By Jane Plass, Info Grooming
http://www.infogrooming.com
As an information organizer, editor, and indexer, I’m always looking for new tools to help manage information. The recent release of Paper Tiger Online document management software and filing system helped me reorganize my business files.
I’ve long used a paper-based numeric filing system for some files, so I already knew the advantages: multiple entry points to access files and the ability to set up folders in advance. Paper Tiger Online offers these advantages, and others as well:
My business files contain financial information, projects for clients, information products and other writing projects, other information specific to my Info Grooming business, and general business information. Here’s how I reorganized them with Paper Tiger Online:
I have many more ideas for using Paper Tiger Online:
These ideas are just the start. I look forward to exploring further uses for Paper Tiger Online.
Jane Plass
@jplass
Regardless of whether you’re a primary, secondary or college/university educator, being a teacher or professor is one of the most demanding and time-consuming jobs in the world. It’s not a job where you simply clock in and out at a set time and switch off. They have to be so much more than employees.
They have to prepare lesson plans, tests, theoretical and practical exams, teach classes and assess assignments. They can’t do it all during school hours and so they end up taking work home with them to complete in the evenings and over the weekends.
Most teachers have to deal with more than one class and some also teach different subjects. That’s a lot of students to look after. It also means they need to have a superior filing system that can adequately cope with the many variables that can apply to their students. Teachers can be more effective with an efficient filing system, such as Paper Tiger Document Management Software and Filing System.
Instead of using an archaic alphabetical document management system, it would benefit teachers greatly to utilize a more flexible filing software system. Such a program would enable each teacher to tailor their filing system to suit their specific workload. They would input item name and keywords relating to each file into the database of the filing software. Then when a file is needed, simply conduct a ‘google-like’ search in the database and be able to find any file within seconds.
They can use categories including: student names, subjects, exams, tests and any other types of categories that may be relevant. Such a system means they can cross-reference files when needed and keep all related documents within the same file.
This filing system will eradicate the endless piles of files that used to sit on teachers desks or get stuffed into briefcases or suitcases, just so they could keep files intact. They can just take home the important documents and files when needed. Then archived to the filing cabinet at an appropriate time. And how to archive or move files from one location to another is simple with Paper Tiger.
If teachers implement this style of filing, then it will save them hours of time in filing and retrieving of files or documents. It will greatly increase their efficiency and enable them to spend more quality time with their students, which is their primary function.
While teachers are actually running their classes, they have to mark attendance sheets, hand out reference material to students, teach and deal with endless administrative paperwork. Excursions or field trips mean forms to send home for signatures and money. All this information can be recorded, using the advanced document management software, and be immediately actioned if needed.
By implementing this type of filing system, each teacher is also making future work far easier to manage. Teachers can teach the same subjects year after year, but to different students. If they have implemented an extremely efficient method for their document management, they can start each new year with much of their planning and preparatory work already done.
This is particularly important and relevant when it comes to lesson plans and training/reference material. Because they can archive some files until the following year, they have only to go back into those archives to retrieve those files and this means they won’t have to do the same amount of hard work all over again.
If teachers can use methods that will free up their time outside of working hours, then their family life will be of a much higher quality and that will then reflect back onto their work. A healthy work-life balance is vital for the longevity of everyone.
However, teachers are entrusted with the education of the future adults of today’s society and so it’s more relevant for them to be as efficient as possible and be at their peak when dealing with today’s young minds.
Teachers or professors can definitely be more effective with Paper Tiger Document Management Software and Filing System!
In this article, by Denise Landers, of Key Organization Systems, Inc. and Paper Tiger Expert, Denise says the ‘paperless office’ has not quite made it to reality, and even if it had…would you be more productive? That’s where Paper Tiger Document Management Software and Filing System comes in to help you manage your paper files that continue to flow into your life. Actually, Paper Tiger can help you manage just about everything, because anything you can put a number to, you can Paper Tiger!
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We’ve been hearing for years about the paperless office, and great strides have been made in this direction. Yet somehow there are still hard copies of documents on desks and scribbled notes everywhere. Paper calendars continue to sell, and business cards accumulate in stacks and in drawers.
The push in recent years for getting on the electronic bandwagon are the eReaders, and the competition is fierce. Yet have you been to a bookstore lately? They do not seem ready to shut their doors yet.
Newspapers and magazines offer online subscriptions, at great cost savings to them, and for awhile it looked like advertisers were abandoning the print mode. However in recent months, after a two-year lull, there seems to be a reversal in the trend. Multimedia Research data show magazine readership has risen 4.3% during the past five years.
