Organising yourself at work is easy. It’s a great feeling to be organised don’t you think? My suspicion is if you have found this article on the blog you are on the up and up.

Why because the first sign of people moving forward is they have a keen desire to get organised. So well done you.

I remember all too well as a sales manager how difficult it was to actually get everything done. Not only your own job, but what also feels like all the team as well. Or is that just some days.

After many years of trial and error I thought I would share my top tips. I have honed these over the last few years with a little help from my friends. It’s not about lots of lists either though that is something I would advise.

So if you are really serious and want to see and experience a difference read on and give it a go
Let’s start at the very beginning.

1. Know your goals and your companies

One of the number one reason people are disorganised is because they don’t know what their priorities are. Usually because they don’t know what they are heading towards. As an experiment. Get a piece of paper and pen (or better still put it in your note book) Write down your top 5 outcomes that you want to achieve this year.
This could be:

Raise the team product knowledge

Improve my management knowledge

Increase the number of contacts made with customers.

Have at least one of my team promoted

Increase the market share by 5%

Get myself on the next IT project team etc

Then commit to do one thing a day that takes you closer to this. It does not have to be huge either e.g. It could be reading for 20 minutes to improve your management skills. Like reading this article for instance.

2. Spend the minimum amount of time on email a day possible

This might be a challenge at first! I know. We complain about it and we all love to see what’s going on?
In the new economy it is the biggest stealer of time. How about checking it twice a day and minimise it to 10 minutes max.

3. Speed up! And Get up

This is a new strategy I am having a go with. It’s working to. Let’s be honest as working in a sales environment we all like to tick things off. I have learnt this from a guy who suggests just testing it and seeing. Just do something as fast as you can. Check for errors. Hey presto there you go. Of course this is better for the admin type tasks.

My experience is that it really gets things moving and will actually free up time. Which you can then use on the important things like getting into a conversation with your team.

The other thing is getting up early. You may well do that already, if so great. If not, be outrageous and get up at 5am for a couple of days. I actually spend time doing me stuff. Boring maybe, I take the dog for a walk, read a book etc. So when I sit down at my desk I am relaxed energised and ready to really go for it. This is one strategy that results in me getting so much more done.

4. Plan your day in Time slots

This may sound a bit of a pain and trust me it is so well worth it. Plan out what you want to do preferably the end of the week before. Allocate blocks of time. It’s a great way to test if your speed strategy is working. Read you list every night before you finish to give your unconscious mind a chance to work on it overnight.

Then wait and see what surprises it has in store for you the next morning. What is great is that when you have done this for a couple of weeks you will realise what is actually important and is making a difference to your sales results and your stress levels.

5. Delegate whenever possible

As a new sales manager we are often nervous about losing control. So we think we have to do everything ourselves. Not so. Your team are very capable. Why not ask them to take responsibility for a couple of things. It will also give you the added bonus of being able to build rapport with your team even quicker.

6. Lists Files and Folders

At last what you thought I had forgot. Being able to put your hand on something just when you need it is a great way to reduce stress levels.

It is an obvious thing to do. It might surprise you that not every one has a folder and a label for everything. If you are reading this article you probably want to make a change. Why not allocate a day to clear out your folders files and desks. Re organise in a way you can find things. It’s worth giving yourself the gift of that time.

Next up. Make a list. And align it with your plan. Whether that’s a 30 or 90 day plan.

If you have a list that can be used again file it. E.g. Do you run regular team meetings? I expect as a sales manager you will. Why not have your list of everything you need to take. I even used to have a crate in the garage where I kept all my team meeting stuff. You know marker pens. Toys! (Team building can be fun as well you know)

If you are more of a geek. Great, use the many systems available to you. Ask friends what they use and find useful. Most people love sharing their ideas and new finds.

Well this change your life overnight? Who knows. Don’t organise yourself to quickly who knows what might happen.

To you and your teams success,

Denise