Saturday, January 12, 2008
Paperwork Panic
It’s that time of year again—TAXES! Every year I begin with good intentions to (a) store all tax-related information in one file and (b) sort through and categorize that information on a quarterly basis. And, every year I sort of do (a). Here I sit with that same challenge of pulling it all together quickly.
That is when it hit me. It wasn’t just taxes but a much larger ditch I’ve become trapped in. Do any of these statements sound like you?
1. Unimportant tasks are the focus of the majority of your day.
2. Stacks of reports sit in the corner of your office.
3. Your email is at capacity with unread messages and no more can be added.
4. Instead of focusing on the future, you are cleaning up paperwork of past projects.
5. Priorities are unclear and you’ve lost sight of what is important.
6. Lots of busyness (by you and your team) with mediocre performance.
Clearly, a revamping is needed to better align yourself and your team to business goals. But how? Consider the following:
* On a daily basis, identify key activities (1 future-related and 2 for this week) that are critical to your success. Focus only on the key activities.
* Be ruthless with the administrative parts of your job. TIPS - Have your name removed from email distribution lists that do not involve you directly. Create email folders and sort incoming emails by MUST HANDLE, FUTURE RESPONSE NEEDED, FYI ONLY. Spend 5 minutes first thing in the morning sorting your email - and prioritizing ones to handle immediately. Spend 5 minutes again around noon and just before close of business. Create the same system for incoming mail and reports.
* Don’t revamp by yourself. Ask your team what unnecessary paperwork can be eliminated based on the current policies and procedures. In the future, you may want to consider redefining those.
Starting may seem overwhelming but taking baby steps each day is the trick to keeping your momentum going. I’d love to hear other streamlining suggestions so drop me a line.
Until next time...live like you mean it!
Marjorie