Web Worker Daily

10 Useful Thunderbird Add-ons for Almost Everybody
CoRD: Connect to Windows PCs From Your Mac
How to Set Up a Teleworking Expansion Fund
62 Ways to Use Twitter for Business
Web Worker Rx: Take a Mental Health Day

10 Useful Thunderbird Add-ons for Almost Everybody

Posted: 03 Aug 2009 04:00 PM PDT

Thunderbird, Mozilla’s email client, is a favorite of many web workers because it’s free, open source and feels faster, lighter and more efficient than Microsoft Outlook. But did you know that, like Firefox, Thunderbird has a wide range of free add-ons available that can enhance your email experience by customizing the app to your liking?

I recently moved to a new computer, which compelled me to revisit my Thunderbird add-ons. Here’s a list of my favorites. I’ve put them into a WebWorkerDaily Thunderbird Collection to make it easy for you to find them all.

AttachmentExtractor: Adds more power to Thunderbird’s attachment management feature. With AttachmentExtractor, you can save all of the attachments to an email to frequently-used folders. You can also save all, delete all and detach all files, rather than having to do it one-by-one.

Enhance attachment management with Attachment Extractor

Attachment Reminder: Most of us will have sent an email from where we have forgotten to include an attachment. Attachment Reminder looks for the presence or certain keywords (attachment, attach, etc.) in the text of your email. If the keyword is present but no file is attached when you go to send the email, a window will pop up, asking if you need to attach a file.

Check and Send: Checks for keywords in the message body before sending, so can perform the same role as Attachment Reminder; which one you use is a matter of preference.

Contacts Sidebar: Adds a sidebar containing your contacts list for faster access.

Disable Drag and Drop: This genius feature stops you from accidentally moving one folder into another. I’ve had this happen to me before. If you need to move your folders around, disable the feature and then enable it again (you’ll need restart Thunderbird after disabling and enabling).

eMarks: This add-on enables you to bookmark important emails for later reading.

Lightning: Adds a calendar feature to Thunderbird. If you use Google Calendar, Lightning can sync with it, with a little help from Provider for Google Calendar.

Lightning adds a calendar to Thunderbird

LookOut: Have you ever received an email that has an attachment called “winmail.dat” or “body_part”? Sometimes Outlook sends an email and puts the contents in an attached file. LookOut opens up the contents so you can read it rather than go through the complicated process of trying to convert the encoded file into English.

Nostalgy: Improved productivity by creating keyboard shortcuts to instantly change folders, move messages into a specific folder, change between the To, CC and BCC fields, use folder name auto-completion, and more.

Quote Collapse: If you’re bothered by excessive quoting in emails or newsgroup posts, this add-on can help you by automatically collapsing them. You can expand them again by clicking on them.

Signature Switch: An icon appears on the toolbar instant switching between email signatures. You can also set up auto-switching by recipient.

I install new add-ons one at a time rather than a bunch in one sitting. This way I can test each add-on to ensure it works before adding another. Also, before downloading an add-on, remember to verify its compatibility with your version of Thunderbird.

What are your favorite Thunderbird add-ons?

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CoRD: Connect to Windows PCs From Your Mac

Posted: 03 Aug 2009 01:00 PM PDT

While many web workers use (and love) Macs, most of the rest of the world still uses Windows PCs. So what do you do if you need to connect to, or control, a client’s Windows machine? Microsoft offers its free Remote Desktop Connection Client, but its interface doesn’t make it that easy to use. There is a free open-source alternative, CoRD, which has just been updated to version 0.5. Andrew over at TheAppleBlog has been taking the new version for a spin, and highly recommends it. He particularly likes the way that CoRD supports multiple connections, selectable from a list. The new version also gets props for support for Windows 7, Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008, and interface and performance improvements.

CoRD is a free download for OS X 10.5 or later. Check out the post over at the TheAppleBlog for more detail.

Do you prefer CoRD or Microsoft Remote Desktop Connection Client?

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How to Set Up a Teleworking Expansion Fund

Posted: 03 Aug 2009 11:00 AM PDT

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While some employers will pay for the equipment expenses of their teleworking employees, there’s only so much they can cover. Freelancers like myself have it in even tougher — they need to provide their own gear from the beginning. I guess the price of location independence is that we’re often on our own when it comes to these expenses.

Because of this, I’ve been building my own “teleworking expansion fund” over the past two years. I call it that because it allows me to expand the range of tools and skills that I have. The purpose of the fund is to cover work-related emergencies and pay for equipment and software, as well as the odd educational expense, such as books or seminars. My experience with my fund has been successful, and I recommend that you consider setting one up yourself. Here’s how to do it.

Know what your expansion fund is for. Defining the purpose of your fund can allow you to objectively rate if an expense should be covered or not. Is it for emergencies? For building your skills? For purchasing new hardware and software? Or is it for all of the above? Setting your objectives will make it clear.

