- Regularly exit unused Matlab sessions (including overnight when possible). This frees up licenses and computing resources for people actively running jobs. (In fact, if you leave a Matlab session idle for a while, the license will automatically be revoked, but it's probably easier to just get in the habit of closing sessions you're not actively using.)
- Having a fewer number of large files is generally more efficient than having a larger number of smaller files. So, for example, use 4D fMRI files when possible (support for this will be added to AA).
- Delete files you don't need. Although thanks to tape storage we have a great deal of storage space, it still helps things run smoothly to get rid of files you really don't need (especially if you can recreate them). For example, you may be able to delete the intermediate stages from old fMRI analyses.
- Use loadsharing versions of software whenever possible.
Avoid running too many simultaneous jobs (which can be especially easy to do with parallel computing toolboxes). It's hard to define "too many", but just keep in mind that when the system is overloaded no one's jobs run very efficiently.