It Takes Time to Make Time

You’ve probably read a lot of advice about how you should spend your time…

• Parenting magazines suggest that we spend at least two hours a day with our kids.
  
  
• Health magazines suggest that 90 minutes of exercise daily is necessary to keep us in good health, and eight hours of sleep each night is recommended for optimal functioning.  (A study published in the April 2005 Archives of Internal Medicine indicates that only 3% of Americans are living a healthy lifestyle.)
  
  
• Relationship magazines advise couples to spend at least 15 hours a week alone together to maintain a good relationship. 

Once you throw in a full-time job and commute time, that doesn’t leave much time for other essentials such as eating, grooming, or doing chores around the house.

In my work as a productivity consultant, my clients express a desire to “get organized,” yet they often say they just don’t have the time to do it now. Unfortunately, the longer they put it off, the more time they waste and the further behind they get. 

The busier you are, the more you’ll benefit from setting up some time-saving systems, processes and tools. Curious as to what disorganization is costing you or your company?  Use our handy Cost of Disorganization Calculator (found in the right upper corner), or read my article on the Costs of Disorganization.

Productivity has two components  -- efficiency and effectiveness.  Efficiency is about getting more done in less time.  Effectiveness is about doing the right things, based on your priorities. The rest of this article will focus on tips for increasing your efficiency. 

For assistance with increasing your effectiveness, please read these articles: 

What's Important Now? Get the Winning Edge!  

96 Minutes a Day That Will Change Your Life

Increase Your Efficiency

Below I have listed some great time-saving software programs.  Although you will need to carve out a little time to get them set up, your investment of time now will pay big dividends in the amout of time you'll save over the months and years to come.

• Linkman – This program bookmarks your favorite Internet links so you can find them instantly with a keyword search.  When I was preparing this article, I looked up the word “clipart” in Linkman, and two sites I had previously bookmarked came up instantly.  I clicked on one of the links and it took me to the website where I found the clipart I used above.
  
  
• RoboForm – This program will fill out online forms, including your hard-to-remember user names and passwords, address, payment information, and much more.  It is a password-protected software program, so the only password you have to remember is the one to get into RoboForm.
  
  
• Macromedia Contribute – This program makes it so easy to edit and add text to your website.  It is as easy as editing a Word document. (I used it to edit this article.)  Now, instead of sending every single website change or addition to my webmaster, I make some of the changes myself. I still choose to delegate the bigger jobs to her! The interface looks very similar to what the page looks like when it is published to my site, as Contribute "translates" what I write into HTML code.  That means that you can publish to your own website without having to learn any HTML code. This program has paid for itself many times over in webmaster fee savings. 
  
  
• CE Software's QuicKeys (available for use by both Mac and PC users) -- This program performs shortcuts that automate the computer tasks you do each day, from typing out boilerplate e-mail responses to opening programs.  Tasks that took 15 steps can be done using a shortcut keystroke, clicking on a toolbar button, or creating a custom menu selection.
  
  
• Nelson Email Organizer --  This program offers much more than just a finding system, so if you are looking for a comprehensive email management program, this may be the perfect solution.  They offer a no-obligation 30-day trial download.
  
  
• Email Stripper -- This is a free program for cleaning the ">" and other formatting characters out of your emails. It will restore "forwarded" or "replied" emails back to their original state so they're easier to read.

• SendOutCards.com:   How often do you think about sending someone a greeting card – birthday, holiday, thank you, or “just because” -– but you never quite get around to it?  It takes time to find the right card, address it, find a stamp, and get it in the mailbox.  

You know how special you feel when someone takes the time and effort to remember you in such a tangible way. Now you can make someone’s day by sending greeting cards in the mail, without ever leaving your desk!  I’ve found a wonderful online service at www.sendoutcards.com.  Here’s how it works.  You choose a card from their online inventory of 5000+ cards, add a personal note with your own customized handwriting font, and click the send button.  The company will print, stamp and mail the card for you – all for less than $1.50 in most cases.  I’ve started using this system and I love it. I can order cards well in advance and they are mailed through the US Postal Service on the date I’ve requested.

Imagine the possibilities both personally and professionally.  If you are a service or sales professional, sending thank you cards or remembering a client's birthday can make a huge difference in your ability to build relationships.  Interested in trying a sample account?  I’ll set you up as my guest and you can send a few cards to someone you care about.  Try the system for free and make someone’s day!  Contact me at 425-881-6627 or at kathy@orgcoach.net.

• SmartSync Pro – Have you ever thought about what would happen if your hard drive crashed and you did not have the data backed up?  How much time would it take you to reproduce or recreate your documents, databases, email messages, email address book, Internet favorites, or other important data?  Even if you invested hundreds of hours to recreate it, chances are that some valuable data would be lost forever.  My hard drive crashed nine years ago – exactly one year after I started my business.  I vowed that I would never again put myself through the anguish I experienced with all the data I lost.
  
  I use SmartSync Pro to backup and synchronize my important data. You can back it up to a different hard drive, a zip or thumb drive, or even a remote computer. To make the application automatically copy new and modified files to the destination of your choice, you can set up a profile with their easy-to-use wizard. The profile defines what, where and when to copy. Obsolete files will be removed when they are not needed. If data is destroyed or lost, it can be recovered with one mouse click.  Their filter system lets you copy only the files you want.  Access to each profile can be restricted to prevent unauthorized access.
  
