| |
| |
|
Organizing Information |
|
|
|
Saying Goodbye to Stacks of Paper and Distractions
A daily journal will save you time, reduce stress and make you more productive. Several months ago, I visited the office of a million dollar producer. I was shocked to find that although he was in charge of an extremely successful practice, his office looked like it had been hit by a tornado. His desk was covered with client statements, yellow note pads, phone messages, post it notes, and two calendar books. In fact, every flat surface in his office was covered with stacks of paper and files. He loved activity, but couldn't keep track of his commitments and information because he was drowning in paper. Happily, I offered him a solution to his problem. Handing him a wire bound notebook, I said, "From now on, this is your daily journal. Each day, I want you to record all the commitments you make, your client discussions, ideas, meeting notes, and names and phone numbers. Anything you write down during the day that's not on a form will go into this book." I explained to him that he should start a new page every day, date it and use it for all his notes. The following day he'd start a new page, allowing him to keep all his notes and lists in one place in chronological order. "No more notes on the back of business cards or phone messages," I told him. "No more legal pads or scraps of paper. No more floating paper - period!" A few weeks later, this successful advisor told me that my suggestion made a huge difference in his daily productivity. He said he felt more in control, less frustrated trying to find important information, and less distracted now that there was no longer paper cluttering his desk. He asked me for more ideas that would bring "sanity" to his day. He said there's just never enough time in the day to get everything done. I told him that he just identified his problem - he thinks he should do everything. The solution to fitting 12 hours of work into an 8 or 10-hour day is not working harder, or faster, or starting earlier and ending later. I told him that he could do almost anything in his day but not everything. Thousands of advisors face this same challenge. Are you one of them? A Game Plan Will Save Your Day Like a professional athlete you need a game plan, otherwise you'll lose your day to distractions and urgencies; you'll run from one activity to another, always busy, always in motion. Starting your day without a game plan puts the other team in control and you play their game as the events in your day pull you helplessly along. You'll be busy, but not productive; motion without direction won't win the game. It's not about "doing things right", it's about "doing the right things right." Here are a few simple steps to take to win your game everyday. ? Begin a list each day of important tasks not completed from the day before. ? Add tasks to this list that are driven by the commitments you made to others that you recorded in your journal on the previous day. ? Add any tasks that will prepare you for meetings and appointments for the day and a few days ahead. ? As a last step, prioritize this list designating the "must do today" items with the letter A, the "should do's" with the letter B, and the "could do's" with a C. In less than 15 minutes you'll have your game plan done. Now run the winning plays first, the ones with the letter A. A Game Plan is a Critical Success Factor You're in the business of delivering service and advice. To inspire loyalty and trust in your clients you must keep your commitments to them. This means staying on top of the commitments you make everyday. Just 15 minutes a day of building your game plan for the day will put you in charge and give you control. Legendary football coach Bear Bryant said, "It's not the will to win that counts as much as the will to prepare to win." Win each day by preparing a game plan to win each day. If you would like to receive an in-depth tutorial on the daily Game Plan process, send me an email with the subject line "Game Plan". Bob Lodie is a speaker, business strategy coach and consultant to financial advisors. He is author of Three Steps to Million Dollar Production and Personal Success from the Inside Out. He can be reached bob@boblodie.com or direct at 310-552-6064
MORE RESOURCES:
Organizing - Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
10 Easy Tips for Digging Out Your Desk Today Has your polished mahogany (or modular plastic) desk been buried for so long that you can't remember what your desk is made out of? If so, use these tips to clear yourself some space to work in, and stay on top of your most urgent action items.Get it VERTICAL!If you take a piece of paper and put it somewhere flat, it takes up almost a square foot of space. Getting Organized - Getting Fit In a speech entitled "Organized Living in a Disorganized World" I made the statement "Getting organized is much like exercise and healthy eating. It is something you incorporate into your daily living. 7 Little Things That You Can Do to Organize the Kids Rooms 1. Sink to their level. Organized Living-Secrets About Your Lifes Hidden Power Revealed An organized living lifestyle can cause you to weed out those prolonged situations of failure.. Organizing Tips to Help You Conquer the Laundry Monster Laundry. You sort, you wash, you fold, you blink - and the pile of dirty clothes has grown all over again. Be More Productive - Books to Help You Be More and Do More! How many of us have enough time to do everything that needs to be done? Answer: NOBODY! The key is doing that which needs to be done RIGHT NOW and setting the right priorities. Life has changed, and we have more flexibility to do what we want, when we want, provided we set the RIGHT PRIORITIES. 5 Easy Steps to Making Housework More Manageable Sometimes the task of keeping a clean, tidy house just seems overwhelming. Why is that? Because it never ends! You never get done! In order to make the task more manageable and give you the feeling that you have accomplished something. Clutter & Creativity Take a look around you right now. Look away from the computer screen and scan around you - the surface of your desk or table, now scan farther to look at the rest of the room. Overwhelmed? Try the Red Zone Tactic Some people seem to be born organized. You probably remember them from school: the ones who always had well-organized pencil cases equipped with erasers, sharpeners, pens, scissors and glue-sticks (probably in duplicate). 10 Tips for a More Organized Morning 1. Teach your children to use an alarm clock or clock radio. Essential Tips for the Kitchen * Cupboards and drawers should contain items that are grouped together.* Store items where you use them. Is Your To Do List The Problem? You start each week with great intentions. You are determined to get a grip of your workload. Digging out of Paper Clutter - part 1 Digging out from under stacks of paper might seem like a daunting and insurmountable task. Let's face it, paper can be intimidating and overwhelming. Can Someone Step Into Your Job Or Role And Function Effectively? Working for one of the top Marketers online (David Ledoux) I've been lucky to learn many tips and tricks that can be used in cases of emergency. Like today when I still have the remnants of the flu. 10 Tips to Get Organized and Clutter-Free- Now! 1. THE LOVE IT OR LOSE IT PRINCIPLE: Every item around you represents a choice you made. Everything Fits Together Perfectly! Here's a little lesson I experienced while packing boxes for my move to Victoria, BC.I decided to pack my own belongings so that I would have more money to set up my apartment once I'd moved. Are You Stuck In The Clutter Trap? You arrived on earth without clutter. Your parents and doting relatives started you on a pathway to accumulation. Success at Work : Techniques : A Cluttered Desk I followed my boss to a co-worker's cubicle where my boss requested a certain document from the co-worker. The actual surface of the co-workers desk was not visible because it was covered with a cluttered pile of papers, catalogs, booklets, and other paraphernalia. Create A Working Mail Center I talk about the mail a lot in my newsletter, Organewz, and to my clients. I write about it again because I have seen so many people still without one place for their mail. After the Clutter: 5 Steps to a New Daily Routine I've noticed that in the two years since the major de-cluttering of my apartment, clutter has been creeping back in.So what DO you do after you've cleared the clutter? If your day-to-day routines are continuing to create clutter, then you'll always be one step behind it.
|
| home | site map |
| © 2006 |
