Keep on top of your email with Sanebox

For the last 4 of years, I've had a secret weapon to help me deal with email: SaneBox. SaneBox is a service that is phenomenal at dealing with email overwhelm, and it works with just about any email service you can throw at it. Here is a video with a brief overview.

Why is SaneBox useful?

From my perspective, SaneBox automates the handling of a lot of your email, allowing you to "clear the decks" by providing a concise inbox with only those emails which are a priority for you. Your other emails are still there, they just get filed in other folders so you can deal with them when you want to. Here are some of the default folders I like best:

@SaneLater	This folder contains items that are important to me, but not necessarily urgent. I deal with them when I choose to.
@SaneNews	This houses items that I've subscribed to and want to read during my "reading and research" blocks. They tend to be messages from mailing lists, blogs, and other items that are of intellectual or professional interest to me.
@SaneBulk	Things like email coupons, sale announcements, reward programs and so forth tend to end up here. I generally don't look at this unless I'm looking for something (like a coupon code for a particular store). I also create an email rule to purge this folder of anything older than 30 days.
@SaneNextWeek	By dropping emails in here, they go away until next week. Very handy.
@SaneArchive	Think of this as your "cold storage" folder - drop things in there and they will be searchable and retrievable, but still out of sight.
@SaneBlackHole	This is my favorite. When I don't want to hear from someone again (i.e. a persistent spammer, a phishing email, etc. I just move the message into this folder - I will not hear from that sender again. Currently, I have 4989 contacts in my "Black Hole" list. If you change your mind about someone (i.e. someone who was dead to you is now OK again), SaneBox makes it easy to find and un-blacklist them.

I've also created specialized folders like @SaneReceipts, which is where all of my email receipts are kept.

My favorite SaneBox features

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Sample of my Digest - click to enlarge.

• The Daily Digest. This is not a feature I expected to use much, but it is indispensable. Every day, I get an email showing which emails have been sent to folders other than my inbox. The thing that makes it valuable is that I can "train" SaneBox very easily - without having to open an email at all! If I notice something show up in my @SaneLater box (the default folder for things SaneBox doesn't recognize), I simply use the Digest View to redefine where that message should go. Very easy.
  • I've attached an image of a digest (click the thumbnail to enlarge), so you get a sense of what it looks like - this one shows things in my @SaneBulk folder.
  • If I want to read an email "just this once" I click the "Inbox Once" button and it moves immediately (future emails will still go to the @SaneBulk folder).
  • I use this to "cherry pick" messages from individual folders, click to move them to the inbox, then click "Delete All" to nuke the remaining items, which magically disappear from my email accounts.
• Maintain a focused inbox. By nature of the way it works, SaneBox has helped me keep a solid, focused inbox. I get somewhere in the neighborhood of 350-500 emails per day across all of my main accounts. SaneBox filters this down to roughly 20-25 emails in my main inbox every day. That is huge.
• Easy training from any device. I don't need a specific "app" to be able to use SaneBox. To train it about which messages go to which folders, you simply move the messages to the right place. The service notices what you've done, and that kind of message goes to its new destination from that point forward.
• Easily defer emails without losing track of them. I mentioned the @SaneNextWeek folder earlier - that is very useful. Even more useful is the ability to selectively defer emails and have them show up in your inbox when you want to. By simply bcc'ing an address that SaneBox deciphers, you can tell it when you want to see the message again. Here are some examples:
  • bcc: friday.3pm@sanebox.com and the email will show up in your inbox again Friday at 3pm. 
  • bcc: 2weeks@sanebox.com and you'll see it again in 2 weeks
  • You can either use these kinds of special aliases to defer an incoming email until you want to pay attention to it, or you can use it to remind you to follow up on emails you've sent. This is a fantastic feature.

Risk-free trial, and a special offer for you

There are a lot more features, these are just my favorites. I have SaneBox managing 4 different email accounts for me, and couldn't imagine going back to the old way of doing things.

