Another day goes by. You woke up in the morning fresh, ready to start another day. By the end of the day, you wonder where the time went. What happened to your plans? What did you really get done? Everyone feels this. The answer is to start organizing your day.
PLAN EVERY MINUTE
Plan every minute of your day on the paper or system calendar. If you have a meeting or doctor's appointment outside the office, enter the time of the appointment, and block out the time you feel you'll be gone by entering the times you plan to leave and be back at the office, allowing for driving time. Plan and write down in the calendar every minute of the day.
SET REMINDERS
Write down daily reminders of things that always need to be completed at the beginning of the day, during the day, and at the end of the day. For the beginning of the day, enter such items as turn on workstation, check voice-mail system and E-mail messages, and review follow-ups and suspense. For the middle of the day, enter such duties as reminder calls for appointments the next day, quiet hour, deposits, and mail. For the end of the day, enter such procedures as turn off workstation, check voice mail again, and process backup. Record these reminders on a sheet of paper, make copies, and cross off items as they're completed. Pull out the remainder listing every day, and adjust priorities as your needs change. View and complete all top-priority procedures daily. This will give agency owners and staff peace of mind.
Once a daily checklist has been created for each member of the agency, make similar reminders for weekly, semi-monthly, and yearly duties. Weekly reminders might include sales or staff meetings and accounts payable. Semi-monthly reminders may include accounts receivable meetings. Monthly reminders could list certain meetings, expiration reports, statements, and mailings. Detailing all areas and checking them off as they're completed every day will undoubtedly increase overall efficiency and, again, give everyone peace of mind.
THE UNEXPECTED
We all hate it, but it's inevitable: the unexpected crops up. Right in the middle of a meeting or the time you've planned to return phone calls, an employee comes to you with a question or problem that only you can solve.
When this occurs, start delegating! Refer the issue to a competent individual within the office. Make sure he or she is someone you feel comfortable with and will be firm in the decision. Another alternative is to start training the staff. Ask employees how they feel they would handle the problem. If there's an agreement, let the staff member who brought the problem handle the issue.
Continued on a daily basis, delegating and consensus building make staff members more confident. They can handle their own problems. And, of course, you'll feel more at ease knowing the staff is handling issues the way you'd handle them. Of course, there will be times only you can handle the problem-but those times should be greatly lessened.
Organization saves time. And time is money. So if you want to bump up your bottom line, get organized today!