Holiday Essentials: Turkey, Stuffing & a BlackBerry
There’s no doubt mobile devices have altered the way we work. According to Pew Internet and Research, almost half of American workers report doing at least some work at home, and about 20 percent say they do job-related tasks at home every day.
Accessing your e-mail using keyboard shortcuts takes productivity one step further.
In preparation for the holiday, here are some tips to help you keep your mobile work time to a minimum while you’re enjoying the family feast:
For the BlackBerry
Filter Incoming Mail
Say, for example, you receive a daily report that you will not read or deal with on your phone and would prefer to just handle it back at the office. Can you create a filter for that?
Of course you can. Here’s how:
1. Click on the Messages icon to open your messages, then click the trackwheel or Menu button and select Options.
2. Select E-mail Filters.
3. Click your trackwheel or Menu button, select New and then type a filter name.
4. You have several fields you can filter on: From; Sent To; Subject; Message; Sent directly to me; CC to me; BCC to me; Importance; Sensitivity. You can choose more than one option here. For example, to take care of your daily report problem, create the following filter:
From: coworker@domain.com
Subject: Daily Report
Action: Do not forward
This will affect any e-mails from colleagues with “daily report” in the subject.
5. Click your trackwheel or Menu button and save the filter. By default, it is enabled and will function immediately with any new incoming messages.
If you want to temporarily allow filtered messages, simply click on the filter name to uncheck in the filter list. Take note, however, that filtering works only if your BlackBerry is activated on a BlackBerry Enterprise Server; to access filters with BlackBerry Internet Service you must check with your wireless carrier.
High-Priority E-Mail Notifications
You want to make sure you know when high-priority e-mails come in, and the standard notification doesn’t quite command your attention. To set up special notices, start at the home screen, go to Profiles, then Advanced. Here you can create a new profile or modify your current one. Set the desired notification for Level 1 Messages and save. Note: High-priority message notices will work even if you have disabled those for other types of messages.
Shortcuts
BlackBerry offers a boatload of useful shortcut keys, most of which are only available on a device that has a full keyboard. They are performed by simply pressing the key or combination of keys listed below.
Open a message that was sent to you and try the following shortcuts:
R: Reply to message
L: Reply to all
F: Forward message
I: File highlighted message into a folder
Q: Toggle the display name and full e-mail address of a contact in an e-mail address field
G: Move to the last cursor position in a received message after closing and re-opening it
Outlook on Windows Mobile
Having your Outlook e-mail available from a Windows Mobile device allows you to stay connected and lets you get more work done while not at the office. Accessing your e-mail using keyboard shortcuts takes productivity one step further. Here are some of the more useful shortcuts for Outlook on a Windows Mobile device, which are performed by pressing and holding the particular key. For example, to reply to a message that is selected or opened, press and hold the R key. The following keyboard shortcuts are also available:
A: Starts a new message replying to all (Reply All)
R: Starts a new message replying to sender (Reply)
K: Toggles between marking a selected message(s) as Read or Unread
F: Used to Flag a message
M: Moves the selected message(s) to a folder
O: Starts a new message with the selected message as an attachment to be forwarded
D: Deletes the selected message(s)
S: Performs a Send/Receive
For a quick reference to the available keyboard shortcuts, press and hold the H key.
iPhone
The iPhone has graduated from dawdling device to legitimate business tool. Respected research firm Forrester issued a report earlier this year which found that workers who use iPhones are “happier and more productive.” Who knew a gadget could have such power? Here are some shortcuts to make you even happier and more productive with your iPhone.
Easy punctuation
Inserting a period from the symbols box can become tedious. You want to send messages with proper punctuation, but deadlines get in the way. Here’s a quicker way: Double-tap the spacebar. Problem solved. Reputation saved.
Copy Web images
Do you often come across images in your Web travels that you’d like to save for later use? Try this shortcut: Press and hold your finger on the photo and you’ll be prompted to “Save Image.” Now it’s in your Camera Roll.
Making sense of time zones and meetings
Sometimes technology’s intuitive functionality can get the better of you, especially when traveling across time zones. Case in point: the Time Zone Support feature, which shows event dates and times in the zone you selected for your calendar. For example, if you scheduled a 10 a.m. conference call while at the home office in Philadelphia, and you are currently visiting Los Angeles, your meeting will still show up as scheduled for 10 a.m. Turning off the Time Zone Support feature can make your schedule a little clearer by automatically adjusting your calendar to the time zone you are in. To do so, go to Settings | Mail | Contacts | Calendar and toggle off Time Zone Support.
Scrolling is fun again
Mobile devices are practical, yes, but not when it comes to screen size. Scrolling, in particular, can become tiresome on an iPhone, or any smartphone for that matter. Whichever screen you are on – your contacts, a Web site – you can quickly return to the top by tapping the status bar (at the very top of every iPhone screen).
Tips were compiled by PC Helps staff. If you have any mobile tricks you cannot live without, tell us about them in comments or send a mail to: jen.darr@pchelps.com.
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