Reduce, reuse, recycle. It works with your computer, too. The idea is to reduce your efforts and stress (let the computer do it), reuse what you’ve done, and recycle text and information. In this post, I’ll focus on tips to reduce your stress and efforts.

My favorite suggestion: If you’re going to do something more than 3 times, find a way for the computer to do it. Identify those things you do frequently and then find the technology that will either do it for you or at least shorten the time it takes. It can be something small like setting tabs to line up text or something big like managing your paper files.

Many of us spend much of our computer time in our word processor. And, much of that time is spent formatting. So, it makes sense that learning how to format more efficiently can save you hours of time. Simple things like indenting paragraphs and setting tabs can make a huge difference. Learn how to use them. Trust me. And, if you really want to save time, learn to use styles.

Another way to save time is by reducing keystrokes for frequently used commands (like File Save). Learn the keyboard shortcuts for these (like Ctrl-S for File Save in Windows or Command-S on the Mac) by looking for the shortcut on the menu. You can also customize your toolbar by adding buttons for commands you use frequently.

Most applications let you choose the default location for opening and saving files. Change this to fit where you want your files.

One of the most overlooked features you can use to automate repetitive tasks is Find and Replace. I use it for a variety of things. For example, I often type “form” instead of “from” so I use Find and Replace to fix it. I use it to clean up email files that come with a hard return after each line. A few seconds, and they’re gone.

Taking a few simple precautions when you’re learning something new will reduce your stress. First, don’t forget the whoops key! That’s the Undo icon on the toolbar or Edit Undo in the menu of most programs. Second, before experimenting, save your file. Then, if you mess it up beyond repair, just close it without saving and reopen it. It will be as it was before the experiment. Sometimes when I am going to experiment a lot with a file (especially a database), I make a backup copy to a temporary directory before I even begin. Then, if everything goes wrong, I can always recover (and not waste time trying to get back to where it worked).

In the next post, I’ll look at a few tips to reuse and recycle text and information.

What are your suggestions for reducing stress and effort?