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If you're interested in trying it out, go to www.sanebox.com/curiosity for a special offer to Genuine Curiosity readers! Sign up for a free trial and you'll get a $15 credit towards a SaneBox subscription if you decide to keep using the service. 

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Note that I also get some free time on my subscription if you sign up. As I mentioned earlier, I've been using SaneBox for years, so when they approached me about reviewing their service and setting up this offer code for you, it was an easy "yes."

If you try it out, I would love to hear about your experiences with SaneBox.

How Tracking Your Health and Fitness Improves Your Life

Over the years, I've gotten into the 'quantified self' world through fitness trackers. I used to go overboard with this stuff, but have settled into a zone where I use it to help motivate me, but don't obsess over it. I find that wearables and tracking help me to stay in better shape, but also help when it comes to focus at work. Seems like I'm not alone.

Over 75 percent of wearable technology users have seen improved business performance, according to a study by Salesforce. Additionally, a survey by the weight loss app Lose It! found that 60 percent of people on a weight loss program lose more weight if they pair their efforts with activity trackers.

Tracking what you do can boost your happiness and productivity by monitoring your actions. Becoming aware of your daily habits and how you do things gives you the opportunity to come up with new solutions to streamline and improve your life. Fortunately, wearable technology and monitoring apps can help the process. Here are some ways you can get started:

Hold Yourself Accountable

Regular physical activity helps release endorphins that interact with receptors in your brain to reduce pain. Endorphins are also responsible for flooding your brain with a positive feeling that's similar to morphine. However, the Center for Disease Control reports that only 49.2 percent of adults meet the physical activity guidelines for aerobic physical activity.

Hold yourself accountable by keeping track of your daily weight loss, health regimen and exercise routine with wearable technology and apps. Choose an option like the Moto 360 Black, so you can sync it to your smartphone and monitor your heart rate and how many steps you take each day. In addition to keeping track of your health stats, the Moto 360 offers coaching advice with spontaneous notifications throughout the day to keep you motivated to reach your fitness goals.

If you’re surprised by how little you move on a daily basis, work in a long walk on your lunch break or get up a half hour earlier for a morning jog. Next, turn your digital monitoring into an active goal to complete 10,000 steps a day and 30-minutes of active, heart-pumping exercise.

Stay Connected

Connect with your friends and family by creating a friendly competition that keeps you all on track for your health, happiness and productivity goals. Create weekly challenges to get moving with a prize in mind. PBS reports that belonging to a community gives people a sense of identity and connection to others. For your competition, set a goal to walk 12,000 steps or complete four hours of physical activity over the weekend. Use a fitness tracker like a Fitbit to see who reaches the goal first. Then, take the winner out for a healthy lunch.

Improve Performance

Wearable technology has already proven to increase productivity in the workforce. For example, Tesco grocery stores found the number of full-time employees needed to run a 40,000 square foot store dropped by 18 percent after introducing wearables. Workers could unload products and fulfill orders that were tracked and documented with a wearable device instead of relying on papers and clipboards. Wearables can help you be more productive both at work and at home. By getting your work done more efficiently, the need for you to work overtime decreases, giving you more time to be at home or to do the things you love.

Lately, my gadget habit has crept into cycling - I've got a couple of posts coming on some gear I've found to be very useful for cyclists. Stay tuned.

Get Work Done Even While Out of the Office

While most of us typically get our work done in the office, sometimes you just can’t be at your desk (or you choose not to be).

From getting your car fixed, to taking care of your sick child to traveling on a business trip, you often have to find ways to be productive in remote locations. Fortunately, modern technology can turn your kitchen table into a work station, and a coffee shop or auto repair shop lobby into a conference room.

