Time Management - Marc Mancini

Power Tools for Time Management 151
we use to shape time is decidedly low-tech. A stunning yet modest
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 communication
and commitment.
Paper-based communication, of course, can too easily
encourage excess. Indeed, electronic communication is often
lauded as the way to eliminate paper and all its inherent drawbacks.
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