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5 Best Apps and Programs To Help You Manage Email In 2020

A McKinsey analysis, as quoted in the Harvard Business Review, revealed that emails take up as much as 28% of a professional’s time in the office. Another survey by Adobe puts the figure at 50%, suggesting the reading and reacting to emails could be more time-consuming than we think. However, taking much of a professional’s time in the office isn’t the only problem: emails have a negative impact on one’s attention, emotions and productivity. Here are 5 best email apps to help you avoid these challenges.

Microsoft Outlook

Compatible with both iOS and Android, Outlook helps you to coordinate your emails, contacts, attachments and calendars. This app is most suitable for handling piles of emails, courtesy of its quick swiping controls. Microsoft is constantly updating this email app with new features, such as cloud integration, making it suitable for both businesses and individuals.

Gmail

Gmail comes preloaded on Android devices, but you can buy it for iOS as well. Considered the most versatile, this email application brings together a host of useful features that include Google Docs, Google Sheets and Google Hangout. These features allow you to access your emails and documents from anywhere. Gmail also lets you create folders, star emails, and tag emails so you can make follow-ups later.

Dispatch

If you are handling high volumes of mails, Dispatch is the way to go. The app lets you sort and organize emails quickly. You can also create standardized responses to help you reply to several emails at once. Dispatch works with 55 other apps, including Fantastical, Evernote, Pocket, Twitter and Chrome, as well as a variety of most Google apps.

ProtonMail

Based in Switzerland, this app enjoys Swizz privacy laws. Emails sent or received are protected with end-to-end encryption, so no one can snoop around on them. Proton claims that these encrypted mails can never be shared with third parties. If you are concerned about your privacy and security, consider checking out ProtonMail.

Trove

Need an email client with AI? Trove is one of the smartest emails you should consider checking out in 2020. The app studies your behavior and learns which messages you consider important – a swipe will get rid of the rest from your inbox.


For meeting and event planners, reading and organizing emails can be so exhausting, impact negatively on your mood and productivity…and may even reduce your profits. Consider the above apps to stay ahead of the email curve – and click here to connect with us when ready to book your next meeting in Atlanta, New York City, Washington DC or San Francisco!

 

How to Incorporate Pantone’s 2020 Color of the Year Into Your Meeting

Recently, Pantone announced Classic Blue as its 2020 Color of the Year. The company called the hue reminiscent of “the sky at dusk.” Traditionally, Pantone’s Color of the Year makes a big impact on the design, decor and fashion around the world. It won’t be surprising to see the color show up at weddings, on invitations, conference branding, social media platforms and more!

Yet fashion designers, wedding planners, graphic designers, interior decorators, and social media influencers aren’t the only ones who can employ this color. Here are ways meeting and conference planners can incorporate Classic Blue into meetings and events:

Branding

The branding for your meeting or conference is often tied into the brand of your company (or client’s company). However, no matter how big or small the business is, how you interact with customers, what you’re selling or where you are, one truth is consistent across the board: you need consistent and engaging branding. This year consider bringing the ‘Color of the Year’ into that color mix!

Signage

Wayfinding is an important component of conferences and other multi-room events. Classic Blue would be an excellent alternative to black for arrows and the font on the signage. Another option is to use eye-catching white text and arrows while Classic Blue serves as the background color on the signage.

Digital Presentations

Create a beautiful presentation with Classic Blue as your digital backdrop or the color of your text. It’s subtle. However, for meetings that largely have the same attendees year after year, introducing an unexpected color element can be a refreshing change.

Conference Badges, Bags and Swag

Classic Blue can work as the color of branded conference bags or the swag that goes in the bag. The shade is a gender-neutral choice if you’re handing out t-shirts or polos as swag. Classic Blue is complimentary to lots of other colors that you can pull from your event’s branding.

Collateral

A calming color that doesn’t bring undue attention to itself like Classic Blue is an option for printed collateral and meeting paper products. Unlike more vibrant colors, Classic Blue won’t be distracting during the meeting.


