Building Block #3: Follow-Up System. When I was a secretary, we called this a
'tickler system'. You can create your own by having hanging folders
labeled 1-31 and January - December. The 1-31 stands for the days of the
current month you're in. Let's say you have a meeting scheduled with XYZ
Company on April 10th. Instead of keeping their file laying in your work area
in preparation for the meeting, you can store it in the '10' hanging file. This
way you'll always know where it is; however, you need to remember to check your
tickler file daily (if you're using scheduling software, you can schedule
a recurring reminder for every morning at 8:00 a.m. to check your tickler before
you start your day). So, the morning of April 10th arrives, and you pull
everything you've got filed under '10'. Now let's say you have a different
meeting set for May 10th. Do not place the information for that meeting under
'10' right now. Remember, at the moment, your 1-31 stands for the days of the
current month (in this instance, April). Your information for the May
10th meeting will be stored temporarily in the 'May' hanging folder. Do you see
now how this works? So let's assume that today is May 1st. The 1-31 slots no
longer represent April--they now represent May. So, on May 1st, you pull
everything that you set aside in the 'May' folder. Look through all of
it and sort it in accordance to the date that's applicable, and refile
them under that date. Perhaps you have a bill that's due May 21st, and you want
to mail it on May 18th. It goes under the '18' hanging file. Now take
note--whether it's a bill or a greeting card, I recommend paper clipping it to
the hanging file so that the top is sticking out. Otherwise, it falls to the
bottom of the hanging file into what I call the "never find-again land". So
here's where the electronic scheduling software comes in handy--schedule a
recurring reminder for the first of every month to check your monthly tickler.
I hope you see how efficient using
both the electronic scheduling software and tickler can be. And, you can keep
your tickler in sight on your desktop, or out of sight in a file drawer. But .
. . it's only effective if you check it daily.
Building Block #4: 15-Minute
Organizing. You're free time is sparse, and it's difficult to set aside three
hours to organize your kitchen, for example. Instead of seeing the "big
picture" (your cluttered kitchen as a whole) and becoming overwhelmed, set
aside 15-minutes once or twice a day to tackle the clutter. Here's how it
works: Perhaps you've decided that you want to tackle one section of your messy
kitchen counter. Set a timer for 15 minutes and ensure there are no
interruptions--this is your time. Sort through the mess. The items
you're keeping, put them away. Set aside an area for donation items, and toss
what's left. When your timer sounds, stop what you're doing, and now
your time is once again available for family, work, returning phone calls, etc.
The point is, you truly will begin to see progress. You can accomplish a lot in
15 minutes if you make it a priority. If you do this once or twice a day,
within a few days, you'll see the results and that, in turn, will
motivate you to continue to make this a priority. So, instead of seeing
the "big picture" we're taking "bite-sized chunks". I tell my clients: "Inch
by inch is a cinch--yard by yard is too hard."
And there you are! All Four Building
Blocks. You now have the knowledge; make time to implement!
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