WRITING LISTS

Several years ago, I was in a small group of individuals: three men and myself.  It was formed because one of the men and I had Friday morning coffee and donuts together.  We struggled with a concept: the phone both dictated and interrupted the course of our day.  We both agreed we were out of control every day and did not accomplish what was originally planned.  He suggested we engage a few other local entrepreneurs/business people in the community.  We started meeting for breakfast.  One of the men dropped out.  We met twice a month at 7 AM- no matter the weather.  Our spouses could not appreciate the importance of these meetings.  We certainly did.  You learn a lot about people when you meet twice a month for 7 years.   Our focus and core thread was our desire to make good choices, follow through with customers, build a stronger business following, and learn new ideas.  We also shared many similar traits. We shared business practices, challenges, selected books to read and review, and a few personal characteristics. We were willing to reach out to the community and sometimes work together to bring the community together for meetings and special events and fund raisers.  

Our tasks, meetings, and ideas could not have been accomplished without having lists.  One of the men kept a small notepad and pen in his pocket.  He wrote the items he wanted to accomplish each day for his store and crossed them off his list as he completed them.  He made sure he finished his list by the close of business.  The other man created his list on Sunday evening for the work week.  His list included his clients, meetings, calls to be made and he was strict about ending his day at 4:30 pm.  I developed my list on a lined sheet or note pad each day.  I highlighted my accomplishments - they were easy to read at a glance.  I also used an agenda-a weekly planner each year-and kept record of all my appointments and meetings.  I used sticky notes in my home.  I placed them on my bathroom mirror and on my kitchen cabinet so I was exposed to my primary annual target.  My note:  'Why 90?' - very simple.  It meant the minimum magic number for annual sales I strived toward.

Outlook is another method of creating lists.  I usually prefer my written lists.  I have been successful with them and generally practice using the 'sun down' rule of getting everything done by the end of the day.  I struggle with this one due to the nature of my business which can be 24/7.  I will strive for more efficiency and know much of my continued success throughout many years has been the result of my handwritten lists.