular work smack dab in the middle of the week, how do you keep them from interfering?

This topic hits really close to home, as I am a juggler myself (work and blog).  So these tips are from my experience.  I am a firm believer in keeping my work life and the rest of my life separate. This isn't to say that I'm impersonal and antisocial at work, but I dedicate a productive 40 or so hours a week to my day job so that I can have my nights and weekends to myself.

Production
Whatever it is that you "produce" in your side venture can mainly be done outside of work hours. You can make your etsy wares on weekends, write blog posts the night before or even earlier in advance, or do your web design work from your couch during TV time. As I'm writing this, it's 7 p.m. Tuesday night and K is making dinner.

Maintenance
I'm talking about comment moderation (if you do that sort of thing), processing orders, troubleshooting, etc.  These things can't wait as long as emails but can wait until lunch or a break.  I respond to comments at night, sometimes the same night, sometimes the next.

Emails
With the prevalence of smart phones that keep your personal email at arm's reach, it's hard to avoid reading other emails during the day.  I keep all my notifications on my Droid silent and usually keep my phone face down so I can't see when a new email comes in. I check it when I'm at a natural break, and then do a quick triage to see if this needs to be answered now, lunch, or tonight.  Sure, any businesses you may be working with won't be there to get your email when you send it from home later on, but seeing your reply the next morning is still pretty good.  This, of course, depends on what exactly your side projects are.

Meetings
If you do have to take in-person meetings, try to add it on to the end or the beginning of the day. For example, if you work 8-5, a 5:30 p.m. meeting may be within someone else's regular workday. Or if you work 9-6, an 8 a.m. meeting may be tough for you, but shouldn't put off your client too much.  Lunch is always a good option, too--if it's not something that you can eat while you're doing, you can always bring lunch or snacks to munch on when you're back at your desk.

Around the water cooler
Depending on what your side projects are, you may or may not have told your coworkers about them.  If you have, by all means chat about your projects with your work friends, but I would caution against talking about it too much, lest you give the wrong impression. My blog is public knowledge if you're looking for it, but the topic rarely comes up at work, except when we're talking about related things (social media, web traffic, etc.).  For me, it's become more of a tool for building skills that help me at work, so I can usually turn it around to more work-related topics.

Mental sanity

Sometimes it all just gets to be too much. Give yourself a break every once in a while if possible. Take a break before taking on another project from a client or compile an inventory of goods to sustain a week's worth of orders.  I've taken breaks for mental sanity, sickness, and just plain ol' vacation.  It's good for your soul.

So there you have it. A few of my tips. Another thing to be aware of is that companies often have policies on appropriate use of their property--their computers, their software, their Internet connection.  Be aware of what these policies might be at your work, and (if you like your job) take care not to cross the line. When it doubt, things can usually wait until you're off the clock.

How do you keep your work and other work separate?

OMG u r the best!!!!! :) [Greatest Hits 2010]

[Greatest Hits 2010: Each day this week, I will be reposting a popular post from the past. This was first published April 8, 2010. See original post and comments here.]

You know what I'm talking about. You've seen it. I've seen it. I've done it. You've done it ('fess up). It's the super-casual, abbreviation-laden, exclamation-heavy email, often punctuated with an emoticon of sorts sent to a colleague at work.

It's one thing to shoot a quick note to your bff or even to your best-work-friend about non-work-related subjects (lunch on Tuesday ok? :))*. But when you're dealing with work projects or issues, simple and professional is key. Email is a tricky medium to begin with--a single punctuation or word can change the tone of an entire correspondence--so here are a few tips:

• Word choice: Since this depends a lot on the subject of your email, it's hard to go into real specifics here. So we'll just stick with be clear and be careful. For example, if you have a qualm about the way a project is or will be handled, calling it an "issue" right off the bat will automatically position you against them--which might stand in the way of productive problem-solving.
• Punctuation: I'm a bit grammar-crazy (I wrote the style guide for the organization I work for and copyediting is part of my job), so I may be a bit biased. But a few general tips: you only need one sentence-closer, unlike the title of this post (unless you are using two dashes to form an em dash), watch your commas and semicolons, and exclamatory statements are best kept to a minimum.
• Capitalization: First letters in sentences. Names. Proper names. Magazine/book/show/movie titles. Not to capitalize: basically everything else. Refer to your company style guide if you have one (note: style guide is not capitalized because I'm talking about style guides in general). (Almost) nothing irks me more than misused capitalization.
• Tone: Professional doesn't necessarily mean uptight and rigid (enter silly ha-ha work-appropriate joke here), and if you know your recipient (or all of your recipients) have similar humor then go ahead a infuse slight sarcasm. The real stuff is best saved for in-person jokes, where they can hear your voice tone and see your expression. Email is not a good conduit for either of those.
• Structure: Organizing the contents of your email is the main key to getting your point across--a well-organized email goes a long way. Your email should start with a brief introduction to what you want to talk about and any pertinent background information, and end with a conclusion and next steps. For even a short email, split your topics into different paragraphs, with a topic sentence in each. Bullets are your friend.
• Closing: This is one I've struggled with often. I sign my personal emails to my best friends "xoxo," and most of my business emails with a variation of "Thanks." But what if that doesn't flow with the content? I often see and in the past have used "Best," but on second thought it felt awkward. Best what? I'm the best? You're the best? Turns out it is short for "Best regards," which I feel is preferable to best (better than best, if you'd like). If the context calls for it, a "See you soon" or "Hope you join us" could work as well. Some other options: "Warm regards," "Regards," "Cordially," "Take care," and the classic "Sincerely."

The New Professional may not know all the answers, but your email doesn't have to give you away.

What are your top email tips?  Share them in the comments!

Photo source: Flickr user esparta

*The emoticon - parenthesis presents an interesting conundrum in text-only emails that leave it sideways.   Do I close the parenthetical, making my happy face look like it has a double chin?  Or do I scoff in the face of grammar and let the smile act as a closer?  I don't have a good answer to that yet, but will let you know if I ever come up with one.