Personal Information Management : Tools and Techniques for Achieving Professional Effectiveness

by Etzel, Barbara

• ISBN13: 9780814722008
• ISBN10: 0814722008
• Edition: Reprint
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1999-01-01
• Publisher: New York University Press

Summary

Electronic mail, personal organizers, voice mail, all were introduced as time-saving devices designed to promote an easier and more efficient workplace. Yet many professionals find that making effective use of these new forms of communication technology can become a time-consuming task. In this handbook written for the office of the 21st century, Barbara Etzel and Peter J. Thomas provide guidance for those struggling to manage the growing volume of mail, memos, e-mail messages, and electronic documents that arrives daily.Personal Information Managementdetails the skills professionals need to process this information, save time, and work more effectively. Etzel and Thomas present common organizational difficulties and enumerate concrete techniques for overcoming them. They guide the reader through a variety of computer software and hardware products, paper-based information products, and personal time management techniques, helping the reader to develop and individually-tailored Personal Information Management Strategy.Technologies covered include accounting and business software, word processors, databases, personal organizers, e-mail programs, tracking and storage packages, personal digital assistants, CD-Roms, computer backup devices, scanning device, voice mail, cellular phones, beepers, and fax machines, to name only a few. including an appendix listing the names and addresses of companies that Produce information technologies, Personal Information Technologies is essential reading for anyone suffering from information overload. Designed to be adaptable to emerging technologies, the techniques they provide will be applicable regardless for what the information age brings next.

Table of Contents

List of figures and tables	viii	(2)
Preface	x	(3)
Acknowledgements	xiii
1 From the industrial age to the information age	1	(7)
The modern executive	3	(1)
Information, technology and new ways of doing business	4	(1)
Understanding how to achieve effectiveness	5	(1)
Investing time in technology	5	(1)
Is productivity increasing or decreasing?	6	(1)
Tools for time and information management	7	(1)
2 Personal information management	8	(10)
`Personal'	8	(1)
`Information'	8	(2)
`Management'	10	(1)
A new skill: personal information management	10	(4)
Personal information management: tools and techniques for achieving professional effectiveness	14	(1)
Some general principles	15	(1)
About the rest of this book	16	(2)
3 The eight key information actions	18	(7)
What is information?	18	(1)
Why do we need information?	19	(1)
What do we do with information?	19	(1)
Eight key information actions	20	(2)
Some other perspectives on information	22	(3)
4 `Information overload' and information management `re-engineering'	25	(7)
Information overload	25	(1)
Changing (or `re-engineering') your approach to information management	26	(1)
`Information re-engineering goals' and their benefits	27	(2)
Related re-engineering techniques: time management, conceptual tools and thinking	29	(3)
5 Understanding information management technology	32	(5)
A framework for information management technologies: the `five technology potentials'	34	(3)
6 Personal information technologies: advantages and disadvantages	37	(6)
How to choose personal information products	37	(1)
How information is stored and managed	38	(5)
7 Computer software and hardware products	43	(29)
Spreadsheets	44	(2)
Accounting software	46	(1)
Billing software	47	(1)
Word processing	48	(2)
Databases	50	(3)
Personal organisers/personal information managers (PIMs)	53	(1)
E-mail programs	54	(2)
Tracking and storage packages	56	(1)
How to choose your software program: summary	57	(1)
Computer hardware devices	58	(1)
Personal digital assistants (PDAs)	59	(2)
CD-Rom	61	(1)
Computer back-up systems	62	(1)
Scanning devices	63	(1)
Telecommunications	64	(2)
Why are computers so difficult to use?	66	(3)
How to make using a computer easier	69	(1)
Other computer issues	70	(2)
8 Paper-based information products	72	(7)
Categories of paper-based information	72	(1)
Operating requirements	73	(4)
Administrative requirements	77	(1)
Fiscal requirements	78	(1)
Legal requirements	78	(1)
Historical requirements	78	(1)
9 Your personal information management strategy	79	(16)
Producing and implementing your own personal information management strategy	80	(4)
Benefits of a PIM strategy	84	(1)
Roadblocks to effective personal information management	85	(9)
Reasons that prompt the implementation of a PIM strategy	94	(1)
10 Beginning to implement your personal information management strategy	95	(14)
The macro approach	95	(1)
The micro approach	96	(1)
Scenario: an architect implementing his personal information management strategy	97	(12)
11 Maintaining your personal information management strategy	109	(7)
File audit	109	(1)
Completion	110	(1)
Ten-second filing operation	110	(1)
Learn to make split-second decisions	111	(1)
`I'll do it later'	111	(1)
Create your conceptual tools	111	(1)
Re-engineer your information management	112	(1)
Managing daily information flow	112	(4)
12 Computing technology and your personal information management strategy	116	(9)
How to manage information in the computer	117	(3)
Innovative computer-based personal information management strategies	120	(2)
A personal information management strategy not using a computer	122	(3)
13 Conclusions	125	(10)
Technology and change	125	(1)
`Techno trends'	126	(2)
Predicting technologies	128	(1)
Preventing information build-up	129	(2)
Some real problems	131	(1)
Summary	132	(3)
Appendix 1 Key issues in personal information management	135	(2)
Appendix 2 Personal information management products	137	(10)
References	147	(3)
Index	150