5 Keys to Organization and Time Management: Advice from Frank Buck Consulting, Inc.

~5 Keys to Organization and Time Management~ From Frank Buck Consulting, Inc.  FrankBuck.blogspot.com FrankBuck.org         Benefits include the following: ·         Be better organized ·         More effectively manage your time ·         Experience more productivity and joy in the moment.

#1:  Your Signature Tool  (digital or paper) – ·         Write down everything as soon as it occurs to you. ·         Write it down in one place. ·         “To-Do” list tasks should be worded clearly (easier to do) and grouped with LIKE tasks (because they get done more quickly). ·         Put “Fab Five” at top of list (5 most important things to get done).

#2:  Repeating Tasks – Education is cyclic. ·         Jot down repeating tasks on index cards and put them in your tickler file. ·         List all tasks, organized by month. ·         Organize digitally and mark repeating task function.

#3:  Drowning in the Flood or Surfing the Wave? – ·         Along with a digital system, keep a paper journal for daily documentation.  The right-hand page serves as a handy place for notes you take during all phone calls, meetings, and different events/interactions.  It becomes a permanent record if you need to look back at it a month or year from now.  ·         At the end of the day, you can review your written documentation and place “to-dos” in your digital system.

#4:  Handling Multiple Projects – ·         Like juggler, have to know how many projects (or balls) we have, the position of each one, and give each attention on a regular basis. ·         Have a page for each project in the back of the paper planner or create a task in Outlook. ·         For each project, (1) know the GOAL (2) know at what point it will be COMPLETED (3) know what the next step toward completion is.  Keep NEXT STEP on the “to-do” list.

#5:  Technology as a Friend  - ·         Think of  “My Documents” as a metal filing cabinet. ·         Create parallel set of “My Documents” files as in your metal filing cabinet. ·         Back up “My Documents” monthly.  Back up “Fingertip” and “Current Projects” files weekly. ·         Have “Memos and Letters” folder in “My Documents” for permanent record of correspondence you send. ·         Keep “Monthly Ticklers” folder in “My Documents.” ·         Have  a personal home page. (like a dashboard of commonly-needed info; igHome is great alternative for iGoogle, which is “going away” July 1, 2013.)