Thanks all, some genuinely useful stuff here.
I work in children’s services which is very dynamic and fast paced – we are always a moment away from an event that can derail your best laid plans for the day/week/month.
I’ve been around the business for long enough to know that every manager has told me I am not a completer/finisher, I thrive on the creativity and innovation. In fact – this is exactly me. I have a member of staff that handles me really well, I would be entirely lost without her.
You may be a stellar producer of exceptional work, a leader of ideas, great with high-level thinking and innovation and a superb presenter, but hopeless at planning and putting things into action (btw, that’s me). To be properly effective, you will need a “handler”. In my experience these people are worth their weight in gold. Nobody has all the skills and time to prosecute them. That’s the point of teams and project managers.
I think the points around discipline are valid, I need to find a way of keeping a (filing/organising/sorting) routine even when the plans get thrown out of the window with the latest unforeseeable emergency issue that needs my attention. It’s too easy for me to make excuses – I’m starting this today.
This is good advice
If not, start one. It doesn’t have to be right first time, but just start a folder “Work -> Projects -> *project name/ ref*” and start putting the key documents in there.
Plot twist he is the Project Manager
God no. I couldn’t do that!
Thanks for these tips…
Of all the things I’ve tried for the smaller/miscellaneous tasks I find outlook the easiest, mainly because it’s something I’m using every day anyway so doesn’t take much extra discipline
Come up with a filing system that works. Where do you put stuff and how do you find it again. I put everything online in Teams – can get it anywhere, can read my typing but not handwriting.
I’ll look at Asana and Confluence as well.
Thanks again, really good stuff.