If you’re like me, it’s not unusual to have a pile of emails, documents and other information each day that need to be translated into tasks that you can actually move forward on. Learning to manage communications for any entrepreneur, freelancer, or self-employed person is becoming more and more important for maintaining a reasonable level of productivity. But before you can address anything coming your way the trick is identifying tasks first.

Who Wants What?
More often than not people will slip their requests in with polite communications. Often you’ll find a “I need you to…” or “Could you…” or “Please take care of…” sandwiched in between questions about you and the family or the status of a project. These phrases are like tags, noting what part of a particular voicemail or email is actually the task you need to complete. Focuson those first and deal with the extraneous stuff later.

Who Sent This?
It’s great to think that we can just scan our list of email messages and pick out all the tasks simply and easily. The real story is you have to at least read who sent you each message to figure out the context of what each message means. Comprehending just what someone’s asking you to do is an issue of context. For instance, as I read my email, I take note of what I need to do to take care of whatever question, problem or specific task and put it into context. A friend asking you to help with her blog is something very different than a client asking you for assistance with their blog.

Ask?
One of the things you do while processing new tasks is to get any necessary clarification. If there’s a question about what’s being asked of you send an email right away requesting any necessary details or a clarification. This way you can be sure that you have all the right information when you add a new task to your list. If you’re not sure that you’re correctly interpreting a message, go ahead and confirm you’re on the right track. Simply shoot back an email or a voicemail message restating the task and ask for a little confirmation.

What’s First?
For big projects that get dropped in your inbox, don’t bother fleshing out a whole time line immediately. That, in and of itself, is almost always a large task. Instead, identify the first step you need to take and make a note that planning out the smaller tasks and details is also on your to-do list. It isn’t always simple to identify what’s first but if you routinely work on similar projects, you can probably guess what the first step will be on your next project.

One Inbox?
Yes. Having one inbox where you can sort through everything can makes it easier to pull information from all the emails, documents and requests that get passed your way. Even if you have to move files around yourself, you can help speed up the time it takes to process this sort of information, just by having it all in one place.

Skipping Messages?
Skipping an email or message and promising yourself you’ll come back to it later is good way to make sure something slips between the cracks. Instead of avoiding complicated requests or tasks, get them out of your inbox now. You can even turn down the request if that’s a better option. Either way, don’t put it off until a later that will never come.

Help Yourself
Lastly, make the emails and memos you send to others easy to translate into tasks, for them and for you. While it may not help you complete your own tasks, making the effort to streamline your messages that you can minimize time-consuming back-and-forths about what a client or colleague really needs to accomplish. It really will save you more time than you might expect and just might help someone else to communicate tasks more clearly for you.

]]> http://activegreymatter.org/2009/05/7-ways-to-transform-e-mail-into-tasks/feed/ 0 http://activegreymatter.org/2008/11/see-see-with-bigger-eyes/ http://activegreymatter.org/2008/11/see-see-with-bigger-eyes/#comments Fri, 07 Nov 2008 17:40:08 +0000 Krishanna http://activegreymatter.org/?p=167 Continue reading →]]> Half a Dozen Things Fine Artists & Crafters Can Do To Help Themselves Survive the Economic Slump

Because fine art and craft have long been considered a luxury for an audience with a disposable income, visual artists, like many self-employed creatives are susceptible to icky, economic downturns.  Right now everyone is hesitant to spend to drop cash on what seems to extravagance, even the very wealthy.  But collectors and dealers know this is the best time to buy and fine art and craft is one of the safest places to “park” their moola. But, they are looking to invest in  established artists with proven and verifiable sales and exhibition histories.

This is not good news for most emerging and mid-career artists. I’ve gotten e-mails from creative friends asking for ideas about how and where to sell work during a time when many galleries are struggling to make ends meet. Galleries are way more likely to exhibit the work of artists they feel confident they can sell right now. So, if you are thinking about approaching galleries any time soon here are five things to consider:

Know your stuff. Do your research and keep up the news- art, culture and business. Keep an eye on trends in your community. Watch which galleries are advertising and who they are showing. This will be a strong indication of which galleries will survive. Know which galleries accept outside proposals and when, keeping in mind most schedule exhibitions months or years in advance. Understand that, like the business world, the gallery world ebbs and flows and you need to move with it.

Become a little geeky. Aside from having an organized electronic (email) database of collectors, fans and people interested in your work, as well as an accurate inventory system, take a little time to research web sites (if you don’t have one) and blogs. Determine whether you are better served with a blog that you can easily update or a static website that is updated quarterly or annually. Check out social media sites like Facebook or LinkedIn to find out how networking online with other artists and people of a like mind can
benefit you. It’s easy to let these things slide and find reasons for not having enough time, energy or resources…but, there is never a better time than now to get this stuff done.

Find creative weirdoes. Face it: being a visual artist can be a not only a weird but solitary profession, so in surrounding
yourself with other creative weirdoes you can help one another remain positive and upbeat. So find other artists and creative people you can talk to and/or meet on a
regular basis. It’s always important to keep creativity flowing but
especially during economic downturns. Nothing does that better than talking to other artists about their work and discussing yours.

Get out of the box. Be willing to think out of the box and explore non-traditional venues to
exhibit work and be willing to lower prices and/or barter for goods and services if you can. Look into local outdoor and weekend farmer’s markets and other similar venues. Look into renting space in an antique mall. Many people looking to decorate their homes with antiques also collect fine art and craft.

Curate yourself. Create your own exhibition of your existing work and approach local non profit exhibition spaces, small museums and college and university galleries with your ideas. Since many are coping with budget cuts, they are often more open to an exhibition that is already prepackaged and ready to hang. Use the distance you are willing to drive as your geographical radius and send proposals to everyone within that area.

Do stuff for yourself. Everyone is under a tremendous amount of stress in this uncertain economic climate. The world seems chaotic right now. Money, career and family responsibilities can feel overwhelming. For many visual artists and fine crafters, it is our art that centers us and in an intrinsic part of who we are. We will all get through this, so continue to make the best possible art you can make and you will continue to thrive.