How to get organised in your business

Are you swamped by admin, and you don’t know where to start? Is your desk piling up to a Guiness World Record level of Post-It notes? By understanding how to get organised in your business, you can keep everything ticking along smoothly.

There are so many different systems and processes out there, it can feel overwhelming at times. So, we’ve shared some organisation techniques that we use, which might help you too. Let’s start by looking at a method called ‘Runners, Repeaters and Strangers’.

Runners, Repeaters and Strangers

What is this strange system we hear you ask? Well, let’s explain… Runners, Repeaters and Strangers (RRS) is a principle used in lean manufacturing management. It’s a really useful way to evaluate how to focus your efforts for a problem or a project. Anyone can use this organisational tool, including small business owners!

Runners – this relates to daily work activities or problems, but you could also apply it to any projects or processes too. Take a moment to think about your work routine. What you do at work each day? Typical runners, for example, would be the emails you send, the phone calls you make, and regular meetings. It might also involve inputting info into a spreadsheet or a database.
Repeaters – these are the activities, problems, projects or processes that you do less often in your working life. You might have a monthly meeting with your team or a customer. Maybe you have a project that happens on a quarterly basis. But it could also apply to a process you have to follow. This could include completing a form when you need to return something to a supplier or how you refund a customer.
Strangers – these are the activities, problems, projects or processes that you do occasionally. So, for example, you might hold an annual appraisal with your team. You might sometimes organise a special business birthday anniversary event.

When you categorise your activities using the above approach, you can work out what resources are needed. You’ll probably need less planning for Runners and Repeaters compared to Strangers. But you’ll benefit from an efficient admin system for Runners and Repeaters, while Strangers could need different skills and resources.

How to Eat an Elephant

Way before the modern office was even invented, Francis of Assisi’s famous quote sums up a great approach to organisation. “How to eat an elephant” is a goal-setting method to help you overcome overwhelming obstacles. The answer to the question is “one mouthful at a time”.

In other words, aim to do what’s necessary, then what’s possible, and suddenly you’ll be doing the impossible! Start with small steps and break down your work into smaller tasks. You can then work your way through the mountain of tasks ahead of you.

Get Organised with Admin Support

There’s another simple way that you can get organised in your business. Use us instead!
Kelly learnt all these skills from her father at a very young age, as her dad was a lean manufacturing manager. He has travelled across the world helping businesses reorganise and restructure their processes. So, the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree!

Admin Assassin will help you sort your office out. We will set up systems and processes that make your admin problems disappear. Say hello to more time in your life, while saying goodbye to all those dreaded, time-consuming admin tasks. Because life really is too short.

Need to get organised? Get in touch, call 07854 819736 or contact us via Facebook.

Thank you for reading this month blog – How to get organised in your business.
Admin Assassin