Here are some instances where you might need to tap into your fund:

Equipment repairs and replacements.
Purchasing new software or web app subscriptions.
Fixing and renovating your home office.
Paying for books, resources, seminars and courses, which will add to your skills and expertise.

Find out how much you spend on teleworking each month. Do the math and add up all your teleworking expenses each month. Include app subscriptions, domain name and hosting fees, and telecommunications bills to your list. If you can, try to keep two to three months’ worth of these expenses in your fund.

Why do you need to do this? In case you find yourself in a financial emergency and strapped for cash, you still need to maintain all the services that you need to do your job. This is especially important for freelancers who might occasionally suffer from a dry spell.

Compute how much you can save. Based on your monthly expenses, how much can you set aside for your expansion fund? It might be difficult to compute an exact amount if you’re a freelancer or if you don’t have a fixed predictable monthly income. If that’s the case for you, then it’s best to think in terms of percentages rather than fixed amounts.

Don’t feel pressured to set aside larger sums, especially if you’re just starting out. Even 2 percent each month can add up to a lot over the course of a year.

Automate it. Many banks offer services that allow you to automatically send a specific amount from your payroll account to a savings account each month. The benefits of doing this are twofold. First, you’re forced to save regularly. Secondly, you won’t have to remember to do it it every month.

Having this type of fund, no matter how small, is a good way to both protect and enrich your career. If you haven’t built one yet, I encourage you to try it — starting this month.

Do you save a portion of your income for business and equipment expenses? What tips can you share with other teleworkers?

Image by yochim from sxc.hu

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62 Ways to Use Twitter for Business

Posted: 03 Aug 2009 09:00 AM PDT

Most of you know that Twitter can be used for much more than just announcing what you ate for breakfast. Many of you already know Twitter’s value in business, but you can still take it further and use it to land gigs, market your business, grow your network and gain free publicity — all in 140 characters or less.

It’s true that Twitter is what you make of it. Some people publicize their daily activities, some make it about link love, some share quotes all day long. Smart people using Twitter for business mix it up. Here are 62 ways to use Twitter more effectively in your business.

Share Expertise to Build Credibility

Help others with problems.
Share tips related to your business and work-life balance.
Share photos (Twitpic makes it easy) of conferences, travel, products and other interesting finds.
Provide selected highlights from a conference or event.
Report industry, company, world and other news that’s related to your business, together with some commentary.
Link to articles and content posted elsewhere with a summary of why it’s valuable.
Post original thoughts on your topic, industry and business.

Grow Your Network

Ask about other locales so you can make the most of a trip, or meet up with Twitter friends.
Connect with friends from other social networks. Can you name one person who has only one social network account? (Grandparents on Facebook don’t count.)
Join industry and topic groups related to your business and career on sites like www.twibes.com and www.wefollow.com.
Feed your Twitter tweets into other social networks like FriendFeed. (Although consider carefully before integrating your Twitter feed into other profiles, Like Facebook, as a stream of tweets can overwhelm your contacts.)
Combine your social media approach: when someone asks question in Twitter, respond briefly in Twitter with a link to another site with the detailed response.
Participate in Twitter chats related to your industry or business on a regular basis. Although you should beware that the stream of tweets from chats can overwhelm contacts that aren’t participating in the chat, so consider using a separate ID for chats.
Research prospects before meeting them. You can gain a lot of valuable information just from scanning their tweets, profile and contacts.
Discover trends. You can use Twitter search for this purpose. Mashable also has a list of tools that you can use for tracking trends on Twitter.
Network to find new clients or land a new job. Just be careful of making your tweets overly promotional, as that’s not appreciated by most twitter users
Stay in touch with friends and colleagues. You ever know when a friend of colleague might have a lead for you.
Get referrals.
Give referrals.
Ask questions.
Answer questions.
Recommend other Twitter users to your network including reasons to follow them — by sharing goodwill you will encourage others to reciprocate.
Use search feature to find topics, keywords and locations. Use hashtags or usernames to limit results to topics or responses mentioning a person. Dawn has some more tips on advanced Twitter search here.
Spread your tweets throughout the day, rather than posting the all at once, as people check Twitter at different times of the day. It’s always prime time on Twitter.
Look for connections related to a job you want.
Find vendors and contractors.

