How to Be More Effective (Tips)
Achieving goals in
an efficient way is possible when you are well-organized. Here are some ideas
that will help you become more organized.
- Use a personal pocket calendar that you carry with you
at all times to help keep yourself organized.
- Use check lists and check sheets regularly for those
things which must be done in a correct way.
- Have different-colored checklists for easy
identification.
- When people come back to you asking the same question
they have asked several times before, ask them to set up a standard
operating procedure by simply writing down the statement that you are to
make about how the situation is to be handled. They can then keep that at
their desk, and will not have to ask you about it in the future.
- Create a visible time line for key projects.
- Make a daily "to-do" list of activities that
you must do and set priorities on it every day. Then do the activities in
priority order.
- Use a tickler or follow-up file allowing you to file
items until the day that you can act on them.
- Set up a system to handle repetitive tasks.
- Avoid over organizing to the point where your
perfectionism interferes with your achieving results.
- Identify and post reorder quantities on office supplies
to prevent running out completely.
- Carry 3x5 cards or a notebook or note paper or your
pocket calendar to make notes of things that you would like to remember.
- When doing work on a computer, have a regular routine
of backing up your work at least twice a day to ensure it does not get
lost.
- Dictate your notes or thoughts for projects on a
cassette, then either have it transcribed by your secretary or personally
pay a student to do it for you.
- Work on only one item at a time.
- Keep only one project on your desk at a time to avoid
distractions. Time is lost sorting through other items while you're
working on one.
- If you are working on several projects, keep each one
in a clearly labeled file by itself so you do not have to look through a
mixed project file to find things.
- Do not schedule every minute of the day; keep flexible
for the unexpected items that will come up,
- When you sense things are out of control-STOP. Sit
quietly, relax, re-establish priorities in writing, decide what action to
take, then go again.
- Sit down and do all trivia in one sitting to get it
over with.
·
Build
flexibility into your schedule by purposely overestimating the amount of time
needed on each activity.
·
Use
a people page-a page that has an individual's name at the top on which you
write down the routine things you want to ask this individual. Then call this
person once a day, or at most, twice to ask all the questions that have
accumulated on the page.
- If you are responsible for several key projects, use
project pages in your calendar or planner. Keep one page on each project.
Whenever you think of something that is relevant to that project, jot it
down on the appropriate page. This way you will be organizing your
thoughts as you have them.
- Schedule a meeting with yourself every day. Then during
this meeting work uninterrupted on your top priority project.
- Carry a project with you so when kept waiting in a
doctor's office, airport or on a bus, you can be productive.
- Before leaving the office at night, put the most
important project for tomorrow on your desk. It will be there ready and
waiting for you in the morning.
- Establish an efficient working routine that matches you
and your job. Do a certain activity at the same time each day or on the
same day every week.
- Organize items you reference frequently in a ring
binder in protective plastic. It will enhance its usability and present
ability to customers or to yourself.
- Keep a log of requests made. Be sure to note the day
and hour they are to be completed.
- Each day make a Call-See-Do list. Who you should call.
Who you should see, and what you should do.
- Consolidate support staff where possible. For example,
typing staff could be reorganized into a pool to equalize their work
loads.
- Create specific useful forms such as time sheets and
other record keeping sheets that are helpful to a specific job, but do not
bog down the people with redundant paperwork.
- Keep only one calendar and keep it with you at all
times.
- Combine all personal and work related items into your
one personal calendar.
- Gather all needed materials and supplies for a project.
Then when you sit and do the project, you won't have to run for this item
or that item.
- Capture a few minutes from every activity you do. They
accumulate to be extra time for your high priority projects.
- Use the computer where practical for reports and
processing of information gathered.
- Instead of using a standard form it may pay off to make
a customized form for a special customer. Assess the situation carefully.
- Trade days. Work on Saturday when it is quiet and take
another day or two half days off.
- Implement flex time to help employee motivation.
- Once you are sure you are doing the most important
thing, then ask yourself: "How can I do this more efficiently?"
- Use short, simple, written directions for routine
procedures.
- Move your in-basket off the desk so it will not be a
temptation or distraction.
- As things you must do come to mind, write them down in
your pocket planner or calendar immediately so they do not get lost.
- Look for ways of automating office procedures.
- Work four 10-hour days instead of five 8-hour days. It
gives you an extra day at home and better concentration at work.
- Use a steno pad to list thoughts, duties, interruptions
or questions. Use a highlighter to cross them off as you deal with them.
- Keep a notebook with pages headed "Thanks
giving,"
- "Christmas," "Office party," or the
name of other special projects. Then when you think of something that must
be done or bought, etc., you can jot it down on the appropriate page.
- Make up daily/weekly/monthly/quarterly lists of routine
duties with blank spaces to fill in responsibilities and special duties.
- Group like tasks together to prevent job jumping and
wasting time.
- Provide adequate private work space as well as central
areas and conference space to maximize effectiveness.
- Buy ahead so you have supplies on hand.
- Ask people who are not closely involved with a problem
or process how they think it could be done. You will get fresh ideas.
- Use the proper tools for the job even if you have to go
out and purchase them.
- Develop personal systems that work for you, then follow
them. Be sure to update them periodically.
- At night put classified material in a secure place. Do
not leave it out where it might walk off.
- Clean your desk the last five minutes of the day and
prepare it for getting started first thing in the morning.
- Keep papers you are not working on in the filing
cabinet, not on your desk.
- Keep supplies and materials in a storage cabinet, not
on your desk.
- Establish an organized filing system that anyone can
use and see that things get into it immediately.
- Save simplistic, repetitious, routine, manual jobs,
(folding papers, stuffing envelopes) for times when you choose to simply
relax and chat with others, or listen to cassette tapes.
- List key activities on 3x5 cards, one to a card. Review
them in priority sequence several times each day.
- Stick "Post-It-Notes" on projects to show
status or progress of a project.
- Role model as an organized person. You will soon
convince yourself.
- Devise a problem resolution log which keeps track of
progress on solving problems within a department.
- Schedule a block of time to be dedicated to major
projects.
- When you think other people might forget something
important, use multiple reminders to jog their memory. Use such things as
notes, lists, tickler reports, status reports, briefings, phone calls,
special bulletins, and so forth.
- Look for two or more complementary activities that can
be dovetailed and done at one time.
- When you receive a person's business card, write notes
about your encounter on the back of the card.
Ken Roys, CEO
BTF Management Consultants Inc
866-385-1900 Toll Free 713-983-7904 Fax
Ken.Roys@btfmanagement.com
www.btfmanagement.com