Get Organised for More Effectiveness! (1)

Being organised about your work can double your output, experts say. Yet, many business people and workers have much difficulty getting their activities and work processes properly organised to reap this quantum boost in productivity. How do you get yourself out of that confusion of mind and environment that robs you of so much of the results you badly need? Resolve today to implement these five strategies, for a start:

1. Begin to use the Golden Hour. The golden hour is that first hour after you've woken up in the morning. That is when your brain and entire system are best wired to churn out ideas and also structure your day for an effective outing. If you can't afford an hour (must be up to beat traffic), use less, but get the best out of yourself by engaging in serious brain-storming. Determine the priority issues for the day, which should not be sacrificed to distractions. Visualise the timing of your activities and have a clear flow for your day. That is also when to plant a seal of confirmation from above, if you know how to. Having a sharp focus for your day is so empowering that you'd find yourself zooming forward and demolishing the things that really need to get done.

2. Learn to Manage Distractions. Your clear focus for the day is bound to get tested. Time eaters will crop up, emergencies will arise and so will other enticements that can easily derail you and leave you unaccomplished and full of regrets at the end of the day. What are your strategies for dealing with these. Recognise the fact and plan for them. Phone calls, for instance, have become a major distraction for many. Decide how best to tame your phone so it doesn't rob you of valuable time. Do you enjoy hosting visitors at work. You burn your productive hours when you do so, even if you're the boss and can't be called to order. There are always some important chores that need to be handled: get to pay utility bills, buy those important provisions for your family and more. If you check well, you can always arrange for somebody to do these, even if you have to part with a tip. Your time is better spend on top-priority stuff! Why? They have higher ROI.

3. Arrange Your Work Environment. Many things can literally stay in your way and slow you down. Think of that time you spend searching frantically for a needed important document, which definitely is there but has been misplaced. Or looking for a file on your computer which you can't find anymore. What about the important matter pending on your desk which you've forgotten of because it's buried somewhere, costing the business some major opportunity. Many things can go wrong because of that clustered table, room, computer, file, etc. Time spent sorting and arranging them will pay good dividend. And to avoid building up another dumpsite, create the proper receptacles for your documents, equipment and things you work with. A good file system is a sine qua non. What you spend having enough files, well-organised, will come back in benefits, many fold. Racks or similar structures for planned positioning of items will help keep things where you can easily find them. Avoid the temptation to build up and clear later. You may not easily find the time.

4. Learn to Use Good Tools. This is not to ask you to be a gadgets freak, but your productivity can benefit immensely from the right technology and other tools. If technology has made available smart tools that can help you work faster and smarter, shouldn't you use them? The challenge here includes learning to effectively use the tools at your disposal: whether computers, software, internet, copier, or whatever. Find out what affordable tools can aid each aspect of what you do and when you acquire one, learn to use it. The impact on you output from technology-driven performance can be enormous. So, take stock now: are you really equipped to get blistering results?

5. Always Take Stock. Chances are you will miss some of your performance targets for the day. You need to reflect at the end of it all. What did fail to do that needs to get into the schedule for tomorrow? More importantly, were there lapses in the management of your day that you'll like to challenge yourself to avoid? Taking time to review what you achieved or failed to accomplish will help you build a process of progression which will see you getting better at what you do. After all, get transformed cannot be achieved overnight. Properly done, you will keep improving and, who knows, someday you would have become unstoppable!

So, get cracking! The difference, in the end, is in how much each person gets done. To be a winner, you must propel yourself to high-level productivity. Getting organised will help you to achieve this.

Other Articles and Resources in current edition

• 9 Critical Steps That Will Help You Hit The Bull's Eye - an Expert View
• Business Registration: Why You Need it And How to Get It Done
• 7 Don'ts of a Business Web Site
• Corporate Briefs
• SME Headilnes