Today I’m presenting at the TECH cocktail Conference in Chicago, and the following is a guide to the timesaving material that will be discussed.

Whether you’re viewing this from the conference or just stopping by from elsewhere, I hope this will serve as a resource for:

1. Time-saving software tools
2. Tweaks to win back time from popular applications
3. Techniques for manufacturing time every day

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Everyone’s talking about you. Are you paying attention? If you’re a newbie this is a good starting point, and If you’re familiar with this stuff, just skip to the new part.

I’ll frame this in the context of searching both about you and your company.

There are many services out there, but I’ll focus on free ones you can set up and then forget about. I’ll also offer some ideas for what to search for.

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Some books feel like they’ll never end, but they all have a last page. The web never ends. Finality is elusive when there’s always another link to click and mailbox to check. And the more social and prolific you become, the worse the predicament.

Today I want to offer you some limits–some that have helped me and others with which I still struggle. Monitors may get lighter and cheaper every year, but the weight and toll of the backlit universe they materialize has grown out of control. It’s time to get away.

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A couple years ago most people stopped emailing chain letters and jokes. The people I’d fallen out of touch with never sent job listings. But now social networking has brought us a whole new generation of spam.

A word to the wise: just because I accept your friend invitation doesn’t mean that you should bug me with junk you’d never have emailed. Networks may make it easier to message people, but please show a little restraint.

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The only thing that bothers me more than unprofessional email is the junk that people write in them when they’re reaching out to me. So I’m going to address how to write a professional email to someone you have little or no relationship with.

Those who follow half these rules will get a prompt personal response from me–and they’ve always worked for me. So read on, give it a shot, and maybe you’ll land that new client/job/hottie you’ve had your eye on.

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Most people don’t own their email’s domain (i.e., the part after the @ symbol). Many exclusively use an email address that was provided to them by their internet service provider or place of employment.

This is a wake up call: don’t wait any longer to own and control your email. Here are some scenarios that may fit you, and how to fix things.

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Keeping in touch isn’t good enough.  Social media improves the quantity of connections but not necessarily the quality of relationships.  So how do you build a real friendship with people you don’t see regularly?

You create presence.  This concept has long helped me in romantic relationships but it’s equally relevant with friends and colleagues.  I want to address this for three reasons:

1. I see people using social media as a replacement for other forms of relationship building.  It is a vehicle for keeping in touch, not a destination
2. Keeping in touch is different than presence–both easier and more difficult
3. I’ve just returned from the School of Blogging Conference and I want to hold onto some of those folks (#sobcon08)

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Three quarters of the meetings that “merit a face-to-face” really don’t. It’s not “telecommuting” (that’s so 1997) and it shouldn’t even be called “working remotely”–it’s just WORKING. I’m putting my foot down and removing any distinction. Working from home has greatly improved my business, my sanity, and my life. So I’m opening up the kimono here on my tools. No, you don’t need to come in, you can read this from anywhere in the world.

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A pet peeve of mine is receiving unprofessional email–but I realize there’s no easy way to learn the subtleties. I’m not talking about email content, but how you format and configure it. This stuff is visible to your recipients and easy to fix. If you’re not familiar with this, then that’s the point–I hope you’ll read on to improve how your email reflects upon you.

Next week I’ll tackle the much harder topic of the email content, but for now…

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If you fill your iPod with a diversity of audiobooks and podcasts then you’ll be a far less stressed individual…when you find yourself waiting or stuck.  This isn’t a revolutionary shazam productivity tip–it’s plain psychology: when you feel you’re wasting time, doing something seemingly productive (like reading/learning) will not only pass the time but quell the desire to accomplish.

I’ll admit it, I like productivity for the sake of productivity–I’ll put off folding the laundry until I’m on the phone with a friend.  But there’s more to it: when I’m stuck in traffic or waiting for a train, especially during the business day, I get frustrated that I could be doing something more useful.  That’s where audiobooks and podcasts enter the picture: they make me feel I’m using my time more wisely.  I love music, and sometimes prefer it, but I’d recommend having some good podcasts or audiobooks handy.  Many tips and download recommendations follow…

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