  If you want help getting this program set up, I’d be happy to pass on the name of my virtual computer consultant.  He set mine up for me so I simply click a desktop icon and it copies my selected data to another computer on my network.
  
  
• Bestseller business book summaries -- This is not a software program, but rather a weekly service that delivers business book summaries of bestseller books to your email inbox.  It arrives in PDF, Powerpoint, PDA and audio formats (to download to your iPod).  Get the freshest business ideas & tactics in minutes, without having to read a whole book each week.

• Paper Tiger Software – Endorsed by Kiplinger, this "finding" system offers the biggest time savings of all.  After spending many years in search of the perfect filing system, I finally found it in 1998.  The Paper Tiger provides me with a filing system that works wonderfully and does not break down over time!  Not only will it work for you, but others will also be able to find anything you’ve filed or stored in just a few seconds.  You no longer have to rely on your memory to find something, and others will no longer have to rely on you to tell them where you put it.
  
  How much time are you or your co-workers wasting?  Research shows that the average person wastes 150 hours per year – almost one month – looking for things.  The number one reason people pile instead of file is a fear of never finding it again once it is stored away.  The Paper Tiger addresses this concern.  Want to know how?
  
  Here’s a typical scenario that you might relate to…  Let’s say you have papers you need to file away about a car accident.  If you have a standard categorical / A-Z filing system, the first decision you must make is which category to file the papers under.  Do you file them under Medical (for the papers about your neck injury), Legal (for the police report and the legal papers from your attorney), Finance (for the insurance papers), or Household (for the car repair receipts)?  Once you decide what category to file the papers under, you must then decide what to call the file itself.  Then, weeks or months later when you want to retrieve something, you must remember what category you filed it under and what you called the file.
  
  Consider these alarming statistics:  A Steelcase study found that 27% of office workers described themselves as pilers.  Ernst & Young reports that the average time it takes to retrieve and re-file a paper document is ten minutes. And 3% of all documents are lost or misfiled and have to be recovered at an alarming cost of $120 per document.
  
  Using The Paper Tiger will allow you to immediately find anything you file or store.  The Paper Tiger helps you instantly turn your dysfunctional files or piles into an instantly-retrievable "finding" system.  The Paper Tiger allows you to keep your paper documents in your filing cabinet, cross-reference the information you input about each file, and use the search power of your computer to find it in five seconds or less -- regardless of who filed it!
  
  Using The Paper Tiger to file away papers in the example given above, I’d call the file “Car Accident” and would add these keywords to the database: neck injury, lawsuit, Honda Civic, Allstate Insurance, Al's Auto Body (or whatever words I might look up when I want to retrieve one of the documents in the file).  The physical paper-based files are stored using numbered labels.  Doing a search for any of the italicized words I used above, The Paper Tiger will instantly tell me what file location and number the documents can be found in (Example:  Reference 24 or Archive 92)
  
  Not just for paper… Although this software program is most commonly used for finding paper documents, you can also use it to find much more than just paper. Paper Tiger owners have also used this software to help them store and retrieve such things as books, binders, CDs, DVDs, videos, containers, inventory items, storage boxes, x-rays, lab samples – anything you can put a number on.  A tow truck company even uses it to find cars in their lot when the owner comes to claim their vehicle.  The tow truck employee simply types in the make & model, license plate number or VIN number and The Paper Tiger tells them which stall number the car is parked in on their lot (Example:  Stall 127).  Prior to using The Paper Tiger, employees wasted valuable time walking up and down rows of cars to physically find the right vehicle when the customer arrived to claim it.
  
  Click here for more information about the Paper Tiger.  There you’ll find a link to download a no-obligation 30-day trial of the software.  You’ll also find a link to my recorded teleclass and class notes, which provides information about program features and describes how it works.
  
  Those who get software from me will also receive my complimentary recorded instructional teleclass and user guide which walks you through how to get started and how to use all the features.  The Paper Tiger is available in single-user and in network version.
  
  If you’d like personal assistance getting started, I offer one-on-one consultations by telephone.  Wondering how this works?  In addition to connecting by phone, I have special technology set up on my computer which enables me to access your computer remotely (with your permission, of course) so I can help you set up your Paper Tiger system no matter where you are located, and you can see what I am doing as you view your computer monitor.   Contact me today for more information.
  
  Need group training?  I travel, and I also offer training sessions over the phone.  We can all connect by telephone bridge line if your group members are in different locations.  We can also set up a teleconference using a training room with an LCD projector and a sound system that projects my voice and what’s on the computer monitor.  Contact me about your group’s training needs.  (I offer training on other topics, as well.)
  
  Regardless of whether you do it on your own or ask us for help, just do it!  The sooner you implement The Paper Tiger, the sooner you’ll start recouping lost time.

Now or Later?

How often do you put off doing a non-urgent task now, even though you know it will save you valuable time, energy and money in the long run?  What's stopping you?  Are you waiting until you have more time?  When will that be?

If you don’t take time now, it’s going to cost you a lot more down the road. 

Make a written list of what needs your proactive attention NOW so you can save time, energy, money, and heartache LATER:

• Your health and well-being (schedule a medical appointment, start a diet or exercise program, daily meditation, etc.)
• Your relationships (be specific about what relationships you will tend to)
• Systems, processes and tools that will increase your productivity (choose from the list above or add your own)
• General maintenance (house or building, yard, appliances, equipment, car, etc.)
• Computer maintenance (virus protection, updates, computer back-up, etc.)
• Other ______________________

Remember, it takes time to make time!