Monday, October 27, 2014

Efficiency

In addition to the way I backup my computer files, there are several tips that I find useful to improve our efficiency.

  1. Write down all the projects at hand on a list and stick it in front of your desk. Review the progress of each item every week. (I do it as the first thing every Monday morning.) 
  2. For each project, define what has to been done in that week. Give a priority to the items according to the method of Stephen Covey; important matters should go before urgent ones.
  3. Make a template for all common correspondence and put it in a handy place in the computer. The greatest invention in the field of artificial intelligence is copy-and-paste.
  4. Use a software to write down all transient ideas that go through your mind: things to do, to buy, and so forth. Use the same software to clip everything that you may need to keep as reference: web pages, picture of name cards, reference papers, invoice, passwords (of websites that you do not visit very often), and what not. I use Evernote for this purpose because the search function is very powerful.
  5. Make a few computer folders with the name "to read", "for re-reading", "for filing", and "coming events". I think their purpose is obvious.

PS. Efficiency is important, but, what good is running if one is on the wrong road?

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