Page 167 - Time Management

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Time Management
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ignored by purchasers—than in personal organizers. Personal
organizers are supposed to be just that: personal. They must
serve the person, rather than obliging the person to contort his
or her time management to fit the layout of an organizer bought
casually.
If you like paper-based organizers, spend plenty of time
comparing various models. Try to sense which one fits your
style. Think about whether you need one that:
• Shows a single day per page, a week across two pages, a
month across two pages, or some combination.
• Lists hour (or even quarter-hour) increments down the
daily page.
• Is laid out in a book-size configuration (e.g., 8 inches by
10 inches), a narrow, “slim” format (e.g., 3 inches by 7
inches), or a mini-size (e.g., 2 inches by 3 inches).
• Is formatted as a ring binder, permitting supplementary
inserts.

If you prefer electronic organizers, make sure that they’re at
least as handy as the paper-based kind.

Filing for Your Job
Filing—it’s one of the great arts of time management. A well-
conceived filing system will permit you to store documents effi-
ciently and retrieve them straight away. There are several sys-
tems, each best suited to a particular purpose:
• Desk files are for the most important items.
• Rolling cart files are for important, self-contained proj-
ects.
• Hot files, possibly mounted on the wall, are for current
items you consult frequently.
• Cabinet files should be reserved for items of secondary
importance.
• Storage files, including box files, are for documents that
you don’t expect to refer back to except in an emergency.
• Self-contained accordion files are for projects of limited