Up to this point, this chapter has largely examined the time management potential of technological tools. But much of what
Time Management 150
Making Good Use of Pagers Most people know how these work, but here’s a good review.
In order to page you, the caller keys in a special telephone number and then either a numeric callback phone number or an alphabetic message.The message is immediately forwarded to your pager, usually alerting you to the new message by a vibration or sound.
Many of these devices also access Internet news, e-mail, and stock quotes.
What’s the point of a pager if you have a cell phone? The most important reason has to do with battery usage. When a cell phone is on but not in use, the battery can run down very quickly. A pager’s battery lasts much longer, so you can let your pager alert you to the need to call someone and use your cell phone’s battery only when making the call. Pagers also tend to get better reception in buildings than cell phones, so you’re much less likely to miss a call when you rely on your pager.
we use to shape time is decidedly low-tech. A stunning yet mod- est example: the 3 x 5 index card. Cards can be used to ask questions, underscore problems, and pass along information.
In planning large troop movements, the U.S. Armed Forces—as high-tech as they have become—still often use index cards rather than e-mail. Why?
• Their size encourages concision.
• They’re supremely portable.
• They’re more emphatic and action-provoking than a screen full of letters and numbers.
• Since they’re handwritten, they underscore open commu- nication and commitment.
Paper-based communication, of course, can too easily encourage excess. Indeed, electronic communication is often lauded as theway to eliminate paper and all its inherent draw- backs. Still, “hard copy” will always be around. Here are a few ways to save “paper time” and curb the proliferation of paper:
• Rely on paperless management computer programs and be frugal in generating hard copy.
• Write your reply to a memo directly on the memo.
• Photocopy only essential items, but do photocopy and file elsewhere any item that would cause you problems if it were lost. This applies to e-mail printouts, too.
• Use Post-it® notes instead of full-page notes.
• Create labels preprinted with common addresses to save typing time.
• Imprint your most-used forms (such as invoices) with all the standard rules and regulations. Why type “Due and payable within 30 days” each time you send a bill, when this could be printed on the standard billing form?
• Use carbonless forms to save photocopy or printout time.
• Recycle paper whenever possible.
Paper-Based Personal Organizers
Nowhere is user-friendliness more critical—and more often Power Tools for Time Management 151
ignored by purchasers—than in personal organizers. Personal organizers are supposed to be just that: personal. They must serve the person, rather than obliging the person to contort his or her time management to fit the layout of an organizer bought casually.
If you like paper-based organizers, spend plenty of time comparing various models. Try to sense which one fits your style. Think about whether you need one that:
• Shows a single day per page, a week across two pages, a month across two pages, or some combination.
• Lists hour (or even quarter-hour) increments down the daily page.
• Is laid out in a book-size configuration (e.g., 8 inches by 10 inches), a narrow, “slim” format (e.g., 3 inches by 7 inches), or a mini-size (e.g., 2 inches by 3 inches).
• Is formatted as a ring binder, permitting supplementary inserts.
If you prefer electronic organizers, make sure that they’re at least as handy as the paper-based kind.
Filing for Your Job
Filing—it’s one of the great arts of time management. A well- conceived filing system will permit you to store documents effi- ciently and retrieve them straight away. There are several sys- tems, each best suited to a particular purpose:
• Desk filesare for the most important items.
• Rolling cart filesare for important, self-contained proj- ects.
• Hot files,possibly mounted on the wall, are for current items you consult frequently.
• Cabinet filesshould be reserved for items of secondary importance.
• Storage files,including box files, are for documents that you don’t expect to refer back to except in an emergency.
• Self-contained accordion filesare for projects of limited Time Management
152
scope. They can be awkward to use and are better for organized storage than for active status.
• Ring binders,possibly with clear plastic pocket inserts, are a useful alternative for filing things, both active and for storage.
• Electronic filesin your computer are superior to paper- based files when you need to store the data but don’t need a hard copy to carry around or to give to others.
They’re also easy to access and can be turned into hard copy quickly. Perhaps best is that they can be discarded when you no longer need them, with just a click of the delete key.
More crucial than location is how your file is subdivided.
There are four major alternatives:
• Alphabetical
• Topical
• Numerical
• Chronological
Each boasts its own particular strengths and weaknesses.
Allow your instincts to guide you in deciding which suits your work or household management style. Remember: hybrid sys- tems that combine two approaches often work best. A perfect example of this is the old Dewey Decimal system, a library cat- aloging system that groups books first according to subject matter, then alphabetically by author. The Library of Congress system employs the same basic principle.