Stephanie Johnson, CCE, CGA, NACM Intermountain
The NACM Intermountain Best Practices group met on January 27. They meet on the 4th Monday of each month to discuss a different topic. This month, the highly anticipated topic of getting organized. Each group member was asked to come prepared with ideas, tips, and tricks of things that have worked in the past or things that simply did not work for them.
The group started with lunch and networking time; that was followed by a short PowerPoint presentation on the topic. We talked about why organization matters for your company and why it is important for you, personally. The group then discussed some key areas of organization:
- Organize Your Workspace
- Keeping your physical and digital workspaces tidy
- Task/Project Management
- Organizing tasks or projects may increase efficiency and reduce feeling overwhelmed
- Time Management
- Balancing work and personal life to avoid stress and burnout
Some common challenges to getting organized include
- Perfectionism
- It is ok to be “good enough”
- Just get started
- Overcommitment
- Learn to say no
- Set realistic limits
- Distractions
- Turn off notifications
- Use Do Not Disturb
Some of the tactics that the members shared that have helped them include
- Touching the task once: do it and move on
- Various apps
- Sorting
- Mail Manager
- Scribe
- Ninety
- Creating a Daily Use document for the information that you use on a regular basis
- Using Outlook templates for common communications
- Pulling out your old Franklin (or other brand) planner
- Using Swim Charts for frequently asked questions by your staff
- Using quadrant planning: Do, Defer, Delegate, Delete for your tasks
This Best Practices topic is one, I am sure, we will visit again. Past topics include Selling to Sole Props and Personal Guarantees, Credit Applications and Customer Requested Changes, FCRA and Other Legal Language. Planned topics for future meetings include Small Businesses, Lien Waivers and SCR, Basic Business Compliance, Leading Up to Management, Succession Planning, Record Retention, Credit and Sales Relationships, Digitizing Software and Other Options.
If you would like more information about this group, reach out to a member of our team. This group is perfect for members who might not have an industry specific trade group to attend but is still looking for networking and educational opportunities.