Tablets and large-format phones like the iPhone 6 or iPhone 6 Plus

To stay current with your work even when out of the office, you need an easy-to-use mobile device. Invest in a tablet or a smartphone so you can email, browse the Internet and call clients and co-workers. For example, the iPhone 6 features a 5.5-inch screen that makes it easier to read documents and type out emails. If you want to get an even larger screen, the iPhone 6 Plus is a great option. I find that with my iPhone 6 Plus I can get almost as much work done as I can with a tablet. If Android is more your speed, consider the Samsung Galaxy Note, which I think is one of the best Android "phablets" available right now.

When buying a mobile device, you also should consider the coverage the carrier provides, along with your expected usage to make sure they are aligned. For instance, if you are a heavy data user and know you'll be out of WiFi range much of the time, take a look at T-Mobile. They have designed their network with cell towers closer together so that places with more people have more coverage. This means that no matter where you are working, chances are good that you will be able to connect to the Internet. The bigger deal is they offer packages with unlimited data, as well as allowing you to stream music for "free" over their data network.

In contrast, if you do have data limits on your mobile phone plan, you'll need to find a way to conserve that data as you work outside of your home or office. For these times, you can download a Free Wi-Fi Finder app so you can locate an area to work without using all your data. The best part about this app is that you can search by geography, or by type of location. This means if you need a cup of coffee while you work, the app can search only for cafés and let you know the closest place to work.

Microsoft Office 365

When it comes to getting work done on the go, nothing beats a program like Microsoft Office 365. A one-year subscription costs $99 for five devices including your smartphone and tablet. The program is cloud-based so it gives you instant access to your work email, video conferencing, file sharing and much more. That doesn't mean you have to be connected to use it - it will let you install Office on your computer and use it offline, as well, and the license includes free usage on mobile devices and tablets.

If your work involves reading and editing a lot of documents, Microsoft Office 365's Word app for iOS, Android or Windows Phone provides a mobile-friendly presentation of your data so it is easier to read on mobile devices. The same is true of the other mobile apps for Excel, OneNote and PowerPoint. Plus, the PowerPoint option includes a presenter view that lets you see your notes while your remote audience looks at each slide. This allows you to easily conduct powerful PowerPoint presentations from your tablet or smartphone while working from home or a hotel room.

One other cool note: an Office 365 subscription also includes access to OneDrive, which is Microsoft's cloud storage service. Even better: Microsoft is in the process of upgrading all personal OneDrive accounts to 10TB of storage - for all practical purposes, it's unlimited. Not a bad deal at all.

Google+ Hangouts

Sometimes you have to check in with your co-workers or your employer while you are away from the office. To do this, download Google + Hangouts for chatting, video conferencing and calling options. This extension lets you group chat and share photos as well as connect on a call with up to 10 of your co-workers. You can even record your meeting if you need to review it later. Hangouts also allows you to share screens with each other, which is ideal if you need to share a project or presentation.

There are a lot of other options that can help with productivity, such as Evernote, Skype, Facetime, etc. Which ones are your favorites? Share your thoughts in the comments.

Increase Productivity by Changing Your Environment

I write a lot about gadgets, tools, tips, and tricks for productivity. Those things are important for productivity, but there is one aspect that I often take for granted that is a huge factor in productivity: your environment. 

I live in the Pacific Northwest of the US, and this time of year we see a lot of short, gray days. I've noticed that the weather here can affect my energy level, concentration, and focus. The good news is I can do something about this by altering the environment where I work to tweak the color, lighting, and layout around me -- and you can, too.

Color

Colors have been used to subtly influence emotion and productivity for centuries, dating back as far as ancient Egypt and China, according to About Education. Having the right colors in the right rooms has been shown to affect both your mood and how detailed or creative you are, explains Return Customer. For instance, colors like blue and green can increase your creativity and imagination while reds can stimulate, excite and increase your attention to detail and reaction times. Yellows and oranges can brighten a room as well as the mood of those within. Blues are great for conference rooms so as to boost friendliness and brainstorming. On the other hand, reds are often used in entryways to instill a feeling of power and excitement.

