The Microsoft® Crabby Office Lady Tells It Like It Is: Secrets to Surviving Office Life

The Microsoft® Crabby Office Lady Tells It Like It Is: Secrets to Surviving Office Life

by Annik Stahl
Released June 2006
Publisher(s): Microsoft Press
ISBN: 9780735622722

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Book description

The Crabby Office Lady’s humorous online column reaches more than 250,000 people a month, and more than 10,000 people view her videos each month. The real Crabby Office Lady, Annik Stahl, has helped Microsoft put a human face on the sometimes frustrating world of work. In this humorous but practical take on how to survive today’s office environment, Microsoft’s very own Crabby Office Lady shows you how to make the most of Microsoft® Office programs so that you can be more efficient, collaborate more effectively, and spend more time doing the things that really matter to you. Topics include:

• Minding your e-mail manners • Customizing Office: toolbars, menus, colors, buttons, fonts, templates, and more • Working with difficult people, collaborating, and surviving office life and culture • Using the "get away from it all" checklist to prepare for vacation, so that you don’t come back to an avalanche of work • Surviving performance reviews: how to track projects, make notes, and keep track of wins and losses on a daily (or weekly) basis, rather than trying to pull it together at the end of the year • Improving ergonomics and using the accessibility features in Office and Microsoft Windows® • Demystifying computer terms, e-mail terms, and general software terms • Working from home: pros, cons, and best practices for telecommuting • Delegating and preparing for effective meetings • Taking advantage of Office Online templates, clip art, training, and the Office Marketplace

