If you keep your calendar on the computer but find yourself making appointments when you are at a meeting and scribbling them on paper, enter them on your computer the minute you get back to your desk rather than rely on the written record. If your database of business contacts is on the computer and you collect a business card at a conference, enter that information in your computer’s Contact Manager, and toss the card away.

            Alternatively, if you prefer to keep all phone numbers in an old fashioned Rolodex, and someone e-mails you their cell phone or other contact information, automatically transfer it to your Rolodex. Remember: There should be just one place to look!

            If it’s hard to motivate yourself to take the time to put things away, change your outlook. You’re not putting things away; you’re positioning them for their next use. Remind yourself how great it will feel to look for the phone number of an important business contact, and voila! It’s right there in your database, the first time you check.