Time Saving Tips – Document Preparation

In order to maintain the integrity of this site, I will not get into ‘computer instruction and how-to’s’ too frequently, unless it is requested.

The following tips, some learned the hard way, may seem obvious and logical at first glance. However, I can assure you that they are often over-looked when working with long and/or difficult documents. Ignoring these tips can be costly, as your documents can very quickly become a nightmare to deal with! This is particularly the case when working on ‘rush’ projects simultaneously. With that said, following are a few important tips to keep in mind:

1. Make a ‘backup’ copy of the document as soon as you are given control of it – ideally save on your ‘hard drive’ or a CD, not on the network;
2. Be sure to have your ‘Auto Recover’ settings at 3 or 5 minute intervals – this way you know your system is backing up your work should you hit a snag with a graphic or other data – a maximum of 5 minutes is suggested as your normal setting for all your work;
3. Use your ‘Versioning’ tool if you know there will be ‘multiple’ versions made of the document due to cut and pastes from other source documents etc., by your team members;
4. Do not generate your Table of Contents until the very end – likely to be changes in wording of headings, also because of heading relocations and other data edits;
5. Do not insert your Headers or Footers until the very end (this includes page numbering) – these too are likely to change by your team and it will save you time in the long run – particularly if each ‘section footer’;
6. Leave out the Graphics to import until the final approval of the ‘main’ document body – provide the graphics and excel charts, etc., to your team in a separate file for their review and approval;
7. If your team is out of the office, be sure to use a Draft watermark (or insert a footer) on the document when sending out ‘via Email’ to avoid any confusion;
8. ‘Import’ your Excel charts vs. creating them directly in Word – Word gets confused easily and can crash if working with a long or complicated document – I also suggest ‘linking’ so they are synced automatically in Word – just be sure you have ‘auto updating for links turned on in 2007′;
9. If your document is very long and obviously complicated, do not use your function keys of ‘Ctrl S’ to save – use the file/save command instead;
10. For quick and easy access on Rush jobs, use your ‘Work’ or ‘Document location’ Toolbar or save your documents in a folder you have created on your desktop;
11. Generate your Table of Contents electronically – not manually! Believe it or not, some people still create manual TOC’s which are a nightmare to work with for other staff members if you are away;
12. If you have not worked with a document of this complexity before, save it as a Template to refer to – be selective with this, only do so if the document is very complex – this will save you a significant amount of time in the future. This is not the same as simply over-writing the document, and will prevent confusion and complications for you in the future.