Be Smart About Naming Files

Unless you are one of the lucky few in the access-to-justice community with a real document management system, there’s a chance that you are still forced to come up with your own file names and put those documents in folders, like me.  This not an easy task.  If you look in my folders, at the top level you’ll currently find files named “Hello.doc,” “projects.doc,” and “states.xls”–not particularly noteworthy names. I pitty the person who has to go through my files if I get hit by a bus.

For those of you who struggle to name files appropriately like I do, check out Get-It-Done Guy‘s podcast on file naming conventions. He provides some great, easy recommendations to improve how you name files. – K

Making More Time for What You Love

It’s a simple fact: no one feels like they have enough time to do everything that they want to do. Plenty of time managers have systems guaranteed to help us be more effective and efficient, but usually it means that we have to make a huge change to how we currently work. And change isn’t easy, especially if you feel like you already are struggling to keep you head above water.

Alison Paul, who manages to cram an amazing amount into each day, passed along a great article that points out 25 Painless Ways to Free Up an Hour a Day for Your Goals. While each of these requires you to change, most of them are small changes — stop checking your e-mail constantly, consolidate errands, or watch less TV — and mean that you’ll free up some of your time to do what you really want to do. Granted the items that will make the most difference, for example re-examining your priorities or saying “no”, are slightly more difficult. But maybe, as a reward for getting things done and being more efficient, your boss might support the idea letting your leave early if you finish your essential work?

And for those of you who are like me and just can’t get up early, I found a post in the comments that highlights How to Wake Up Early, Refreshed, and Excited. Wvidently, hitting snooze repeatedly is not the first step. – K