Diane --

I will only speak to the computer side of things as that is what I know. I am *not* the one you want on general time management. Haven't worn a watch or carried a calendar for years. Neither do I use PDA's or other electronic devices. So with that background here are some tips from me.

Look for easy ways to save 10 seconds here and there. Most people try to carve out 30 minutes or an hour. 10 seconds doesn't sound like much but if you save 10 seconds on every email you send what would that add up to? What if you saved 5 seconds on every message board posting you read? (If anyone is interested in how to save time reading message boards like this one I'll detail my procedure)

Let's take the email. Could you save 10 seconds on every email you send? Probably. What are some ways?

- Automatic signatures
- Boilerplate text for frequent responses
- Streamlined addressing
- Filter common tasks
- Use autoresponders instead of answering
- Get a spam filter

Those are some ideas off the top of my head. I've been using a program called Macro Express which will type things in for you, run programs, etc. Putting my signatures and frequent responses to emails in those blocks cuts down my typing and proof reading. Easily gaining me 10 seconds an email. By filtering my mail into folders as it's received I'm able to concentrate on one type of mail at a time - newsletter, personal, etc.

I also use and recommened a program called Info Select from Micro Logic (http://www.miclog.com). It runs in Windows and is a free form database of sorts. You just dump information into it any way you want. It's strength is in searching. I have thousands of items in the program but can find anything within 3 seconds of starting to look for it. So research, code snippets, url's, information emails, ezines, and other things make great items to drop in here. When I need to look up something we've published in the ezine I go here and can find everything about a given topic instantly.

Those are just a few ideas. I hope they get you thinking. Without knowing specifically what is eating up your time it's hard to point you in other directions.

Hope that helps!

-- Dan Butler
ps - the "Hope that helps.." on through my signature and some more of this message was inserted by the program I mentioned earlier. Saved me a good 5 seconds there...

> Hello,

> I have a simple question. But, I can't
> imagine that there is a simple answer.

> But ... maybe.

> O.K. There goes.

> As your internet business grows, how DO you
> get everything done?

> My "to do" list grows daily. And
> even though I prioritize my list, it still
> isn't complete by the end of the day.

> Also, I can't frequent the discussion boards
> like I used to, which I miss. But when I do,
> I wonder, "Where do they find the
> time?" and, "O.K.; so, what am I
> doing wrong?" :-)

> Other than giving up that little thing
> called "sleep," what suggestions
> do you have?

> I ABSOLUTELY don't want to reduce the
> quality of my customer service. I feel the
> customer deserves to get the best product
> and service available.

> I look forward to reading what has worked
> for you.

> Thank you in advance for your assistance,
> Diane




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