I learned, from Compliance Training, that I can send an encrypted email from Outlook, simply by adding the text Send Secure to the subject line.
Recipients are then prompted to set up some kind of account to de-encrypt.
Cool!
Category: Useful Things
Button Up Your Overcoat!
It’s cold out there!
I learned that my long wool coat does nothing against a good winter wind, and that it’s time to break out the down coat and something for my head and ears! I was cold all day, or at least every time I went outside and for a good long time after that, each time!
Time to bundle up!
Invest In Research (x2)
Jill and I had a great day of craft fairs, and two lessons in doing backround checks came up:
We went to 5 craft fairs (or fair-like things), but of those, one was good and one was great, the others completely missable. More research needed.
My new GPS is terrible! I assumed it had basic features (it is 2010, after all), but it does not even have “spoken street name”. Back to Amazon for that thing! More research was needed.
Avoid Executive Negativity
Jomol just shared with us (her direct staff, in a forum we call Think Tank) that “executives hate negative statements”, so as project marketing and justification points that focus on a “lack of” certain functions or “gaps” in general. Better to put things into positive wording of the “opportunities” and put it in the positive.
Check it Twice
the calendar appointment that is! I have learned (again and again), to confirm the time in advance, particularly if the time changed or was unclear at some point. Otherwise I’ll be on time (if I’m lucky) for the wrong time!
It’s All Connected
From Gale:
We all know that a sinus infection can cause a toothache, but did you know it also works the other way? Thanks to Jane, I did not cancel the appt. Today I went back to the dentist almost embarrassed to ask him to look at my tooth again. He looked into my mouth and said “Oh you poor thing!”
My tooth had cracked, but when I was there a few weeks ago, it wasn’t as obvious as it was today. Unfortunately, it cracked all the way through the whole tooth, so it can’t be saved. But that’s not the lesson learned. Food was caught in the crack and it was infected. The lesson learned is that this may have been the cause of the sinus infection, and maybe why it wouldn’t go away.
http://www.ehow.com/way_5640585_bad-tooth-cause-sinus-trouble_.html
Oh, and no problem with the dentist. The internet tells me it can be very difficult to diagnose.
Just get the travel insurance
I learned this one the hard way: just buy the stupid travel insurance, the kind that lets you cancel for any reason.
I think of myself as a person who does not cancel or change trips. But the evidence, and my experience, is to the contrary.
From now on, I’m going with the flexibility.
I already fly Southwest whenever at all possible, because none of this matters for those flights – they are all completely transferable to other dates.
Back Up!
How many times does THIS need to be learned? A colleague got it right today. Not the part in which she spilled the water on the laptop. But the part about how she only lost part of a day’s work, because she is smart enough to back up ALL of her work data on common servers, not her own hard drive.
Location is Everything
I learned that owning a GPS does no good at all if it’s in the other car.
I have learned that it’s worth it to me to have one GPS for each car, and that low-feature ones are really cheap.
Label Prized Possessions
Even better to put things where they belong, every single time. But failing that (and I keep failing that), I have learned that it’s a really good idea to put my name and cell and/or email on all the items that I want returned to me.
Jane's Lessons Learned 