If paperless is the most productive way to go, why are these situations occurring?
There is no doubt that many of the tasks we do are better performed electronically. Yet we like paper! One reason is that we read 30-50% faster with a hard copy as compared with an electronic copy. If you’re not sure about this, consider how you often print out a long email or a document you might want to read in depth later.
Reading faster, jotting notes in the side margins, or comparing documents side-by-side can definitely increase productivity.
One of the newer magazine ads put out through a campaign by five publishers shows a photo of Michael Phelps alongside the message:
We surf the Internet.
We swim in magazines.
It is often easier and quicker to have a paperback or magazine tucked in your briefcase when there is a 10 or 15 minute delay or a need to wait in a line. At home and in hotels, it feels cozier to settle in with a hard copy of a book or magazine than with a piece of electronic equipment.
Everything is evolving, and it is good to combine the best of both worlds, but do not feel that, in order to be the most productive, you must have only the latest and greatest technology.
Denise Landers @timetrainer
Key Organization Systems, Inc.
Original article posted at Denise’s blog
Corporate Training: workshops and consulting to increase daily work flow and reduce stress
Individual Assistance: our onsite and virtual office organizing to bring about changes quickly
On Your Own: books and CDs to work at your own pace
Archaeology is the study of past cultures to determine how people lived, based on the things they have left behind. It’s an extremely complicated field of study that requires meticulous records to be kept. However, archaeologists love digging through ruins – not files.
Archaeological expeditions can go on for months at a time and are often conducted in places with very few “creature comforts.” They usually set up tents to live in while they conduct their research.
That’s second nature to the dedicated people who conduct these studies because they’re determined to learn as much as possible about history from what they find. It’s vital they record their findings so a bigger picture can be created about how ancient civilizations lived.
Archaeology can be an exciting field of study, especially when discovering some new specimen or piece of information that reveals something about history that hasn’t been discovered yet. However, it can also be very tedious.
Many different pieces of equipment are used in such work. Some of the more primitive tools include: shovels, hammers, sieves, compasses, picks, tape measures, trowels, buckets, magnifying glasses and tiny instruments such as dental picks, toothbrushes and scalpels.
More modern equipment is also used. They include: large excavating machinery and dump trucks, tripods, flotation devices, computers and laptops. As scientific advances are made, more precise equipment becomes available to assist in studies that may previously have been impossible to accomplish.
Recording all findings during an expedition is the most critical part of an archaeologist’s job. Every single individual piece of information has to be meticulously recorded as soon as it’s discovered.
They use the knowledge gleaned from each specimen to help guide them in their research. If they left the “filing” or documenting of each find until later, it wouldn’t be as accurate and they probably wouldn’t be following the correct path as dictated by their findings.
However, thanks to computerized technology, it’s now possible to create a vastly improved, user-friendly filing system to record all information gathered during expeditions. Instead of only relying on paper-based record keeping, it’s now easy to create very “flexible files.” These files can contain samples, photographs, test results, written reports, forensic analysis reports and every other possible form of “file/sample” that’s created at any time. Then enter the information for each of these items into Paper Tiger Document Management Software and Filing System. Paper Tiger has a very powerful and easy-to-use search engine built in so you use the power of the computer to simply conduct a google-like search in the database to quickly and easily find/share the information when you need it.
There may be times when archaeologists need to access information from other expeditions or from their own previous ones. If they’ve already implemented efficient document management software, they can access files from anywhere via their laptop, even while out on a dig.
This can save a lot of time and money, because they don’t necessarily have to transport physical files with them when they go on expeditions. They can simply add whatever new material they discover to existing files or create new ones when they return to their home base.
Once they’ve finished an excavation, they can’t go back. Therefore each step must be done properly as they go. Even though archaeologists prefer to study rather than record the information, they know how vital record keeping is to their overall work.
Thanks to current technology and smart document management software, many tasks can be achieved in less time and at a cheaper cost. This enables more research to be carried out without incurring extra costs.
This specialized document management system can be tailor-made for archaeologists. They don’t have to simply use alphabetical or numerical file names. They can choose categories and sub-categories that accurately reflect the file contents. It’s also very easy to cross-reference documents and files so that information stored in different files or even in different places can be easily located when necessary.
