Debbie Mayo-Smith - May 2013 - Creative typing shortcuts

Little computer functions can be significantly beneficial when you think about using them creatively to solve your problem of having 'no time'.

When you improve your communication flow - starting or responding to a text or email, you naturally enhance relationships. When you enact quick, easy ways of doing it - you reduce your stress and up the ante on your business success.

So let's look at a simple twist on what is a common function; a newish function and a moderately used feature. I'm going to be talking smartphone/tablet as well as Outlook here (as webmail won't have the ability).

What do you do now for the:

1.      Hundred and one times during the course of the year where you need to retype the same or similar information in emails or SMS's? Do you go to saved bits in drafts, or search through your sent emails.

2.      Meet someone new but you don't have the time to write a card or greeting? So you don't.

3.      Would love to take the time to thank someone, pose a question - but don't have the time.

4.      Send the same form out or directions to your office over and over and over and over?

Well. You can retype and type and retype. Or you can use these ideas:

On your smartphone, take these repetitive phrases, directions, anything and save them as a note in your notepad. Then the next time instead of writing it in a SMS or email, go to the note, double click to copy it all and paste it in your new message.

Outlook 2003 - Save your entire repetitive paragraphs as individual signatures. Formatting will be preserved if you send emails as html or rich text. Then when you create a new email, click insert>signature and you can put any number of your (repetitive phrase) signatures on top of each other. You can even create a full blown quote this way.

With Outlook 2007-2010 use the new feature called Quick Parts. Where you'll find it is by clicking open a new email, on the Insert tab, in the Text Pane group, click Quick Parts.

It's as easy as 1-2-3 to create a quick part

1.  Open and type out what you would like to save in an email.

2.  On the Insert tab, in the Text group, click Quick Parts.

3.  Click Save Selection to Quick Part Gallery.

After you save your content to the Quick Part Gallery, you can reuse it over and over and over again.

A few thoughts:

• Thank you (for your enquiry, response, interest, request for more information)

• Lovely meeting you at the ...

• Responding to a meeting request

• Responding to registrations

• Forms normally sent to staff

• Pieces of quotes, proposals

• About the conference

• We need further information

• A Google map link to your location

Article by Debbie Mayo-Smith.  International Speaker and bestselling author of 16 business books. Debbie works with businesses that want more productive management and staff. www.successis.co.nz 64 9 575 5359.