Archive for the ‘How do I do THAT?!’ Category

The staff of life

2/05/11


So, a couple of weeks ago we got a “new” bread machine for the studio (I say new, because it is to us, but the machine itself is quite old – originally from Timo’s mom).
Since the beginning of time, bread has been a big part of our daily working/eating lives, but we always had to have someone else make it for us (ie. the verde cafe downstairs).

Those days are now over and we no longer have to rely on outside sources for our daily pre-lunch fix.

It’s so easy to make fresh bread now that Agnes immediately went and bought one for her home as well (her’s is actually completely new ;) )

The best part is that you can put anything into the mix, therefor it is never boring. In fact you can also make sweet breads – dangerous knowledge for those of us that like dessert after lunch… and also for those that like it for breakfast or before lunch or mid afternoon.

I any case this is how we like to make it:
- pour a glass of cold water into the machine recipient
- pour half a package of breadmix (from Lidl) on top of it
- add anything you want (these days we like hazelnuts, sunflower seeds, oregano, a bit of olive oil)
- put it into the machine, put it on the right settings and wait until it’s done!

The most amazing thing is when it’s almost ready, there’s this subtle freshly baked bread smell floating around the studio :)

ENJOY!


The way it should be done

21/02/11

In this day and age it seems that everyone wants to share. What they did, what they ate, what they want, what they like, what they saw. We are no exception from this crowd – as you might have noticed we also have a little something called a blog (that which you are reading at this very moment).


In the rest of the sections we will do the normal sharing, aka sharing things that we find interesting (mostly) on the internet, but in this section what we want to share is our knowledge of things we can DO.


And one thing we DO and A LOT is emailing. Sometimes it seems that every time we resolve a problem and answer an email 10 more come in. So to simplify and make our lives easier we have researched, collected and compiled a few tips for your reading pleasure. There are many articles out there that deal with this issue, but here is one that sums it all up pretty well.


You should read the article, but as a quick overview here are the points that it makes (with some comments):

  • the shorter the email the better (the faster it can be read the better)
  • always put what actions need to be taken in the beginning of the email
  • number your questions, that way they are all clearly visible
  • be proactive and propose the steps you think should be taken
  • include a deadline (because ASAP is a broad term)
  • use FYI if the person you’re sending it to doesn’t need to take any action
  • if you can’t get to an urgent (or any other kind of request) then just say so from the beginning, mentioning when you can get to it. This can be tricky as many times you think you can do something and then it turns out that there isn’t enough time…
  • no “thanks!” emails – I’m not sure I agree with this point, I think many times it’s good to know that your email arrived, especially if you sent something in attachment…
  • don’t send angry emails – tone is a sensitive thing and can be easily misunderstood…
  • “reply all” is not necessary most of the time

Emailing is an artf and now you know what we strive for when it comes to our online communication ;)


PS. I got the image from here