Archaeologists love digging through ruins – not files. If they didn’t have to do any record keeping, they would probably be very happy. Because it’s an inevitable part of their work, they should implement the best document management software system available. Then they can reduce costs and decrease the amount of time spent on such tedious tasks, so they have more time to discover what else there is to learn.
In this article, Christie Love gives us 10 Tips to Organizing with ADD/ADHD, but this is sound advice whether you have been diagnosed with ADD/ADHD or not. We can all function better when we follow clear steps to get organized … whether it be in your home or office!
September is National ADD/ADHD Awareness Month, I have two children at my home who have been diagnosed with this issue so it is one that is near and dear to my heart. Over the years, I have had the privilege of working with many professionals who also dealt with this issue that were in need of organizational help.
“I prefer to distinguish ADD as attention abundance disorder.
Everything is just so interesting . . . remarkably at the same time.”
Frank Coppola, MA, ODC, ACG
Here are ten tips that I have found to be successful for organizing for ADD and ADHD individuals.
1. Pick up as you go along so they do not have a large pile to deal with later. This is true for a room, your desk, paperwork, craft projects, and anything else that you tackle.
2. Look for creative ways to reuse or recycle items that they want to discard. For example put outfits together to donate and let them see and know where things are going and who they are going to help.
3. When you are doing one task … look for a way to organize. For example, if you are looking for a pencil in a drawer, take a moment to Declutter the drawer or if you are looking for a paper in a file, take a moment and throw out old items that don’t need to be kept anymore.
4. Use a centralized calendar to help them become responsible for keeping up with activities and events instead of always being reminded. In the house keep important dates and appointments on it, at the office use a group calendar program to update everyone at once about deadlines and meetings.
5. Use alarms and other audible prompts as reminders for items that need to be started or completed at certain times. Many people with ADD/ADHD thrive on reminders, prompts, and time restrictions so setting an alarm to go off before a meeting is scheduled to start will give them time to transistion, prepare, and still be on time. If you are engaging in an activity that you tend to loose track of time in- like social media updates, research, etc… then set a timer for 30 minutes and limit the amount of time you spend there.
6. Use colorful notes to remind kids of routines and items so that nothing gets forgotten. Color has a powerful way of cutting through the clutter and chaos of the ADD mind. Using color coded folders for different types of projects, themes, and research can help them find what they need faster. Use colored ink in planners to easily see the type of activity they are scheduling. Write the days schedule or task list on colored paper and have them mark each item off as they complete it.
7. ADD sufferers do well with a routine, figure out one that works well and then work hard to keep it consistent. Find a daily routine for work and stick to it. You may set it up so you alternate between activities that allow you to use more energy with ones that require more focus to keep you from getting bored or lost in a task.
8. Label dividers and folders with papers so that they can find things easier without having to dig and get frustrated. Make sure that your filing system is up to date and easy to use. ADD/ADHD sufferers do not want to have to spend extra time trying to find something, because the unneeded items can easily distract them and frustrate them. <Use Paper Tiger Document Management Software and Filing System to simply input the information relating to your paper files or other physical items into the database that has an easy-to-use search engine built in, so that lost items are virtually eliminated. Action dates can also be used to trigger action items.>
9. Keep a daily check off list of things to do so that they hold themselves accountable. A morning routine checklist, a before I leave the office checklist, and a weekly task list are all great additions to the organizational system of an ADD/ADHD person.
10. Do not work against your natural tendencies. The very traits about your ADD/ADHD that sets you apart from others are also your biggest strengths! Be aware of those strengths and talents and give them room to THRIVE! Find activities and tasks that allow you to work with your creative tendencies, give you the chance to talk to people, and the chance to think outside the box. If you find that there are certain times of the day that work better for you than others, then work to get your schedule to mesh with those peak performance times for yourself. Know your body and mind and work with it… not against it.
Do you have others to add? I invite you to leave other tips for ADD/ADHD organization in the comments section below or at Christie’s original blog.
Christie Love is the Director of Marketing for Jennifer Rothschild Ministries. She is passionate about many things including family, her faith, and helping women grow their businesses, ministries, and impact through improved marketing and leadership practices. In October of 2010, Christie will be relaunching the reformatted version of Simple Organized Sanity Online, a site that will offer downloadable planners, checklists, and lists to help you plan and stay organized. Follow on Twitter at http://twitter.com/christielove936
Many years ago, filing was just a haphazard task with no discernible pattern and no regulations governing how and why it should be conducted. However, today’s business world is far different due to major advances in so many different areas of technology and media. Why do you need best practices for proper document management?
