Sometimes, if people find your content particularly interesting and they're only too happy when it arrives at last, they won't complain when delivery is late or irregular. But even among your satisfied subscribers, there may be some who have got into a ritual of reading your newsletter over their morning tea, or whatever. These folk will start grumbling even if an issue arrives an hour later than usual. When they do, you can take it as a compliment!

A professor was giving a pep talk about managing time to his class, and produced an empty bottle, which he filled with heavy stones. Then he filled the remaining little spaces with sand and water. His students thought he was trying to teach them that you can always pack in something more into your day.

"No," said the professor. "That's not the lesson. What I'm trying to get across to you is that if you don't start your day with the most difficult (or most important) tasks, you won't get around to them at all."

How this applies to you as a publisher, I'll leave to your imagination. You know your own working conditions, goals and shortcomings.

As soon as you think of something you would like to include in the next issue, type it up right away on your new file. Paste any news items there as soon as you receive them, as well as any ads that come in from third parties. Open new files as required for material that comes in for issues further down the line.

But your collection of material is only as good as its accessibility. You must be able to find things quickly when you need them. Even the smallest publishers can't rely entirely on their memories.

In our digital world, however, this should hardly be a problem. It's just a matter of organizing our computer files, and thank goodness, we don't have the space problems that plagued some of our predecessors in years gone by!

Azriel Winnett is creator of Hodu.com - Your Communication Skills Portal. This popular free website helps you improve your communication and relationship skills in your business or professional life, in the family unit and on the social scene. New articles added almost daily.

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