Solving your own computer problems -- getting unstuck

Many of my friends and colleagues become quickly paralyzed when it comes to solving problems on the computer. Whether the problem is a forgotten password or difficulty formatting a document, many of us quickly feel blocked and unable to move forward. This is no surprise as most of us did not grow up with computers and nobody ever taught us how to solve these problems.

Having worked at a technical university for awhile and being married to a geek (!!!), I have learned a number of steps that one can take to solve these sorts of problems. In order to share these steps with friends and colleagues, I wrote them out, and then a colleague at Carlow made an infographic. If you tend to get stuck while working on the computer, check out this help sheet:

Problems-solving steps for minor computer problems

Productivity strategies

I love thinking about productivity strategies. What steps can we take, what approaches can we implement, what habits can we strive to develop, that will help us be more productive?

Natalie Houston, associate professor of English at the University of Houston, offers her five rules for maintaining a productive routine:

My Productivity Rules

What strategies do you use to increase and maintain your productivity?

Cheering you on in your work.
Harriet

Photo by HLS

Hello and welcome! Or welcome back!

After taking the summer to work on a journal article and a few other projects (and to take some much-needed time off), I'm back to the encouragement lounge! Watch for posts 1-3 times per week. Please email me at harrietschwartz14@gmail.com if you have questions or ideas for a future post.

More soon,
Harriet

Photo by HLS of Bob's sweet ride

Encouragement Lounge break

Hi friends. I am going to take a break from The Encouragement Lounge. As you can see, I have posted very little this spring. I am engaged in a bunch of work that is incredibly time and energy consuming and so I need to find other commitments that I can let go of or at least put on hold so that I don't get overwhelmed.

If you have come to this site looking for support, use the search function in the right column menu and search for whatever topic interests you (time management, stress management, writing, APA, etc.). There is a wealth of old posts here and given the nature of this blog most previous posts do not go out of date (this is support, not current events!).

Cheering you on in your work!
Harriet

Photo by HLS

Saturday morning video - Whatcha Got?

This will get you going!

Whatcha Got?

Cheering you on in your work!
Harriet

Late semester! We can do it!

I know it is a stressful time for most students! But keep at it, you can do it!!!

Cheering you on,
Harriet

Photo by HLS

Time saver -- Format Painter in Microsoft Word

Hi All, Here's a tip that a colleague shared with me recently. There is a tool in Word that many people don't know about called Format Painter. This allows you to easily copy formatted text within a word doc and even between MS Office programs such as word and powerpoint.

This tool is useful if you have formatted something and want to quickly apply that formatting elsewhere. For example, you have created a heading and selected specific font and size, you can use the Format Painter to apply that formatting to other text in the document. If you are not on a tight deadline, you are better off to use Styles, but if you are in a hurry and just need to fix some formatting, Format Painter is quick and easy. Read the following page for instructions (it's easy to use!):

Format Painter

Cheering you on in your work,
Harriet

Photo by HLS