First things first
In getting ready for the new year with my own team of leaders, I pulled out a document this morning that I created many years ago: "ED points of Pride." For those of you who may not know, I work with Executive Directors of senior living communities, and essentially this is a document I created of "best practices" for things to do each day, week, month to ensure they are staying on track in an environment that can get crazy and hectic and where it's easy to get side-tracked by people who just want to talk or a food crisis or a health emergency of someone or by trying to fill shifts for staff who don't come to work. Not all of this document would be applicable to all of you in your work or home environment, but the basic premise of getting sidetracked by everything around us is definitely applicable to everyone.
The first bullet point under daily tasks I have in my "Points of Pride" document is "organize your desk and calendar." Remember, that's daily, and that actually seems like a good thing for all of us to think about (and do) as we plan and get organized for the new year. "Organize your desk and calendar" sounds pretty simple, right? And yet ..... I've seen some desks (my own included at times). (and if I could figure out how to put a laughing emoji here, I would : )
This is actually a pretty easy concept to grasp, and yet some days it seems so hard (or maybe even impossible). I don’t think I have ever really had a “messy” desk, at least in a public-facing office, BUT I did have a "pile-y" desk - yep, a desk full of piles. I would tell people, and pride myself on the fact, that I knew exactly what was in the piles and could find any piece of paper I needed whenever I needed it. I even told myself that “a messy desk is the sign of a clear head” (I’m sure I read that somewhere) …
While all this may have been technically true, I promise you I didn’t need most of the pieces of paper in the piles, and that it took me much longer to find things when I needed them than it would have had I put everything where it belonged!
Interestingly enough, the first of the ten “moves” in the “Getting Things Done Workbook” written by David Allen and Brandon Hall is to “capture all your incoming paper into one IN tray." Great minds think alike, right?
SO … this today, and this year, I encourage you to focus on cleaning up your desk (and office space if needed). Get yourself an IN tray if you don’t have one, and put all of your papers (piles of paper, sticky notes, reminders, to do lists … every piece of paper) in it. Then purposefully set aside 30 minutes or an hour each day to sort through and file or throw away every single piece of paper. I would LOVE to see photos of your empty IN trays and clean desks and hear how this feels to you if it is a "new concept" in your work life.
The next part of this "Point of Pride" is to also organize your calendar, in whatever way you find works best for you. Again, the key is to do this consistently and daily. This is something I have struggled with for year ... mainly because I really like to use a paper calendar / planner of one type or another, but then tend to actually use my outlook calendar more often and I find myself missing things if I try to use both. What I do find very helpful is that I review my calendar every morning and know exactly what meetings or calls or commitments I have for that day. I usually even set timers or reminders for the next upcoming thing on my calendar so I don't get caught up doing one thing and forget about another. Personally, I also review my calendar at the end of the day so I know what is coming up the next day. For me, this is probably even more important than having an organized desk in terms of keeping me focused and on track for moving forward each day.
You might think these are little things ... and they are! But sometimes little things make the biggest difference (have you read the book "Make Your Bed" by Admiral William H. McRaven? If not, you should : ) I promise it is so much easier to come into work everyday and start working on what’s important when your desk is clean and organized and your calendar is set and you are absolutely ready for whatever you need to do. And yes, this still applies, even you walk down the hall to your desk and office each day in your own home!
The other reason this is important for you to do as a leader is that, whether you like it or not, you serve as an example to others. People watch what you do and how you do it. You may have mid-level leaders or others you work with see how clean your desk is and how easily and effectively you deal with everything, they may just do the same. Maybe by you doing this, 3 or 5 or 10 other people could create some organization and efficiencies in their own working environments and improve how each of their days play out…. you never know! If you’re a leader who already has great calendar and organizational systems and clean desk, take this opportunity to work with your people on this. It really can make a difference!
And, as always, you can totally ignore what I’m saying and keep going with your piles systems … just sayin’ that old phrase “try it you’ll like it” might just apply here : )