Table of contents

  1. The Microsoft® Crabby Office Lady Tells It Like It Is: Secrets to Surviving Office Life
  2. Acknowledgments
  3. Introduction to the Crabby Office Lady
    1. How the Crabby Office Lady Came to Be
      1. Microsoft Office Online: A Bit of History
      2. Crabby Office Lady: A Bit of History
    2. Why You Need the Crabby Office Lady
    3. What Is in This Book
    4. What Is Not in This Book
    5. Who This Book Is For
  4. One. Stand Up Straight and Mind Your E-Mail Manners
    1. E-Mail as the Modern Method of Communication
    2. Crabby’s Top 10 E-Mail Crabs
      1. Crab #1: Discretion Is the Greater Part of Replying
      2. Crab #2: STOP YELLING AT ME
      3. Crab #3: Save the Stationery for Snail Mail
      4. Crab #4: The Subject Re: Means Nothing to Me
      5. Crab #5: This Is Not a Chain Letter
      6. Crab #6: Too Many Forwards Is One Step Backward
      7. Crab #7: Don’t Be a Cyber-Coward
      8. Crab #8: I Love You but Not Your 500-KB Image File
      9. Crab #9: Plain Text and HTML Are Not Buddies
      10. Crab #10: Scratch That Itchy Trigger Finger Before Clicking Send
    3. Manners: Petty Sacrifices
  5. Two. Demystify Computer Terms and Get On with Your Day
    1. Humans Are Mysterious; Software Terms Needn’t Be
    2. Ready, Set, Demystify: General Software Terms
    3. Ready, Set, Demystify: Working-in-the-Office Program Terms
    4. Ready, Set, Demystify: E-Mail Terms
    5. Ready, Set, Demystify: Getting Online
    6. Ready, Set, Demystify: Nasty Things in E-Mail
    7. Ready, Set, Demystify: The Difference Between...
    8. Yes, the Terms Are Never-Ending
  6. Three. Go Ahead and Nest: Customizing Office
    1. What Does Default Mean?
    2. Go Ahead: Be Needy
      1. Menus, Buttons, and Toolbars (Oh My!)
        1. A Little Bit About Menus
        2. Pick a Toolbar...Any Toolbar
        3. Button, Button, Who Has the Button?
      2. Why Be Normal?
      3. AutoCorrect Is My Autopilot
    3. Change Is Good
  7. Four. Surviving Life in the Office
    1. Etiquette Guide for Working Ladies and Gentlemen
      1. Gossip: Remember the Wounds of Junior High
      2. Meetings: Not Every Corner Is a Conference Room
      3. Stealing Has a Broad Definition
      4. Telephone, Telephone, Can You Hear Me?
      5. Communal Spaces: Just Part of Office Life
      6. Socializing: A Little Can Go a Long Way
      7. Watch Your Language
      8. Instant Messaging, Instant Annoyance
      9. Dress Code
    2. How to Work with Difficult People
      1. SharePoint: Sharing from Afar
        1. Meeting Workspaces: Get Together Without Getting Together
        2. Document Workspaces: Virtual Collaboration
      2. Use OneNote for Sharing Your Notes
      3. Live Meeting: Your Interactive Web Conferencing Service
      4. Final Words on Avoiding Your Coworkers and Clients
    3. Tackling Big Projects and Still Keeping Your Wits About You
      1. Organization: Start with Your Inbox
        1. Search Folders
        2. Flags
      2. Delegation: Share the Love (and the Work)
    4. Everyone Has It: Dealing with Boredom at Work
      1. Idea #1: Perk Up Your Documents with Clip Art
      2. Idea #2: Download Templates for Vacation Planning
      3. Idea #3: Read a Crabby Column
      4. Idea #4: Set Up Outlook to Get Your Personal Mail, Too
      5. Idea #5: Use Speech Recognition and Never Be Lonely Again
      6. Idea #6: Practice Your PowerPoint Techniques
      7. Idea #7: Create a New E-Mail Signature
      8. Idea #8: Frolic in the Research Task Pane
      9. Idea #9: Learn Your Keyboard Shortcuts
      10. Idea #10: Consider a Career Change
    5. You’re Not Just Surviving–You’re Thriving
  8. Five. Managing People, Projects,...and Yourself
    1. How to Prepare For and Run Effective Meetings
      1. Step 1: What’s the Purpose of the Meeting?
      2. Step 2: Call That Meeting!
      3. Step 3: Sign ’em In and Keep Track of What’s Going On
      4. Step 4: Prepare Your Documents
      5. Step 5: Action Items!
      6. Final Words About Meetings
    2. Delegation: It Doesn’t Have to Mean "Passing the Buck"
      1. The Path to Delegation Is Paved with Good Intentions
        1. Share the Information, Share the Love
        2. I Give You Permission to Help Me
        3. Represent Me, Won’t You?
        4. Leave (Almost) Nothing Secret
        5. A Tisket, a Tasket, Let’s Clean Out That Task Basket
      2. A Final Word About Delegating
    3. Secure Printing: Avoiding That Mad Dash to the Copy Room
      1. What Is a Network Printer?
      2. Save It for Your Eyes Only
  9. Six. Making the Most of Performance Reviews
    1. Everyone Takes Part in Performance Reviews
    2. Using Search Folders to Keep Track of Your Great Work
      1. How Crabby Uses Search Folders to Get Raises and Bonuses
    3. Being a Goody-Goody: Show Off Your Skills
      1. Become a Microsoft Office Specialist
      2. Take a Training Course on Office Online
        1. Sample Office Training Courses for Beginners
