Personal Productivity Expert
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770-907-8868
worksmart   at  peggyduncan.com

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Media Contact Peggy Duncan, Personal Productivity Expert Phone: 770-907-8868 Eastern Save time and contact her directly.     Will the NCAA tournaments cause a dip in productivity in the workplace? It depends [March 14 2008, Atlanta GA] If you're going to get caught up in the festivities of the NCAA tournaments next week, remember that the work still has to get done. Since most people work like machines when they know they'll be off, how about pretending that you're going on vacation next week.   Will there be a dip in productivity? It depends.   Slackers will use this as an excuse to do less work. If they're surfing the net, talking sports all day, handling personal business now, they'll just do more of it next week.   Conscientious employees will continue to meet goals, beat deadlines, and service the customer.   If you're going to require less of them next week, you should require more from them this week.   -------------- Peggy Duncan is a personal productivity expert and author of Put Time Management to Work and Live the Life You Want. She is available for last-minute interviews. Her expertise has been cited on/in the TODAY show, Black Enterprise Business Report, O The Oprah Magazine, Inc, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Money, and more. She was formally trained at IBM and was recognized for streamlining processes that saved her department close to a million dollars a year.      New class on using search engines to increase personal productivity Teaser: Reggie had spent two weeks stressed out and getting behind in his work. For some reason Outlook would receive email, but he couldn't reply. He'd called everyone he could think of for help. Personal productivity expert, Peggy Duncan, told him to Google the error message. Problem solved. Duncan then sat down and wrote a list of all the ways she uses search engines to increase her productivity. A new class was born. ATLANTA, GA [August 26 2007]. With the right clicks inside of a powerful search engine, you can find just about anything you need. But like any other computer software, you'll have to stop long enough to learn the best way to use it. Personal productivity expert, Peggy Duncan, has developed a new class to help busy people discover ways to get things done with the help of search engines. This training is part of her standard offering to corporations and association conventions. She's also going to offer the training as a Webinar. "I use search engines all day to find all kinds of information. I thought everybody did. I wrote a list of 17 ways I use search engines to work smarter, and a new seminar that will help people spend less time working but get more done was born," says Duncan.   Takeaways Learn special features of a search engine and find anything faster.   Uncover more ways to use search engines that you have not considered.   Capture and organize your findings and store everything for later use. Peggy Duncan is a time management expert and professional speaker, trainer, author, consultant, and coach. Visit her online for more tips and strategies at http://www.PeggyDuncan.com and http://suiteminute.blogspot.com   Accelerate disaster recovery with technology for your small business Teaser: Disasters happen. Are you prepared to recover? From getting organized to online file storage, small business consultant and coach, Peggy Duncan, offers these tips. ATLANTA, GA. If you haven't given much thought to how your business would recover following a disaster, take the rest of the day off and map out a plan. The more thought and action you put in place today will make a speedy and successful recovery more likely. Personal productivity expert and consultant, Peggy Duncan, offers this advice to small business owners. Organize Your Files. If you can't find something now, you definitely won't be able to find it in an emergency. All files everywhere are stored using a logical system that anyone can follow. Don't just save files: organize everything and make the system make sense. And don't store junk that should be deleted! To organize any files, start out with broad categories such as Accounting, Administrative, Marketing, and break them down into subcategories. Then break down the subcategories into the next broadest and so on...always keeping like subjects together. Avoid Sending Junk to Storage. Before you start organizing, purge first. You'll want to avoid wasting precious time going through junk in an emergency. Store Crucial Files Online. Upload crucial files to an online vault on a regular basis. Google "online pc backup" and choose a vendor that fits your needs. Free and low-cost services are available, including www.carbonite.com ($5 a month and automatically backs up revised files); www.MediaMax.com (free up to 25GB); and www.box.net (starts at 1GB free). Use an