Quick Tip | What has gone wrong?
Recognise it. Even the most organised people make mistakes, but your new organised approach applies even when things go wrong. Instead of having a headless chicken freak-out admit that things have gone wrong and plan a way to fix it.
Quick Tip | Manage those projects
Large projects can be tricky to manage for even the most experienced project managers. What experience teaches you is that planning is key and an organised method of tracking (whether that be paper or computer based) is vital to the smooth running of the job.
The Cottage Office can offer a personal or organisation wide external review of project management conducted by a Prince2 and MSP (Managing Successful Programmes) qualified practitioner.
Quick Tip | Project management
Quick Tip | Find some motivation
What gets you going? When you come into the office in the morning what would make you want to tackle that pile of filing? Adrenalin pumping music? The thought that the tax man might knock on your door? A workout at the gym? Find what works for you and use that energy to keep you going.
“Those who are fired with an enthusiastic idea and who allow it to take hold and dominate their thoughts find that new worlds open for them. As long as enthusiasm holds out, so will new opportunities.” Norman Vincent Peale
Quick Tip | Forget perfection, it doesn’t exist
You’ll never ever get to the bottom of that paperwork; it will never be completely finished. You are looking for 95% completion – with a few tasks always to finish, or ongoing jobs that need dealing with.
Remember the 80 / 20 rule. 80% of your results will come from your 20% quality tasks. If you are completing 95% you are already doing more than you need to! Whilst we should always strive for high quality, time spent on perfection is time misspent.
Quick Tip | Decide what you want, need and have to do
Organisation is about creating the kind of life you want – so at the highest level you have to know what kind of life that is. Do you want to be organised (your choice)? Do you need to be organised (to improve your business)? Do you have to be organised (to comply with legal requirements)? If you can better understand want, need and have you’ll be better able to motivate yourself.
“There are three types of people in this world: those who make things happen, those who watch things happen and those who wonder what happened. We all have a choice. You can decide which type of person you want to be.” Mary Kay Ash