For the last few weeks I have had some problems synchronising my Treo with my laptop, so I have not had all my telephone numbers with me, nor have I had my appointments from my computer up-to-date and with me at all times.

Here are some of the silly, expensive, time-consuming and embarrassing things I’ve done to cope while out and about:

• Called directory assistance multiple times to get numbers I need
• Called our office manager multiple times to get numbers I need
• Successfully logged into our online contact database through the web browser in my Treo (after a few tries and wracking my brain to remember the password), only to be told the page was too big to be displayed. Called my husband, asked him to log into the database to get the numbers I need (our office was closed).
• Told people our appointments were tentative until I could get back to my computer, then had to remember to email and confirm
• Called people to double-check the time and place of our meeting

This is crazy…and I’m supposed to know better! How many minutes of my own time have I wasted? How many minutes of other people’s time have I wasted? How many times did I skip making a call to move something forward because it was just too much trouble to get the number? How many first impressions have I squandered?

I can’t afford to lose this much time or that many opportunities…so I’d had enough and decided to fix the problem.

Total # of minutes it actually took to permanently fix the problems with synchronising: 46

It really goes without saying that I wish I’d done this sooner.

Now it’s your turn…

What persistent, time-consuming problem could you solve (or get solved by someone else if you don’t have the time/tech skills, etc.) in less than 46 minutes that will improve your ability to function more effectively on a day-to-day basis? What can you sort out that will ultimately save you time, save money or improve your ability to make money?

I urge you to go for it – do it TODAY. Set a timer to see just how few minutes it actually takes. Then enjoy the rewards of this effort!

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