It’s vital that you have a fully functional and compliant document management system in place today for a multitude of reasons. Some best practice standards relate to the company itself. Others relate to legal obligations that must be fulfilled in relation to dealing with other companies and various regulatory bodies. Regulations can be broken down into these five key areas.
Any document management software must meet all requirements in areas such as: Retention, Access and Indexing, Compliance and Accountability, Policies and Procedures, and Disposal. People trust a company that has a sound document management system in place that is user-friendly and enables staff to file and retrieve documents quickly and efficiently.
If you’re going to implement a document management system, it must:
An efficient document management system must offer solid consistency in terms of labeling titles, filing, retrieval, archiving and destruction methods throughout the company. It’s only when this high level of consistency is met that you can firmly agree that best practices are being met.
Companies that have solid foundations in terms of records management will stand out from the crowd and will achieve greater success in all areas of endeavor. It will inevitably take any organization a great deal of time to convert an archaic filing system to a more sophisticated set up, but the results will be well worth it.
The initial step is to conduct a full inventory. At the same time, decisions must be made for each file. Should it be archived, filed for action or reference, or destroyed? The days of “too hard to file” or “miscellaneous” files will disappear.
Files may have differing legal requirements for retention and this also needs to be ascertained. If it’s all done at once, it will save hours in double and triple handling of documents and files. In the long run, it will also save thousands of dollars as well.
The new document management software will be capable of being used by everyone from the CEO right down to the relief assistant. Future action dates can be entered and will appear as reminders when needed, eliminating the misuse of in and out trays on everyone’s desks. It will also prevent the need to create paper-based documents from DVDs or CDs as they can simply be filed as they are, along with any paper files you have relating to the same subject.
In order to establish best practices, the company has to ensure that all contingencies are catered for. What information do customers generally need and how quickly? Are there differing needs that have to be met, depending on the clients? What are the retention guidelines to meet company and regulatory requirements?
Changing any filing system is always going to be a huge job. Be smart, use the most suitable document management software and plan the change as best as possible. Then you’ll achieve the strongest foundation that will allow your company to take firm forward strides with much less stress.
Why do you need best practices for proper document management? The answer is simple. Unless you want to be left behind by the forward thinking companies that adopt user-friendly document management software as part of their best practices plan, you need to do it yourself. Your office will be better organized and your staff will be able to find documents when needed, saving time and money.
Paper Tiger Document Management Software and Filing System was designed for just this purpose … to give you a tool to manage your physical files to get organized and be able to find what you need – when you need it. You would simply input the information into the database relating to your physical files, and Paper Tiger has a very powerful and easy-to-use search engine built in, so that lost information is virtually eliminated in your office.
What are the advantages of having unlimited databases in Paper Tiger Document Management Software and Filing System?
Having different databases is only advantageous if you want to keep different filing systems separate and do not want to search for all files in all databases at one time. For example, if you have an Office database and a Home database, you do not want items to pop up from your Office database when conducting a search for an item in your Home database.
See this Databases knowledge base article for more information.
In this article ‘Sharing reference files increases morale and efficiency’ by Sherry Borsheim of Simply Productive and a Paper Tiger Expert, Sherry discusses how sharing files in your filing system will make your office more efficient, plus she recommends Paper Tiger Document Management Software and Filing System to make it happen.
Sometimes filing can seem like an overwhelming job. Many people find it complicated and time consuming to find a home for all their files. But it doesn’t have to be that way. Did you know that in actuality there are only three types of files you’ll ever need?
That’s right, in all effective filing systems, there are only three types of files: action, reference and archive.
Action files are projects that you are currently working on – projects that you access frequently. For many people, the information in these files might be something they would pile on their desk out of a fear of misfiling.
Reference Files are files that you access less frequently. It is information that you want to have on hand and are not ready to archive or toss at this time.
Archive Files are exactly what they sound like – archives! These files include all paper based materials that you are required to keep but do not need on a regular basis.
Although all three file types play a crucial role in your business, today I want to focus on the often forgotten reference files.
These files make up the backbone of your company’s resource library. Imagine how much more information would be available if each individual had easily accessible reference files. Files that they could actually share with the entire office! How much more efficient would your office be if everyone shared access to key reference materials?
Sharing reference files not only increases efficiency, but it also unites offices. Suddenly there are no longer individual “camps” within the office, but rather an interconnected office that shares resources in order to benefit every member of the team.
