Agile Manager’s Guide to Getting Organized

How Highly Successful Managers Cut Through the Clutter and Get Things Done

Getting better organized is the key to accomplishing more for most managers in business. Yet the steps to becoming better organized are rarely complex or difficult. In fact, most managers already know intuitively what they should be doing to achieve more. The challenge lies in putting into active practice the ideas, strategies and techniques of organization.

Effective and product managers are constantly watching out for ways they can cut through the clutter, focus on critical issues, organize and streamline their paper handling systems, avoid time wasters and manage projects well. These are the basic elements of the agile and effective manager’s toolkit.

“Achievement must be made against the risk of defeat. It is no achievement to walk a tightrope laid flat against the floor. Where there is no risk, there is no pride of achievement and consequently no happiness.” — Ray Kroc

Eliminating Mental Clutter

One of the main impediments to achievement is often clutter — unnecessary details that add no value but are a drag on productivity. By eliminating the clutter, many managers will immediately become much more productive. The steps to eliminating clutter are:

Know the culprit behind the clutter

Identify your goals and objectives in life

Make goals specific and measurable

Stretch (get out of your comfort zone)

Be flexible

Focus on your contribution at work

Excluding the Unimportant

Simplify your life wherever possible by:

Rejecting or keeping at arm’s length the unimportant

Taking one thing at a time

Concentrating your efforts

Aiming to contribute productively

Focusing on today, not tomorrow

Using the power of “No”

Cutting the Project Fuzz

For most people, organizing your work effectively will fall into two main areas:

Being able to complete projects on your own successfully

Being ble to manage a team project effectively

Get Rid of the Time Dragger

Planning to accomplish the important things in your life requires four tools. And the first of them you can probably dispense with after a day or two:

A time log

A to-do list

A desk or pocket calendar with space for appointments

Deadlines

Conquering the Paper Pile

The way you handle all the paper that comes into your life will have a significant impact on your productivity. In essence, the elements of an effective system for handling paper are:

Being able to clear your desk

Organizing the paper you keep into files

Keeping your files in alphabetical order

Handling incoming paper efficiently

Keep Away from Great Time Wasters

Meetings

Unnecessary reports and memos

People

Procrastination

Perfectionism

Waiting for others to arrive for appointments

Excessive prep time on reports and presentations

Waiting for people to complete their assignments

Agile Manager’s Guide to Getting Organized