Get Organized for Outstanding Performance

As you recall, outstanding performers have three things in common.

1. Outstanding performers are technically competent.
2. Outstanding performers set and achieve high goals.
3. Outstanding performers are well organized.

The other day, I was looking for something on my office book shelf and I came across one of my favorite booklets.  It’s called 110 Ideas for Organizing Your Business Life.  Paulette Ensign is the author.

Paulette has packed a lot of common sense advice into this 16 page booklet.  I’m going to share my favorite ten nuggets with you here.  If you want the other 100, you can purchase the booklet by going to www.tipsbooklets.com.

10 of Paulette Ensign’s Tips on Organizing Your Business Life

• Create your own systems based on your common sense needs.  Modify whatever you read, hear or see (including these tips) to accommodate your personal requirements.
• Set a toss out date for publications and reports.  If you haven’t read something by the date, your life has probably continued fine without that information.  Today, information comes so quickly that much of it is outdated shortly after you read it.
• Decide if you really need hard copy of everything you have electronically.  Most times a backup disk is fine.  You will save money, time and space – not to mention a few trees – by printing a hard copy only when you need it.
• File paper by asking “where would I look for this item? not “where should I put this item?”  The putting part is easy – it’s the retrieval that can be difficult.
• Write the date and circumstances of the meeting on each business card you collect.  The frame of reference this provides will be very helpful in follow up conversations.
• Break large projects into short segments.  This will keep you motivated to finish the entire project.
• Schedule regular time for reading.  Usually lunch time or the end of the day is best for reading.  Scheduled time will keep you up on what’s happening in your business and life.
• Schedule high brain activities during your peak energy time and low brain, mechanical tasks during your low energy time. 
• Use a phone headset to free your hands while you are on the phone.  This will facilitate note taking, and finding items important to the conversation.
• Use a conference room, library or unoccupied office to do work where you need to concentrate and be free of interruptions.

These common sense ideas for organizing your time and life are only 10% of the ideas in Paulette Ensign’s booklet 110 Ideas for Organizing Your Business Life.  Try them.  If they help you become more organized, buy the booklet to become even more organized and productive.

That’s it for today.  Thanks for reading.  Log on to my website www.BudBilanich.com to subscribe to my monthly ezine and for more common sense.  Check out my other blog: www.CommonSenseGuy.com for common sense advice on leading people and running a small business.

I’ll see you around the web, and at Alex’s Lemonade Stand.

Bud

PS: Speaking of Alex’s Lemonade Stand – my fundraising page is still open.  Please go to www.FirstGiving.com/TheCommonSenseGuy to read Alex’s inspiring story and to donate if you can.