If you are ready to pool your office reference files, there are several ways to get started. Choose a system that works best with your corporate climate and current workspace needs.
For example, since these files are accessed less frequently than action files, one option may be to create a general reference area within the office. This makes it easy for every member of the office to access files, without interrupting the flow of an individual’s workspace. By keeping everything together and indexed with the Paper Tiger filing system software, it is a simple job to find much needed files in only a few seconds.
Better yet, take a team approach to the situation and have a brainstorming session on the best way to access everyone’s reference files within the office. If some people within the group don’t know how to use the Paper Tiger, have a brief training session. Once they see how easy it is to use, they’ll use it constantly and finally make use of important reference files.
To learn more about implementing a filing system that will fast forward your office efficiency, check out my new e-book, “Conquer your Chaos: fast forward to office efficiency” at www.conqueryourchaos.com.
About the Author
Sherry Borsheim, owner of Simply Productive, has been helping people to work smarter, not harder for years. She specializes in resolving paper, time and information management issues. To learn more about eliminating the paper pile-up and in vastly improving your productively, contact Simply Productive at 604-233-7076.
You can visit Sherry, access her free article archive and grab lots of free stuff at http://www.simplyproductive.com. Sherry lives in Vancouver, BC Canada with her husband (her high-school sweetheart).
Also check out Sherry’s Calm Your Choas special that will give you a JUMP-START on ORGANIZING your office, home and life. She will give you her trade secrets and steps to setting up your organizing systems, including recommending Paper Tiger filing system software for document management, to be organized and manage the paper files that you need to keep in hard copy format and other physical stuff in your life.
Published with permission.
With a 40 year marriage, and a 37 year career in residential real estate, to say I have a lot of paper to keep track of is simply an understatement.
Over the many years I attempted many times “to get organized” in my home office and my real estate office, and it simply seemed that would never happen. I was introduced to Paper Tiger by a professional organizer (not the first one I had hired by any means), and it has truly been a lifesaver in every way.
To be able to instantly find birth certificates, kids immunization records, travel schedules, housing records, sales records, keepsakes, etc etc etc – you name it – I have it in Paper Tiger. I cannot imagine living without it, as I continue with my career and accessing 40 years of records throughout my marriage.
Thank you Paper Tiger!
Marsha Sell
marsha@sellteam.com
Our office moved from one location to the other and arrived in disarray from the move. I did a lot of research looking for something user friendly, with flexibility and really prove it’s claims.
Paper Tiger installation was easy enough. Once I put together the building blocks for the entire filing system, the rest was easy. Our office files include everything from maps, to financial records, business records, to personnel files and beyond. We have the system setup on multiple computers throughout the office and found that the system is easy enough for everyone to access the information.
We love Paper Tiger! It has made a daunting task a delight, seriously. I’m glad to have found your system, thank you!
Sally Tomar
Economic Development Corporation of Lea County
Hobbs, NM
There are thousands of actors and actresses looking for work at any one time. Some are registered with more than one agency and many don’t yet have an agent to represent them which means they must do all the work themselves. Why should talent agencies use smart document management software, like Paper Tiger Document Management Software and Filing System?
All talent/casting agencies are inundated with applications from actors seeking representation. It’s impossible to keep track of every single one of them. Therefore a filing system is needed. However, they shouldn’t keep using archaic solely paper-based systems because they’re too time-consuming to manage and simply don’t help the agent in times of urgency.
When you get a call or an email, or hear about an audition, it’s crucial that you can easily locate any suitable people on your books and send them along if they’re available. If you use an older system of filing cabinets which are overflowing with photos and files about every actor you’ve ever met, it can become an impossible challenge to find the right people.
Quite often the casting calls are advertised with little or no warning and you really need to get your people jobs so they earn money and you do too. BUT you also get your name out there every time you send a candidate along and that is vital to the continuing success of your business.
If you use a smart document management system, you can store documents in various formats. If some actors have headshots or video recordings to help sell themselves, you simply add that to their file for future use. It saves a lot of hassle if everything is kept together, regardless of format.
You can label the files in any way you choose. This means that you can cross-reference people who fit into different categories and still locate their files easily and quickly when the need arises. For example, you may have a male actor who is 25 years old. He may also have experience as a stuntman, a juggler, a singer and both stage and screen experience.
If you cross reference his details with keywords representing all his experience, you can conduct a search, using your new document management software, and see that he’s suitable for the job you were just told about.
