Useful Applications- Part I

Posted on April 30th, 2012 by admin

by AVY

In this three part series of useful applications we would like to mention some popular ones that are used by many of our clients and amongst our employees. Applications which we will cover during this first part are free to download and great tools to help you and your staff stay organized, efficient, & productive. 

The first app is Evernote. It captures notes, pictures, and “web clippings” audio. You are able to access it from your computer, the web, iPad, android, and iPhone. You may encrypt the text within your notes or search your notes for key information. This is an excellent tool for note taking when you are on the go and do not have the access to Microsoft word for example. This tool has capability of synchronization, printing, sharing and file organizing. To download this app you will need to visit: www.evernote.com Remember it is a free app, so why not try it.

Next application is Wunderlist. This is a fantastic tool for your business and personal life. You may use this app to manage your tasks and share it with your business partner or an assistant at work. This application is a great resource to use within your personal endeavors as well. For example, share a Christmas shopping list with your spouse or a significant other. Access this tool from Web, PC, Mac, iPhone, & iPad. It is fully synchronized, so you and the person you sharing the list with are able to access it simultaneously via various devices. Visit www.wunderlist.com- free app that will save few trees and headache from lost paper notes.

The last application for this post is Tungle. In essence, this is a virtual calendar that will let others see your availability and schedule an appointment with you. This app cuts the back/forth “what about Thursday afternoon…oh no, I am booked then, how about Friday morning before ten?” Save some time for you, your clients, employees, and friends- they’ll appreciate it. To get this app visit www.tungle.me, and again it is a free application.

Here at TechGen, we are always looking for techy-creative ways to be more efficient and productive. We share our ideas with you, our clients and friends. To subscribe to our newsletters, blogs, and tech news via social network fill out “Get IT Social!” form (located on the left hand side of every page of our website) and indicate the communication you would like to receive from us.

Tells us about the apps you find useful and what you like about them!

All material Copyright (c) 2012 TechGen Consulting Inc. unless otherwise noted.

Run Multiple Copies of Applications from the Taskbar

Posted on April 5th, 2012 by admin

The Windows 7 taskbar has two main purposes: launch programs and switch between already running programs. You can launch a program by clicking on its icon and switch to a program while it is still running by clicking on program’s icon.

You may also want to launch a second instance of the program, which you can also do from the taskbar, by holding down the Shift key and clicking the icon. A second instance will launch. This is a convenient way to navigate your taskbar.

Customize the Shut Down Button

Posted on April 5th, 2012 by admin

The Start Menu’s Shut down button has a default set to turn off your PC. However, you may also use this button for restarting your workstation/PC by clicking the arrow to the right of the Shut down button and select an action from the drop-down menu.

You may also change the Shut down button default action to Restart, Switch user, Log off, Lock, Sleep or Hibernate.

Here is how to change your default: Right-click the Start button and select Properties. Then on the Start Menu tab, click the “power button action” drop-down menu and select which action you want to be the default. Then click OK, and OK again.

Shake Your Desktop Free of Clutter

Posted on April 5th, 2012 by admin

If you frequently run multiple programs simultaneously, your desktop can get extremely cluttered. This can get annoying if you’re working on one program and want to minimize all the other windows — in previous versions of Windows you had to minimize them individually.

With Windows 7′s “shake” feature, though, you can minimize every window except the one in which you’re currently working — in a single step. Click and hold the title bar of the window you want to keep on the desktop; while still holding the title bar, shake it quickly back and forth until all of the other windows minimize to the taskbar. Then let go. To make them return, shake the title bar again.

You can accomplish the same thing by pressing the Window key-Home key combination — although doing that is not nearly as much fun.

EMAIL AS A TOOL, NOT AS A TIME-SUCK

Posted on April 3rd, 2012 by admin

by AVY

This blog is dedicated to those individuals that have over a 100 emails coming into their inbox on the daily basis. And for those who feel that email takes them or their employees away from being productive and becoming interrupt-driven. So how do you use the greatest tool such as email and eliminate the distraction from getting more important tasks completed? Here are some bullet points that will help you get more organized and control your email responsiveness.

  • Eliminate The Noise.

Stop being interrupt-driven by emails through eliminating those dings, changing icons, flashing screens, little pop-ups, etc. Go to the Outlook settings (or whichever email application you use) and simply turn off all notifications.

  • Identify Email Checking Times.

Based on your position and job duties you should identify the times in a day of when your emails should be processed. I recommend checking your email at least three times a day. For example: Morning-Noon-Late Afternoon (9am-11am-3pm)

  • Processing & Organizing.

As you are checking your email you should create various folders such as clients, marketing, operations, miscellaneous, etc. You could also create subfolders for a specific year or month and/or a specific client or company, depending on the volume of your daily incoming emails.

  • Read It, File It, Forward It, or Delete It.

As you are processing and reading your emails, you have to ACT on it right away! Once an email is opened and read/scanned take an action: read it, file it, forward it, or delete it.

Implementing this or similar process for your email handling will ensure improved productivity, less of unnecessary distraction, and better concentration on important tasks.

TechGen’s number one goal is to support your business IT infrastructure by providing you with the most useful tips to improve your overall productivity and organization. If you need our assistance with any issues regarding your email set up, back up, hosting, or moving please contact us!

We welcome your comments, thoughts, or any additional information that you would like to share on how you handle your emails. Please do share by posting your comments below!

All material Copyright (c) 2012 TechGen Consulting Inc. unless otherwise noted.

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