External Drive for Additional Storage. Use an external hard drive to automatically back up selected files on your computer several times a day. Check out Hewlett-Packard's Media Vault. It holds 300GB-500GB and is expandable to 1.2TB (that's Terabyte - one TB equals 1,024GB!). And check out Seagate's Maxtor at www.maxtorsolutions.com. (Test the restore function before you need to depend on it.) Use Your Web Server for Storage. If you have a Website, use the server to store public files for download in case you can't email them. "For example, my Website server is a repository for files meeting planners might need to download if they can't get to me," adds Duncan. Use Mobile Storage for the Road. Store crucial files on a flash drive and always keep it with you. For added convenience, use the flash drive that fits on your key chain. Document Processes and Procedures. The processes for running your business need to come out of your head and be documented. If someone else will need to take over your business, or if you'll need to delegate any actions, it'll be easier if you provide a roadmap. This documentation should be stored in the office and backed up online. Organize Your Business Contacts. Instead of keeping piles of business cards, create a business database on the computer and keep this information backed up. Have everything filed logically so anyone can find it in a hurry. Make this easy with www.CardScan.com, and scan the cards you need to keep. Use a Fireproof Safe. Precious files such as a passport, car title, copies of credit cards and driver's license, etc., should be stored in a fireproof safe that's small enough to grab and carry. To protect paperwork, check out the Omniseal Waterproof Document Holder. To store digital files, use a fireproof safe that's specifically designed for media (explore your options from vendors such as www.SchwabCorp.com). Save Your Passwords in One Place. Save any computer-Internet-banking-related passwords in a special file on your computer and in your safe. For extra security, list just enough of the password so you'll know which one you used, and make the rest of it logical enough to memorize it. Check Your Business Insurance. Make sure your business insurance covers all equipment at full replacement value. (Take digital pictures of everything and store them appropriately.) For more information on preparing a disaster strategy for your business, visit the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's disaster preparedness Website at www.Ready.gov. You should also visit the Red Cross disaster recovery page at www.RedCross.org. Now is a good time to get quiet and think about how your business would survive a catastrophe. Don't procrastinate about setting something up any longer. You never know... Peggy Duncan is a personal productivity expert, business consultant, author, and professional speaker. For more information and tips, visit http://www.PeggyDuncan.com. To interview Peggy, contact her directly at 770-907-8868 (Eastern) or worksmart (at)  PeggyDuncan.com. For statistics on data loss, click here. FREE workshop registration for meeting and training executives In an effort to promote her workshops that are open to the business public, personal productivity expert, Peggy Duncan, is now offering free admission to qualified Meeting Planners and HR/Training Staff or Senior Managers. They can participate in a full workshop in order to evaluate this training for their teams. Speaker bureau executives may also attend at no cost. Employees from the following companies have attended these workshops: The Home Depot, Georgia Power, Genentech, Southern Company, IBM, Estee Lauder, AGL Resources, and more. To attend, simply send an email to worksmart  at  PeggyDuncan.com to confirm space availability, telling us who you are and how you qualify. This opportunity is restricted to one person per organization per month. New workshop developed to help people track due dates, deadlines, and duties Peggy Duncan has developed a new workshop to answer the question, "What is the best way to keep up with all the different things I have to do?" Have you tried to find the perfect, single way or tool to track everything you need to do? Does such a thing even exist? If you were building a house, you’d have to use several different kinds of machines and tools to handle a specific job. The same applies when you’re coordinating and producing a myriad of events or as you dig through everyday work. The tool you choose to track due dates, deadlines, and duties will depend on the job at hand. Objectives How to establish the habit of using external cues that will help you remember. How to use Word to create your own task tracker with tables, bookmarks, and hyperlinks. How to stay on track using no- and low-tech products and how to use which to do what. Email expert offers cures for email addiction If you spend time now getting your Inbox cleaned out by purging and learning tips and strategies for handling each message, you'll