Save hours with one time-saving tip

Let me give you a quick time-saving tip.  Why?  Because a lot of what I teach leaders in our Certified LEADER course (starts next week) involves saving time.

If you have time and focus issues, then write a check for $10,000 and just stare at it.

The cost of procrastination and poorly managed time is typically $10,000+ a month).  If you disagree, then talk with me or Bob Andrews, a seasoned MSP veteran on our team.  We can help you find money.

What is today's Tuesday Tip? Simple file formatting saves hours, even when searching.

BAD FILE NAME FORMAT examples:

• job title.docx (For whom?  Date written?)
• job title 09-14-16  (Date does not sort yearly, monthly, and lastly, by day.)
• Business plan 2015.docx  (Date written or version?)
• David Russell_EventName 2016 Speaker Agreement.pdf  (A bit long...)
• Same file name after edits made  (You may need something from an earlier version.  Save it with a different date.)

What makes an efficient file name?

1. Date is included in the file name as YearMonthDay in the same place of all similar files so the files sort automatically.  It can be at the beginning, middle or end of the file name.
2. OPTION:  Categorize by file name.  I do this when saving reference documents for Charm School courses.  (See below)
3. OPTION:  Categorize by source name, such as I might save an article from Inc. Magazine for reference.  (See below)
4. OPTION:  Enter dashes "-" or underlines "_" between words if the file will be downloaded to eliminate the "20%" entries by some apps offering files to download.  For instance, the file "2016 Business Plan.docx" becomes "201620%Business20%Plan.docx" when downloaded if the file name has spaces between words instead of dashes or underlines.
5. I encourage you to keep your file names a "Goldilocks length."  Not too long.  Not too short.  Just the right length to view easily in a folder.

Here is an example of these principles:

     An employee strategic plan we develop as part of our LEADERSHIP Essentials Service:
 
          SP--Dispatch—LastName FirstName 160920
 
     A reference document with source noted, similar to the example above:
 
          Hiring_160801--Inc--8 Reasons to Fire

By the way, it helps to save old file versions in folders marked "Old Files" "Prior Versions" or something similar.

Save time to increase opportunity.  Often you can save a lot of time with simple changes to your systems, processes, and/or habits.