Author: Chris Starr

Back to Reality: Great Email Articles to Help Ease Into The Fall

It’s official—Labor Day has come and gone, the kids are back in school, there’s a chill in the air (assuming you live somewhere in the Northern Hemisphere that has actual seasons, which I do not) and summer vacation already seems a disconcertingly distant memory. And because Timyo is all about productivity and peace-of-mind, we thought we’d share a couple of items to help ease the transition back to cool autumnal reality. “How to Get Caught Up On Email After Vacation: 9 Helpful Tips” This great post comes to us from Lindsay Kolowich at Hubspot. My favorite is Tip #2—“Set expectations… Continue reading Back to Reality: Great Email Articles to Help Ease Into The Fall

PUBLISHED ON Posted on Author BY Chris Starrin Categories life
To Do or Not To Do

To-Do or Not To-Do? It’s Not Even a Question.

Recently, the productivity world has been abuzz about a new concept called “The Bullet Journal”. People are so excited that they are even using the whole phrase as a verb, as in, “Do you bullet journal?” And when people start verbing your name, you know you’re on to something—if you don’t believe me, just google it :). Cari Romm‘s got a great article over at Science of Us that offers a comprehensive breakdown of the bullet journal phenomenon, as well as the reasons why to-do lists in general and the bullet journal in particular are effective productivity tools. Much To-Do… Continue reading To-Do or Not To-Do? It’s Not Even a Question.

PUBLISHED ON Posted on Author BY Chris Starrin Categories life
Clear Expectations and Email Clichés

Clear Expectations and Email Clichés

Yesterday we shared an interesting article from Julie Beck at The Atlantic: “Thank Heaven for Email Clichés”. Beck raises a couple of points that are pertinent to Timyo: 1. Expectations are important. “To some degree, this is the expectation of all of us who send emails professionally—a kind greeting and a kind sign-off to sandwich the actual message. That’s not a bad thing, when the alternative is requests and demands splatted on your screen without a buffer of civility.” It’s easy to decry email clichés like “I hope you’re well” and “Best” as empty and insincere, but, as Beck points… Continue reading Clear Expectations and Email Clichés

PUBLISHED ON Posted on Author BY Chris Starrin Categories email
three problems with email

Three Problems With Email… And One Great Solution

Last week we shared a great article by Rosscott called “The Problem With Email”. Besides some great visuals—including the wonderfully named “The Cycle of (Time) Suck”—the article offers some fantastic insights into several different but related problems with email. Problem #1: Mission Creep “Now, e-mail is considered instantaneous[…] [A]s more and more devices allow us to keep an eye on things, people have begun to think of mail as more of a tool of instant message than that of a thoughtful missive.” “Mission creep” is a term taken from the military, describing the slow and unintended deviation from a mission’s early… Continue reading Three Problems With Email… And One Great Solution

PUBLISHED ON Posted on Author BY Chris Starrin Categories email
will arnett timyo is a real game changer

Will Arnett: Timyo is a “Real Game Changer” [Interview]

Timyo is very excited to have Will Arnett as a key part of our team. Besides being one of the funniest guys we can think of, his intelligence and generosity have been crucial to making Timyo into everything we want it to be. I recently got a chance to chat with Will about Timyo and an exclusive Timyo video that will soon be coming your way. C: Will, thanks so much for taking the time away from your busy schedule to talk about your involvement with Timyo. You’re out promoting the new season of Bojack Horseman, right? W: I am, we did… Continue reading Will Arnett: Timyo is a “Real Game Changer” [Interview]

PUBLISHED ON Posted on Author BY Chris Starrin Categories email
work-life balance

Work-Life Boundaries, Not Work-Life Balance

A couple of days ago we posted a great article from Lauren Laitin that reframes how we traditionally think of the work-life balance: “First, the very phrase [work-life balance] suggests that work isn’t part of your life, it’s separate. Yet your career probably takes up a huge amount of your waking hours, so how could it not be an integral part of your life? The second issue is that balance is elusive and rarely attainable. At its core, the act of balancing is both inflexible and delicate, but life requires flexibility.” So if “work-life balance” is not the best way… Continue reading Work-Life Boundaries, Not Work-Life Balance

PUBLISHED ON Posted on Author BY Chris Starrin Categories life
Better Work Email? Timyo Can Help.

Better Work Email? Timyo Can Help.

Yesterday, we shared a cool article from Forbes and LearnVest by Emma Miller: 6 tips for better work email. It’s all good advice, and particularly pertinent here because some of the tips address problems that are solved directly by using Timyo! “1. Keep It Short ’n’ Sweet” Agreed. See? 🙂 “2. Make Your Timing Count” Productivity expert Chris Bailey (whom we’ve featured here before) recommends avoiding sending messages at off times (like right before the end of the day), and also discusses using a “send-later” service that will hold off sending emails for you until a prescribed time. These are great… Continue reading Better Work Email? Timyo Can Help.

PUBLISHED ON Posted on Author BY Chris Starrin Categories news
Respect find out what it means to email

R-E-S-P-E-C-T, Find Out What It Means To Email

Yesterday, we shared a great article by L.V. Anderson about typos in email and what they say about power dynamics in the office. The gist is this: At best, informal, typo-ridden messages sent from the top of a professional hierarchy to the bottom reflect the fact that bosses aren’t particularly concerned about coming across as sloppy to their subordinates. At worst, they’re a deliberate power move—a signal to junior staffers that they aren’t worth the time it would take to correct the mistakes in an email before hitting send. The whole article is worth a read, but here I want… Continue reading R-E-S-P-E-C-T, Find Out What It Means To Email

PUBLISHED ON Posted on Author BY Chris Starrin Categories email
time over money

TIME > MONEY = :) !

Yesterday, we shared a cool post from Vox’s Brian Resnick, discussing research at the University of Pennsylvania and UCLA that seems to show that valuing time over money correlates with greater levels of personal happiness. In short: the more you prioritize time over money, the happier you will probably be! This is great news at Timyo, where we care a lot about time. The study found that, even when controlling for how much money participants had, stating a preference for more time over more money correlated with being happier. Of course, as the article notes: People want both more time and… Continue reading TIME > MONEY = 🙂 !

PUBLISHED ON Posted on Author BY Chris Starrin Categories news
Why Timyo Is the Ultimate (Guilt-Free) Inbox Zero Killer

Why Timyo Is the Ultimate (Guilt-Free) Inbox Zero Killer

Yesterday, we shared a great article by Sara Stewart called “Inbox Zero is BS”. If you’ve been with us for awhile, you’ll know that, at Timyo, we couldn’t agree more. Ms. Stewart argues persuasively against the pointless, productivity-sucking waste of time that is the pursuit of Inbox Zero. As per a researcher quoted in her article: “When someone drops everything just to get an unread count back to zero, productivity might be taking a hit.” And, as the author herself points out: “Having an empty inbox has zero effect on your salary. You’re not getting paid to erase emails all day…”… Continue reading Why Timyo Is the Ultimate (Guilt-Free) Inbox Zero Killer

PUBLISHED ON Posted on Author BY Chris Starrin Categories email