feel more in control. But in the meantime, if you’re hooked on email and find yourself checking it even when you’re working on something important and need to stay focused, break the habit. Don’t start Outlook when your computer starts. Right-click on the Start menu, click Explore, find your Startup folder, and move Outlook out of it. If it’s a shortcut to Outlook, you can delete it, but make sure (the icon will have a bold, black arrow pointing to the right to denote it’s a shortcut). Make the default viewin Outlook the Calendar (or Tasks). Click the Tools menu, Options, Other tab, Advanced Options, Browse, click Calendar (or Tasks), OK. Turn off the option of automatically checking for incoming messages. Click the Tools menu, Options, Mail Setup tab, Send/Receive, untick Schedule an automatic send/receive, OK. Deactivate the new message alert (the ding). Click the Tools menu, Options, Preferences tab, E‑mail Options, Advanced E‑mail Options. In the When new items arrive in my Inbox section, untick Display a New Mail Desktop Alert. Make it inconvenient to open Outlook. Remove Outlook from the System Tray (to the right of the Start button). Right-click on the Outlook icon, and click Delete (this does not delete the software). Then remove Outlook from the Start menu. Click Start. If the Outlook icon is there, right-click on it, and click Remove from this list. To open Outlook later, you’ll have to find it. Click Start, point to All Programs, point to Microsoft Office, click Outlook. Work on one computer and use another one for email. This will be an inconvenience, but try it until you kick the email habit. Stop Using a BlackBerry. People have lost their minds thumbing when they should be thinking. No matter how much I love email, I don't want to be tied to it 24/7/365. I don't want it finding me wherever I am, constantly interrupting me from something important. Box your BlackBerry up and ship it to yourself with 3-5 day ground delivery. You'll find that life goes on. You will no longer talk to your spouse or co-worker with one eye on them and another on email. You'll learn to live without it, and will be more sensible when you get it back. You'll also manage your email better on your computer (or a PDA with Outlook) with the full advantages of Outlook, and when you're in front of all your stuff. Later, if you find yourself slipping, ship it again and again until you get this down. Find something else to do. Make a list of all the things you've always wanted to do...focusing on things that are realistic, affordable.  Create a step by step action plan to get some of this done, whether it's learning something new, a hobby, some volunteer work, and so on. Get away from the computer and replace it with something that will make you feel good. Concentrate on breaking the habit. Going forward, every time you realize you’ve stopped working on a project and jumped back to email, stop. Remove your hands from the keyboard, take a deep breath, then retrace your steps. Back up to what you were doing before you checked email. Do this each time, and you’ll start to change. (It’ll take you approximately 21 days to break the habit, so don’t give up.) Establish a routine for checking. Once you ease the addiction, establish a routine that works for you. Bear in mind that your boss, co-workers, and clients want answers fast. Don't make them have to knock on your door with the dreaded "Did you get my email?...I need to see you for a minute."  You don't want to replace something that can be handled quickly (email) with something that could suck up too much time (visits). Start now and do everything you need to to break the hold email has on you. If you do nothing else, clean out all that mess in your Inbox. You'll begin to feel more in control, more on top of things, and the urge to constantly check email will begin to subside. If it doesn't, call Dr. Phil.   Peggy Duncan is the author of Conquer Email Overload with Better Habits, Etiquette, and Outlook 2003. Visit her online for more tips and strategies at www.PeggyDuncan.com.
	Peggy Duncan's training sessions a big hit at 2007 MPI PEC-NA Peggy Duncan is shown here outside her training room at Meeting Professionals International's Professional Education Conference, January 2007 in New Orleans. All three sessions were sell-outs.
Peggy will be a 2008 - 2009 Platinum Speaker, which is awarded to speakers with evaluations of 4.5 and higher at a national conference. Peggy's topics included "Computer Magic: Finish Everything Six Times Quicker," "Conquer Email Overload with Outlook," and "Finding Time to Lead."
	Peggy Duncan receives Distinguished Service Award from SCORE Atlanta Steve Bloom, chairman SCORE Atlanta, congratulates Peggy Duncan at their recent holiday luncheon after she received a Distinguished Service Award. Tom Clark, immediate past chairman, cited her work with a highly successful conference series for small business owners. Wanda Braziel, co-producer of the events, was also awarded.