This is much more efficient than a purely paper-based filing system reliant on alphabetical labels where a lot of this information would simply be overlooked or invisible because you can’t see it instantly and you can’t remember every single talent that everyone on your books possesses.
If you believe that you don’t need to instigate a more efficient and user-friendly filing system for yourself, keep in mind that most other agencies will be using some sort of intelligent, time saving system themselves and so you’re putting yourself into a position where you won’t be able to compete with them simply because you haven’t modernized your approach to filing effectively.
As a talent agent, you need to know about ALL the skills that your people have. Many people believe that a talent agency only provides people for movies, TV shows and commercials. However, there are a LOT more working opportunities out there if you’re resourceful enough to have people with the prerequisite skills.
Such jobs include: singing telegrams, party performers, singers for birthdays and special occasions, clowns, pantomimes, stage actors, performing on cruise ships, magicians, children’s party entertainers, musicians, expos and promotional shows, photo shoots for advertising catalogues, modeling and so much more.
Because this is such an extensive list, it would be impossible to place one person’s file in 20 different categories. However, through the use of an intelligent filing system software, you only need one big file for each person, and simply add the extra categories when entering the details into your computer database.
This information is crucial as generally an agency has more than one person working there and so you can’t know everybody that comes through the door. However, a few clicks of your keyboard should be able to tell you if there are people on your books that meet the criteria currently being sought.
Why should talent agencies use smart document management software? The answer is very simple. If you’re not using such a system, you’re not only losing money for yourself and the people on your books, but you’re losing the competitive edge that your rivals will have because they have been smart enough to implement a very efficient document management system to reap the enormous benefits. Implement Paper Tiger Document Management Software and Filing System today and regain that competitive edge.
Most people never have enough time to do everything that they need to do. Whether you’re a full-time worker, a stay at home mom, a university student or even some combination of these activities, life can be very hectic. Are you too busy to get yourself organized?
If you look back into history, even 100 years ago, just about everything had to be done manually. Computers didn’t exist. Televisions didn’t exist. Airplanes, cars, ships and communications were extremely different to what they are today.
Today we have technology in a vast range of forms. Computers can handle a wide variety of tasks that used to be done manually. The Internet has changed the world forever.
The one constant is time. Whether you’re the richest man in the world or the poorest pauper, you only have 24 hours in a day. You can’t change it. Even Bill Gates can’t buy an extra hour. However, you can decide what to do with those 24 hours.
If you break down an average person’s life, they spend eight hours sleeping, another eight hours at work and the last eight hours covers everything else that has to be done. This includes shopping, holidays, building relationships, spending time with your family, playing sports or enjoying hobbies, going to the movies or dinner, socializing and special events including weddings, parties and funerals.
Today’s Technology = More Efficiency
Today’s technology enables people to become a lot more efficient. You can get a lot more things done in the same amount of time. This means your time is free for extra tasks that appear on your “to do” list.
If you worked in a large office 20 years ago, the chances are that one of the most tedious tasks you would ever have would be filing. It was always a job that nobody wanted to do, but it still needed doing and consumed an enormous amount of time.
Technology has improved this aspect of people’s working lives. If you’re fortunate enough to be using a smart document management system, like Paper Tiger Document Management Software and Filing System, then filing and retrieval processes will only take a fraction of the time it used to take when using an archaic system.
If this time and money savings was multiplied by every person in every office in every company in the whole world, that would represent an enormous saving in terms of hours and dollars.
Are You Too Busy To Get Yourself Organized?
Despite the fact that people are extremely busy, everyone should realize that it’s vital to be organized. These various forms of technology have been created to make life easier. It’s impossible to get more time, but technology can help you get things done more efficiently. This is the whole key to being organized.
It may be time consuming to set up a smart filing system in the beginning, but imagine how much money and time you can save once it’s done when you’ll be able to find anything in 5 seconds or less.
With Paper Tiger Document Management Software and Filing System, you would input the information relating to your physical files, (item name and relating keywords), into the filing system software. Then you would conduct a ‘google-like’ search in the database and be able to locate your file quickly without having to look in several different drawers to figure out what name you had previously filed it under.
The software is a very powerful, yet simple indexing system for paper office files. It works like a search engine for paper files to help you stay organized. People using the software can save over 150 hours per year by eliminating the time-consuming task of looking for lost information.
Paper Tiger does not involve scanning your documents. Rather, the software uses the power of the computer to index the hanging file folders in office file cabinets. This method works much better than old-fashioned alphabetic methods and is a great alternative to costly and time consuming scanning and imaging solutions.
