Catching Data Entry Leaks

Posted on December 6, 2007 by LJ Earnest
Categories: Productivity

I realized that in the last month I’ve gotten sloppy with my data entry at work. (It probably has to do with the fact that I was doing nothing other than eating, sleeping, working and writing.) I had three notepads going with various tracking lists, plus dozens of sticky notes everywhere. This was not a good thing.

When I start to deviate from my collection system, I generally drift to scrap paper. I write things down, three or four times, and never enter them into the tracking system. This causes major leaks.

Getting Back on Track

The first thing to know is that you have strayed. Then you can fix it.

First, gather all the little pieces of paper up somewhere. Enter them into your system as you can.

How To Keep It From Happening

Once you are caught up, you need to remain vigilant to keep your system working. How? Discipline. Train yourself to feel very uncomfortable whenever you don’t do what you are supposed to.

I’ve spent the better part of the week getting caught up. I am proud to say that all my bits are in my system and I can now work on it.