PhD Meta

Meetings are an essential part of PhD life. Here are some thoughts on how to have successful meetings:

Reasons to hold a meeting:

Some tips for email etiquette, based on my experience and this resource:

• Use an informative 'verb-based' subject line (e.g., "Can we meet") if you want something done
• Re-iterate the subject line the email
• Keep if very short. If you have something longer to say, include it in the attachment.
• Appropriate header (Hi, Hello) and closer (Best, Thanks)
• If you have to ask a question, do not bury it in the middle of the question. It should in the first 2 to 3 sentences of the email, and should be followed by white-space.
• Always suggest a time, even if it is to get the ball rolling.
• Respond within 12 hrs, 24 at the absolute latest, even if just to say "saw this"
• If there are multiple people on the email, "call out" each one specifically if you have specific tasks

And a Gmail app if you want to know if people read your emails / personalize a mass email: link

For email management, I use something similar to the following link:

• Do Not spend more than 1-1.5 hrs per day on emails.
• In 15 min scheduled time blocks, use that time to triage or to answer anything that you can do in under 2 mins. Flag the important follow-ups or use your folders. 
• Triage (if important, otherwise Delete): 
• Do it (2 minutes or less)
• Delegate it (forward function)
• Defer it (Star it, e.g., all scheduling requests, use rules, use categories)
• Deposit it (Into a file folder)

Not everyone will have tracked changes on from the time they start editing, so always merge with your original document first.

Check out this link, especially the tip about showing changes in the 'Original Document' as opposed to a new one!