| Are you a fire-fighter? Many clever confident | | | | tomorrow just because it was on your, |
| people are held back in the main by a single | | | | “should be done list” list and not your, |
| weakness. They are totally disorganised. This can | | | | “must be done immediately” list. |
| lead to procrastination, fire-fighting and eventually | | | | 4. Meetings. If meetings are part of your usual |
| total failure. | | | | routine that is ok. However, you must make the |
| Diagnosis is the first step to recovery. If you can | | | | most of these meetings. Be prepared. Plan what |
| recognise this weakness in yourself, you can take | | | | you want to achieve at the meeting and make |
| steps to eliminate this disadvantage. If you are | | | | some phone calls to gauge the support you will |
| disorganised you are at a disadvantage. Look at all | | | | get for the idea, and then adapt your approach |
| of the most successful people in the world. They | | | | accordingly. Meeting have a habit of becoming a |
| are all well organised. If they have a difficulty in | | | | place for fathers/mothers to talk about their |
| this area, they employ a personal secretary to | | | | children, sailors to talk about their boats and |
| organise things for them. | | | | golfers to talk about golf. In fact, people so often |
| Assuming that you are not in a position to employ | | | | spend too much of the time allotted for the |
| an organiser we will have a look at some | | | | meeting, talking about anything but business. If |
| improvements that you can make. | | | | you are in a position to do something about this |
| 1. Prioritise. The first thing to do is to look at the | | | | try to keep the chitchat to a minimum. |
| work that you have on your desk (or garden, | | | | If you do not need to attend a meeting then do |
| shop, workplace etc.) and decide what must be | | | | something more productive with your time; like |
| done first. Decide what you must do immediately | | | | driving your way down through you new list of |
| or pay the consequences, e.g. pay your suppliers. | | | | priorities. You will very likely get a memo about |
| Then decide what should be done as soon as | | | | the business of the meeting anyway. So unless it |
| possible. Then what should be done if you can. | | | | is necessary to attend, DON’T. |
| Then what it would be nice to do if you can. Then | | | | 5. Delegate. If you have people working under |
| dump the rest. Do not have it cluttering up your | | | | you then delegate some tasks to them. People in |
| desk getting the way of important work. | | | | authority tend to take on more than they should; |
| 2. Set deadlines. It is of no use at all setting | | | | especially when they view a task as being |
| deadlines and not paying the least bit of attention | | | | important. They think, “I better do that report |
| to them. You must stick to you guns and meet | | | | for the vice-president myself,” or something |
| your deadlines no matter what happens. Deadlines | | | | similar. Show some faith in the people who work |
| prevent fire-fighting. Fire-fighting is when you have | | | | under you. It will do you both some good. Besides, |
| left everything too late and are franticly running | | | | you do not want to be in the office doing that |
| around, trying to do things that should have been | | | | report when all your staff are out playing golf and |
| done weeks ago, to prevent certain disaster. Set | | | | the vice-president is wondering why you need to |
| achievable and realistic deadlines and do not be | | | | spend so much time getting your work done. |
| distracted from them unless something that | | | | Not everyone can be totally organised. |
| absolutely must be done immediately comes up | | | | Nevertheless, if you follow these guidelines you will |
| and must be slotted into your list. | | | | go a long way towards improving your quality of |
| 3. Do not procrastinate. If you find that you have | | | | life and work. These guidelines apply to any |
| finished a task early start the next one | | | | business whether you are a webmaster and |
| immediately. Do not decide that you have made | | | | internet guru or just at the bottom of the ladder |
| yourself a bit of free time and put it off until | | | | in a large organisation. |