The 5 Minute Bulletin Board
Issue # 5
May 2009 
Tips, tricks, and tools for a more efficient home office in 5 minutes or less
 
 In this Issue
 - Your FREE Special Report is Here!
         (see bottom of ezine to instantly download,
with my thanks!)
- Dates to Remember: May & June
 - Keep Your Inbox  Spam-free
 - Clear Away Business Card Clutter
 - Test Your Knowledge
 
Portrait for website
Dear Tiiu,
 
I hope you're enjoying the warming weather. With as much work as you may have to do, try to get out in the fresh air. It'll do you a world of good.
 
But for right now, grab a cup of your favorite drink and join me now for the May issue of The 5 Minute Bulletin Board.
 
NEWS FLASH: Launching in the next few weeks, The 5 Minute Bulletin Board has its OWN website!
 
We'll also be using a new tag line - It's About Time! since one of your most valuable commodities is time.
 
In addition to all that, beginning this week, you'll receive a Tip of the Week - just a  sentence or two to alert you to something easy you can do to either save you time, be more efficient, or save you trouble.
 
Look for it in your Inbox, coming from "T5MBB Tipster"...
 
As soon as the new website launches, I'll send you a quick email so you can check out the different pages on the website, including:
  • Solutions -  for many common problems you might face (i.e. when family and friends think that working from home really means not working)
  • Inspiration - This area will feature Before and After stories to show off our readers' transformations from spare room to office
  • Resources - Setting yourself up for success, whether it's furniture or computers or paper you need, we've got suggestions for getting it all
  • The Blog - Community forum with other like-minded solopreneurs
But right now, let's get back to THIS issue...

This month's help tip is keeping junk mail from reaching you, and when it does, adding it to your 'unsafe' list. It takes just a moment but its effects last virtually forever (until you decide to change the setting, if ever).

 The product I like this month is an inexpensive (actually really cheap) way to get a handle on your overflowing stack of business cards.
 
And of course The 5 Minute Bulletin Board wouldn't be complete without checking out my reference books, so hang in there for a short but very interesting story that introduced us to a commonly-used phrase we use today.
 
If you opened up this ezine but the header or pictures didn't appear, see the tiny link at the top that says: Having trouble viewing this email? Click here? Just go ahead and do it - and it will appear as it should.  
Upcoming Dates to Remember: May & June
MAY 2009
May 10       Mother's Day
May 16       Armed Forces Day
May 25       Memorial Day
 
JUNE 2009
June 14     Flag Day
June 21     Fathers' Day 
Outlook's Email - Rid Yourself of Unwanted Junk Mail
 
 
Keeping Your Inbox as SPAM-FREE as Possible!
 
Ever get email over and over from the same person, place, or thing - and all you do is DELETE them over and over again - without even reading them?
 
There's a way to not even GET those emails, and takes just a couple of seconds. Really.
 
When you get an email from the offending party, just highlight it by left-clicking on it once (don't double-click to open, just highlight its listing in your inbox), right-click once on it, then slide over to the Junk E-mail options you'll see pop up.
 
These options include:
    • Add Sender to Blocked Senders List
    • Add Sender to  Safe Senders List
    • Add Sender's Domain to Safe Senders List
    • Add Recipient to Safe Recipients List
    • Junk Email Options

If you never want to hear from them again, just click on the first option and you're done! Of course if you decide that it's a person or company you want to keep getting email from, just choose whichever option matches your preference.

There's more to explore in the way of email receipt options; check out the Junk Email Options you see there, or access it anytime from Tools, and then Preferences, and then Email.
 
Go to Junk Mail from there if you want to manually add someone's email address.
 
If you get in the habit of doing this EVERY TIME you get email from some annoying sender, you'll quickly see your inbox cleaned up - and you'll see far less spam than you ever used to.
 
( For now, I use MS Office version 2003, and the instructions I give may need to be adjusted depending on your own version. Coming soon, instructions will be given in the 2007 version. Microsoft's own website provides a bounty of information, so you might want to check it out at Microsoft.com)
Products I Like

 

Clear Away Business Card Clutter
 
If you tend to find business cards you've collected over the years in every desk drawer, used as bookmarks, and even in the pockets of your pants like I used to, keep reading. 
 
At any retail stationery supply store, you can purchase clear plastic pages which store all your business cards - and you can see every one of them at a glance.
 
Insert the cards back to back, or let both sides of a double-sided card show through.
 
No more shuffling through stacks of business cards when you buy a package of these pages designed for just this reason.
 
I put all the cards I've collected in the little pouches on the page and then store them in an inexpensive 3-ring binder, complete with dividers.
 
One sections for business associates, one section for friends and family members, one section for people whose cards I will probably never need. If I haven't used those in the last group by next year, I toss 'em.
 
It is absolutely the simplest system I've found to hold those cards. You don't even need to remove them from the pages to access phone numbers or website addresses since you see right through the plastic. And they travel so easily this way, too, so take them with you to your next conference if you think you'll need them.
 
CLEARLY the best way to clear out that card clutter!
From My Reference Books
 
Take This With a Grain of Salt
 
In the Roman empire, KingMithridaes had written down a secret antidote for poison to take early in the day on an empty stomach.
 
The recipe consisted of two dry nuts, two figs, and twenty leaves of rue (an evergreen), all ground together with a grain of salt added.
 
The secret antidote was discovered, and the phrase we commonly use today  - take it with a grain of salt - was born. 
 
Today, this cautionary phrase means to take something as doubtful.
 
 (This month's reference comes from Nota Bene, Fall River Press, pg. 25)
Thanks For Visiting - See You Next Month!

 

As always, thanks for sharing a few minutes with me this month. Be sure to be on the lookout for an email from "T5MBB Tipster" which will come on Thursdays and, while just a sentence or two, will give you a great Tip of the Week.

As a thank you for subscribing to The 5 Minute Bulletin Board, click to download the FREE Special Report below, entitled
 
 
If this was forwarded to you but you're not on our mailing list, please join! There's a red link at the bottom of this ezine; just click on it for instant access to free tips & helpful hints.
 
And while you're at it, share this with a friend. There's another link at the bottom for doing just that. They'll appreciate the info - and appreciate you for sending it.
 
With every wish for your small business success, Tiiu Garrett
 
 The 5 Minute Bulletin Board
 It's About Time!
 
 
 

 

 

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