At AMA Executive Conference Centers, we organize thousands of meetings every year. We have centers in New York City, Atlanta, San Francisco, and the Washington DC area. Organizations appreciate amenities in our facilities such as complimentary beverage service, free PC use, and executive chairs. Contact us to schedule your next meeting or event.

Making The Task of Decision-Making Easier

As soon as we’re old enough to understand what options are, we’re faced with the tasks of making decisions. Whether the decision is what flavor ice cream to pick or what major to choose in college, at any age decisions can seem like the most daunting exercise. Here are three education areas that can help you to make the task of decision-making easier:

#1: Make Hard Choices

Making decisions can be very difficult because we always want to make the “better” decision. Ruth Chang, a philosopher, shares in her TED Talk why there is no “better” option when making a decision. She goes on to explain why both choices are on a level playing fields and how this can help you choose what you truly want inside.

#2: Three Lessons on Decision-Making

Have you ever daydreamed about being the best poker player in the world? Turns out, decisions made by the best involve a lot more work than people-reading and bluffing. World Champion poker player Liv Boeree explains that there are 3 things she’s learned about decision-making. She states that the lessons include luck, quantification, and intuition – and these three factors can be used to make decisions in our daily life. Luck and intuition can play a major role in what outcome each decision brings, and quantification is crucial to estimating the odds of something good or bad happening.

#3: Think Like a Computer

Computers always know what to do and they have no understanding of how hard it can be to make a decision. That’s because computers were made to generate the best decision based on numbers and formulas. Humans don’t do that. Tom Griffiths, a psychologist and cognitive scientist, share in his TED Talk that the ways to make better decisions are by thinking like a computer.

 

Meeting Planning Tips To Lower Your Stress Level In 2020

Meeting planning is so much more difficult than many people think, and if you don’t keep on top of every detail, you can easily become overwhelmed and wind up in a time crunch. Thankfully, there are ways to avoid this going into a new year of meetings to be planned. Follow the simple guidelines below and never dread your deadlines in 2020!

Start Early

This can’t be emphasized enough: you need to begin planning as soon as possible, ideally NOW for a year or more of meetings and events to come. Everything – finding a meeting center, hiring staff, hiring speakers – everything will be more expensive, more difficult, and more time-consuming the longer you wait. Give yourself and your clients a break and give yourself plenty of time to set up a checklist of things to do and put that checklist in the form of a timeline that you share. That way, everybody is on the same page and knows what needs to be taken care of and when.

Use Technology

Let technology do the heavy lifting for you. Nowadays there are numerous ways in which the herculean task of event planning can be made easier by utilizing the proper software, project management apps, and marketing automation tools. On average, companies that use event planning software save themselves a whopping 223 hours per year! Technology and software in these three areas are key: registration, communication and collaboration of content and surveys and reporting. There are many applications on the market or each of these vital planning areas.

Focus

You may think you’re great at multi-tasking and that in fact, you’re being more efficient by doing so. However, recent research conducted by Stanford University refutes that notion. According to the study, high multi-taskers were more prone to distraction and had less retention than low multi-taskers. Distraction is one of the primary time-wasters, so it’s clear that an ability to focus rather than to spread yourself too thin trying to do many things at once will be far more efficient. If necessary, delegate tasks so you can keep laser-focused.


If you take these tips onboard, you’ll find the days transitioning into a new decade will go more smoothly and deadlines won’t loom over you. To ease your burden even more, connect with AMA Executive Conference Centers and we will help with planning your next executive meeting, team training or conference event!

How to Make Effective Use Of Your Time

Time is the most precious resource we have, but too many distractions threaten to slow down progress and steal time. If you want to make the most effective use of your time, you’ll have to learn how to avoid distractions and maintain momentum.

