It’s almost become a truism that computers take up at least as much time as they save. If you’ve ever spent several minutes clicking through your Windows Explorer (or Mac) ‘filing system’, trying to get to where you want to save something, experienced the joy of a virus, spent hours comparing online shopping prices only to find that they won’t ship to your area, then you’ll be feeling that dull, throbbing pain the front of your head right now … just like me! So today we’re posting a few random tips on taking the power back from your computer, despite the fact that it’s the Machine Age.

All tuckered out by the computer ... awww!

1. Use both your hands on the computer

Many of us are mousebound, using only our right hands on the computer, with our left wasting away in a desert of isolation. Bring the poor little guy back into the fold and you can save time!

Advanced users will already know most of these, and will be able to benefit from more advanced lists like this one for all users, and this updated one for Windows 7 users. For the newbies, though:

• Ctrl + C to copy, Ctrl + V to paste.
• Ctrl Z to undo the last thing you did; this can be repeated in some programs but not in others.
• Shift + Delete – delete permanently, so you don’t have to suffer through being asked ‘Are you sure?’, by your computer a hundred times a day
• Windows button + D – return to desktop. Press this again to restore all your windows to previous positions
• Alt + F4 – close active program
• Ctrl+S saves a file in most programs
• Ctrl+F allows you to find a word in a file – this will save you scanning hundreds of webpages for the part that is relevant to you.

You can always find more keyboard shortcuts by reading the menus that you use in programs. Most list any keyboard shortcuts just to the right of the option in the drop down menu.

2. Quick Launch

Always add your frequently used programs to the Quick Launch bar, if you don’t want to clutter up your desktop. I’m not sure about your computer, but mine seems to load programs quicker from the launch bar than the desktop, anyway. You can do this by right-clicking the program in your Start Menu, and selecting ‘Add to Quick Launch’.

3. Startup Programs

On your work PC, add programs that you have open every single day to your Startup folder, so that they automatically open for you in the morning. While you’re having a debriefing, making a coffee, or tidying up paperwork, your programs will be loading themselves.

Here’s how to do it in XP, and here’s how to do it in Vista.

And here’s how to take them off again!

4. Feedreaders

Rss feeds - a blessing and a curse. The symbol of all mans duality.

Feedreaders, like most things in life, are both a blessing and a curse. If you have websites that you must get the updated content from in order to complete a task or to be productive, then use feedreaders like Google’s, or Bloglines’. I personally don’t recommend subscribing to feeds that you are juts interested in … not if you’ve ever said ‘There aren’t enough hours in the day!’, anyway .

5. Google Toolbar

Love or hate Google, they make some pretty cool free stuff. Their toolbar has been out for ages, but many of you might not know how much time it (and Google in general) can save you. There are hundreds of customizable buttons, which allow you to do things like translate, convert currencies, check webmail, add and tag bookmarks, get driving directions, look up lyrics, check craigslist … just about anything you want, all with the ease of a button right on your browser. You don’t need to hunt through bookmarks, or even open a new window or tab.

If you do anything on the net repetitively, it is worth checking if Big Brother sorry, Google, has a button for it.

You’re obviously an organized person. I can tell just by looking at you! That hair, the way you click the mouse, that focused glaze on your eyes … Just kidding! The real way I can tell you are organized is not through your hacked webcam (they are watching), but by the fact you are reading Best Time Tools.

Over-organization is a curse

So, like all organized people, you probably run the risk of over-organizing – spending more time creating, updating and checking off lists that organization itself is costing you time. Of course, not making lists isn’t an option! I, for one, get the cold sweats if I don’t open one of my lists on Outlook within the first few minutes of having the computer on. Well, sometimes, any way .

There is a balance – so today we’re going to share with you a simple method for using Microsoft Outlook to ensure you Get Things Done, and maintain the balance of power between the evil List god and real life. Thanks to Tim, one of the web’s finest GTD thinkers, for the tips.

Outlook is for more than just mail

Currency

Outlook is huge and addictive. One of the dangers of its sheer size and the number of places you can put things is that you lose track of, well, everything. This means that little bits more often are always preferable to big bits, less often. Review your tasks daily, tick off completed tasks and add new ones. Incidentally, I never use the percentage complete function except to indicate that something is 100% complete. This function is better for reporting to superiors than to yourself.

Categories

You can assign a category to tasks in Outlook by highlighting an item after it has been created and going to Edit-Category, selecting the category(ies) that it belongs to.

Keep your categories simple, if you want to save time on your organization. One idea we’ve heard is to use:

ACTION – Work related items requiring action

AGENDA – Work related topics to think about and discuss at meetings

HOME – Personal tasks

SOMEDAY – Ideas for the future. Not urgent, but you don’t want to forget them.

Create a new category in the Master List (Edit-Categories-Master Category List button), if you don’t want to use the default ones in Outlook.

Of course, you may choose to create your categories differently (perhaps according to the department that a task belongs to, or using an Urgent/Non-urgent scheme). The key to saving time with them, though, is to try to have as few as possible.

Finding your tasks again

Use the ‘Customize Current View’ option on the left hand panel in Outlook’s Task view (click Tasks on the bottom left menu)

to sort your tasks according to priority. Choose to:

• Group by categories (ascending)
• Sort by Due Date (descending), and also by Subject (ascending)
• Fields – use Priority, Subject, Notes, Created, Due Date, Complete

As we mentioned, Outlook is huge – so we’ll have to get into the Calendar and Notes functions another day!

Sometimes I can feel the neurons jumping from one side of my brain to the other … a task will remind me of something else I have to do, which triggers another internal reminder, and another … like pushing over a line of people in a bank queue, or a bunch of phone boxes. Only maybe not quite so fun, and a little more frazzling!

Phone Boxes Triggering Reminders - Keep your mental phoneboxes in order!

I have a great memory, and it is rare that I forget to do something – but I also find the hours melting away from my workday quite often because of this internal reminder system that I have going. Research has revealed that it can take anywhere from 8 to 20 minutes for you to regain proper focus for your task after an interruption … and internal interruptions are just as insidious as annoying colleagues! Perhaps even more so, as you can’t lock them out and pretend you’ve gone to lunch. So what’s the solution? Make a list!

Lists are one of those love or hate items, and almost all people who hate them don’t know how to use them properly. If you feel that lists take up more time than they save, we have a list of lists of lists (ha ha! Made you look ), that will actually SAVE you time, as well as mental space. Check them out after the jump.

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