Keeping focussed in a busy environment

There are so many distractions in the office -- the telephone, your co-workers, email and your boss!  How can you keep focussed when there is just so much going on?

I learnt a valuable lesson many years ago when I cleaned houses and I have taken it to the office with me.  I am a single mom, but wanted to stay home to raise my daughter, but I needed a job too.  What I did was take on odd jobs such as house cleaning, babysitting and homecare for seniors. 

My first day housecleaning, I had a large house to clean. I set aside four hours to clean it, which seemed reasonable to me.  I mean, I had been cleaning my own house for years, how hard could it be?  I started in the bathroom, cleaning here and there, and then I needed a cleaning supply so went in the kitchen to get it.  While there I started cleaning the kitchen sink.  To finish up and make it shine, I used a glass cleaner.  That got me thinking about the glass tops on the tables in the livingroom so I went in there to do that.  Can you see the problem here?  I was not focussing on one task and finishing it, but was going from here to there and everywhere so after a few hours it still looked like I hadn't accomplished much and I started to panic that I wouldn't get the house cleaned on time. 

What I learned very quickly was that I had to finish one room at a time.  I had to be prepared and have all the cleaning products I was going to need to finish the job, but if I did have to go and get something, I had to resist starting on something else and return right back to the task at hand.  It's the same principle in the office.  With all the tasks coming at you and all the things you have on your to-do list, it can seem overwhelming and sometimes you can feel paralyzed wondering where to start.  Having a to-do list can be a life saver.  Prioritize the tasks you need to do for the day/week/month and then do them one item at a time.  If you have to answer the phone, deal with an email or attend to something for your boss, do so, as that is the nature of the admin job -- multi-tasking, but once you have done it, go right back to your to-do list, re-focus and continue what you were doing.

Sometimes you are just not sure what is sapping up your time and I have found a time log will help you determine where you are going astray.  When I first started at a law firm I was in unfamiliar territory and was finding it hard to focus on one task so was all over the place.  I knew I was crazy busy, but when my supervisor asked me what was taking up my time, I couldn't really pin point one particular thing.  It just seemed like it was everything and nothing seemed to be getting done.  She suggested I keep a time log for a time so I could identify what it was.  I left the office thinking, "Great, one more thing for me to add to my already huge list!"  But I did it by keeping a notepad by the phone and each time I started a task I would write it down.  In a very short time I started to see what the problem was -- telephone calls. 

In a law firm you can spend a lot of time on the phone with clients, other law firms, setting up mediations, court dates, etc.  Being on the phone was a very important part of my day and it was still going to take a big part of my time, but I could better manage it by scheduling a time to make my phone calls. 

As well, I received lots of voicemails and others that my boss forwarded to me and I had to transcribe them, which also took a lot of my time.  Once I had identifed the problem, I could make a plan on how to deal with it.  I went to my boss with my newfound knowledge and she arranged to get me some new technology to make transcribing voicemails less time consuming.  Whew! Now that I knew what was taking the time, I could do something about it and make adjustments to organize my day better.

So don't let all that work get you down. 

• Break it down into chunks and prioritize your work on a to-do list. 
• Pay attention to what might be taking all your time by keeping a time log and then try to manage it, rather than letting it manage you. 
• Don't be afraid to ask someone else's advice on how best to make some changes -- your boss, a co-worker, someone from your professional association or a friend.  Someone else just might have the answer that will help you.
• Keep your desk organized with a place for everything.  Not having to frantically look for things all the time will definitely help you. 
• And most importantly, prioritize your work and keep focussed on what needs to be done first.

Going Checklist Crazy

I am organizing a Board meeting and I have checklists and to-do lists coming out of my ears. I'm sure my assistant must think I am the Checklist and To-Do List Queen.

Making a List, Checking it Twice

The Board meeting I am preparing for is a two-day event and I don't want to forget anything that I need to do leading up to it, or anything that I need on the day of. I have a checklist for each day with a list of things I have to remember to bring or do before and after the meeting.

On Day 1 we have Committee meetings so there is a list of things I need for those. In the evening is the Board dinner with a checklist of what I need to bring to that: menus, name cards, seating map, myself...

On Day 2 is the actual Board meeting, but because I have checklists I only have one item to put in my Outlook Tasks the day before the meeting, "Don't forget to bring my checklists!!!"

It is so easy to forget the little things and sometimes the bigger obvious things that you think you won't forget -- you forget.

I like to take minutes on a laptop (yes, I did say minutes). Some of you may remember my article called The Art of Minute Taking where I bragged that in my almost thirty years as an assistant I had never had to take minutes. Well, now I am the Minute-Taking Queen.

