Getting Organised
I have been known to drive my clients crazy with my language of
'systems, processes and procedures'. I am so process driven I
have systems for creating systems and processes for creating
processes!
Some people ask me how I get the time to sit down and write or
develop a process - because often the truth is that we are too
busy doing whatever it is we are doing to take the time to put
anything into a system. I swear by them - they simplify your
life.
Systems and processes have a place in our personal lives as well
as in our business lives, although the business need for these
are far more apparent. 'System' does not mean that you have to
have a piece of machinery or a Quality Control Manual - system
simply means creating structure, proper organization or a
scheme, arrangement or classification for something.
The first benefit of creating a system is the instantaneous time
management benefits. Time management is a misnomer. We cannot
manage time - time operates at the speed and rate that time
operates. All we can manage is our personal effectiveness within
the time we each have available to us. By creating systems in
your work and business life you create structure and
organization which helps everything to get accomplished more
easily and effortlessly.
Consider your system for paying your bills. Do you; Use your
lunch hour to queue at the bank every time a bill arrives that
needs paying? Jump online and pay your bills as and when they
arrive? Place all your bills together in a file so that on a
certain date they all get paid at the same time in one effort?
Or; Have a separate bank account for bills and arrange all bills
on a direct debit, depositing just enough each pay day to cover
all the outgoings?
We need systems for anything we do on any kind of a regular
basis. How do you arrange your wardrobe? In order from business
suits to casual clothes, arranged by colour so that each morning
you can dive straight to the correct end of the wardrobe and
colour scheme and select your outfit quickly? Shirts and
T-Shirts one end, trousers and skirts the other, so you can pick
the top and the bottom of your outfit? Some on the floor at the
bottom of the bed, some draped over the chair, shoes wherever
you kicked them off last, cleaned not yet ironed stuff in the
laundry....?
By now I trust you can see that the more effort and
determination you put into your system the easier life becomes.
How long would it take you to automate your bill payments and
rearrange that wardrobe? And comparing that to how much time you
stand in the bank or wait for an internet connection and circle
the house looking for that 'top' or those 'trousers' how much
time would you actually save.
The best thing for me about systems is that you only do them
once. Consider the example of 'auto responder' on emails. You
type the email once and every time you receive the same type of
email the same response is sent.
Once systems are in place they are time saving and believe it or
not - empowering!!!
Here's some things you might want to consider systemizing......
How your home gets cleaned How your regular payments such as
insurance and rego stay maintained How you ensure you get around
to seeing all of your friends regularly How you stay fit and
healthy How you show your significant other how much you value
them How you keep up to date with your correspondence How you
keep you spending within your budget How you fully utilize your
network How you get enough 'me time'
Wherever an efficient time management strategy exists - a system
of some kind is behind it to support it. If I haven't yet
convinced you to try systems out - if freeing up your life and
your time to do more of the things you love doing is not enough
to motivate you (ok you don't have to take this to the lengths
that I do!)..here's the pain factor......there is a direct
correlation between poor time management and stress. And you
know what illnesses stress causes?