{"id":5464,"date":"2011-02-22T22:43:17","date_gmt":"2011-02-23T06:43:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/?p=5464"},"modified":"2013-09-04T07:29:32","modified_gmt":"2013-09-04T15:29:32","slug":"how-to-triple-your-productivity-by-homer-simson","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/how-to-triple-your-productivity-by-homer-simson\/","title":{"rendered":"How To Triple Your Productivity by Homer Simson"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>

<\/a><\/p>\n

“Hey Miss ‘Doesn’t Find Me Sexually Attractive Anymore’, I Just Tripled My Productivity!”<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

The sub-title of this post is taken from a classic episode of The Simpsons<\/a> where Homer turns (more) obese and starts working from home. He soon realises that he doesn\u2019t have to enter Y-E-S into his computer to confirm a repetitive command, but instead he can just hit \u2018Y\u2019 and get the same result, thus tripling his productivity.<\/p>\n

Whilst the sketch was obviously created for comedic value, there is a surprising amount of truth to be found in Homer\u2019s discover and an important message we can take away about saving large amounts of time by making small changes. If you think about it, if Homer\u2019s only job was to confirm computer commands all day, what would have taken him 9 hours would now take him closer to 3. With this in mind, here are 5 simple ways in which I save lots of \u2018small amounts\u2019 of time each day, mainly using my computer.<\/p>\n

Macros<\/strong><\/p>\n

A large number of computer programs allow for macros to be used, but I save most of my time on MS Word and MS Excel. Macros are basically a saved list of commands that will run in sequence when you press an assigned button. They are pretty simple to set up \u2013 just start recording your macro, go through all your processes manually, and then stop recording when you\u2019ve finished the sequence. You can then assign the macro to a new button in your program and whenever you press it the macro sequence runs, saving you from having to go through all the steps manually each time. I once had a table of data that I had to format each day before emailing on to another department. I set up a 15-step macro to handle all the formatting steps, and estimated that it saved me approx 45 minutes each day (that\u2019s almost half a day per working week!)<\/p>\n

Bookmarking<\/strong><\/p>\n

Bookmarking web addresses has been possible ever since the first web browsers were developed. It\u2019s surprising how few people use them these days though, preferring instead to Google what they are looking for each time, or type the URL in manually. I realised after a bit of monitoring that around 90{54c12dad2cc2b53ae830e39915b1a3e70288dbcbbeb8bbf8395437c5dc3c512c} of my internet activity was spent on just 10-15 websites. I therefore set up bookmarks to these websites and I reckon I save loads of time now, not to mention frustration I used to get from spelling my desired site incorrectly time after time. I bet if you had a little think about it, you\u2019d realise you too spend most of your time on the same few websites. Why not set up bookmarks for your most used and see how much time you save.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve also now set up a secondary bookmark folder where I save all the interesting things I come across when browsing around the net. I rarely use this bookmark folder, but when I do try to trace something I recall seeing or reading, it can save me hours.<\/p>\n

Email Auto-Responders<\/strong><\/p>\n

No one daily activity takes up quite so much of my time as sorting through emails, and I suspect this is the same for many other people too.\u00a0 Unfortunately, short of cloning yourself, there will always be a certain amount of emails you have to respond to manually. However, there are a few tricks to save you time and effort when it comes to your email chores.<\/p>\n

1.)\u00a0\u00a0 If it doesn\u2019t require a personal response, automate it.\u00a0 Perhaps someone has signed up to your news letter or has downloaded your ebook? You can often send automated thank you emails that still sound personal and appreciative.\u00a0 Addressing them by the name they entered in the \u2018name\u2019 field of the sign-up form is a simple way to make your auto emails more engaging.<\/p>\n

2.)\u00a0\u00a0 Auto-update your contacts. I\u2019ve set up a system whereby if I don\u2019t respond to an email within 24hrs, an auto email is sent in reply stating that I have received the message and I will respond personally as soon as I can. If I have not replied within 4 days (very rare) another email is sent apologising and assuring them I will respond as soon as I get a chance. This system took a little bit of getting used to, but I\u2019ve lost count now of how many times it has saved my bacon, and how many times people have told me they appreciate keeping them updated. Most of them know it\u2019s an automated system, but this doesn\u2019t seem to matter to be honest.<\/p>\n

3.)\u00a0\u00a0 For many people the emails they receive tend to fall into the same categories. For example, they might be a request for product information, a sales pitch email, a call back request etc. Over time I created a number of email templates that pretty much cover about 70{54c12dad2cc2b53ae830e39915b1a3e70288dbcbbeb8bbf8395437c5dc3c512c} of the emails I receive. I use these templates all the time now, and with little tweaks here and there they look perfectly custom each time.\u00a0 Whist this is not strictly auto-responding, it sure feels like it sometimes with regards to the amount of time it saves me.<\/p>\n

Keyboard Shortcuts<\/strong><\/p>\n

It\u2019s hard to get into the habit of using keyboard shortcuts due the fact many people like to stick to what they know, even if switching would save them lots of time. This is an odd phenomenon because often when people do<\/em> start using shortcuts they wonder why they didn\u2019t adopt ages ago. I think it\u2019s a security thing \u2013 people don\u2019t want to risk doing something new when they know what they currently do works just fine. However, by taking the plunge and learning a few simple keyboard shortcuts, you can more than \u2018triple your productivity\u2019. Here are my favourites:<\/p>\n