Specifications

The Crabby Ofce Lady
Boost your efciency
with Crabby’s
suggestions
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“Efciency” is a big buzzword around my ofce, and
I imagine it’s being bandied about in your world, too.
But what does it mean to be efcient? Is it about speed
or is it about competence? Perhaps it’s a little of both.
Applies to
2007 Microsoft Ofce system
The word “efcient” has many meanings, all of
them subtly connected. It can indicate effectiveness,
power, prociency, and even shrewdness — as
in being calculating. To me, the meaning of the
word “efcient” is like music or art — it has many
connotations, and it can be somewhat hard to pin
down or even talk about. Maybe I should just let it
ow through me, and let the gods and goddesses of
economy and performance guide the way.
(Or, better yet, perhaps we need some tools to help us
achieve that perfect sense of efcient-osity.…)
Ofce can help
You have two hands, two eyes, two ears, one brain
… and 17 things that must get done before the end
of the day. If you’re like me, you try to tackle nine of
them all at once, eventually losing track of what got
done — and what didn’t. I’ve gured out a few ways
to manage all my tasks by making the most of my time
and using the tools that I have access to. I have yet to
achieve perfection through efciency, but I’m darned
close.
Make a list
Some of the things you set out to do for yourself
today can maybe wait until tomorrow … or the next
day. No, I’m not saying put off today what you can
do tomorrow. What I AM saying is that you are not a
machine. Hey, we’re all very busy and we all have a
lot to do. Meetings, tasks, messages to follow up on
— it’s enough to make a person freeze from indecision
about what to tackle rst. But if you don’t take the
time to negotiate your chores (and BREATHE), you
may nd that you get none of it done in the time you’d
like.
Ofce can help by …
Outlook 2007
implemented
a new feature
called the To-
Do Bar. And
surprisingly
enough, it
does just what
it implies: It
keeps all of
your to-do
items in one
spot. Prior to
Outlook 2007,
you may have
had tasks,
appointments,
and agged
messages, but
you had to go
from view to
view to keep
track of all of
them. Well,
no more. The
To-Do Bar in
Outlook 2007 integrates everything right there. And,
as a bonus (if you act today … or really, any other
day), it also integrates all of your OneNote, Project,
and SharePoint Services workspaces.
I’m guessing you can see how the To-Do Bar can
make you more efcient. I mean, no more hopping
around from window to window to try to nd what
needs to get done today or even this week.
Take the easy way
Now, I’m sure your parents, bosses, teachers, and
coaches wouldn’t be too thrilled with me if they knew
I was telling you to take the easy way. However, the
easy way doesn’t mean the road more traveled; it can
also mean the road less traveled, and thereby the one
that makes all the difference. In other words, why