How perfect should your spelling be?

We are all under pressure from time constraints and reality often dictates that speed of response is more important than getting it right. Just getting it done has become the focus. Increasingly though, we seem to be using time management and our reliance on mobile devices as an excuse for poor spelling and/or grammar.

Many mobile devices have an automatic line at the bottom of emails saying “sent from my xxx device”. You can remove this or you can modify it, as in a recent example I received which had added “…please forgive any grammatical or spelling errors”.

If you look carefully enough (and I have a friend who does), you can find errors in even the most expensive and highly maintained websites, and you can certainly find them in the news and TV media (where people like editors are paid to check). I’m the first to admit my spelling and grammar are not perfect, but I do try hard to make sure I check things or have someone else check them, particularly in a business context. It probably doesn’t matter if your texts or emails to your family or friends are not correctly spelled or use poor grammar, but if it’s a response to someone you have (or want to have) a professional relationship with, then maybe it’s not acceptable.

So where is the line? Many people in business still look unfavourably on bad spelling or grammar. If you’ve taken the time to respond on your mobile device (when by definition you are probably “out and about”) then perhaps you should also take the time to make sure it is right. If it’s not critical to respond immediately, why not leave it until you have the time to properly compose and check your reply.

Tempted to buy a new laptop?

End of financial year (EFY) sales are starting and the government has just given small business owners a huge incentive to purchase for EFY (complete write off for assets less $20,000*). But, before you run out and buy that new laptop, make a check list of the things you like and more importantly, the things you don’t like, in your existing laptop.

Here are some of the features people forget to consider when buying a new laptop:

• How many USB ports do you use?
• Do you use a camera USB port?
• If you use the function keys – are they function keys or do you need to press the FN key to make the function keys work (this is one thing I forgot last time and I hate having to press the FN key)?
• Do you need a network connection or you are happy to work with Wi-fi?
• How does your printer connect – via cable or Bluetooth?
• Do you want to read or write to a CD/DVD?
• Are you looking for a touch screen?
• Do you like the layout (and feel) of the keyboard?

Lastly, but importantly, how much grunt do you need? Look for at least an i7 processor with a minimum of 8 gig of RAM (you may have to get this installed when purchasing) and Windows 8 Professional (this provides better security).

* If you are unsure if you are eligible for this tax deduction please refer to your accountant.

Take action on filing!

If you took the advice in the last article and organised your filing systems, you are now ready to make sure you have an effective action and follow up system in place.

There is no sense filing documents well if that’s the last thing you do with them. You should only keep essential documents so it follows that some action or follow up might be required.

Here’s how I make it easy for myself to keep track of what I’m working on and what I need to do.

Organise your documents by date

For paper documents, note the date on the top of it – this will make it easier to file and later locate without having to trawl through all the documents in a folder. Likewise for soft copy, try including a date in your file name when you save it.

A simple trick for keeping soft copy documents in order, particularly if the rest of the file name is the same as others, is to write the date backwards. When sorting file names, computers automatically sort numerically, so if you write a date of 11 May 2014 as 110514, it will come after the date of 01 December 2014 which becomes 011214. Even if you use the full day month format your computer will sort alphabetically and the months will be out of order. However, if you reverse the date as YYMMDD, making the above examples 140511 and 141201 respectively, they will be sorted correctly in chronological order.

Use “tickler” files, also known as the “43 folders” method

This is a handy system used by many people to organise files. You create 12 folders (one for each month of the year) and an additional 31 subfolders (for each day of the month).  Then fill each folder with the documents that you need to action or follow up on that day. At the beginning of each day, open the folder for that day. Take all the items out and move them into a “today” folder or onto your desktop. Then move the empty folder into its place in the next month.

If you can’t complete some work items by the end of the day, transfer them to the folder for the next convenient day.  At the end of each month take the items out of the next month’s folder and place them into the correct daily folders (which by now have all been moved forward a month as you progressed through the current month). This system of file management helps you keep track of your action and follow up items and also doubles as a diary. It can work in both hard and soft copy as long as you make it a habit to do it properly.

These methods work for me, but remember, for any system to be useful and effective it must be convenient for you. To a large extent, the methodology you use will depend on the nature of your business or the type of work that you do. So although there is no “one size fits all” solution to file management, these tips may give you a good starting point and allow you to customise a method that is effective for you.  In the long run, setting yourself up a simple filing system and habitualising your use of it, will help reduce your stress levels and make running your business and personal life easier.