Identify and Remove Distractions

Covey’s Time Management Grid is a four quadrant grid that divides the things that take up your time based on their urgency and importance.
Click here to view grid: https://www2.usgs.gov/humancapital/documents/TimeManagementGrid.pdf

  • Quadrant 1: Urgent and important (like an approaching deadline or family emergency.)
  • Quadrant 2: Not urgent but important (like a long-term professional or personal goal.)
  • Quadrant 3: Urgent but not important (favors or tasks other people want you to do urgently.)
  • Quadrant 4: Not urgent and not important (like watching television or browsing social media.)

It is ideal to remain in quadrant 2 as much as possible. The more Q3 and Q4 activities you can avoid, the less time you’ll spend scrambling in Q1. Remove unimportant distractions by:

Build and Maintain Your Momentum

One of the best ways to make the most of your time is to not procrastinate in the beginning waiting on perfect circumstances. According to Business Insider, it’s better to get working in the beginning, and worry about quality later. Once you get the ball rolling, it’s important to keep it rolling. A few things you can do to maintain your momentum are:

  • Keep your mind on the task at hand and worry about your long-term strategies later.
  • Split your project into smaller tasks to build momentum and progression.
  • Your mind can wander when you are tired, so be sure to start the day with your biggest tasks.

Keep It Simple

Making things simple is a great way to progress and keep your momentum going. AMA’s Executive Conference Centers have Centers in a variety of cities, and each with flexible meeting configurations uniquely tailored for training sessions, meetings, conferences and more. Click here to contact with us to learn more our Centers in Atlanta, New York, Washington D.C. and San Francisco.

Becoming More Resilient to Change: 5 Applicable Strategies

As technology changes communication and culture, the business landscape is also in constant flux. A person’s professional life is seen as the foundation for personal life maintenance—without a job there is no money for shelter, food, or stability for the individual or their family. So, when the workplace feels unstable, it is natural for workers to feel deeply threatened. One American Psychological Association study identified that “regardless of the economic climate,” money is consistently the leading stressor for Americans. Work (if employed) follows closely as the second major stressor, substantially ahead of family responsibilities and then health concerns.

If you are working in a business or industry undergoing cultural, process, or labor changes, there are some methods you can use to weather the changes and come out stronger and more confident on the other side:

Acknowledge Your Feelings

Too often, scary feelings are suppressed in an effort to “put on a brave face.” But this avoids actually facing your feelings and situation. Instead, truly consider what you are feeling: Are you scared, angry, confused, sad…? Once you have narrowed down some feelings, try turning them into sentences. For example: I am confused about where I will fit in the new department structure. I am scared my job may be in jeopardy. This process helps you gain a clearer focus to move forward.

Communicate

Once you have articulated your feelings and concerns to yourself bring them to comfortable and appropriate workplace channels. Talk with your supervisor or human resource manager. There are structures in place to support your professional clarity, especially in times of change. Use these tools to gain further insight and possibly peace of mind.

Avoid The Rumor Mill

It may be tempting to indulge and even participate in rumor consumption and spreading, but this will never help anyone and can only exacerbate an already stressful environment. This goes back to method #2; appropriate channels will have more credible information for you than break-room banter.

Set Goals

Aversion to change can stem from a feeling of powerlessness and lack of control. When experiencing change at work, establishing goals can help you both stay focused while also giving you a sense of purpose and direction. Additionally, setting mini-goals (smaller steps toward big goals) allows you to experience task-completion satisfaction more regularly.

Practice Mindfulness

Meditation comes in many styles and can be tailored to fit your emotions and needs. Not everyone can sit and clear their minds on command. For others—especially busy meeting and event professionals—there are many inexpensive (or free) meditation apps like Headspace and Calm, which guide you through short, voice-led meditations, relaxing sounds, or breathing exercises to reduce your stress and increase your mental clarity.

While the above methods are specifically aligned with workplace change, any of them could be used to maintain confidence while managing other major life changes as well. Change is inevitable – however, growth from it is a choice.


At AMA Executive Conference Centers, we offer meeting spaces that help companies bring their meetings and conferences to life.  With locations in Atlanta, New York, Washington DC, and San Francisco – click here to learn more about hosting your meeting with AMA.