The Efficient Office

Let me tell you about two recent times that I’ve taken my car in to be serviced . . .

The first time, I pulled in to a quick-stop place because I needed to have my oil changed. I was curtly greeted by a man in oil-stained pants who smelled of cigarette smoke. While he fumbled through a pile of wrenches, he called over his shoulder that I could go sit in the waiting area. I entered to find stale coffee cups sitting around, gum stuck to four month old magazines about horse training, and a slight odor trickling in from the attached restroom. (And, if the windows had ever been washed, I’d have been AMAZED!) I was grateful that I was only there to have my oil changed.

About 15 minutes later, the man entered. I went with him to check out and he couldn’t find my slip, because it was buried underneath the mountain of papers near the register. And then, I was super irritated when he couldn’t find my key! I left feeling grumpy and like I needed a shower.

Not wanting a repeat experience, when my A/C started to act up, I asked for a referral from a friend and headed over to a second mechanic to have my car fixed. When I entered, I was greeted by a pleasant man who was dressed in a clean uniform and was seated at a tidy desk. He asked me all of the basic information about my car, printed it out, brought it to the mechanic assigned to my job, came back and gave me a time estimate for the repair. Then, he asked if I’d like to wait in the waiting room or be driven somewhere. I opted for the waiting area, which was furnished with clean couches, had an actual coffee table with a variety of reading material, a super clean play area for kids, wifi and was nice and bright. (I actually got a bit of work done while waiting.)

When my car finished, the young man from the desk escorted me back to the front, reviewed the work that had been done with me (as he had records stored with my file on the computer), and rang me up quickly. In fact, he even called the next day to make sure all was well with the repair!

Any thoughts as to why I may be sharing my auto woes with you? What might this have to do with business organization?

Both of these mechanics did quality work on my car in a reasonable amount of time. What differentiated the second from the first was the overall experience. In the second situation, I trusted that the people working there knew what they were doing simply because they seemed to know based on my observations of how they worked. I was also comfortable being there because the space was tidy, organized, and well thought out. In the end, this means that despite a job well done on both parts, the second mechanic will get my repeat business and referrals.

The lesson here is that your surroundings matter a great deal to the success of your business! It’s important that your business’ surroundings instill trust and provide a calming, positive experience for your customers.

So, spend a moment looking around your own workspace/office. Which of these mechanics do you resemble today? Are you the first mechanic with the sloppy checkout area and smelly restroom or the second with the computerized system and useable waiting area? Ask yourself:

• Do you have a clean and tidy customer service point – be that a front desk, foyer, etc.?
• Or, if you work mostly by email or online, are there changes that you could make in your communication that would provide the same level of trust, reassurance, and customer service that an offline business provides simply by looking tidy?
• If a customer walks in unexpectedly or calls by phone, can you put your hands on their information before they even realize that you’re thinking about it?
• Do you have a process in place to get the critical information from your customer only ONE time?
• Do you have a way to track customer requests/projects/complaints/etc. so that you can provide status upon request?
• If a customer needs a basic form, brochure, or office supply, could you immediately offer it?
• Is your desk or work area set up to aid your business processes?
• Are there physical changes you could make to your space to make it more pleasant for clients?

Spend a few minutes thinking about these questions and addressing any areas that need improvement, because when you have an organized space and processes in place to handle all common customer issues in a quick and effective manner, you are telling the customer, “I am ready for your business and I am prepared to help you in the best way possible.” You instill trust in your abilities even before you begin a job. You create a good memory for the customer, which will bring them back or provide referrals.

In fact, I’d go so far as to say that the physical state of your office is an extension of all of the most valuable components of business success, from quality customer service to profitability!

Fluff, flexibility and freedom! Scheduling fluff, adds more flexibility, giving you more freedom to handle the inevitable. Allowing more time than you think is necessary for each appointment or task. Let’s face it, life happens and the less we have to have egg on our face the better! If you build in fluff (or buffer) time into your days, small crises won’t ruin your schedule.

Time spent planning is time well spent. Have a non-negotiable weekly and daily planning time. At the end of your week, plan and prepare for your next week. Review your task list, confirm appointments, plan your days and gather any necessary materials. This may take 15-30 minutes. At the end of each day, schedule 5 minutes to go over your schedule and task list. Knowing your day in advance will give you a good head start and will have you well prepared!

ALWAYS write a name and phone number together. How many times do you put an appointment in your calendar without the client’s phone number? Then, you have to do some digging to locate it. Take an extra second and write (or type) the person’s phone number any time your record their name.

Should you check your email first thing in the morning? I say No! Put a hold on opening email for a minimum of 30 minutes each morning. Review your day and choose a high-priority task and begin working on it. After your focused work time, check your email. You will be more prepared for your day and far more productive.

A single two-second distraction could cost you 15 minutes of your day! When your concentration is interrupted, it takes up to 15 minutes to get your focus back. One of the biggest productivity & time management thieves is being distracted by interruptions. Set clear boundaries and take back control of your time so you can get the important things done!

