Saturday, June 28, 2008

What is Quicker than Quick?

Finding information is easy these days. What is even easier is not having to find it at all.

I just learned that I am going to a meeting in Montgomery in several weeks. Normally, after returning from a meeting, I would Google the directions simply to get the mileage figures which I would then turn in for reimbursement. Having some discretionary time this morning, I went ahead and Googled the trip and jotted down what the mileage would be.

A thought occurred to me. The distance to this building in Montgomery is probably the same as it was the last two dozen times I made the trip if only I had bothered to record that figure somewhere!

So, I took a couple of minutes not only to record that figure but also Google directions to the half-dozen other places to which I make regular trips. Where did I put them? That information strikes me as being reference information. Therefore, I created a Note in Outlook, entitled it "Mileage" and entered all of the information there. Since I sync Outlook to my BlackBerry, the same Note appears on the handheld.

Sure, Googling the location to get a street address and then putting that address into a map search takes only a couple of minutes. Already having the figure at hand, however, takes no time at all.

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