This issue’s cartoon made me laugh at myself. As someone who is constantly trying to be organized, keep a clean desktop, email Inbox and more, I find it extremely difficult to do in practice. With the wealth of information sources, a myriad of demands on my time, and just plain ol’ procrastination, I find that my desks at home and at the office are often quite cluttered. Albert Einstein said, “Out of clutter, find simplicity.”
While I’m still searching for simplicity, I have started making strong first steps. For example, I’ve streamlined my email filing system and am only keeping those emails that I truly need. I absolutely love using OneNote and have for years to capture notes, screen shots, and much more. It’s “notebook-style” interface works well for helping me to organize information into tabs, topics, use personally customized tagging and much more. I also love the transcription features in many communications platforms such as Teams which help me focus on the conversation at hand and worry less about taking notes. If I do want to take notes, I can link the calendar entry to a page in my OneNote notebook—super cool but also very convenient!
As we enter a new year, I encourage you to look for ways to leverage your technology to simplify your day-to-day life. I wish you and your loved ones all the best in the upcoming year.
First published in our January 2024 IT Radix Resource newsletter