Keeping out of overwhelm appears to be a mantra this summer. In speaking with numerous on-site managers recently there are many conflicting priorities that are compounded by a shortage of staff. Perhaps you can relate?
So we’ve been talking about how to stay on top of the most important actions and stopping the overwhelm feeling!
The best practice that appears to make the single greatest difference is … being organized. No surprise here. Yet it sure can be tough in the throws of day to day demands with so many moving expectations and demands.
One manager’s solution is using Microsoft Outlooks Calendar. She has loaded ALL daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly and annual to-do’s into this system with reminders attached to each task that will pop up when the activity is to be started and completed. She has even color coded the tasks by who is responsible for doing it. Yes, her calendar looks complex albeit pretty with all the color coding, yet it’s her ‘working bible’. She and her entire team live by it. This process keeps the lines of communication and expectations very clear.
With this organization, when the daily challenges and requests come in she’s on top of what can slide and how to re-prioritize to get the most important things done.
If you have Outlook Calendar accessible, take a look at all it can do and give it a try. If you’re thinking, ‘I don’t have it so I cannot be this organized’. Think again! It really does not matter what organization system you have…automated or manual pages. What’s essential is to have a system that is comprehensive that you and your team use daily...make that hourly. And then keep it up...routinely as a priority!
Wondering how to start? Open a Word Doc or pull out a piece of paper and do a brain dump of all you know you need to get done but it’s not written down and/or organized. Get it out of your head! That overwhelm feeling most often comes with too much swirling around mentally.
This is one idea. What ideas have you used that others will benefit from to focus on priorities, get the right stuff done and not feel overwhelmed this summer? Please share.