Ann Rusnak has released ‘Focus on Success’ August 1 volume 1 issue 30. Read Ann Rusnak’s article titled “A Time Saving Email Alternative”.


Ann Rusnak has released ‘Focus on Success’ August 1 volume 1 issue 30.

Article

Ann Rusnak’s latest article is reprinted here.

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A Time Saving Email Alternative

Does your email seem out of control, seemingly eating up your time? We can’t live without it, but we can’t deal with it effectively either. When used properly, email can be an effective communication tool.

Today, let us look at a way to alleviate some of your email overwhelm.

Imagine no wading through tons of email and spam to read and receive the information you want. With the increase of spam and filters, plenty of legitimate email gets undelivered. No more loosing your confirmed requested information through Internet Provider filters.

Using RSS to Increase Your Productivity and Manage Your Time Better

What if you could customize a newspaper or magazine to carry or publish only the items of interest to you?

What if you turned on the radio and only heard the news you wanted? That’s exactly what RSS can do for you.

RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication. Simply put…it’s a format used for distributing and gathering content from different sources across the web… including newspapers, magazines, websites, audios, videos and blogs. This information is delivered via an RSS feed.

You will need a dedicated program called an RSS aggregator (news aggregator or newsreader) to read your RSS feeds. You’ll find two types of aggregators: online and software that you download. I use a software program which I’ll talk about shortly.

More and more websites, news sites, and ezines publish their content in RSS format. You can tell if a site’s content is available in RSS format by looking for the familiar RSS orange button.

Are You Ready to Say Goodbye to Spam and Annoying IP Filters That Decide What You Should Receive?

You don’t use an email address to receive your news feeds. No need to go through white listing and double confirmation process. Even after all that, your internet provider can still block the email you requested.

Earthlink now makes its’ customers work harder and waste more time with their challenge response system. Even though you confirm with the publisher you requested the ezine, Earthlink will ask you to confirm that you really did request the information before it’s delivered to you. Read more in Christopher Knight’s Ezine-Tips article about this problem.

Only you can add a newsfeed to your RSS aggregator/reader. Usually, you can right-click the RSS icon, then select “Copy Link Location,” and finally paste that link into your reader. Anytime a new article or news item is added, you receive it automatically in your reader.

Online RSS Accounts – You’ll find many free online aggregators to view your all your new feeds. One of the biggest is Blog Lines and you sign up for a free account at http://www.bloglines.com/

If you have a “my account” at Yahoo, MSN, Google etc., many sites provide the “add to my” buttons. On the Simple Time Management site, you will find a series of “add to my” buttons on the right side navigation. If you have an account at Yahoo, just click the “add to my yahoo” yahoo button.

Firefox Browser – Just love this browser. Firefox offers RSS management in its’ browser. You can create folder for your RSS bookmarks. Click the orange icon on the bottom of the browser status bar, and it will add it to your bookmarks. Firefox only shows titles and not descriptions of items, for example. (You can add full RSS functionality with free Firefox extensions, such as Sage.)

As of this writing, Internet Explorer doesn’t support RSS but should with the newest version 7.0 scheduled for release later this year. (Beta version is currently available)

Email Programs – The Thunderbird email program comes with a built-in RSS aggregator. Choosing “News & Blogs” lets you subscribe to your RSS feeds. Once you add your feed, you just read it like News.

As of this writing Outlook doesn’t support RSS but should with the newest version. News Gator offers a Plug-in for Outlook to read and manage your RSS feeds.

RSS Software

You install the software and manage your RSS feeds from your desktop. You can get a free program at http://www.rssreader.com

I out grew RSS Reader and recently invested in Feed Demon. Wow… Now I can post comments, set up keyword watches, visit web pages–all on my desktop. I’m still learning how to maximize this program. This allows me to gather information from hundreds of web sites without visiting them. If you do much research online, you’ll find this RSS feeds a great time saver.

You can get set up details and screen shots on using my yahoo, Firefox, Thunderbird, and Feed Demon at How to Use RSS News Feeds http://www.simpletimemanagement.com/rssfeeds/

RSS doesn’t replace email, but it can cut back on the pieces of information flooding your inbox. You may find it a handy research tool.

Over the next couple of weeks, I’m writing a series of time management articles only for our news feed. Plus in late September, I’ll introduce a weekly short podcast on Maximizing Your Time that you can download right into your RSS Reader. http://www.simpletimemanagement.com/feed/

If you’re not currently taking advantage of customizing your “own newspaper” using RSS, why not give it a try. If you’re a seasoned RSS pro, share how you can use it to save you time.

(c)2006 Ann Rusnak

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Ann Rusnak, “The Time Diva” developed a system to show busy self employed solo business owners how to gain more time and increase sales working less hours. Receive free time management techniques,”how to” tips and articles when you sign up for Focus on Success Journal ezine at: www.SimpleTimeManagement.com

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Contents

The contents of the Newsletter are:

— Timely Snippets: Google Videos and Family Time

– Upcoming Events: Free Time Management Teleclass

– Feature Article: A Time Saving Email Alternative

– Recommended Resources: The 15 Minute Success System

– Weekly Time Technique: Telephone Time Smarts

Link

Go to Simple Management to subscribe to the newsletter.

*IMNewswatch would like to thank Ann Rusnak for granting exclusive permission to reprint this latest article.

 

 

 

 

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