        2. Sample Office Training Courses for You Big Shots
    4. When You’re the Manager
      1. Let a Template Do the Hard Part
      2. The Right to Privacy: Use Information Rights Management
    5. Final Words of Advice
  10. Seven. Working It from Home: Tips for Telecommuters
    1. Telecommuting: Myth vs. Fact
      1. Myth #1. You’ll have lots of free time on your hands
        1. Fact
      2. Myth #2. You need to become an über-gadget-geek and set up your home office to handle every techno-trick that comes your way
        1. Fact
      3. Myth #3. Everyone wants to work from home
        1. Fact
      4. Myth #4. No more childcare costs!
        1. Fact
      5. Myth #5. You’re the Lone Ranger, doing your own job with your own horse on your own time
        1. Fact
    2. Using Microsoft Office Collaboration Tools to Stay Connected
      1. Live Meeting
      2. Document Workspaces
      3. OneNote Shared Note-Taking Sessions
    3. Is Telecommuting Right for You? A Checklist
    4. A Few Tips for Telecommuters
    5. Is Your Company on Board?
  11. Eight. Crabby’s Getting-Away-from-It-All Checklist
    1. Make a Plan for a Stress-Free Return to Work
    2. The Reasons We Need to Get Away from the Office
      1. The Vacation Getaway
      2. When You’re Taking a Leave of Absence
    3. Before You Go: The Checklist
      1. Checklist Item #1: Set Up Microsoft Office Outlook to Tell Everyone You Are G-O-N-E
        1. Using Outlook with Exchange Server
        2. Using Outlook Without Exchange Server
      2. Checklist Item #2: Block Off Your Office Outlook Calendar
      3. Checklist Item #3: Decline Standing Meetings
      4. Checklist Item #4: Check In Files
      5. Checklist Item #5: Reassign Outstanding Tasks and Projects
      6. Checklist Item #6: Decide What to Delegate and What Can Wait
      7. Checklist Item #7: Teach Your Inbox to Take Care of Itself While You’re Gone
      8. Checklist Item #8: Notify Your Customers Up Front
      9. Checklist Item #9: Get Your "House" in Order
    4. While You’re Gone
      1. When You’re a Small Business Owner
    5. Welcome Back: Preparing for Your Return
    6. Getting Out of Dodge (Checklist Item #10)
  12. Nine. Ergonomics and Accessibility: Making It Easier on Yourself (and Others)
    1. Ergonomics and Accessibility: Cousins at Work
    2. Ergonomics: Healthy People Are Productive People
      1. What Is Ergonomics (and Why Should You Care)?
      2. Applying What Crabby Learned to Your Own Work Life
        1. The Neutral Posture
        2. Be Comfy at Your Computer
        3. Step Away from the Computer
        4. For You Laptop Jockeys
      3. Employees: Ignore the Warnings and Risk Your Health
      4. Employers: Ignore the Warnings and Risk Your Workforce
    3. Accessibility Features Make All of Us Less Crabby
      1. What Is Accessibility Exactly?
      2. Using the Specific Accessibility Features in Office
      3. Creating Accessible Office Documents
      4. Beyond Office
      5. Pressing Onward with Assistive Technologies
    4. The Family Reunion: Ergonomics and Accessibility
  13. Ten. Making the Most of Microsoft Office Online
    1. Office Online: Why Aren’t You Already Intimately Familiar with It?
    2. Getting Real Help, Just the Kind You Need
      1. Assistance Articles
      2. Free Online Training Courses
      3. Demos
        1. Git Yer Red-Hot Demos!
        2. Types of Demos
        3. Demos: Technical Details
      4. Office Community
        1. Office Community Etiquette
    3. Making the Most of Your Office Documents
      1. Templates
        1. Myth #1: Templates Encourage Sloth
        2. Myth #2: You Can’t Tell Anyone
        3. Myth #3: Smart People Don’t Need Templates
        4. Customization Puts You in the Driver’s Seat
          1. Make Changes to Tables
          2. Customize the Font
          3. Customize Numbers, Dates, and Fields
      2. Clip Art and Media
        1. Getting Help While You’re on the Clip Art and Media Site
      3. Office Marketplace
    4. Keeping Your Computer (and Your Fun Level) Up-to-Date With Downloads
      1. Making Sure Your Computer Is Up to Date...Automatically
      2. Making Sure Your Computer Is Up-to-Date...On Your Own Time
      3. Getting the Add-Ins, the Converters, the Viewers...and Other Fun Stuff
      4. Why So Many? Why So Often?
    5. Staying in Touch
      1. Talk to Us
        1. So I Talked–Now What?
      2. The Comment On This Web Page Link
      3. The Contact Us Link
    6. I Know Which Side My Bread Is Buttered On
  14. Epilogue
    1. Are You a Crabby Office Person?
    2. The Real Quiz: How Well Did You Read This Book?
      1. Take a Real Quiz and Test Your Skills
  15. About the Author
    1. Annik Stahl
  16. Index
  17. About the Author
  18. Copyright

Product information

  • Title: The Microsoft® Crabby Office Lady Tells It Like It Is: Secrets to Surviving Office Life
  • Author(s): Annik Stahl
  • Release date: June 2006
  • Publisher(s): Microsoft Press
  • ISBN: 9780735622722