Marketing

If your site’s not working or you’re suffering from another problem, give updates on Twitter so customers know what’s going on.
Find experts to invite as a guest blogger on your blog or as speaker at your event.
Seek sponsors for a contest or program.
Hold a contest using Twitter: it can spread like wildfire. Squarespace’s iPhone contest made the trending topic list.
Use applications and tools like www.clickablenow.com and www.twittercustomizer.com to enhance your Twitter background and profile.
Put together a virtual mastermind group.
Track conversations mentioning your name or your brand.
Respond to tweets talking about you and your brand.
Link to your content wisely and sparingly to avoid looking too promotional.
Do market research and gain knowledge with polls and surveys.
Share those survey and poll results.
Publish your Twitter ID on all marketing collateral, including business cards, email signature, email newsletters, web sites and brochures, so prospects can learn more about you.
Share what you’re doing so people learn about the type of work you do. Do this on occasion rather than all day long.
Avoid hard-sell tactics: focus on relationship building.
Write honest and valuable recommendations for your contacts on sources like Mr. Tweet.
Link to your presentations and videos.
Mention when you’re attending or speaking at an upcoming event.
Announce the publication of your newsletter’s latest issue, along with a brief description.
Post discounts, coupons and package deals.
Announce job openings to find qualified talent.

Do the Right (and Fun) Thing

Share information that is useful for prospective clients or employers to enhance your reputation.
Be nice even when you have a difference of opinion.
Save the “Thanks for following me,” “Thanks for the RT” or similar tweets for direct messages (DM).
Use Twitter often to improve, tighten and sharpen your writing.
Remember to laugh and have fun because it inspires you to innovate and be creative in your job.
Make your goals public to compel you to reach them.
Start your day strong: some people find Twitter interactions put them in a good mood.

Finally, Some Tips for Absolute Beginners

Read Twitter’s own Twitter 101 Guide and other Twitter articles.
Use keywords on your profile and a fun fact to earn trust, add personality and enable you to be found.
Dump the default Twitter avatar and use a photo of yourself or a suitable image.
Follow experts, companies, competitors and leaders in your industry.
Limit Twitter automation, because it comes across as phony.
Think quality not quantity.
Be authentic, genuine and real. In other words, be yourself.
Mix up the tweet types to include retweets (RT), @replies, original thoughts, and links to other people’s content (not just your own).
Don’t get overwhelmed by the number of contacts you have. Organize them into groups using third-party applications like Tweetdeck and Seesmic.

Like this post? Check out the other useful articles in this series 32 Ways to Use Facebook for Business, 34 Ways to Use YouTube for Business and 33 Ways to Use LinkedIn for Business. Find us at @webworkerdaily on Twitter.

What other ways do you use Twitter for business?

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Web Worker Rx: Take a Mental Health Day

Posted: 03 Aug 2009 07:00 AM PDT

relax I don’t really like the phrase, “mental health day,” but the idea behind it is very important and relevant to every web worker. We all need time away from our work and businesses. Time to collect our thoughts, get some breathing room, and get away from the computer screen.

It may not seem important, but taking time away from our work has just as big an impact on our productivity as putting in a full day. It’s not just about the quantity of hours we devote to our jobs, but the quality. How much of the time that we’re spending on our work is going to be effective and productive if we never take time to get away from it?

We all need time off, so it’s important to make a conscious choice to include it in our to-do lists and schedules. But what do you do on “mental health days,” anyway? The main thing to remember is that your time away from your business needs to be restorative. It needs to help energize you and inspire you. It shouldn’t be filled with tasks that are as taxing and monotonous as work.

Here are a few ideas to help you improve your use of time off.

It Has to Be 100 Percent Work-free.

Free time has to be just that, free. Don’t spend your time on work-related tasks, even those that don’t really seem like work (thinking of the direction you want to take with your business, blogging, writing, reading blogs, etc.). No, this time should be spent on things that are the complete opposite of work. Avoid the office and computer altogether, so that there’s no temptation to do “just one little thing” that turns into several hours.

Fill the Day With Physical Activity.

Exercise and other physically demanding tasks are a good way to use free time. This type of activity gets your mind off all your regular demands, builds up your energy levels, and reduces your stress. Bike, hike, walk, dance or play a sport. It doesn’t matter what you choose. Just make sure it involves a lot of movement.

Plan Your Day Around a Meal.

Cook a meal from scratch. Bake cookies or desserts all afternoon with your kids, nieces and nephews, or a good friend. Cooking can be very therapeutic and relaxing. It takes all your attention and distracts you from workaday life.

Spend the Time With Friends and Family.

Web workers can feel particularly isolated at times, so it’s important to intentionally plan time for a social life. Go out for coffee with a friend (or better yet, invite them over for coffee and save some money). Go for a walk at a local park or recreation area. Throw a potluck and invite several friends or family members who you rarely get to see. Even just making time to call a relative can make you feel connected.

Your time away from work should be about having fun, relaxing and generating the energy you need to tackle your days. It’s not a guilty pleasure, but a necessity for staying productive and fully engaged in your business.

How do you spend your “mental health days”? Share your ideas for staying motivated and energized by taking time off.

Image from Flickr by epSos.de