If you are anything like me, you are always connected to the Internet in some fashion. I have 2 laptops, a desktop, a blackberry and most recently, an iPod Touch (more on that later). Because of this, I get my email right when it’s sent to me unless I’m asleep or without my phone(which is veryrare). I am always tempted to respond right away, just as I do with text or instant messaging. It’s all instant for me. However, I realized it might not be best to respond to an email (specifically a client email) right away.
I know some might think the sooner the better, however immediate response can have some negative effects. First, it’s important to know that most people are not like me- they aren’t always connected. They check their email at most hourly. So it’s a safe bet that they won’t be checking their email for your response right when they email you. Unless of course, you set a precedent.
If you do respond right away, people will expect you to all the time. With my clients for example, if I consistently respond immediately, they will expect it. If you make it seem like you’re always available, people think you are, and that can really eat into any free time you try to set aside. I had a client who called me at all hours because I made it seem like I was always available. I had to explain to her that calling me at, for example, 1AM was unacceptable. But I was always there for immediate response. Besides that, it’s always helpful to put some thought into what you’re going to write back.
Immediate response doesn’t allow you to think about what you write- it’s just what first comes to mind. For a quick note to a friend or a thank you email that might be fine, but in a professional relationship it looks bad. At the very least take some time to think about what you want to say and word it correctly. That extra time from when they email you and then hear back will show them you actually put some thought into what you want to say.
As for me, I should heed my own advice. I have been trying the last few weeks and have already seen a difference as far as what’s expected of me goes. Now let’s see if I can maybe check me email less often…
posted on March 20th, 2008 in Business, Thoughts| No Comments »
I’ve had a number of random thoughts this morning. So instead of flooding Twitter, I thought I’d just post them here.
- iTunes smart lists are really cool
- Color-Schemeing (new term) is pretty hard for me. Luckily there is this website.
- Mac’s way to print a selection is excellent, very intuitive, and user friendly.
- I still can’t get over how awesome app navigation on a Mac is.
- Coffee is the greatest thing on earth next to water.
posted on February 9th, 2008 in Thoughts| No Comments »
About 10 days in and I am enjoying my Mac experience more and more. I don’t know if it was just the hardware, but going onto my brother’s Windows machine I realized how slow everything really is. In defense of Windows though, the computer is a Dell.
The past 10 days using this computer has been pretty great and I’ve got to say I am mostly happy. Besides the things I pointed out last week, I am finding the whole experience of using a Mac aides productivity. For instance seldom do I every have to wait for a program to boot up. And I can run way more at once than I could on my PC. Again, I do have better hardware on this. On the same token, it just seems the cohesion of the OS and the hardware on the Mac is so much better. iTunes, while I’m still not a huge fan, is manageable, especially since I was able to download most of the album art. It really adds to the program’s navigation, but I feel the same about any other music program.
My top 3rd party programs: Coda for web development, Things for task management and Microsoft Entourage for life. The Mac equivalent to Outlook is better solely due to the project management feature it offers. This program has already set me up to have a more organized semester for when I teach. I will likely review each of these programs on their own.
Even with all of the praise for this machine, I do have some gripes…
- Syncing with my Blackberry is a pain. I feel this is in part RIM’s fault; they still don’t have support for Entourage 2008, and when I try to sync my Tasks with iCal tasks PocketMac, the syncing program, crashes. If/when RIM solves this problem, I will be a very happy person. Also, RIM is releasing a boatload of updates that I have been wanting for some time, including web management. However, the desktop is only PC compatible. What gives RIM?
- Syncing my Zune. I knew this would be a problem from the get go, but come on Microsoft. Why alienate part of the market by not making your software for Mac. I could use Parallels (I think) to alleviate the problem, but A) I need to get a copy of Windows, and B) I have a feeling it’s not going to be very easy.
If RIM and Microsoft could pony up and support Macs a little better, my life, as far as the switch goes, would be complete. I unfortunately do not see that happening anytime soon. I wonder if this is why so many people use only Apple products- not for superiority in other markets, but lack of support by other companies.
posted on January 25th, 2008 in Software, Tech, Thoughts| No Comments »
Since 2000, the last time the Giants made it to the Super Bowl I’ve…
- Learned how to develop websites
- Started and stopped playing drums
- Gone to my first concert
- Gone to over 50 other concerts
- Started my own business
- Graduated High School
- Gone to Ireland
- Totaled a car
- Held five different jobs
- Graduated College
- Started my Masters in Software Engineering
It’s been a while. Let’s do this.
posted on January 21st, 2008 in Sports, Thoughts| No Comments »
My year-in-review post comes a few days early this year because tomorrow I leave for DC to meet up with some college friends for a weekend long New Year’s Eve celebration. It seems every year in this post I say how it’s been a benchmark year, and it’s usually not the case. Yes, I picked up some new skills here and there, but in retrospect, that seems to be business as usual. This year, however, was quite different.
- I graduated college: In May, I graduated with a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Media and Information Technology. That is still a crazy thought for me.
- I started Grad School: I am now attending my alma mater to attain my Master’s Degree in Software Engineering. This past semester was pretty difficult but I learned a lot that I will now be able to apply to my projects as a freelancer.
- My Business Grew: In a huge way. Not only did a get a big number of clients and some great connections, I became more confident as a business owner and web developer. I also launched a new project, Into the Open, which I will really push after New Years. Finally, I am re branding my business entity with a new name, logo, and scope as far as what the business offers. If things go well, I might be an LLC before 2008 is out.
- I lost 50 pounds: I made my annual resolution of losing weight/going to the gym and actually followed through. While that has slowed in the last few weeks, I will be getting back into it now that I am not quite as busy.
I’d say since the time I started this blog, 2007 has been the most substantial in my personal and professional life. I’ve gained some great insight, a whole new skill set and grew a lot as a person, forming some very strong bonds with people and learning a lot about myself through them. So, good bye 2007 and here’s to 2008!
posted on December 28th, 2007 in Thoughts| No Comments »