If I forgot to bring my laptop with me to a meeting out of town, that would be an almost disaster for me because I prepare my minutes ahead of time on my computer and basically all I have to do at the meeting is fill in the blanks. As an aside, pen and paper will suffice if I have to, but you can see that the checklist can help avoid any unnecessary stresses from happening.

Another thing to put on your checklist if you are using a laptop is a memory stick. A memory stick is my back up if my laptop and I part ways. I can always rent a laptop, or the venue may supply one for a charge, but with the memory stick, I still have all my data that I need to make my job easier.

Being organized helps de-clutter any task and makes it more manageable and doable. I think I feel another checklist coming on, gotta go...

What to do when the computer is down?

When your programs are not responding and your computer is down, what are you supposed to do? You certainly realize how much you are dependent on it and it sometimes leaves you feeling a little disoriented as to what to do next. At least it does for me.

Here is what I came up with:

• Catch up on filing
• Do expense reports
• Order supplies
• Prepare courier slips
• Get on the phone to check voicemail and return calls, make travel arrangements, register for conferences, book boardrooms etc.

Sometimes having the computer down is a good time to do the little things we have not had time to do because we are so busy on the computer. You just need to shift your thinking and get back on track with a different to-do list.

Organizing a Conference

Organizing a conference can be fun! Really! I enjoy it. The only problem is, you usually have to organize the conference and still do all your other work and that makes for some pretty hectic days leading up to the event. You definitely need to be organized!

Start with a good To-Do list. I am convinced that with a good To-Do list you can organize just about anything! Some things that should be on your To-Do list are:

• Fix date and finalize speakers. Until these things are done, you can't move forward.  Usually it will not be you who needs to do this, but you might have to nudge the person in charge.  If you have your To-Do list completed you can show them all you need to do and until the date and speakers are fixed, you can't move foward.
• Book venue and organize food.  I wrote an article about reading contracts that would be useful for this stage of your planning.
• Prepare the invitation list.
• Arrange for promotional materials if you are providing any to your participants.
• Determine what supplies you will need.*
• Arrange for printing of materials and binding.  If this is done onsite you might want to give your mailroom staff a heads up it is coming down the pipes.  If you are having it done with an external printer then you should meet with them and decide exactly what your requirements are.  They are the experts and will be able to assist you.  If you are doing it yourself block some time in your calendar to do this and if you have a large boardroom block some time there as well so you will have enough space to put everything together.
• If there are invited guests you need to create an invitation or draft a letter of invitation. You can do a merge from the invitation list to the invitation letter as well as to the address labels. Block some time for yourself to go over the invitation list to verify names, titles and addresses.  Proofreading is essential as you don't want to spell their names wrong or put someone down as a manager when they are the President.
• Send invitations and start an RSVP list so you can keep track of who is coming.  If you are having a dinner, then you will need to know their food choices and if there are any food allergies that you need to be aware of. 
• You can also use the RSVP list at the registration table to check off names as people arrive.
• Prepare name tags.  You can put the name tags on the registration table in alphabetical order for people to pick up with their meeting packages and any promotional materials you have for them.
• If you need to advertise the event, contact a local paper or if it is going in a professional magazine, organize that so it will be advertised well in advance.  You may also want to post it on your company website and will have to arrange that with the appropriate person in advance to have that done.
• Prior to the event send an email reminder to invited guests to make sure they are still attending.  You would be surprised how many come back and say they now can't attend, especially if it is a free event.  They tend to remember more when they pay for it.  This is very important if you are ordering food for the event.  The hotel will give you a date that you have to confirm your final numbers, so you should do this before that date.
• Deliver all your materials to the venue if it is off site.  If it is on site, have them all prepared and ready to hand out.
• Materials you will need at the registration table such as pens, a pad of paper, highlighter, black marker, extra name tags and holders, yellow stickies, phone numbers for all the speakers and key contacts, cell phone to call said speakers and key contacts if they have not arrived on time or if you need assistance.  The hotel concierge is a good person to have on speed dial.
• The hotel will normally provide complimentary pens and pads of paper for the participants, but have that on your list to check with them.
• Signage to direct participants to your event if needed.

I like using a timeline To-Do list so I can see everything I need by when.  For an article on how to do that, click here.

In my early years of being a secretary I didn’t want to have anything to do with organizing a conference or any event. Everything seemed to go wrong when I did! I organized a Departmental group meeting once and when we got to the hotel they had no record of my reservation. Fortunately they were able to accommodate us, but I had the feeling I was jinxed when it came to organizing.  With the To-Do list, things have changed.  I know exactly where I'm at in organizing the event.

