A pencil could save stress? Ridiculous? Not so. What is the most frustrating thing that happens to business managers? They lose information, get wrong information or cannot find information when they need it. Getting the information sometimes takes more minutes or even hours than the phone call, email or return letter for which the information was needed.
Information retrieval can be no better than the process of receiving and storing the information in the first place. Phone numbers for return calls, for example, can be off by one digit. The message to call somebody back might not have a date that the caller said was important. The name of the person who called might be missing or misspelled. An address is not where it should be. And so it goes: a little bit of information here, a lost number there, a zip code missing and the manager is ready to breathe fire. The tinier the details tripping us up the greater the frustration over wasting time.
Here is a simple suggestion: get a notepad and simple pencil. Place them next to your telephone and handy to your computer and use them for every single message you receive each day. Imagine that, a pencil to prevent stress! In this day of advanced technology one problem persists about communication: we need to hear or read messages accurately and record information from those communications accurately. Given the many times every day that messages need to be returned, you as the manager can make your day easier by carefully writing down the name, phone number and time of of each message your receive along with what you are supposed to do about the message.
The simple list with the basic information then becomes a guide for tasks to be done: call this person back, email that person back, send a letter, pay a bill, check an invoice: it's all there in a few words and numbers. Just be careful that those few words and numbers are accurate. They won't be accurate if you rush. There is a difference between jotting and carefully recording information. Spend ten extra seconds carefully recording the information with each message and you will save literally hundreds of minutes every month trying to get the mistakes corrected. And your frustration level will drop as an extra bonus.
When your workday is finished, save the pages you have used to record messages and tasks to be done. That is your work log! Glance over it the next time you start a workday and store these sheets in bundles by the month. They become a backup source for reports and even for information searches when you forget to record an important number or email address in a more permanent manner.
There is another value in using that pencil when you are taking a call or reading an email: it will help you to focus so that you get the full impact of the message the first time. It is so easy to get distracted and to think about other things when taking a call or reading a message. The pencil is tangible: you hold it, feel it, gnaw on it, make it move when you write. It keeps you centered for a few brief seconds - just long enough to make sure you have written down the correct information. Oh yes, remember to read back and double check with the other party on the phone the numbers and letters you write down.
The business manager's work life is a bundle of little things needing constant and careful attention. Messages are little things. The phone numbers and internet addresses in those messages are even smaller. But it is of little things that frustration is born and colossal losses of time are brought about. The human fuse finally blows when enouogh of those little things need straightening out. Be off on a return phone call by just one number and the frustration level skyrockets.
Truth to tell, most days in most businesses are rather humdrum. There are many little tasks and details to be taken care of, nothing dramatic. If you find yourself frequently frustrated and ready to scream, take that little pencil in hand and look at it for a few minutes. Then start using it as described herein. Centering on your small tasks and focusing on each piece of information one message at a time will reduce the frustration.
All of that in a pencil!
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