"A quick and simple phone call to me right away would have defused the whole thing immediately, " he said.

BBC: Water tap

But the standby router picked the wrong configuration file, which caused a drop in order flow, something the business users saw immediately with ITRS. Banks want to catch that sort of thing right away because their customers are monitoring execution and will divert their trades quickly if they see a problem.

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Often the options are immediately exercisable, though the executive usually can't sell the stock right away.

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As the proverb says, a journey starts with a single step so begin with the pile closest to you and just set aside one hour at a time to go through each piece of paper and decide immediately whether you will recycle it, toss it, delegate it, file it or deal with it right away or later.

FORBES: De-clutter, Detox & De-dupe: a recipe for success in the new year