Podcast for people working
solo is coming soon

ATLANTA GA (December 2, 2006) Personal productivity expert Peggy Duncan announced today that she is developing a podcast for people working solo, or solopreneurs.

The show will feature Peggy and Tony Travis, both technology users and experts in different areas. Topics will cover business management and technology solutions, business products that increase efficiency, helpful Websites, and breaking technology news that affects the solopreneur. Duncan, a solopreneur, will draw topics from her experiences from the past ten years in business as a consultant and computer trainer. Travis is a highly successful IT executive who has also run a small business.

To receive notification on the show's debut, visit www.PeggyDuncan.com, and sign up for a private email list.

Atlanta email efficiency expert Peggy Duncan
to appear on the Today show Weekend Edition
[Actual show date changed to 12/31/2006]

ATLANTA GA (October 23, 2006) Peggy Duncan, author of Conquer Email Overload with Better Habits, Etiquette, and Outlook 2003, will share tips and strategies for managing email on the Weekend Edition of the Today Show, Sunday, December 17. The show airs from 9AM-10AM NBC. (Schedule may change and time varies by market.)

Duncan is a time management expert, with offices in Atlanta, Georgia and Washington, DC. Since 1997, her personal productivity training firm has helped busy professionals work smarter by improving their organization, time management, and technology skills. She travels nationally presenting at major business conferences and for corporate meetings.

For more information, visit www.PeggyDuncan.com, or call 770-907-8868.  

Create More Time - Seminars
Now Available on the Web

ATLANTA GA (May 12, 2006) If you need more time to get things done, help is on the way. Peggy Duncan is not a magician, but she has the power to help busy people create time. She's the author of Conquer Email Overload with Better Habits, Etiquette, and Outlook 2003 [PSC Press], and has taken to the Web to train people who are near burnout how to spend less time working but more things done. 

"The biggest time management mistake people make is not realizing how much time they waste. Managers don't have time to manage; leaders don't have time to lead. Everyone is running around putting out fires, going to meetings, digging through clutter, and battling the Inbox instead of figuring out better ways to work. This requires thinking, and you have to get quiet long enough to do it...the way crooks do. You can't just think things up; you have to think them through, but people don't take the time," says Duncan. 

The Web seminars (or eSeminars) will be scheduled regularly 1-3PM Eastern Time. If you're in the Atlanta area, you can attend a hands-on workshop with your computer.

Duncan is a time management expert, with offices in Atlanta, Georgia and Washington, DC. Since 1997, her personal productivity training firm has helped busy professionals work smarter by improving their organization, time management, and technology skills. She travels nationally presenting at major business conferences and for corporate meetings.

For more information, visit www.PeggyDuncan.com, or call 770-907-8868.  

For details on the workshop, visit www.PeggyDuncan.com/eSeminars/eseminar_overview.htm. 

Atlanta PowerPoint Expert Will
Conduct Two Training Classes
at Annual Conference for
PowerPoint Fanatics

[March 22, 2006 - Atlanta] Peggy Duncan, author of Just Show Me Which Button to Click! in PowerPoint 2003, will present at the 2006 PowerPoint Live conference in San Diego.

PowerPoint Live is a users conference of PowerPoint fanatics from all over the world. Duncan will conduct two sessions: one is "What Do You Want to Have More Time to Do?." She'll also conduct "PowerPoint, the Right Way," a 3-hour pre-conference training session for PowerPoint newbies and those who glazed over the basics and want to understand more. The event will run from September 17-20 at the DoubleTree Hotel Mission Valley. Details are on the conference Web site at www.PowerPointLive.com.

