CEO NEW YEAR RESOLUTIONS
Following on from my last blog, it would have been easy to make one of my New Year resolutions to simply improve my golf, after all the starting position is particularly bad and getting better would be a breeze. Work consumed my working life in 2019, maybe now is the time to set myself a real challenge and actually pay more than lip service to the concept of New Year Resolutions.
I am sure many of you started 2020 with a New Year Resolution to become more organised. However, as we get back to work following the New Year, how many of you are sticking to the plan and how many of you are already frustrated that chaos has ensued and organisational plans have gone out of the window?
HOW TO GET ORGANISED FOR 2020
Some people just appear organised, they appear more confident and calm in a work situation because they are in control of any task or project they are working on. For some, it maybe a natural calm exterior but for others it is likely they have a way of working which helps them achieve that calm and in control persona which they display to the world.
Organisation of priorities is an essential element of task management. Having a list which can be ticked off as you go along gives a sense of satisfaction that things are moving forward in the right direction.
There are a number of ways to organise a task list. Good old fashioned pen and paper is still an option, as are using standard desktop tools such as Word and Excel. However, these are extremely limiting and it therefore difficult to effectively collaborate. They also provide limited access to a team as they are often a unique To Do List for an individual. Utilising some project management principles, such as organising a task list into a Kanban board offers a more visual and collaborative way of working.
It is important to break down a challenge into smaller, more manageable tasks. When exploring and breaking down any business challenge, you will build an exhaustive list of things which could be done. However, achieving them all is not always feasible. Being able to then identify what should be done is key to being able to organise and prioritise workload and achieve a successful outcome.
Taking a massive list of possible tasks and assigning some categorisation to them will enable you to determine what should be done. Categorising with an impact and effort scale will help you to organise your workload by giving priority to those tasks identified which will have the maximum impact on your goal but require the smallest effort to complete, ensuring you are working on the rights tasks at the right time to achieve your aim.
THE WAY FORWARD
Are you looking to become more organised this year and ensure you and your team are prioritising the right tasks for success? If so, MindGenius can help you breakdown any challenge your business may face and ensure you organise and prioritise what needs to be done for success.
As for me, my key business challenge will be trying to make MindGenius more of a commercial success, whilst I finally find time to improve my golf and achieve one of my longstanding resolutions which is to learn to play the bag-pipes. Happy New Year.