Working Smart - 3

Search emails in Outlook 2016

Finding that elusive email from someone can become a life and death situation for us in Outlook. Multiple projects, client emails, and a swamped email box with 50+ emails received on a daily basis can be difficult to track. You know the mail was from X with an attachment but several emails over months make it impossible to zero down on the particular email especially if it was sent several months back

This version of Outlook can make your life easier if you are willing to spend some time reading this post. Follow the 9 easy steps below and you can quickly search for that elusive email

1. Open Outlook and go to your Inbox. Click your mouse on the “Search Current mailbox”.

2. The moment you click in the search bar, the cursor will start flashing in anticipation of your search

3. Your tab will change as per the screen above.4

4. Now go to the dropdown box as per the black arrow

5. The dropdown box should display all the fields you could possibly search from

6. Click on the fields you want and they will start stacking up below the search bar as you click on the fields. These will then drop down every time you put your cursor in the search bar - ready to aid you in a search.

7. Typically you would need the subject, cc, To, Attachments(Yes/No) and From.

8. You can also use Body which is quite useful when you want to search by a word in the body of the email.

9. This can be done in your “Sent” folder as well.

Work Smart and Happy Searching!

Also Read:

Working Smart - 1 Finding that Directory

Working Smart - 2 Save your files with a date

Immigration Blues – India

Having moved several countries since 2005, four countries and two continents, I am penning down my experiences with immigration authorities of various countries starting with India

ECR

An oddity with the Indian system of issuing passports is the famous ECR. This can pop up when you are checking in for your international flight out of the country for a job. If you are just visiting a friend, this may not be an issue.

What is ECR?

Bureau of Immigration states that,
As per the Emigration Act, 1983, Emigration Check Required (ECR) categories of Indian passport holders, require to obtain "Emigration Clearance" from the office of Protector of Emigrants (POE), Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs for going to following 18 countries.
United Arab Emirates (UAE), The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), Qatar, Oman, Kuwait, Bahrain, Malaysia, Libya, Jordan, Yemen, Sudan, Brunei, Afghanistan, Indonesia, Syria, Lebanon, Thailand, Iraq (emigration banned).
However , the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs (Emigration Policy Division) have allowed ECR passport holders traveling abroad for purposes others than employment to leave the country on production of valid passport, valid visa and return ticket at the immigration counters at international airports in India w.e.f. 1st October 2007.
If the RPO has issued Indian passport either with endorsement of “Emigration Check Required” or no endorsement of “Emigration Check Required” in the passport, POE clearance is required only when there is “Emigration Check Required” endorsement in the passport.
It stands for Emigration check required. Its a well meaning check put into place by the Indian authorities to ensure that the droves of labourers who work in various countries are not cheated and are employed by genuine employers abroad.

When does this stamp appear on your passport?  

At the time of your passport application, if you have not presented your graduation certificate or you were still in the process of acquiring a degree, then the Indian authorities would have put this stamp on your passport. The authorities deem that you are likely to be conned by some unscrupulous tout who has lured you into a job with some sweet talk and promises.

What to do if you have ECR?

If you already have a job then follow the following steps before trying to board your flight otherwise you will be turned back from the check-in counter. No amount of talking or convincing the person will work.

1. Get a translation of your visa (if its not in English) from a Government approved translator. If you are in Delhi, then you could try the underground Palika Bazaar for the translators. At least, they were there in 2005 but could have moved
2. You will be required to present an affidavit which will say that you will not hold the Indian government responsible if something goes wrong with your job abroad.
3. Present both of these to the Protector of Emigration, Ministry of Overseas Indian affairs. Please refer to the POE offices for details

For more details please refer to the Bureau of Immigration website

In my next post I shall be writing about my experience with the various Indian embassies in the countries where I have worked.