"I think I'm more excited about this event than any other I've been involved in because I'll be in the midst of people who are just as crazy as I am...people who sit at their computers for days learning tips and tricks, and loving every minute of it," says Duncan.

Duncan is a time management expert, with offices in Atlanta, Georgia and Washington, DC. Since 1997, her personal productivity training firm has helped busy professionals work smarter by improving their organization, time management, and technology skills. She travels nationally presenting at major business conferences and for corporate meetings.

For more information, visit www.PeggyDuncan.com, or call 770-907-8868.

PSC Press Announces Strategic Partnership with Possible Woman Enterprises 

[March 8, 2006 - Atlanta] Peggy Duncan, personal productivity expert, has expanded her popular time management workshops to focus on the issue of leaders not having time to lead.

If you're concerned with improving your company's communications, employee morale, and other development issues, but you just don't have time to deal with it, practical, common sense ways to work will help, according to Duncan. "When you're putting out too many fires and are too busy doing your own work to invest in growing your people, you're not being a good leader or manager. And the irony is that if you could pull yourself together long enough to do it, they would work smarter and you could work less," says Duncan.

This new leadership track will help you get back anywhere from one to four extra hours a day.

·         Examine how you’re spending the workday and eliminate time wasters.

·         Organize everything around you so you can think and have more time to plan.

·         Unclutter your mind with cues that help you remember.

·         Dissect work you dread doing and figure out a better, quicker way.

·         Delegate everything you can and automate how you follow up later.

·         Incorporate the right technology and finish work six times quicker.

Duncan is the managing director of PSC Press, with offices in Atlanta, Georgia and Washington, D.C. Since 1997, her personal productivity training firm has helped busy professionals work smarter by improving their organization, time management, and technology skills.

For more information, visit www.PeggyDuncan.com, or call 770-907-8868. 

Workshops on Getting Organized and Conquering Email Overload are Back!

[January 11, 2006 - Atlanta]

WHO
Peggy Duncan, personal productivity expert, has scheduled more of her popular workshops that address the growing trend of people wasting too much time at work. Duncan will address a major time waster, clutter, and will offer practical strategies that help people work smarter. The workshops focus on reducing clutter on the desk, in the Inbox, and on the mind.

WHAT
Duncan continues her Time Catchers training series with more workshops that help busy people work smarter. January sessions include how to use Microsoft Outlook to get organized and improve time management. Tips and strategies come directly from her book, Conquer Email Overload with Better Habits, Etiquette, and Outlook Tips and Tricks. A second session will focus on reducing clutter on the desk and mind as outlined in her book, Put Time Management to Work and Live the Life You Want.

WHEN
Get Organized and Manage Your Time with Outlook
Tuesday, January 17, 8-9AM. Check-In and Breakfast
9AM – 1PM. Workshop. Participants bring a laptop. $89.00

Get Organized and Manage Your Time at Work
Wednesday, January 18, 8-9AM. Check-In and Breakfast
9AM – 3PM. Workshop. Participants bring paperwork from desk. $149.00

WHERE
The Hampton Inn
1152 Spring Street, NW, Midtown Atlanta

REGISTRATION
The workshops are open to the public with more regularly scheduled. Registration is online only at http://www.PeggyDuncan.com. All details are on the site. Registration includes: breakfast, a copy of Duncan’s book, a set of templates, and email support after the training.

RECEIVE EVENT NOTICES
Be the first to receive notices of other training by joining our email list or subscribing to the RSS feed you’ll see on the Web site, http://www.PeggyDuncan.com.

Media interviews, contact Peggy Duncan directly at 770-907-8868 or send an email to peggy at pscpress.com. For information on studies re people wasting time at work, read the Jan-Mar 2006 issue of the COPE Webzine at www.PeggyDuncan.com.

