In my articles I write a lot about topics that I had to learn myself first. Work organization is definitely one of them. I used to be a total mess. Today I get my tasks done well. Here are three tips that had helped me and will certainly help you too. 

Recently I have coached many sales people. And quite a few of them have trouble organizing their tasks in a way that they can manage them, won’t forget anything and still don’t have to work late into the night. Unfortunately, a sales representative rarely has the opportunity to delegate tasks. Therefore it is important to organize the work in a way that makes it easier to get everything done. 

In a coaching like this there are of course no standard recipes. Instead, we go right to the bottom of the individual situation. Here are a few tips that I have given in such coaching sessions and which also helped me.

1. Scheduling work
   An endless list of tasks can make anyone desperate. However, you can help yourself by scheduling all your tasks. Urgent ones are done today, others will be entered into the agenda. This way you only have to concentrate on what is planned for the day. You can (for now) safely forget everything else.Customers and colleagues can also help you with scheduling. Customers and colleagues can also help you with scheduling.Next time someone needs something from you, ask “When do you need it?” I am often surprised how much time I gain through this question. I am often surprised how much time is given to me after this question.

   I can now plan my tasks well for the next few days. Of course you can’t plan the entire day in advance. Instead leave time for unforeseen things like calls, spontaneous requests and the like.  The rule of thumb I once learned is: 60% planned, 40% for unexpected things. However, experience has shown me that there are fewer disruptions in my life, so I can plan 80% in advance.

2. Working through tasks en bloc
   Working through similar tasks collectively is a tip that I learned 25 years ago in a time management seminar. But it is still valid.I always notice it in my social media activities. For example, when I publish several videos in a row, it goes the fastest if I first publish all videos on YouTube, write the posts on my homepage and finally plan and schedule the social media activities. If I worked on each video individually, I would need much longer because I would have to jump back and forth too much.

   That’s exactly how it works for all tasks. Phone acquisition, writing offers, reporting – do it all in one go and don’t mix it up and you’ll be finished much more effectively and faster.

3. Schedule quiet periods
   It is especially helpful to schedule quiet time for unloved tasks or those that require a lot of concentration. Turn off your phone and mail program and just pretend you’re at a customer appointment or meeting. Nobody will have a problem if you are not available from time to time.If you share an office with others, talk about the idea and discuss how you can all have quiet times from time to time. Take turns and fill in for each other on the phone. This way, everyone has time to work on something without being constantly interrupted. 

These are not all ideas yet, so there will be three more next week in part 2. Don’t forget to check these out too.