Archive for Office management

Shuffle Your Papers for a New Deal in the Hand of Office Life

April 6, 2008 at 3:09 pm · Filed under Office management ·Tagged ,

 

At first it feels like Master Procrastination, that bit of organizing.  But, there is method in the ‘messing around’. 

 

Being paperless isn’t always the best way to organize the things you need to be able to learn more about your craft.  Keyboarding is a terrific way to implant ideas and patterns into your brain.  I write my perceptions of the things I am studying, particularly Duct Tape Marketing.   I like to create them using tools such as MS OneNote or EverNote.  Both work quite well for me.  

 

Printing and filing the notes keeps them at my fingertips for studying away from the computer.  We are a society of bathroom readers or take it to a quiet corner and do some highlighting.  I have a reading corner set up in an unhandy part of the living room.  My husband has recently discovered it and now I have competition.

 

My office never saw a ring binder that it didn’t like.  I save old ones and buy new ones by the case.  My printed study and reference material are at my fingertips again.   The three hole punch and stapler help organize the material ready for me to use and make notes on.  Subtopics are divided by sheets of cardstock.  I bought a multi-colored package to get one color…now the unwanted colors have come into their own as dividers.  I store some of the binders in plastic crates with the spines (labeled) on top so I can easily pick out the one I need.

 

My library isn’t expensive, it is attractive and useful.   My methods might not be applicable to your office in every step; my goal is to stimulate your thinking about how you can keep your office neat, organized, while utilizing all of the information you meet every day that has value to you.

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Standby Electrical Equipment Has Hidden Costs

November 5, 2007 at 9:33 pm · Filed under Office management ·Tagged , , , , , , , ,

I read a very articulate news item this morning about the power demands for our standby ‘tools’ and equipment.   For along time, I have been carrying on about the green issue of leaving a computer turned on all the time.  In terms of our pocketbooks, to leave a computer turned on has been estimated to be about the equivalent of leaving two light bulbs burning all night — not the new low usage bulbs, but the old ones.   This doesn’t ruin the economy at our house.  What does get my attention the consideration about having 2 million homes and/or offices leaving their computer on all night.  The cost to each individual is so small as to be difficult to calculate.  But the electricity demand on the power plants is affected by that demand.

 

The article I saw this morning, written by  does some of the figuring of costs in terms of dollars and cents as well as the cost in terms of unnecessary energy use.   Noah Buhayar, Fellow at the Rocky Mountain Institute wrote  Getting savvy about standby power  calling the equipment Vampire tools which suck at your economy.

I am a fan of alternative energy use such as solar and wind. But, because there is no billing from the local co-op for wind or solar use each month, we need to remember there is a cost.  The delivery equipment such as solar panels or windmills is expensive.  

 

How much does a household need?  If we want a power supply that will be equivalent of our present ‘no brainer’ grid use, the cost for the equipment is high enough to make one blink.   Of course, we can make decisions about power use and change that need.  With today’s thinking about what we need for services and creature comfort, those decisions must be carefully considered before jumping off the grid or the experience can be comparable to jumping off of a high cliff.

 

Who maintains the equipment?  Yep, you and me!   When a tree got into our power line and messed with a small part, we could call the power company and trained people were there In minutes to fix the issue.  They safely removed a broken branch from the power area and gave a mulberry tree a haircut in the dark.  Electrocution from a solar generator or a wind generator is still electrocution.     Electrocution doesn’t have any consideration for the ignorant who may be swept into the romantic mission of producing their own power.

 

Please don’t misunderstand.  I am very supportive of alternatives.  I admit a preference passive alternatives such as window placement for solar gain.   Solar tubes and homemade modifications can change the lighting in a dark area so dramatically and eliminate the demand for lights. 

 

We have a TINY eastern basement window.  Now that the grasses have gone down that were growing behind the water reservoir, I am amazed at the light in the basement.  The first time I saw it, I thought Richard had gone to work leaving the garage door open to invite mice, copperheads and turtles to come in.  All of this light gain is through a VERY dusty window.  When I finish this missive, I’m going down there and clean that window, then bring the plants indoors before we get a nasty freeze tonight.   The light they will enjoy is far from optimal for their growth, but it is good ‘resting’ light for them to have a chance of surviving to spend another summer in the yard or on the deck.

 

Please go over to read the article about our On Demand Equipment Power Use (Vampire equipment). 

http://green.yahoo.com/blog/amorylovins/14/getting-savvy-about-standby-power.html

 The writer says it so very well.  Read and think about things that can be shut down. I like the idea of going around my office and shutting off the surge protector power strips.  I do this when I leave the house, but have gotten presumptive about it when I am here.

 

Thank you for stopping by to read my post and rant.   JudyAnn Lorenz  Bar JD Communications

 

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Did you hear the one about saving paper with Compters??

October 22, 2007 at 3:39 pm · Filed under Office management, barjd communications ·Tagged , , ,

Bar JD Communications Did you hear the joke about computers being invented to save paper?  Now that we don’t have to type every page or make mimeograph stencils or those worksheet chemical copies, we  can just choose a number of copies and click print. 

 

It seems like we need a hard copy of almost everything.  The day is just print-etey, print-etey all through the hours.   I print research information so I can sort through all the matter and find the data I need.  I often keep this research information for future reference, but seldom refer to it after the final reports are done.   I print installation instructions for software and services so I can be away from the instruction screens, yet do the work.   This paper gets shredded to become mulch in the garden or gets fed to the nightcrawlers in the basement.

 

The sheer volume of paper is overwhelming.  I have found a duplexing printer  which prints the project two sides of the paper an absolute necessity and great help in my paper life.  Whenever possible, I can have one physical sheet with two pages of information.  

 

Being able to use both sides changes the amount of paper needed — changing pure dollars and cents costs first, management of resources secondly.   I know that paper is made from rapidly growing trees, which are almost weedlike in their life span, making harvest and production their highest and best use.  So, saving a tree isn’t the concern.  But, from a resource management and environmental  perspective, I do not like WASTING the unprinted side of the page.  Or competing for paper supplies with others which can lead to higher prices or even lack.   I do want to show respect for the resources used to turn trees into paper.

 

I file either in folders, comb bound booklets or three ring binders.  When I can print on both sides of the sheet of paper,  the amount of paper I am storing is automatically cut in half.  The amount of paper and required shelving or other presentation or management equipment is much more appealing.

 

I use Hewlett Package inkjet duplexing printers.  I do not have them set up for auto-duplexing.  I benefit from making a few decisions now and then.  Some short items don’t need both sides.  Some programs won’t work with auto-duplexing

 

Hewlett Packard, LexMark and Brother all make reasonably priced laser printers which accommodate duplexers.

 

Adding the duplexing option will add cost to your original investment in a printer.  I have had two and each time the duplexer added close to $100 to the price of the printer.

 

I haven’t experience with a laser printer that does duplexing and cannot speak to speed.  The method will result in slower printing for the inkjet.  The printer prints one side, then has to pause, pull the paper back into the machine, where it is rolled in the duplexer add-on, then printed.  The actual  printing process isn’t influenced, but the pause and direction change take time and energy.

 

When considering the pluses and minuses, I’m very pleased with this printing option for the type of work that I do.

 

Bar JD Communications  Thank you for stopping by to read my post!  JudyAnn Lorenz

 

 

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