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Some useful smatterings of information, and some more substantial ones too, to make your working life easier.

Contents

Saving Time, Making Money

Top tip

Instant poll

Who am I?

Time-savers

This month's offer

Did you know…?

Gamble-free Guarantee

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        Focus on…

Saving Time, Making Money

Key to running a thriving business in today's difficult economic climate is working efficiently. On any task you need to spend as little time as possible, but as much time as is necessary to get the job done. Here are some simple ideas to help you work more productively without compromising the quality of your work.

Set up standard documents. Find yourself constantly formatting the same documents over and over again? Set up templates and use these each time you need the same type of document. This not only saves you time but helps you establish your corporate image by keeping a consistent look and feel to your correspondence. You and your business will look more efficient and work more efficiently too!

Organise your data. This is where a database comes in. A well-designed database puts the information you need right at your fingertips. Never again will you have to wade through old documents to find a single date or amount. Neither will you have to browse through months of emails to find someone's contact details. Get your data organised and see how your admin bumps are smoothed out.

Establish a filing system. Whether your files are electronic or paper, set up a consistent filing system that everyone knows how to use.  Then when you go to your computer or filing cabinet, you can get straight to the file you need every time. And the same principle applies to your email inbox - create folders to file your email into and use them!

Automate repetitive tasks. Say you have some software to export some data to a simple file that can be opened in Excel, and that each time you do this you want the same changes made to it. If you're making all these changes manually each time, STOP! Excel can be automated to make the changes for you so the next time you produce your data file you simply press a button and, in only a fraction of the time it used to take, you have a fully modified file ready for export. You can automate tasks across the entire Office suite, saving time and costly errors.

Take a break! Seriously, taking regular breaks can drastically increase your working efficiency. Getting bogged down in a task? Switch over to something else, make a coffee, check your emails, talk to a colleague, or even just stare out of the window for a few minutes. If you can adopt a more flexible working style you'll almost certainly find that you're happier, calmer and more productive.

Could you benefit from a database or automation of a task? Check out our offer for a great deal!


Top Tip

Cloud computing is a nebulous concept, but primarily it's about working across the internet from any location. Think a Cloud solution is right for you? Call us to discuss your needs, or check out the next issue of Smatterings for more details about working in the Cloud.
Instant poll Results so far
I often have to key the same information into several systems
  • 28%
  • 72%
Yes       No
Yes
No

Who Am I?

Something different for this issue's quiz. Here's a description of one of us - but is it Philippa, James, Jane or Robin?

I was born in Aldershot, but as an Army family we moved around a lot. I went to Cambridge University where I studied Engineering and was sponsored by British Aerospace. Having graduated, I took a job with Procter & Gamble in Newcastle. I have always enjoyed travelling and have been to at least 20 countries. My favourite city in the world is San Francisco, but I prefer living in the country. I left P&G to travel round Australia. I've been at Software-Matters ever since I went back to work.      Who am I?

Answer in next issue    (And if you're wondering why Katherine isn't listed and Jane is, then find that out then too!)

Time-savers

Clock

 

Welcome back to Time-savers, our handy little hints and tips to save you time and frustration whenever you use your computer!

 

Cutting, Copying and Pasting
  1. Highlight the text you want to work with or press CTRL+A to select all of the text in your document
  2. Use CTRL+C to copy the text or CTRL+X to cut it out
  3. Place the cursor where you want to paste the text and press CTRL+V.     Done!

This month's offer

Do you feel you're losing time that could be better spent on other things? Getting your data organised or automating repetitve tasks will save you time and money.

Call us on 01747 822616 by 29th February 2012 to discuss the best way to proceed and we will give you 10% off when we build your system. Just quote Smatterings13 during the call to be eligible.

(Reasonable terms and conditions apply. Ask us for details.)

Not sure how we can help? Take a look at the ideas above and call us for an informal chat on 01747 822616.

 

Did you know...
…if you refer someone to us, they get 10% off their first project - and you get a treat too!

If you know someone else who might benefit from this offer or anything else in Smatterings, please pass the information on to them. Or fill in their details here and we'll send them a link..


PS: Don't forget our Gamble-Free Guarantee. We guarantee to save you money overall – if we don't then we'll refund the difference. We won't take something on unless it's worth your while, which means you really can't lose!

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