PowerPoint training available for people who don't have time for all day, multiple-day classes

ATLANTA GA (December 8, 2005) Personal Productivity Expert, Peggy Duncan, is offering a beginning to advanced PowerPoint class that lasts only four hours. These classes have opened to rave reviews and have been attended by employees from companies that include BellSouth, Georgia Power, Southern Company, BearingPoint, and more. 

Duncan, who is the author of Just Show Me Which Button to Click! in PowerPoint 2003, has established a solid reputation for making technology fun to learn. In addition to offering PowerPoint training, she also teaches classes on organization, time management, Word, Excel, and Outlook.  

Classes are held in Atlanta, Georgia and Washington, DC. Details and registration are available on the company's Web site at www.PeggyDuncan.com.

Duncan is the managing director of PSC Press, with offices in Atlanta, Georgia and Washington, D.C. Since 1997, her personal productivity training firm has helped busy professionals work smarter by improving their organization, time management, and technology skills.

For more information and sponsorship opportunities, visit www.PeggyDuncan.com, or call 770-907-8868. 

Professional organizer refutes Google's claim that their Desktop Search tool makes it unnecessary to organize computer files

ATLANTA GA (June 8, 2005) Personal Productivity Expert, Peggy Duncan, screamed when she read about Google's Desktop Search technology. "This is encouraging people to horde junk and to stay disorganized!," she yelled. The statement by Google that "Since you can easily search information on your computer, you don't need to worry about organizing your files, email or bookmarks," got her attention.  

"I love Google as much as the next person, but this is a mistake," Duncan said after she calmed down. "The last thing in the world people need to do is save files on their computer, or anywhere else, with no rhyme or reason as to how they're stored. The right solution is to establish a logical filing system, starting with broad categories and then separating all files by grouping like subjects together. If you do this, you won't need to turn over all your computer's contents to someone else so they can help you find what you need," says Duncan.  

To help people create such a filing system, Duncan included a detailed filing index in her book, Put Time Management to Work and Live the Life You Want. The only thing you'll have to do is add files specific to your job or business that she would not have known about. And to get immediate help, she has added tips on her Web site and also has an Ask Peggy page for organizing questions. She also conducts workshops on how to get organized and teaches principles you would apply to everything from your clothes closet to your computer files to your Inbox. 

Duncan is the managing director of PSC Press, with offices in Atlanta, Georgia and Washington, D.C. Since 1997, her personal productivity training firm has helped busy professionals work smarter by improving their organization, time management, and technology skills.

For more information, visit www.PeggyDuncan.com, or call 770-907-8868. 

Email Expert Exposes 27 Pet Peeves that Tick People Off as Much as Spam!

ATLANTA GA (June 7, 2005) If left unchecked, spam can drive you nuts, but what about the email messages from people you either want to or have to hear from? Are they doing anything that’s making you swear at your computer screen every time you “hear” from them?  

Peggy Duncan, author of Conquer Email Overload with Better Habits, Etiquette, and Outlook Tips and Tricks, has been collecting these pet peeves from comments she receives in her email overload seminars and on her Web site (www.PeggyDuncan.com). She says, “These pet peeves are not only aggravating, but they’re also contributing to email overload which is a huge problem in the workplace. Studies show that email overload causes people to work anywhere from one to two extra hours a day, either at work or when they get home. Another study showed that it reduces the IQ more than marijuana because of the constant interruptions that interfere with the ability to focus.

1.        Sending or responding to all to CYA (cover your butt). Stop sending to all if all do not have a need to know. You wanted to make sure you were covered so you’re sending everyone on a list your answer—whether they needed to know or not. Or you’re sending a message to everyone because you’re too lazy to select the appropriate recipients.

2.       People trying to solve complex issues using email. You’re part of a new committee, then the email messages start, back and forth, dizzying speed, the more they come, the more confused you get. Pick up the phone!

