Earlier today we told you about how to defer emails to avoid embarrassment. It reminded me of a tip I’ve been meaning to post about avoiding premature sending of emails – and this one doesn’t require any additional software. It just needs you to use the “Save as Draft” function in Thunderbird. I’ve started using “Save as Draft” for a few reasons.
*I know I’m going to be writing the in stages, or wanting to edit or add things before it’s finished and ready to go. Saving the draft allows me to save my work in case my email client or computer crashes, or I later mistakenly close my email client without saving the email I’m working on. *When viewing your list of draft emails in the Draft folder in Thunderbird, the “Send” button is dropped off the toolbar so you can’t send the email accidentally just by having it selected in the list – you need to hit “Edit draft” in order to open up the email and keep working. *The other good thing about the Draft function is that when you hit “Save” you have a choice between “Save as draft” or “Save as template”. Go the template option if you’re crafting an email which you’re likely to be able to reuse. It will be saved in a new “Template” folder below the “Drafts” folder in your email folders.Note – I’m sure that Outlook 2007 has similar functionality but I haven’t yet installed it as I’m wedded to Thunderbird. Feel free to leave comments about similar functions for other email clients.
Recently we told you about the struggling musician’s toolkit, a roundup of useful websites for musicians. I asked for some tips on good sites for Australian musos, and Jamie McDonald from Liveband came back with his Top 5:
Bandmanager This site almost makes we want to grab a guitar and hit the road! Bandmanager gives musicians a way of coordinating gigs, rehearsals and touring online without having to spend a day making phone calls, and sending emails. It also has a great band web-site builder so you can hit the road and keep the business side of things going without having to spend hours in front of a computer. Even if you are not in a band, I’m thinking this could be good for organising the family to be in the one spot at the one time for Christmas!
Usync A great tool to help bands pay the bills. This Aussie site was created by some very experienced musos from Sydney to help artists build and connect with their fan base. You can create a “backstage†area for fans to not only let them know what you are up to, but sell your music and merch. I noticed today that there is even a Sony BMG artist using these guys, so they are just going from strength to strength
AIR Ok, a bit of a boring name – the Australian Independent Record label Association – but if you were writing a list of what is going to help you make it as a muso, after writing down “work harder at my music than every other muso I know†I would write down “join AIRâ€. No point wasting your time making mistakes that others have already made when you could be gigging. This site is a great resource for anyone in the industry or wanting to be in the industry and I find myself on it at least once or twice a week to make sure Liveband is going in the right direction
Lefsetz Letter Bob Lefsetz has been around the music biz for years and has got plenty to say about it. You mightn’t always agree with what he has to say, but he knows his stuff and at the very least the Lefsetz Letter is a good read. At its best you will get to know which way the industry is turning, be the next big thing, make a fortune and retire to a tropical island! The island could be a little crowded though because a huge number of people in the industry worldwide read the Lefsetz Letter.
Sonicbids This nifty site makes it really easy for bands and promoters to link up without sending constant press-kits through the mail. A lot of the festivals in the US are solely using Sonicbids for artist submissions. Takes a lot of the licking and sticking press kit envelopes out of the equation while giving you a very professional electronic press kit to put you out and about.
Thanks for the tips, Jamie!
If you’ve ever wished for more hours in the day, you’ll want to read self-help site Lifehack.org’s list of tips for making the most of the time you’ve got. The first step is to cut out stuff that is making unnecessary inroads on your time, for example, too much TV. Second step: make the most of your “gap time”, otherwise known as the minutes/hours between meaningful activities. Thirdly, prioritise what needs to be done and do it. None of this is exactly rocket science, but I can use all the time management advice I can get (and I’m pretty sure you’re with me, right?). If you know a good time tip that you don’t see on this list, please share in the comments.
21 Ways to Add More Hours to the Day [Lifehack]Windows only: Define and switch between custom keyboard layouts with the Microsoft Keyboard Layout Creator, a freeware download from Microsoft. Let’s say, for example, you type a lot of accented letters or you’re thinking about switching to a Dvorak keyboard layout; with the Keyboard Layout Creator, you can keep your traditional Qwerty keyboard, but quickly toggle to your new custom layout at any time using the Caps Lock button (most of us hardly use it anyway). When you’re done with the alternate layout, just toggle Caps Lock again and you’re back to your main layout. The software can be a little tough to wrap your head around, so take a look at this US/German template after you install KLC to get an idea of how it works. Thanks xeen!
The Microsoft Keyboard Layout Creator [Microsoft]In a welcome but long-overdue change, you can now edit the layout of your iGoogle tabs directly from the edit menu to display anywhere from one to four columns with varying widths. (Of course, the one-column option gives you the equivalent layout of no columns.) In order to edit your tab layout, select the tab and choose the “Edit this tab” option from the drop-down.
Edit iGoogle Tab Layout [Google Blogoscoped]Avoid overweight luggage charges next time you’ve filled your bag with souvenirs with the New Digital Scale. You can easily weigh your luggage on a regular bathroom scale to ensure that you’re under the airline limit, but after you’ve gone on a trip, packing your souvenirs for the return fight is where you’re most likely to get burned—and chances are you won’t have a bathroom scale handy. The New Digital Scale attaches to the handle of your luggage; you then lift the scale until it beeps and displays the weight of your suitcase. The New Digital Scale costs $US25 and weighs only 8 oz (225g). AU – looks like they do ship to Australia but strangely when I checked the international shipping fee scale, Australia wasn’t listed. It costs $US27 to ship to NZ though – so finding a local supplier might be an idea!
Digital Scale [Magellan's Travel Supplies via InFlightHQ.com]While most reputable companies make it easy to unsubscribe from their email list, those same companies make it as much of a pain as possible to unsubscribe from their paper catalogue. Sick of watching my recycling bin fill up with unopened catalogues, and haunted by the thought of all that wasted paper, postage and petrol, I set out this weekend to start unsubscribing from catalogue mailings that I’m not sure I ever opted into to begin with.