10. Entertain the team with emails written in (im)proper English

Image courtesy rakratchada torsap / Freedigitalphotos.net

As the last post in the series 10 (un)common mistakes to avoid in Project Management, I conclude the series with this post. here are some lines extracted from emails written. The lines have not been modified and I will leave it to the reader to interpret some of the meanings. If this becomes impossible or if you end up doubling in laughter or both, go to the end of the post where I have put in some hints about the lines. I have highlighted the faux pas in bold and italics. Some of them are really priceless nuggets. Have fun

1. … let us give pleasure to the client …
   
2. I don't what you to advice or work on any problem......
   
3. If [Person] what any information from your end or what your input for any …...
   
4. Let's discusses in detail when we come there......
   
5. I thought much , now can a they say the submission is on [day of the week] . All the tender which you see in [Place], they is no fixed date for submission. Anyways we will submit the same on [Date] .
   
6. I don't what you to work on your …....
   
7. How whats the problem …...
   
8. we have haired him has [Designation]. I what him to do that...
   
9. he what's [Place] team to make a ….
   
10. I what this to be done before …..
    
11. they what Engineers full time....
    
12. Please advice , so that we don't what 100 idea in between. I what every one.....
    
13. Please note - Team is busy with Project can waste time in training every day. Let's do it once and close it asap.

Hints

• For the first one read pleasure as pressure
• Read what as want
• Now and how are interchangeable
• they and there are interchangeable

Links to the previous posts
9. Don’t govern by threats
8. Support the team on the Ground
7. Provide Mission Critical information to the Project Team
6. Resource appropriately
5. How to (not) do your budget in five easy steps
4. Read the contract you just signed
3. Don't promise the impossible in a ridiculous timeframe
2. How (not) to win a contract
1. New Business Areas

4. Read the Contract you just signed

Sounds strange? Impossible? Three out of four times? Chances are that the contract that you have been handed over to execute has not been read by the person who signed it.  

Unbelievable as it may sound pressures of time, lack of appropriate resources and a desire to grab the contract often lead to these situations. In the contract that has been signed for you to execute has all the deliverables in the world that the client could think of. Not to mention the ridiculous time frame in which to execute them. It would be an unfortunate situation if you have such a situation to deal with. Disastrous if this is the fourth in the series of mistakes that have happened and you happen to inherit the consequences.

Some lessons you could learn would be (Pardon me for stating the obvious)

• Read the contract (before signing it of course!) and iron out the kinks. Both parties entering into the contract have an unsaid right to review the contract before it gets to the signing stage.
• It does a lot of good to your company’s professional reputation if you suggest a few changes which may have been missed out inadvertently.
• Save on “fan cleaning” costs at  later.

The next in the series is about getting your budgets right.

Links to the posts in this series

3. Don't promise the impossible in a ridiculous time frame

2. How (not) to win a contract

1. New Business Areas

3. Don’t promise the impossible in a ridiculous time frame

Image courtesy chokphoto / Freedigitalphotos.net

The third post in the series 10 (un)common mistakes to in Project Management. Promising the impossible in a ridiculous time frame. Rome wasn’t built in a day. Or a month or even a year. Recently the new Doha airport has also opened after a year’s delay. At the time of signing the contract for the project, Business development teams promise the impossible leaving the delivery team to struggle with the difficult schedule.
Bear with me and imagine a scenario wherein a less developed place, isolated from the developed world where even the most basic building material - cement is imported. Prices of commodities are normally three times the world average cost. Skilled labour is not available.  The topography does not favour you either. Steep gradients and a richly undulating landscape with more than 100 inches of rainfall annually. Residents of the place build a house over several years with very rudimentary techniques and methods. The largest building contractor does not build more than a few dozen residential units in a year. In this kind of a scenario would you sign a contract to deliver 1500 building units designed by architects sitting 6000 km away with the best of modern materials and amenities in less than a year? If you answered yes then I’d like to hear from you.
Valuable lessons to learn from such uncommon incidents :

• Acquaint yourselves with the ground realities of a place for which you are going to sign the contract.
• It does not hurt to disagree with the client regarding aggressive (read impossible) time lines. In fact, he should be given correct professional advice at the right time.
• The time frames are not aggressive by themselves alone, they become a constraint when other circumstances are ignored.

I will be posting about a fourth uncommon mistake "Read your contract".
Links to previous posts in this series
2. How (not) to win a contract
1. New Business Areas