3.       Dirty email messages. These are those messages you receive loaded with those darn carets (>>>), or pages and pages of email addresses that weren’t protected using a blind copy feature. Is it too much to ask for the sender to clean dirty emails before sending it? Would you send a letter out on your company stationery like that? You can get rid of carets by pasting the message into Word and using the Find and Replace feature to find a caret and replace all of them with nothing. You can get rid of all the email addresses just by deleting. Clean it up, then send it.

4.       Subject lines that don’t match the message. Don’t pull up an old message, hit Reply, and send me a message that has nothing to do with the previous one. Suppose you sent an email message two months ago that said, "The monthly meeting has been cancelled." You pulled up that old message because the email addresses were already in it. But this time, you wanted to let everyone know that coffee and donuts would be served at this month’s meeting. At the very least, change the subject line!

5.       Last-minute cancellations. Cancelling a meeting at the last minute and letting me know via email. I show up, “Oh, didn't you get my e-mail?” When did you send it? I left my office two hours ago, and now my whole day is shot.

6.       Procrastinators. People who wait until the last minute to ask you to do something as if you had nothing else to do. You know the work was in a pile on their desk, and while they were digging for something else, they found it, and sent you an email message, marking it urgent. Then when the deadline isn’t met, it’s not their fault because they “gave it to you.”

7.       People who call you instead of checking their email. You’ve done your job, and sent an email message to people with information they need. They end up calling you asking for the info because, “I’m too busy to check email. Please always call me with the information or at least call me to let me know you sent it.”

8.       No response. You send a legitimate email message to someone who has requested information. The message clearly needs a response, but nothing happens. If you’re too busy to hit Reply to say “No,” you need to examine how you’re working. Why did you make me waste your time and mine?

9.       One-liners. “thanks,” “Oh, OK.” My goodness! You sent an email message to 25 people, and 15 of them sent you a one-liner. Next time, put “No Reply Necessary” at the top.

10.      Underlines. Don’t underline anything in a message (or on a Web page) that’s not a hyperlink. I always move the mouse toward it thinking it’ll take me somewhere.

11.     Someone replying to my message without the previous message below it or attached to it. I forgot what I asked them.

12.      Smileys, emoticons. If you wouldn’t put a smiley face or emoticon on your business correspondence, you shouldn’t put it in an email message.

13.     Plaxo. Those emails from you asking me to update my contact information. Your best customer is getting 10 of these a day! And, I don’t even remember who these people are. I went to the Plaxo Web site and opted out of receiving any of these annoying updates. Make sure you opt out all of your email addresses!

14.     Senseless Autoresponders. How about the one that says “Thank you for your email message. I will respond to you as soon as I can.” What a complete waste of my time to open this stupid response. It’s almost like the letter carrier leaving me a message in my mailbox saying, “I picked up your mail today. I’ll bring you more when I get it.”

15.     Words from grown, business people using shortcuts such as “4 u” (instead of “for you”), “Gr8” (for great) in business-related email. Are you lazy, or just can’t type or spell? If you wouldn’t send a company letter out like that, it shouldn’t be in an email message. (This is different from legitimate abbreviations a company may develop such as NRN for No Reply Necessary.)

16.     Read receipt. As if you’re checking up on me to see if I open your message. I don’t know why people waste time doing this because most people probably have this feature turned off in their email software.

17.     Too many attachments. You should get permission before sending someone an email message with more than two attachments. Instead of sending 5 PDFs, consider combining them into one document.

18.     Attachment and no body. If you send an email message about an event and no explanation in the body, especially if it’s a large file and would drain my ink supply if I printed it. If the details are in the body of the email, I don’t need the attachment. I don’t need to see how creative you were with your flyer. I just need the info.

19.     Abuse of my email address. I register for an event, then every week, I’m getting notices of deals, webinars, teleseminars, etc.

