Mastering Organizational Skills for Work and Home
Today is a whirlwind of changes, both in our industry and our day-to-day demands. Our go-to system of getting our work done can help us lead our teams into change, or they can be the roadblock, limiting our productivity and leadership. Did you know that 75% of Americans use some form of To-Do List? According to research only 59% of the tasks on a To-Do List never get done. Do you remember what grade that gets you back in school? Finding the organizational skills that actually work for you will set you apart and set you up for a greater success in life and work.
The value of powering up your organizational skills
This article is not going to tell you how to get organized. Rather, I want to start a conversation about the organizational skills that work for you. These skills require personal discipline and not easily gained. You can lead a horse to self-management, but you can’t make him drink. We are creatures of habit and don’t change our ways easily, but as we engage and are exposed to new methods, light-bulb moments occur. It’s all about incremental improvement.
As the summer is ending, change is in the air. Summer is chaotic for most — balancing between summer schedules of family, vacations, and work. But the reality is that we are leaving one chaos and moving into another, with school, holidays, flu season, who knows what. On top of that, running a medical office today is a whole new level of chaos and disruption (especially Oklahoma!). As others look to us to lead through change AND lead change, it might just be time to power-up our methods of organizing our worlds.
There are many methods for getting organized:
- Make a To Do List
- The Ivy Method
- The GTD Method
This is only the tip of the iceberg. It seems like every day there is a new app coming out selling the promise of making your life easier. In my opinion, when seeking to make any change, less is often more. For this brief article, I am focusing on three options, in order to share with you what has best worked for me.
The To-Do List Method
The To-Do List is the most common, but a list is just a list unless there is action involved and follow up review. This must be done every day and time tracked to be successful.
Pros – Forces you to think about what needs to be done
Cons – It may be difficult to manage the list because other things are added to the list. Daily interruptions can sideline a to do list and it will fail.
Also, you can end up with too many lists if you separate home and work etc. At the end of the day you are simply chasing your list, instead of leading your day and your team.
The IVY Method
This model can be simple and effective. It was modeled by a pioneer in public relations, Ivy Ledbetter Lee, who is implemented this productivity technique around 1918. And it works well for some. Especially if you are working in a context of long-term projects, each day chipping away to create results over time. Essentially, it works well in working within a closed system.
- At the end of each day write down the 6 tasks you want to accomplish tomorrow.
- Prioritize these tasks in order of importance
- The next day start with # One and work on this till done
- Then move to the next tasks
Pros – Forces you to set priorities and think
Cons – Impossible to stick to if you have a job with interruptions and requires multi-tasking every day. It would be a set up to fail for most people
I found that the clarity provided In the IVY model can also become rigid and inflexible. Any exercise that causes you to think through the day’s need can be very beneficial, but if it fails to help you adapt to the challenges of the day, that helpfulness is limited.
The GTD (Get Things Done) Method
This method has been a powerful tool to help me clear my mind to allow me to focus. It requires a time investment at the beginning of the day, first writing down everything you need to do and include actions in progress. I look at this more like a driver planning stops for the day beyond just a list of tasks. It requires strategic thinking about what it takes. And like that driver list, it must be reviewed throughout the day to measure progress and determine course adjustments that need to be made.
This is within the framework of 5 questions:
- What needs to be done?
- Can I do it now?
- Can I delegate it?
- Is it relevant to my goals?
- How important is it?
From this information, add times and actions points.
The most important component of this system is in the reflection and follow up. This discipline create the cycle of continual improvement.
- Reflect daily on what was completed and re-assess priorities for the tasks
- Honest self-assessment:
- Did you follow your list?
- Did you procrastinate?
- Did you allow interruption to interfere with your goals?
This gives you the advantage of today’s data into tomorrows goals, building momentum of successes or nipping momentum of failures, learning from them, and adding that data into your planning for the next nay.
Pros – Provides clear thinking and a map for completing tasks
Cons – It requires an investment of time daily, which can be time consuming at first. Success requires commitment.
The way that I look at this is a level of deeper thought more than simply wandering through a task list. It is a commitment to priority, to results, to working methodically towards your goals, and measuring everything against your core objectives. First of all, if a task, goal, or objectives doesn’t pass muster of the 5 questions, it doesn’t make the list for today. As a result, it is important to have a second list of important items so nothing critical falls through the cracks and can make their way onto future lists.
GTD builds on the other methods, of focusing on a list and setting priorities. Then it adds the supercharger of CE (continual improvement) through review, learning and visualization. This builds your management muscle so that you can better adapt to the unforeseen, better plan for and embrace change, in spite of the chaos of the day.
How the GTD Method worked for me as a nurse
Having a nursing background instilled me early that having a plan every day was critical to getting everything done. It wasn’t just about having a list. We didn’t create a schedule, we had to follow a schedule of medications, treatments, patient care and reporting to our team.
The GTD Method is a foundation of my success in business
It laid the groundwork for me to have a schedule in my home life and work life. The GTD Method works for me most of the time. As I said, organization is personal, we can share experiences but each person has to set their own way.
We are all on a schedule of some kind with things that we need to accomplish. As the saying goes. It takes a village and in the busy world of healthcare having a list or a plan or goal is important but sharing that with a team makes it a little easier and that is for another discussion.
I would love to hear if any of you have any organizational skills that have worked for you. Please email me at ellen@berkeleyandassociates.com. In future newsletters I will continue to share some of the skills that our staff use that work for them.
Ellen Berkeley
Contracting Manager, CEO
Berkeley & Associates