My son can read. I realize this isn’t astounding to most people. In fact, he went through the same steps that most of us do to reach this goal:

• Age 2: Someone taught him the letter T. Ohh – that cute train phase!
• Age 3 ½: He could identify most of his letters. The “b” and “d” got mixed up a lot, but he was mostly there.
• Age 4 ½ : He could identify blended sounds in writing.
• Age 5: He could stumble through a short story and tell you what it was about.
• Age 8: He could read an entire book and write a whole page full of information about it, but it took some doing.

Today, at age 19, there’s no fumbling, no questioning which way the “b” and “d” face, no sounding words out. Reading is second nature to him, a process he goes through without even thinking about it.

Now, I ask you, what would have happened if, at age two, we’d handed him “Moby Dick” and insisted he read it? Nothing useful, right? Maybe stress, pressure, worry, intimidation, or some sort of weird reading dysfunction!

So why do we grown-ups expect ourselves to go from a cluttered desk and constant missed appointments to complete organization with one New Year’s Resolution? After years in this profession, I promise you that this is not the best method for making long-term changes to your organizational effectiveness.

Rather, becoming organized is a process. Making the switch from chaos to streamlined efficiency is a matter of mastering several small steps and practicing each of these until they become second nature, tasks that you do without even thinking about them. Sure, the first step is to make a commitment to become more organized: after that, it’s baby steps. Change one specific thing, experience the outcome, and practice it. Then, when you are really confident in that one thing, change the next. In time, you will find that you are organized and being so is second nature to you, instead of a constant struggle.

For a more concrete example, think about the Tuesday Tips that I’ve started posting. Each of these tackles one specific change that you can make, such as speeding up your filing or managing business receipts. If one these tips resonates with you, give it a try. Keep working at it and eventually, you won’t even have to think about it. You’ll simply have your filing under control!

When you break organization down into its ABCs, starting with one little change at a time and keeping your end goal in mind, you claim little victories until you are suddenly satisfied with the end result. No longer is organization a challenge, it’s a habit. A habit that has been practiced and prepared over time – and one that is much more likely to stick in the end.

STOP! Don’t jot! Jotting is writing any sort of a message on random scraps of paper. Yes, writing an important phone number on that envelope or napkin may seem like a great idea at the time, but chances are, those scraps of paper will be long gone by the time you need the information. Get a small notebook to keep your phone messages, notes to self, etc. and keep it with you at all times. Now you’ll always be able to find your scribbles!

Is it a coincidence that the tasks you like to do the least are also the ones that you tend to forget to do? Probably not! To stop tasks from slipping through the cracks, give them a date and a time on your calendar.

Last month, we talked about how the five reasons from which procrastination stems. As a quick refresher, these are:

1. Fear (of failure, success, incompetence, change),
2. Disinterest,
3. Lack of planning,
4. Impatience, and
5. Worrying about other’s opinions.

It is important to know what is causing you to procrastinate, because the reason for your procrastination will determine what action you need to take to conquer it!

The following are various techniques that you can use to rid yourself of procrastination and make the most of your time today!

• Prepare. This is a basic organization tip. If you’ve got a job to do, make sure you have the tools on hand to do it. And, along the same line, if you’ve got a decision to make, make sure you have the information at hand.

• Bribe yourself. Let yourself know that when you’ve completed step one, you’ll go for a walk or read a book or have a cup of coffee. It’s easier to muscle your way through a task when there’s a reward at the end.

• Build in accountability. Let a friend, co-worker or your spouse know about what you are trying to accomplish. Have a buddy work with you on your task or goal. Create a reason for completing the task, such as signing up for a road race or scheduling a seminar. Whatever will make you feel like the task is a “must” instead of a choice that can be put off.

• Plan. Not every little thing you do requires a project management spreadsheet, but if you’re stuck, sit down and list out the steps involved in completing the tasks. Identify a specific deadline for each step. Doing big things in smaller chunks makes you feel like you’re actually making progress towards your own successes.

• Change your self-talk. Is there a little voice in your head letting you know that your progress isn’t good enough or fast enough, that you might fail or might succeed? Is it in the way of you getting started? When you hear it, what else could you tell yourself instead? How can you change that into a productive statement?

• Start. Sounds easy, right? Well, it is. Focus on getting started. Just that. That’s all you have to do today. Agree with yourself that you’ll sit still for 10 minutes. That’s not much, right? But, it’s a huge step in the long run.

• Don’t do the task. Well, what I really mean is to write down what will happen if you skip the job at hand. What are the consequences of not doing it – or of doing it quickly and poorly at the last minute? A little guilt can sometimes get you moving.

• Tackle the hardest part. Get that out of the way and it won’t be a looming issue that you’ve got to address in the future. It’s over with – the rest of the project should be smooth sailing!

• Tackle the easiest part first. Similar to the “start” tip, this is helpful to getting you motivated in the first place. Once you’ve got a step – any step – out of the way, you’ve started and conquered the hard part.

• Keep a To Do list. If you don’t already, start one! Seeing that project sitting on your list day after day, week after week is a great way to get you moving. At some point, you’ll decide that it’s either not worth it or simply needs to get done and over with.

You can make huge progress in both your business and your life when you remove the roadblocks of guilt and anxiety that procrastination throws in your way. Now, choose the best “get going option” for you. Then, go out and break that habit of procrastination!