It's the start of a new year, and I'm sure you've made lots of resolutions. I'd like to make some suggestions for resolutions that will help you get more out of your technology.

First, this is a good time to look at your habits and decide which ones to break and which ones to make. In terms of technology, that means what are you doing that is wasting a lot of effort? What are you doing over and over again that could be done by the computer? Do your systems (both manual and automated) support your activities efficiently? Are you able to do the things you need to do in the least amount of time possible? Are you spending the bulk of your time on those things that bring the most value to your clients?

Second, what are some things you can do with technology that you're not doing now? One idea is to learn more of the features of a program you use every day. Research done by Microsoft shows the average person only uses around 7% of the features available. Even if you're using twice the average, that's still a lot of features you're not using. Find a few that would save you time or let you do things you're not doing now and learn them.

Not sure what to learn? Keep a log of your tasks and activities. If you're doing something more than 3 times, that's a good candidate for computerization. Even if you only automate a portion of the activity, it will save you time and effort.

Third, come up with a way to increase your income (or reduce expenses). If you’re self-employed as a consultant, trainer, speaker, or another kind of knowledge professional, take that knowledge and package it in new ways. If you write articles, put them together in an ebook. Create a CD of a training program. You can create ebooks and CDs right at your desk with minimal hardware and software. If you work for a company, find ways to increase the company’s bottom line. It may be reducing the costs of providing customer service by creating a web page, pdf file, or CD with answers to frequently asked questions (FAQs). Those efforts will put you in line for a promotion or raise (or both).

Finally, tell me what you’re doing. What are your frustrations and irritations? Maybe I can help you find a way to eliminate (or at least reduce) them.

But, before you get started on all those new projects, you might want to make sure your computer is a lean, mean computing machine. Go to www.triciasantos.com/news-200312-1.htm for specific things you should do to keep your computer healthy and running smoothly – because nothing will derail the best plans faster than a computer crash.