I've got to say, I do feel a lot more organized ever since I got my folders in order. Now if I can just create an agent that automatically answers and files all of my email, I'll be all set.

Easily create To Do items and Calendar entries from mail messages in R5
Any R5 Notes mail user can use this tip to help increase productivity and effectiveness. When you have a mail document in your inbox that you would like to either turn into a new To Do or Calendar entry document, simply select it and click the "Copy into" button on the action bar and choose either "New To Do" or "New Calendar Entry". A new To Do or Calendar entry document will then be created that has the subject of the email entry as the title and the email message contents in the body.

I used to just use my inbox as a list of To Do items and events, but this required me to constantly sort through messages to find important information. Also, the messages just kept piling up, making it harder and harder to find anything or to give my full attention to the new messages that kept coming.

Using the technique outlined in this tip gives you the following benefits:

• You can remove mail messages from your inbox and still remember the event or action item they describe. In contrast, if you move a message to a folder that you don't check regularly, you often never see it again until something or someone reminds you about it.

• You have the mail message right in front of you as you are creating the To Do or the Calendar entry, so you don't have to flip between a mail message and another document to copy over all of the information you need.

• When you synchronize the new To Do items and Calendar entries to your Palm OS device (I tested this using PylonPro at https://avantgo.com/products/individuals/pylon/), the body of the original email message is attached as a note that you can refer to if you need more information.

This is an easy tip to implement, but it can be very powerful if you have the discipline to use it every day.

Playing with NotesBuddy
Would you like the soothing sound of a computer-generated voice to alert you when you receive new Notes email, even reading the name of the sender and the subject line to you? Or are you just a lonely Notes user looking for a new friend? Either way, the latest version of NotesBuddy from IBM's alphaWorks might be just what you're looking for.

Here's a description of NotesBuddy from IBM's alphaWorks site: "NotesBuddy is a lightweight tool for Lotus Notes and Internet (POP3) mail which announces important new mail by voice, pager, or a cool display. Optionally, NotesBuddy offers instant messaging and awareness reporting using a Lotus Sametime server."

You can download NotesBuddy from http://www.alphaworks.ibm.com/tech/notesbuddy.

Once on this page, click the Download button in the upper-right.

You can find out additional information about NotesBuddy at IBM's Ease of Use Web site at http://ibm.com/easy.