This is pretty basic really. Management 101. But I have to ask everyone who manages a newsagency: do you start your day with a to do list? My follow-up questions is: do you check that you’ve completed everything?
I am sometimes surprised at how much management time is spent running a newsagency. It’s usually considerably more that a chain store (or department) of a similar revenue size. I’ve noticed in some newsagencies where there is way more management time spent that I;d expect – there is no plan for the day, week or month, no to-do list. Days happy … they’re always busy … I am told. But I am also told that they don’t get to important projects because there is no time.
Time availability is a function of how you manage it.
I start every day with a to-do list. Always have.
That’s me. No list. The days just happen. I get home tired and hope I’ve got everything done.
Reading this maybe I’m more organised than I thought.
I start with faxes etc for home delivery, once they’re done I can relax.
Most days follow a pattern of tasks to do on particular days, if we stick to that things run fine.
But at busier times when I’ve lost half the nights sleep thinking about everything I must do/ haven’t done, I search for my lost again ‘things to do today’ pad and write that list.
And like you Helen I always get home tired.
I put all the regular and important tasks into Outlook Calendar so they should not be missed. This has not been foolproof but is usually pretty good.
When I first took over here three years ago I had some very good advice from the general manager of the local services club. He said keep a large day to a page diary on your desk and apart from the obvious of writing in what you have to do today write in anything relating to that day that you think is of importance when you strike it during the day and at end of day so that you can look back in 12 or 24 months time and use it to prompt you to prepare better for what may be a cyclical or reocurring event. Same goes with certain products and suppliers and how they’ve run in store or how they’ve dealt with you.
It has been perhaps the best advice I’ve had !
I discovered a website called flyady.com in about 1999. It is American, so be ready for the culture implications. If you can get over the idea it is aimed at efficient household management – it actually applies to EVERYTHING !!
Best part is the idea of a Control Journal, and for my office management at the newsagency I have a simple Display Book. First is a page for each day of the week. Second is a page for each month of the year. It took me a year to make this Journal, and it is constantly under revision.
Eg for the months, list when Workers Comp is due, when your Quickbooks comes up for renewal, etc etc, and ahead, what year the rent needs to be renegotiated.
For the weekdays, the staff chore list eg every Tues afternoon we pull of the remaining magazines for the current week, every Thursday arvo the rubbish goes out etc.
Every March the Chryslers on the Murray brings my town lots of visitors – so in Feb my Control Journal tells me to start making sure my car mag area is Top Notch ! Today I chatted to lots of visitors here for the glorious weekend and sold maps, and lots of beautiful photocards made locally, and even AFL pillowpets !
And yes I already have notes made ahead for 2014 on the Jan and Feb pages, and I need to write at the start of each month to read ahead, thanks for the reminder. As someone said, failing to plan leads to a plan to fail.
The key is for us to think about these things and how we manage our businesses. It’s easy for days to get away from us if we allow ourselves to be interrupt-driven.