However, too much of any color can have negative effects. For example, a lot of yellow can be distracting and over-stimulating, and darker reds are often associated with anger and anxiety. Before you start painting, take a look at your workspace to see where you can incorporate new colors without going overboard.

Lighting

The right lighting can have a dramatic effect on productivity and effectiveness. A study by the California Energy Commission shows that the use of natural lighting can result in a 20 percent increase in productivity and a 25 percent boost for your mental functions and memory.

But again, it’s all about finding the right balance. Too much direct lighting can create glare, leading to headaches and other difficulties. To give you more flexibility, install custom shades that can control the amount of natural sunlight coming in and can impact the room temperature, which can lead to lower heating and cooling costs.

Layout

After you work on your colors and lighting, look at the layout and condition of your office furniture. Not only should your furniture be comfortable and in good condition, but it also should fulfill whatever needs your office has. Look for ergonomically-designed chairs, desks and furniture to help you stay safe and comfortable at work.

Additionally, make sure that the layout and flow of your office works for you. Don't just focus on how the office looks but also how effective it is for your overall 

Location

Of course, a lot of these thoughts pertain to the office I work in. There is another way to change your environment: change your location.

I use a lot of mobile devices (laptops, tablets, etc.) to get work done, and I also get an energy and productivity boost from getting up and moving to a different location from time to time. For example, I often work out of a library or coffee shop, and I really like the change of pace. That approach is also a lot faster than remodeling your workspace, so it can really help in a pinch.

What about you? What kinds of changes have you made that have enhanced your productivity?

Pomodoro Technique: How a tomato can make you productive

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Flat Tomato summary on iOS

Lately, I've been experimenting with a productivity method called the pomorodo technique. I'm not sure what "pomodoro" has to do with productivity (it's Spanish for "tomato"), but I like the technique, nonetheless.

The concept of this method is simple:

• Pick a task you want to get done.
• Set a timer for 25 minutes (a pomodoro interval).
• Focus on that task - and only that task - until the timer goes off.
• When the timer goes off, take a 3-5 minute break, and really quit working on the task when the time is up.
• After the break, repeat the cycle again (you can continue on the same task, or pick a new one).
• After 4 pomodoro intervals, take a longer break (usually 15-30 minutes) and do something enjoyable.

This method is great for momentum, particularly on boring or daunting tasks, since you always feel like the next break isn't far away. The feeling of momentum and progress is also hard to describe - it reminds me very much of the 'sprints' used in the Scrum method of software development. In essence, this is very much like time boxing, but I prefer the use of fixed intervals in the pomodoro technique.

Gadgets can help

No surprise, I turned to gadgets to help me with the pomodoro method:

• Old school: I started this process using a mechanical kitchen timer shaped like a tomato, which I found on Amazon. This was fun, but not really portable (or at least I never remembered to bring mine with me when I left my desk). I eventually graduated to using my smartphone...
• Flat Tomato for iOS: On my iOS devices, Flat Tomato is my go-to pomodoro app. It is easy to use, and is perfectly-aligned with pomodoro, including timing the intervals, the breaks, and remembering that you've done 4 cycles so you need a longer break. It also tracks user-defined categories so you can review how you've spent your time (in an attractive, graphical chart). It also shows the status of the current interval on the lock screen.
• Clockwork Tomato for Android: On my Android devices, I use Clockwork Tomato. It has many of the same functions as Flat Tomato, with the addition of weekly and monthly summary graphs to show how you've spent your time.
• Computer- and web-based apps: I tend to use my smartphone for my timer, so I don't really have a computer-based timer to recommend for pomodoro. If you have one that you like, please share it in the comments below.

Bottom line, I am a fan of the pomodoro technique as a way to keep me productive, help me get through mundane tasks, and to reinforce the need for regular breaks during the day (that last one is huge in terms of energy management).

By the way - this blog post took almost exactly one pomodoro to write.