Governments represent a large percentage of the business population. Therefore it’s essential that every department functions at peak capacity or the domino effect can easily happen and massive problems will occur. Governments need an efficient document management system, like Paper Tiger Document Management Software and Filing System, to help ensure that chaos doesn’t happen.
When you consider there are so many departments and different levels such as: local government, state government, federal government and international levels, that’s an enormous number of files that have to be maintained on a daily basis. The only way it can be organized efficiently is if someone takes the initiative and instigates a major change.
Ever changing rules and regulations apply to various local, state and federal government agencies. Then you have the multitude of applicable laws that apply internationally.
There has to be an intelligent, standardized document management system that can streamline the way that files are being maintained and enable every department to work together more efficiently. The positive news is that there is such a system and it’s already being used in many different companies.
Years ago, all records were kept using basic manual systems. Filing and retrieval of documents was costly in terms of both time and money. However, that can now change because employees in all departments can use the same method for naming every file they create.
Documents appear in a range of formats including paper, CDs, DVDs, and faxes. Files are capable of containing them all. This saves space, money and time and avoids duplication. Documents are easy to locate through the use of the filing system software. A few keystrokes and an employee can instantly see where a file is stored. The file can be retrieved or a document can be added and returned to its rightful place.
If someone in a different department or level needs access to a file, they use the same software to locate it. People become instantly more efficient because less time is needed for filing and retrieving documents which means more time can be spent on essential tasks.
If you add every local, state and federal department in each country together, that equals a massive number of departments and employees. Standardization of filing systems is crucial. Otherwise chaos is sure to reign.
Imagine if a prime minister or president couldn’t get their hands on documents urgently. Important decisions would have to be postponed, and that could prove to be difficult, if not dangerous at times. These key figureheads need to have the best possible support from their administrative staff, senior advisers and a reliable, modern document management system that can fulfill every requirement.
Creating a filing system where every file is named according to a certain set of guidelines, no matter where you are or what level of government you’re working in, is a vital part of keeping the governments running. Whether you’re an administrative assistant in a small local government department or the Secretary of State to the president, you should be using the same type of filing system.
Think of the amount of space taken up by physical files. If lots of documents are saved on CDs or DVDs, they take up a lot less room. If your document management software is accurate, files that are no longer active can be archived and stored off site. How to archive is simple with Paper Tiger. You would have a Location named ‘Archives’ in Paper Tiger, then simply conduct a Transfer Move of the file or files being moved to the Archive Location within your database. Paper Tiger will assign a file number in your Archives file to move the file to in the physical location.
Records also have to be easy to retrieve which will save time. It is estimated that people waste 150 hours per year just looking for lost information.
Everyone complains that the government wastes billions of dollars every year. Everyone moans about paying taxes. An absolute fortune would be saved in both money and man-hours through the use of a standardized document management system. Staff could spend more time on vital tasks, rather than looking for files or documents, which is both frustrating and extremely time consuming if an archaic filing system is being used.
Governments need an efficient document management system so that all departments can work well together without wasting billions of dollars on financially unproductive aspects of the job.
Stop Wasting 150 Hours Per Year
Paper Tiger software is a very powerful, yet simple indexing system for paper office files. It works like a search engine for paper files to help you stay organized. People using the software can save over 150 hours per year by eliminating the time-consuming task of looking for lost information.
Paper Tiger does not involve scanning your documents. Rather, the software uses the power of the computer to index the hanging file folders in office file cabinets. This method works much better than old-fashioned alphabetic methods and is a great alternative to costly and time consuming scanning and imaging solutions. You only have 5 options when it comes to paper…see them in our Document Management Decision Guide.
By Meggin McIntosh, “The Ph.D. of Productivity”™ and Paper Tiger Expert. Meggin recommends Paper Tiger Filing System Software for document management to get everything in your life organized — not just for filing paper.
Some dandy acronyms exist that can increase your productivity (and that of your colleagues) when using email. Four of the best and easiest to implement are shared in this article.
EOM: End of Message – The time to use this acronym is when the entire message can be encapsulated in your email’s subject line.
NRN: No Response Necessary – Let’s say somebody has asked you for some information and you send them an email with that information, and then at the end of your email, you put NRN. It’s helpful to follow that with “No Response Necessary” in brackets or parentheses. This helps your receiver to know that “You don’t need to write me back about this.” This can be useful when you send out an informational email to people to give them a location for a meeting or some general announcement.