I love the planning, organizing and especially the interaction with the people who are registering. The day of the event is great as you get to meet the people you have only met by email. As you are handing out name tags you can finally put a name to a face and greet them on behalf of your organization. It is nice to see all your hard work coming together and everything going smoothly. Of course you are madly scrambling behind the scenes to make it look that way to the attendees!

Each time I organize an event I learn something. One dinner event I organized I must have been having a chocolate craving when I chose the menu items. For our first snack I ordered some chocolate chip cookies.  After a great meal the dessert was served – a rich chocolate cake. Break time came and I looked and there were chocolate crunch bars. Now when I set up menu items I get the help of the hotel event co-ordinator. They are a great resource to assist you in picking meal items, determining how much to order, suggesting table set up and just about anything to do with your event. They want to assist you to make it successful.

I am always preparing for the next event so if something about this conference didn’t go as nicely as I would have liked, I make a note of it on my To-Do list to remind myself for the next time. You can be sure that I put NO CHOCOLATE! after that last one.

*Notify your Mailroom staff (or whoever orders your supplies) of your needs so they will have enough in stock when you need it. There is enough to worry about when organizing a conference without finding out at the last minute that the supply room doesn't stock more than 100 name badge holders and you've confirmed for 250!  If you are responsible to order the supplies, have a template of things you need when you plan a conference so each time you can go through it and be reminded of what you need.

Even the smallest things I put on my To-Do list. You think you will remember, but you are so busy on the day of the event that unless you have it written down you can forget. You need something you can check off to make sure everything is in the box going over with you to the conference.

The Importance of the To-Do List

"A former boss of mine got me started using the To-Do list some time ago and even though I wasn’t too keen on doing it in the beginning I quickly realized its value. Every time we had a departmental meeting we would bring our To-Do list so she knew exactly what was “on our plate”. With the To-Do list we now had a clear and concise way to gauge if we were able to take on new projects and how many we could handle.

It was also helpful to me as an assistant as I could refer to my To-Do list to let my boss know where I was at on a project and how my schedule looked. Many times you can’t remember exactly what you have “on your plate”, but with a To-Do list, you know exactly what you did – what you have to do - and what the status of each item is. Once an item is complete, strike it off the list!

I also found the To-Do list very helpful when arranging seminars or conferences. Since these types of events usually deal with the same things, i.e. booking conference rooms, catering, audiovisual, etc., you can use the same To-Do list as a precedent and update it with the new conference planning items for each event.

What works for me may not work for you, but however you want to do your To-Do list, it is important to have one. Suggested headings could be Priority - Date - Item – Complete, or just put items in a table or list randomly; whatever works best for you and is easiest (so that you will use it). The important thing is to get things “written down”. I don’t know what I would do without my list…and I thank my boss for “making” me do this so long ago…

For more information on the To-Do list click here."
Submitted by Lynn Crosbie, Administrative Assistant

Getting organized and staying that way...

I cannot stand clutter so to me it is very important to keep myself organized. If my desk has sticky notes all over the place, files here and there and papers, papers, papers, then I begin to feel buried and out of control. I need to be organized so I can think and function better.

I have found what works for me is having a place on my desk for everything. If it has to do with accounting, I have a bin for that. If it has to do with scheduling meetings, I have another bin for that. And if it has to do with waiting, any kind of waiting: waiting on an answer, waiting for a return phone call, waiting for just about anything, I put it in what I call my "Wait Bin". I have found when I have a place for everything and get in the routine of using it, then when I get a phone call about a meeting or my boss has an urgent request, I will know to go right to my "Scheduling Bin" or "Wait Bin". It just makes my life so much easier. When my boss sees me in control, then he or she can relax and know that I will be able to look after the matter.

I have also found that having a good bring-forward system is essential so you do not miss important dates or timelines. I use my Task function in Outlook and continually set tasks and dates with reminders of what I need to do. Sometimes I refer my tasks to my special bins, for example if I am waiting for information from someone so I can complete a letter, I will put the file with my notes in my "Wait Bin" and put a task in to remind myself to check to see if I received a reply to my enquiry so I can follow up and not just let the file sit in my "Wait Bin".

I keep a handy notepad by my phone and write things down throughout the day and when I've completed that item I strike it off my list. I find this is very helpful when your boss just passes by your desk and asks you to follow up on something, call someone on their behalf or wants you to make a reservation for them. I write it down immediately as a reminder. I also bring a notepad and a pen with me when I am called into my boss's office so I can take any notes or instructions and then again once I have completed that item, I cross it off my list.

What works for me, may not work for you, but the important thing is to have some kind of system in place that will enable you to find things, and help you keep track of dates and important tasks.  Also see an article I wrote on the bring-forward system for a good way to keep track of things that are coming up.