20.     Recipient names not private. No bcc and pages of email addresses in the message.

21.     Passing on hoaxes instead of checking them out first. What would make you believe that Bill Gates would send you $5000 just for sending an email message? And did you know that the Teddy Bear file you so willingly deleted from your computer was a legitimate Windows file? Check it our first at www.sarc.com.

22.     Who are you? People I met briefly some time ago sending me an email message without reminding me who they are.

23.     Messages without signature lines. Your email signature is a great way to let people know more about you, especially when your email address is something like 189bx@xxx.com.

24.     Adding me to your email list. I just met you, barely remember you, and I’m already on your distribution list for your newsletter, thoughts for the day, and news you think I want to know.

25.     Bad grammar and punctuation. You can’t hide behind an administrative assistant to clean up your act, so go take some classes and learn how to write and spell. Some messages are so bad, it’s like reading a foreign language, and it wastes my time trying to figure out your mess.

26.     Work email abuse. People sending me non-work-related email from their job. I don’t want my name and email address showing up in company reports.

27.     Unprofessional email IDs. People who would send a business email message using addresses such as cutesuzy@xxx.com; beingblessed@xx.com; hardliquor@xx.com.

CREDENTIALS: Peggy Duncan is an organization, time management, and Outlook  expert who shares tips and strategies for managing email overload as part of a popular seminar series based on her new book, Conquer Email Overload with Better Habits, Etiquette, and Outlook Tips and Tricks [PSC Press 2004].

Peggy was formally trained at IBM, and has helped busy people become more productive since 1997 as a personal productivity expert. Her clients include media powerhouses, corporate giants, national associations, and government agencies. Her expertise has been featured in O, the Oprah Magazine, Real Simple, Fitness, Good Housekeeping, Essence, Black Enterprise, and others. She has authored several books on organization, time management, and technology, and is also a former radio and TV show co-host. She's a lively, energetic guest who makes learning fun.

AVAILABILITY: Atlanta, nationwide by arrangement, and via telephone and the Web. Available at last minute. 

CONTACT: Peggy Duncan is available at 770-907-8868 and on the Web at www.PeggyDuncan.com. When booking Peggy, ask for a copy of her book, Conquer Email Overload with Better Habits, Etiquette, and Outlook Tips and Tricks.

Atlanta Email Expert to Present at the 2005 Affordable Meetings Conference in Washington DC this Fall

ATLANTA GA (May 5, 2005) Email expert, Peggy Duncan, will present at one of the top-rated conferences for meeting professionals, the Hospitality Sales and Marketing Association International (HSMAI) Affordable Meetings Conference. The conference will be held at the Washington DC Convention Center September 7-8, 2005.  

Duncan will present one of her most popular seminars that teaches business people how to manage email effectively. The seminar is based on her book, "Conquer Email Overload with Better Habits, Etiquette, and Outlook Tips and Tricks.

HSMAI is the leading source for sales and marketing information, knowledge, business development, and networking for professionals in tourism, travel, and hospitality.

Duncan, whose expertise is often cited in national publications and trade magazines, is the managing director of PSC Press, with offices in Atlanta, Georgia and Washington, D.C. Since 1997, her productivity firm has helped busy professionals work smarter by improving their organization, time management, and technology skills. Her seminars are consistently rated among the highest at conferences and events around the country.

For more information, visit www.PeggyDuncan.com or call 770-907-8868. 

Atlanta Personal Productivity Expert Invited to Present at 2005 PowerNetworking Conference

ATLANTA GA (March 18, 2005) Time management expert, Peggy Duncan, will present at the upcoming PowerNetworking Conference to be held in Cleveland, Ohio this summer, June 9-12, 2005. The event is produced by international best-selling author and speaker, George Fraser, and draws Black professionals, business owners, and world-renown speakers. 

Duncan will present for two days, and will participate in an author book signing. Her topic is "Getting It All Done: Put Time Management to Work, which is based on her book, Put Time Management to Work and Live the Life You Want [March 2005 PSC Press]. More information is available at