NNTR: Not Necessary to Respond – This one is essentially the same thing as NRN. It is not that one is better than the other, it’s just an alternative to NRN and another common one that people are beginning to use. Remember, be sure to put the explanation of what NNTR means when you are first starting out using this acronym.
NTN: No Thanks Necessary – The reason folks need to use this acronym is because we are friendly people, so, when people do things for us, we thank them. In email, this can get out of hand because then they thank us for thanking them, and then we say “No problem, happy to do it,” and they will write back with, “You’re always so nice” and so forth. This is called email ping-pong and it does not enhance anyone’s productivity. Before long, one email can turn into about 17 – many of which are meaningless. No one has time for this. When you send something to somebody that they requested, then you could put either NRN or NTN (No Thanks Necessary). They may not be able to help themselves, so they may write back and say, “I know you said not to thank you, but thank you anyway.” You have to resist the impulse to write them back because somebody has to stop this insanity.
When you take a look at your emails, you could easily see that 20 to 40 percent of the emails that are sent are the unnecessary back and forth of ‘thanks,’ ‘got it,’ ‘see you there,’ and the like. No real information is exchanged, but rather the little “You’re the gal”, “I try to be”, “Everybody counts on you.” If you want to have a love-fest then call up the person on the phone or go down to that person’s office and give him/her a hug or whatever you need to do.
I think we have to be careful about using acronyms that people aren’t sure what is meant by them. When I first begin using EOM, NRN, NNTR, or NTN with any person or group of people, I always spell it out, too, but then also using the acronym so that, eventually they can begin to think about what it is. You might want to consider sharing these ideas with a group. For example, let’s say you’re on a committee, and as a committee you may want to decide here are a few acronyms you will use so everybody is clear on EOM, No Response Necessary and the like.
Bonus tip: You can also use the ideas included in this article with voicemail. Although you are not using an acronym, at the end of the voicemail to someone you can say, “I’ll assume you got this. No need to call me back,” because otherwise, some people will call you back, “Thanks for sending me the information.” Then you’ve got a voicemail that you now need to respond to.
As David Shipley and Will Schwalbe say in their book Send: The Essential Guide to Email for Office and Home, “duplitasking,” i.e., when someone calls you to make sure you got the email they just sent, is unnecessary in essentially all instances. Trust the systems that are in place (email and voicemail) to be sending what needs to be sent. Then move on to other areas of your work and life.
There are a multitude of great tips available to help all of us be more effective and efficient in our email – and other types of – communication. To access some of these and to keep moving forward on your goals for more peaceful productivity, join others (worldwide) who receive Meggin’s weekly emails (and see what is available for download at no cost at the following websites):
**Top Ten Productivity Tips (http://www.TopTenProductivityTips.com)
**Keys to Keeping Chaos at Bay (http://www.KeepingChaosatBay.com)
(c) 2010 by Meggin McIntosh, Ph.D., “The Ph.D. of Productivity”(tm). Through her company, Emphasis on Excellence, Inc., Meggin McIntosh supports smart people who want to be more productive so that they can consistently keep their emphasis on excellence. Sound interesting? It is!
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Meggin_McIntosh
Three years ago, my life changed with the words “Your baby is beautiful, and she is perfect, and we are quite sure she has Down syndrome.”
The months following Violette’s birth are something of a blur of Doctors appointments, therapy appointments, loving, caring and feeding the baby and my other two children, working full time, and researching about Down syndrome. As I tried to learn more about Down syndrome, I also became more active in our Down syndrome association, serving on the board of advisors, attending educational events and becoming active in online communities.
Earlier this summer, in an attempt to get our lives more organized, I was introduced to the Paper Tiger. After I was introduced to the system, I realized that I finally had found a means of managing all of my day to day paperwork. I also quickly came to the conclusion that the Paper Tiger would be a brilliant way to manage the myriad of details about my daughter and Down syndrome. I have since set up a location in the Paper Tiger system devoted entirely to my collection of all things related to Down syndrome and my daughter’s health and well being.
Day to day life with my beautiful little girl is a joy! Knowing EXACTLY where I have important papers that I need to help her are located, has been such a relief. After using this system for a few months, I can say with a great deal of confidence that any parent with a child with special needs would benefit from the Paper Tiger, and I recommend it to my friends with children with Down syndrome!
Melissa Skavlem
Ohio
