/0412 © Business & Legal Reports, Inc. BLR’s Training Presentations Planning & Organizational Skills

/0412 © Business & Legal Reports, Inc. Goals Recognize the importance of being well organized and making effective plans Understand what it means to be well organized on the job Know how to make more effective plans

/0412 © Business & Legal Reports, Inc. Why Plan and Organize? Meet goals Anticipate needs, problems, and choices Make better decisions Be more efficient and productive Develop, assign, and monitor tasks

/0412 © Business & Legal Reports, Inc. Why Plan and Organize? (cont.) Make sure priorities are met Evaluate progress Provide workers with necessary guidance and resources Prepare for crisis and change Achieve better results

/0412 © Business & Legal Reports, Inc. Organize Yourself Prepare for tomorrow, today Check before you leave the house Get an early start Review your schedule and make adjustments

/0412 © Business & Legal Reports, Inc. Organize Yourself (cont.) Check your mail Consult with key employees Check in with the boss Keep key items with you

/0412 © Business & Legal Reports, Inc. Organize Your Work Maintain an appointment calendar Make lists Prioritize tasks Focus on priorities Be flexible

/0412 © Business & Legal Reports, Inc. Organize Your Office Neat work area Manageable desktop Clutter patrol Order vs. organization

/0412 © Business & Legal Reports, Inc. Organize Your Office (cont.) Easy reach zone Maximum reach zone Stand-and-walk zone Storage

/0412 © Business & Legal Reports, Inc. Organize Your Paper Throw it away Act on it Put it aside File it

/0412 © Business & Legal Reports, Inc. Organize Your Paper: Filing Strategies Use comprehensive categories Employ secondary headings File in a continuous sequence Use cross-references Be specific when filing

/0412 © Business & Legal Reports, Inc. Organize Your Paper: Dealing with Piles Immediate action Low priority Pending Reading materials Everything else

/0412 © Business & Legal Reports, Inc. Organize Your Computer Establish a system for naming files Maintain an effective filing system Keep a working folder for current files

/0412 © Business & Legal Reports, Inc. Organize Your Computer (cont.) Organize your Organize bookmarks Clean up your hard drive periodically

/0412 © Business & Legal Reports, Inc. Organize Your Time Prime time Delegation Interruptions

/0412 © Business & Legal Reports, Inc. Organize Your Time (cont.) Procrastination Meetings Phone calls

/0412 © Business & Legal Reports, Inc. What You Need to Plan Staffing Budget Schedules Training Resources

/0412 © Business & Legal Reports, Inc. Why Planning Is So Important Helps achieve goals Provides alternatives Prevents mistakes Gives you a greater ROI Helps you handle a crisis Helps prepare for change

/0412 © Business & Legal Reports, Inc. Types of Plans Immediate Short-term Intermediate-range Long-range

/0412 © Business & Legal Reports, Inc. Elements of a Plan Goals Strategies Schedules Activities

/0412 © Business & Legal Reports, Inc. Elements of a Plan (cont.) Procedures and methods Resources Training Programs

/0412 © Business & Legal Reports, Inc. Planning for the Unexpected Build in flexibility Have a contingency plan Review and revise your plans Evaluate your planning strategies and tactics

/0412 © Business & Legal Reports, Inc. Planning and Organizing Checklist Do you prepare for tomorrow, today? Do you use an organizer and keep it handy? Do you make To Do lists and maintain an appointment calendar? Do you prioritize tasks? Is your office organized for maximum efficiency? Do you manage your paper and computer files?

/0412 © Business & Legal Reports, Inc. Planning and Organizing Checklist (cont.) Are you an efficient time manager? Do you plan carefully and consistently? Do you develop short-term and long-term plans? Do you build flexibility into your plans? Do you always have a contingency plan? Do you evaluate and improve your planning strategies and tactics?

/0412 © Business & Legal Reports, Inc. Goals Recognize the importance of being well organized and making effective plans Understand what it means to be well organized on the job Know how to make more effective plans

/0412 © Business & Legal Reports, Inc. Summary Planning and organizing are two key functions of your job. The better organized you are, the more effective and successful you will be. Effective planning allows you to achieve important goals and get the results you need. Planning also prepares you to deal more effectively with crisis and change.

/0412 © Business & Legal Reports, Inc. Quiz 1.Name three reasons why planning and organizing are important to your job. 2.Being well organized means preparing for tomorrow, today. True or False 3.Identify three ways you can organize your work better. 4.If you are well organized, you should expect to get all the tasks on your To Do list accomplished every day. True or False

/0412 © Business & Legal Reports, Inc. Quiz (cont.) 5.Which items in your office should be in your “easy reach” zone? 6.Identify three steps you can take to better organize your computer. 7.You only need to concentrate on short-term planning. Long-range planning is something for upper management to do.True or False 8.Give three reasons why planning is important.

/0412 © Business & Legal Reports, Inc. Quiz (cont.) 9.Name three elements of most plans. 10.You only need a contingency plan if you’re planning something you haven’t done before. True or False

/0412 © Business & Legal Reports, Inc. Quiz Answers 1.Planning and organizing are important for many reasons, including the fact that they allow you to meet goals; anticipate needs, problems, and choices; make better decisions; be more efficient and productive; develop, assign, and monitor tasks; make sure priorities are met; evaluate progress; provide workers with necessary guidance and resources; prepare for crisis and change; and achieve better results. 2.True.

/0412 © Business & Legal Reports, Inc. Quiz Answers (cont.) 3.You can better organize your work by maintaining an appointment calendar, making To Do lists, prioritizing tasks, focusing on priorities, and being flexible to adjust to changes in priorities. 4.False. Don’t expect to get everything done. Focus on the high-priority tasks and make sure those get done first. 5. Keep items you use most frequently in your easy reach zone so that they will always be at your fingertips when you need them.

/0412 © Business & Legal Reports, Inc. Quiz Answers (cont.) 6.You can better organize your computer by establishing a system for naming files, maintaining an effective filing system, keeping a working folder for current files, organizing your , organizing your bookmarks, and cleaning up your hard drive periodically. 7.False. You need to develop plans for the intermediate- range (at least 3 months ahead) and long-range (at least a year ahead) as well as the immediate future (this week) and the short-term (this month).

/0412 © Business & Legal Reports, Inc. Quiz Answers (cont.) 8.Planning helps achieve goals, provides alternative, prevents mistakes, gives you greater return on investment of time and effort, helps handle a crisis, and helps prepare for change. 9.All plans involve goals, strategies, schedules, activities and tasks, procedures and methods, and resources. Some plans may also involve training and special programs.

/0412 © Business & Legal Reports, Inc. Quiz Answers (cont.) 10.False. It’s always a good idea to have a plan B, a fallback position, in case circumstances change or plans don’t work out as anticipated.