If information is your bread and butter, you know that keeping up is critical. However, with so much data coming at us, it can be difficult to separate the wheat from the chaff. Following are five ways to use the Web to keep current and boost your productivity.

1. Subscribe To News Alerts: Take advantage of the news feeds provided by Yahoo!, Google and other major Web portals to have relevant news and information shipped directly to your e-mail inbox. You may have to tweak the search terms a little to ensure that you are not flooded with irrelevant information. However, this is a great way to keep up with the news of the day.

2. Read Blogs By Industry Experts: If you pick the right ones, blogs can be a great way to keep up with the latest in your field. In fact, new information sometimes appears on a blog first. To stay ahead of the curve, you have to read blogs.

3. Use RSS: RSS or Real Simple Syndication is a wonderful time-saver. You can use RSS to keep up with new postings on your favorite blogs, the latest news or whatever else strikes your fancy.

4. Use Search Engines Intelligently: At least twice a day, I wonder how I’d survive without search engines. If used intelligently, they can greatly boost your productivity. Want to find out whether someone is really an expert in the field? Type their name in a search directory and see what pops up. Want a great piece of clip art for your latest PowerPoint presentation? Use Yahoo! or Google’s image directory.

5. Don’t Make A Habit Of It: The Web is a great tool for information gathering. However, if you find yourself wandering aimlessly along the highways and byways of the Internet, stop. Ration your non work-related time on the Web to increase your efficiency and make your boss happy.

(c) 2006 Fard Johnmar

Fard Johnmar is founder of Envision Solutions, L.L.C., a full-service healthcare marketing communications consulting firm. Envision Solutions provides innovative products and services to not-for-profit and for-profit organizations. Envision Solutions’ goal is to make our clients more efficient and successful. For more information about Envision Solutions please visit our Web site.

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