Page 158 - Time Management

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Power Tools for Time Management
Some Useful Computer Accessories
Here are a few optional items that can do wonders to
speed up the operation of your computer: 143
• Cache controller card. Don’t worry: you don’t need to know
how this works, just what it does. It noticeably improves your com-
puter’s performance, essentially by improving the read and write
access time to your computer’s central processing unit from the
hard drive. (If that makes any sense to you.)
• Upgrade your video card. The best available video card will pro-
vide amazing speed—particularly with graphics programs.
• Cable, DSL, or T1 data line. These are Internet connections that
provide far faster transmission speeds than traditional modems
operating over telephone lines.They’ve become more cost-competi-
tive in recent years and may save you huge amounts of time if you
use the Internet frequently.

• Delete unused files and folders. If you know that you’ll
never have to refer to a document or collection of docu-
ments again, eliminate it. Not only will this free up space
on your hard drive, but it will lessen the number of files
and folders you have to search through for what you
need. There will also be fewer files for your virus protec-
tion program to scan, resulting in shorter scan times.
• Back up your data. Saying this once isn’t enough. So,
here goes, again: back up your data. You could, for vari-
ous reasons, lose everything on your hard drive in a
moment. Also, make it a habit to use the save function
regularly while working on a document. Should a com-
puter failure occur, all changes since the last save will
almost certainly be lost. This applies not only to your
desktop computer, but to your laptop and electronic
organizer, as well.
Several methods are available for backup: zip disks,
CDs, and external hard drives. Your company should
have a policy regarding which type to use. But it’s up to
you to take advantage of the protection offered by back-
up systems.