Friday, February 16, 2007
Dave 2.0 part 2
One of my goals for the year was to become more organized and I recently recommitted myself to this through deliberate action. With all I have on my plate, lack of organization was like trying to fly at mach one with the flaps out... it was causing so much drag and resistance that it had the potential of causing great and catastrophic damage to the vehicle, in this case my businesses.
Almost like white noise, the accumulated clutter around my office, on my computer hard drive and in my mind were effecting my ability to concentrate on the things that mattered and drowning out the slight details that are so very important. Writing about the need for less clutter and more organization has been easy, actually accomplishing it however, now that's a horse of a different color.
I finally did something about it!
I've spent most of February literally clearing the clutter. From scraps of paper in my office to removing old email accounts from my servers. Finding all of the things that clutter my physical and virtual workspace has been an eye opening experience to say the least.
I have had my nose so deeply buried in my keyboard for the past several months, as a result I've allowed papers, flyers, notes, magazines and all sorts of physical stuff to accumulate on my desk and surrounding workspace. Up until recently, I had hundreds of 3X5 cards, sticky notes and cocktail napkins with scribbled notes, passwords, phone numbers and reminders crammed in the most interesting of places.
Doing what I don't want to do!
The past several weeks has been about doing the things I don't want to do. We all have them and I have more than most. Everything from returning phone calls to filling out forms, I dislike the "little things" so much that I ignore them until those tiny little things pile up and transform into a mountain that no one wants to climb. Well I had a mountain that would dwarf the Great Rocky Mountains but I knew that I had to get over it. I decided to just start to climb and accept each step as a challenge.
One issue at a time... just do it! And I did! I went from an impassable peak to a slight slope by chiseling away at that mountain of details on strike at a time. I delegated what I could and even asked for help which has not been something I've been good at. I kept reminding myself to do those things I don't want to do and then did them.
New Policy!
I started a new policy this year that requires me to address all pending issues, mail/email, phone calls, web updates and requests within 48 hours. Nothing is allowed to just sit; nothing is allowed to be put on hold; nothing is allowed to be placed on the back burner for later attention. I did it quietly, no announcements or blogs, no newsletters or bumper stickers. I just made up my mind to do it and did.
Keeping with the spirit of the new policy while bending the rules.
With all that I have going on, there are bound to be some things that need to wait. Some things that are waiting for someone else, or things that require action that is outside my influence. Some things like web features, or even websites that are not important or need to wait for the right solution are some of the issues allowed to fall outside of the new policy and rules.
The difference! Allowing some things to be "put off" for more than 48 hours requires that I actively consider the reason for the delay and justify it either as a note to myself or if someone else is waiting, by informing that person of the delay and cause for it. What this means is I can actually stick to the policy while breaking the rule.
Why 48 hours?
The 48 hour limit was intentionally set as a way of staying on the current task. Allowing for more than one day allows me the time to consider each day more intelligently and much more deliberately. As a service provider, there are many distractions throughout the course of the day which inevitably knock things down the list. As a technical service provider, there are emergency issues such as power outages, locked up servers or other mission critical support requirements that rear their ugly heads and cause an interruption of the current task list.
Allowing 2 days for completion is a reasonable amount of time to allow for the "urgent/important" issues that pop up while never loosing sight of the "important" issues on the docket. Limiting myself to 2 days creates a sense of urgency while not creating a sense of emergency and as a result, not causing me to work till midnight as often.
Perfect example!
I was on the phone with a client who understands that I work alone, he heard my phone ringing and asked, "Do you need to get that?" I said, "No, I don't need to get that, I'm working with you right now. I'll call them back when I'm done." This relatively minor event tells him a couple of important things.
- It tells him that he has my undivided attention and is more important to me than an incoming call no matter who it might be.
- It tells him that when he calls and gets the answering machine, that I am giving another client the attention they deserve and I'll call him when I'm done.
The same is true for the 48 hour limit. While one incoming issue may seem more important than another, they are all important and will be addressed as time and attention allows. So far, the policy is working and though I've not been able to adhere to it perfectly, it has resulted in a more efficient workflow.
Inspiration for the rule.
I received a call from a client who is also a friend. He's a young man who works hard to build his business and I admire his efforts. He was waiting for me to update his website, an update that I said would be done by a certain date and missed it. He gently but clearly pointed out the importance of customer service and following through, or at least communicating the reason for the delay. As he spoke I thought to myself... "I know this stuff!" His advice had been give BY ME to other small business people, friends and associates. The advice he was giving me was advice I had written about, spoken about and thought I was living by. I was not and I made a change.
Controlling the tides
A Webmasters' world is a world of constant requirements. Even when I had only one major client, that client had several departments and each had needs that required my attention. From minor updates to text on a page to brand new sections or applications that make the website more effective in communicating the mission and message of the client.
These requirements keep coming and coming, as they do it seems like a small trickle, but if not properly organized and quickly addressed, the trickle turns to a flow, the flow turns to a flood and before long, a disorganized webmaster can find himself treading water so to speak in an ocean of requirements. An ocean that seems so deep and so vast that despair and dread seeps in and sucks the life out of what was once a passion.
More work needed!
While I have made great strides in my clutter control, there's more that needs to be done!
- I still haven't found that perfect time management software. I have (had) hundreds of notes on a task manager program I wanted to write to help organize client requirements and the dreaded 'to-do' lists.
- I still haven't found that perfect data organizer that can hold my contacts, phone numbers, passwords, links, files and other information in a manner that can be quickly accessed, easily searched and always available.
- I still haven't found that perfect filing system for my office that would allow for me to be able to store and retrieve important information as needed. (I would prefer to scan in all paperwork and store it electronically but all solutions I have found are expensive or impossible to manage.)
- I still haven't found that perfect combination of banking, finance and software that would simplify the accounting process for my business much less personal expenses.
I'm still looking! I have some ideas and will write on them as I test them out. Even now, after several weeks of clutter control, I find myself with a (much smaller) pile of pieces of paper with tidbits of information. I have a (much smaller) stack of business cards. This is one area that I hope to address next and that is the effective storage of contact information and "loose data" that is important and needed but not on my desktop.
I have a plan! A combination of hardware and software that will allow me to organize this information and continue to clean off my desk. Basically, it involves Microsoft Outlook 2007, a small color scanner, a PDA cell phone, Bluetooth, and possibly my own database and web application. Before I decide however, I have to "wait" for the installation of Outlook and the purchase of the scanner as well as the time to test it all.
Until then... I've sorted through my pieces of information, stacked them nicely and will press on! There is too much going on to just drop everything and that brings me to my final point.
A little at a time.
As I mentioned about, before I started scaling the mountain of clutter in my office, I made the conscious decision to take one step. That is basically how I made it happen. Instead of trying to do it all in one day or all at once, I choose to do it a little at a time as time and resources would allow. Oh sure, I did have to "make myself" do many things that I didn't want to do, but I did them one by one as time allowed.
I still have plenty I want to do as far as organization goes. The files on my hard drive are scattered all over the place; I still have many files and other useless paperwork squirreled away that needs to be discarded; I still have a few items on the to-do list that are past the 48 hour deadline. Can I fix all of this at this very moment? No way. But I can do one item on my list, then the next, then the next.
The key for me was deciding and then doing. It is working and I will continue. For some people, this whole post and process may seem silly. For a person like me who has many interests and a personality that doesn't lend to detail oriented "small stuff," the process has been a good lesson and this is for the benefit of those who may share my struggle.
