Indexing Life Hacks
Life hacks are simple and clever tips or techniques for accomplishing a familiar task more easily and efficiently. Indexing life hacks are all about working smarter at the job of indexing. Four experts share the hacks they use to save time, minimize stress, and increase efficiency. Whether you're wrestling with PDFs or footnotes, tracking clients and projects, or searching for a more comfortable office setup, we've got you covered. Join us December 5 for Indexing Life Hacks, a three-hour program crafted just for you.
Tuesday, December 5
Show Those PDFs Who's Boss
10:00 AM, Pacific / 1:00 PM, Eastern (45-minute session)
Your client sends you a PDF with two-page spreads. Now what? Whip your PDFs in shape, that's what. Learn how to break apart a spread, work around secured files, and renumber pages so that the PDF page 1 matches the book page 1. Hear various other hacks you can use when working with PDFs.
Kendra Millis began indexing in 2008, after completing the UC-Berkeley indexing course. She left a career in international education and chose to become a freelancer so she could return to her home state of Maine to raise her daughter. Her educational background is in Russian literature and social philosophy, although her indexing work spans a broad range of topics. She is currently one of the UC-Berkeley instructors and also owns a small fiber-arts business. She has chaired numerous ASI committees, served on the Board of Directors and was president of ASI in 2017–2018.
Project Tracking Like a Pro
10:45 AM, Pacific / 1:45 PM, Eastern (45-minute session)
Marilyn Augst figured out after her first few indexes years ago that she needed an organizational system to keep track of projects, clients, and payments. She uses the same system today. Hear her insights on organizing info on clients, projects, and statistics. Tracking when projects are coming in, planning how you need to allocate your time, and scheduling time for administrative work improves efficiency. Learn from a pro her system for handling project tracking.
Marilyn Augst has been a member of ASI since 1996, writing indexes for textbooks and trade books in math, engineering, physics, environmental sciences, education, service learning, and history. She was active in the Heartland Chapter, holding every committee chair and office at some point, and some offices twice, from 1998 thru 2009, and as one member said, “You were president for two centuries!” During Covid (2020), she and her tech support (aka husband) moved from Indiana back to her home state of Minnesota. Without in-person meetings, she has not yet met all the Upper Midwest Chapter folks, but hopes to in the coming years.
15-MINUTE BREAK
Ergonomic Workshop: Making Work Feel Less Like Work
11:45 AM, Pacific / 2:45 PM, Eastern (45-minute session)
Your office setup can play a big role in how you feel at the end of the day. Join us for an ergonomic workshop led by Lindsay McGraw, a doctor of physical therapy, certified ergonomist, wellness enthusiast, and owner of Marka Health. Learn how to position yourself smarter when working from your home office, avoid common injuries, and use stretches to keep yourself feeling your best.
Lindsay McGraw is a doctor of physical therapy and wellness advocate who is passionate about prevention and whole-body health. She started Marka Health in 2016, working one on one with individuals looking beyond a single body part and instead at their overall well being and function, as well as with companies and organizations wanting to become more health conscious and grow their wellness programs. Lindsay knows the challenges of the modern worker, and combines her western medical training with an eastern medicine approach, while being aware of the challenges people experience navigating the modern health and wellness landscape. She combines these into her signature realistic and holistic approach to care, becoming your friend, educator, and advocate. Just think of her as your personal guide along the path of wellness.
And Furthermore...: Tips for Indexing Notes
12:30 PM, Pacific / 3:30 PM, Eastern (45-minute session)
Often a bane in indexers' lives, especially for those working in scholarly indexing, footnotes and endnotes need special attention. This session will provide some general guidelines for indexing notes, as well as tips to help speed your notes indexing. We'll look at a number of different examples of types of notes and will discuss them as examples of what one often encounters in the thicket of notes.
Since 1995, Fred Leise has been indexing a broad variety of texts, specializing in scholarly works in international relations, cultural and political history, film studies, music, and contemporary social issues. His index to Art and Affection: A Life of Virginia Woolf was shortlisted for the 1997 Excellence in Indexing Award, the only time that a shortlist has been announced for that honor.
Fred also works as a freelance taxonomy consultant, having completed projects for several Fortune 500 companies, as well as a number of clients in the hospitality and travel industry.
He is a founding member of the Institute of Certified Indexers, was an instructor for the University of California, Berkeley Extension Division online indexing course, and also taught indexing for Columbia College Chicago and Dominican University’s School of Information Studies. He has served several terms on ASI’s board of directors, including two terms as president. He was a recipient of ASI’s Hines Award in 2019. Fred regularly presents at both national and chapter events and has written a number of articles on various aspects of indexing for both Key Words and The Indexer.
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