Category: Working From Home

How To Scan Documents With Your Phone

by Edna Butler, posted in Apps, My Blog, Tech Tools, Working From Home

Having an exclusive scanner is of course useful if you have a large number of documents to scan. But if you are on the go and need to scan a couple of documents urgently, you can definitely trust your phone to give you good results. Technology that is advancing by the hour has made the same possible through various applications depending on the smartphone in use.

Scanning Documents Using Your iPhone

To use your iphone for scanning, you will first have to make sure that your phone is updated to iOS11. It has added new features to NOTES which is the in- built application that will help you scan documents using your iPhone. Following are the steps that will help you in the scanning process:

  1. Click to open Notes.
  2. To create a new note, click on the square with a pencil in it.
  3. On the menu bar above your keyboard, tap the circle with the +.
  4. Now, on the scroll up menu that appears select scan documents.
  5. Fill your phone’s screen with the image of the document you want to scan. You can manually focus and capture the image of your document by clicking on the shutter button or let notes do it automatically.
  6. You will now see the preview and notes will give you the options to either keep scan or retake.
  7. Once you are done scanning all pages, you can see a list of your documents in Notes. And if any corrections are needed, you just need to tap the image of the page to be edited and a menu with editing options will appear.
  8. To automatically save your edited scanned document, tap on done.
  9. Tap the Upload icon to save the scan as a PDF.
  10. Next tap on Create PDF.
  11. Click on Done.
  12. Finally, Select where you want to save your PDF file, then Tap Add. Your PDF is saved to your desired location and is ready to be sent out.

The only drawback with notes is that it gives you only limited options to edit your document. If you are looking a more advanced application, the recommended one for iOS users is ScannerPro but which unfortunately is a paid application.

Scanning Documents Using Your Android Phone

When it comes to android phones, you will need Google Drive to be installed in your phone to scan documents. Following are the steps that will help you in the scanning process:

  1. Tap on the Google Drive icon to open.
  2. The scanning mode automatically opens using your phone’s camera. If this does not happen, tap on the camera icon when you are ready to scan.
  3. Automatically, the scanner will focus and capture the page after you have positioned the camera over the document.
  4. In case of multiple pages, continue switching the page and they will get captured automatically.
  5. Once you are done scanning all the pages, tap on the thumbnail image at the lower right corner of your screen.
  6. You will now be able to preview your document and any editing can be done if required.
  7. Finally, tap on save PDF. This will save your document to the adobe scan cloud immediately. However, if you want the document to be saved on your device, go to the application’s settings and set your preference to “save scan to device” under photos (iphone) or gallery (android).

Conclusion

Apart from all these, there are many more scanner applications like Tiny Scanner, Genius Scan, TurboScan and CamScanner. But the ones mentioned above cover all the basic requirements for scanning. So, the next time you need to scan a document, there is no need to hunt for a cliché “SCANNER”! Your phone will definitely deliver reliable quality scans. Thanks to these applications and programs, we will move one step closer to going paperless.

Best Mail Folders

by Edna Butler, posted in Computer Organization, Email, Tech Tools, Working From Home

For years my e-mail approach was like killing a Hydra. For each email I deleted, two more arrived in my inbox. Part of the problem, I knew, was the nature of my job.

My best friend works for a large consulting firm and I was grateful to outline the approximate strategy that his company shares with consultants to help them manage their volatile mailboxes. The technology is delivered with all the beauty and simplicity expected of a company that calculates seven digits per action and depends on a folder system that can count on one hand.

DITCH SUBJECTS FOR CONDITIONS

The major fault in my experience is forming folders based on subjects. E-mails, such as meetings, seldom fall by the wayside. Where do you archive an important update that covers two independent projects? What do you do with the same email if you need an answer?

The second mistake I’ve seen, and the personal commitment, is trying to use a mailbox as a to-do list. There simply are not enough hours on the workday to respond to the emails that are accumulating there. Over time, just because of the way I “organized” my mailbox, the e-mails that I should have answered were pushed deeper and deeper and eventually they were forgotten.

The system that saved my mental balance needs only five folders:

  • Inbox: The input tray is a holding pen. Emails should not stay here longer than necessary to be saved in another folder. The exception to this rule is when you respond immediately and wait for an immediate response.
  • This week: everything that needs to be answered before the end of the week.
  • This month/quarter: everything that requires a long-term answer. Depending on their function, some emails may need a month’s time to respond, others can operate quarterly.
  • For Your Information (FYI): Most of the articles I receive are informative. If I think I should get an email, I will save it in this folder.

SHOW NO MERCY

The email will quickly become your teacher if you take no responsibility. So, once you have adopted this system, you must follow without mercy; there are no half measures. We tend to be more relaxed about the new adoption habits as their novelty fades. But I’ve improved over time by sticking to my Five-Folder Rule. I’m relentless with deleting emails that do not require my attention.

Here are five suggestions that make the system more effective:

First of all, I keep a real list of pending activities. Occasionally I add items to this list based on the content of an email that does not require an answer. For example, if an email thread causes us to schedule a meeting, I’ll write a note to prepare my boss with certain information from those emails, but I’ll delete it after completing the preparation session.

Second, do not overstate your importance. Too many people want to express their opinions about too many things. We all have leadership aspirations and that is generally a good thing. One way to increase your influence is to take on more responsibility. But do not confuse the opinion with the leadership, or increase the number of emails with more difficult tasks. If you do not need to answer, put it in the folder “FYI” or delete it, it’s either. And if it stays in “cc,” you get the last thread if all respond, so you should not worry.

Third, do not overstate the importance of others. Many people want answers today. I’m one of them. But I’ve learned that today I do not always need or deserve an answer. This is especially true if you have obligations that directly affect customers or the financial health of your business. Do not put emails in the Today folder that you do not own. If it is in the Today folder, it must respond without exception on that day.

Fourth, you can work in multiple folders at the same time. Aim to maintain the “Today” folder little for obvious motives. If it’s empty and you have time to send longer-term emails, go to the “This Week” folder. I usually spend Friday mornings writing emails this week. If I do not have all the information I need, I can start my answer, but save it as a draft and send it only when everything is grilled.

Finally, if your work is project-based, you can create this system from five folders for each project. It is possible to run two or three projects simultaneously, and technically a total of 10 to 15 folders are created, but the system is retained. Once the project is completed, it saves the entire structure.

As with any new work habits, especially personal organization, it may seem unnatural at first; I found out that I had to get used to it. Shortly after that, I was still stressed because I felt I was missing something. In reality, however, everything was finished and gradually I began to see it. I was doing a lot of SEO work at the time and implementing some tips I found on Domain Authority Links. It turned out that I was used to feeling the weight of the e-mail, and I confused it with productivity. Armed with only five folders, these days are over.