The 5 C’s of Discipline for a Project

When you decide to take on a marketing project, or any project for that matter, incorporating any of the 5 C’s will help you with the discipline of staying on task.

Coach
Calendar
Chart
Checklist
Confidence

There are many components to a project and the ones that get the most attention are the ones in the preparation area. They are important; however, once the project has moved from the preparation period into the implementation or the use phase, there are 5 C’s that are critical to the ongoing success of the project and the results.

Coach
Telling someone what you are going to do and asking them to hold you accountable for it will have a direct impact on your actions. Coaching comes in many forms and at many prices, so if you are going to gain the support from a coach, it must match your needs.

Calendar
This is the time you spend on the project to keep it progressing and generating great results. From how often to how long you spend touching the project components will need to fit into your days and weeks. Putting those actions on your calendar increases the likelihood it will happen.

Chart
Having a visual representation of how things are progressing provides you with honest results. Whether you have full metrics or a thermometer on the wall, seeing what is occurring is a great motivator for staying the course.

Checklist
Again, once the preparation is complete, now the real work begins. Many times the preparation of a project is to set up for a repeated action or a system to do its work. Having a checklist to verify the system process or repeated action will help ensure that the project is working as planned no matter who is managing the various parts of the system.

Confidence
If you have confidence that the project you are implementing will create incredible results, then the discipline you need to stick to the tasks will be much easier. Success is a given!

Check out the partnership of a Marketing Expert and my Organizing expertise at www.marketingorganized.com

#31 Congrats and Final Task

CONGRATULATIONS!
... and thank you for participating in the
31 Ways to Get Organized in 31 Days 2009!


I hope this month gave you the opportunity to take on various organizing tasks that have made a difference in your life. While some of them might not move mountains, if you are less stressed, less frustrated and have more time, then you are free to get out there and move mountains!

There's one final task below, so don't leave just yet! I will also be sending you a quick survey and your reply is apprecaited!

Joyfully,
Brenda

Welcome to Way #31!

After a month of doing various organizing tasks, notice what made the biggest difference for you. Which task do you want to finish? or start? Which task will you repeat?

You also learned a bit more about yourself and your organizing style. Did a certain task make you the most energized? Did one save you the most time? Was there a task that you totally avoided because you didn't know how to tackle the hurdles associated with that task?

Day Way # 31 Make an organizing plan for February

* Look at the next month and determine what days you will do organizing tasks. Is Monday the big organizing day for you? Did you like doing one little thing each day?
* Schedule or target tasks you would like to repeat or complete.

* Make sure you are signed up for other Balanced Organizing Solutions eTips and Seminar annoucements.

Response to Comment on #29

Great Comment/Question from Rubbermaid about #29! How to get kids to not leave toothpaste all over the counter. http://blog.rubbermaid.com/

Here are a couple of ideas!

Let's get Rubbermaid to make a toothpaste slide for the front side of the sink. Place it over the edge of the sink and the goal for the "brusher" is to have the toothpaste and (sorry) spit go down the slide into the sink. Then rinse the slide and set it aside.

Another choice is to have a special "toothpaste towel" to wipe down the counter. That clean up is all it is ever used for and it could have a cute tooth or something on it. It could have been left by the tooth fairy at the last tooth under the pillow night with a note about not wasting precious toothpaste.

One last one, get them in the habit of using a kleenex to wipe their face and then use it to wipe off the counter as well. Not as green as the towel, but just tossing out ideas!

#27 Tiny Slips of Paper

Tiny slips of paper. Yes, we all have them and some have them more than others. It's the phone number, the reminder on the little phone memo sheet to pick up TP on the way home, the short to do list of the "really" important tasks for the day and the notes you took about flight times for your next trip.

Here's the problem with tiny slips of paper:
*one of them can get easily lost
*you have to look through the whole stack again and again to find the one you need
*they are different sizes, shapes, color and various stages of "stickiness" if it was a post-it
*most important - they don't send the message of, "I am organized!"

Joyfully,
Brenda

Day Way # 27 Find a different solution for all those tiny slips of paper.
Everyone is different, so here are a couple of suggestions that might spark the right answer for you.
One criteria is that it must be able to travel with you. While there are great desktop and office space solutions using paper, white boards or technology, in the long run you'd likely still make tiny slips of notes.
* Technology - if you have a PDA, do you use it for your tasks and reminders? If not, maybe it's time to increase the use of a tool to incorporate one more function.
* Small Notebook - A little spiral notebook can hold all those "tiny slips" together. You must be disciplined to use it; carry it in your purse, your briefcase, your pocket, etc. The rule is to only write one task on each sheet, which is why it's small. Then you can tear out the one you've finished.
The tiny slips of paper not being effective is one of the reasons Gina Robison-Billups and I created The Accomplishment Journal. It supports more aspects of being effective and organized than just fixing the tiny slips of paper situation.
Check it out at The Accomplishment Journal
If the link is not active for you, copy and paste this link http://www.theaccomplishmentjournal.com * Make your own To Do Chart. It's easy to make a To Do Chart on the computer because you can customize it to your specific needs. It can cover one day, a week, or the span of time you need. Then you can break down the sections to match your common tasks and how many you tend to have for each area.

#23 Organized Thoughts

Your assignment today, if you choose to accept it, is to THINK organized today. It is not a "mission impossible" to change your thoughts and how they impact your actions.

All day, remind yourself that you can make organized choices. Having a focus for the day that you will take more organize actions will change the outcome of your day. You will be faced with it over and over. Here are a few possible times you might have the opportunity to make an organized choice:

Do I throw the coat on the couch or do I hang it up?
Do I call them back now or put it on my to do list?
Should I sort the mail or put it on the corner of the desk?
I have 5 min, should I leave now or wait and hope traffic is OK?
......... and, if you listen and pay attention, all day you will hear the choices. Will your mission for the day be possible? Please let me know!

Also, your computer won't start smoldering in a 30 seconds! :-))

Joyfully,
Brenda

Day Way # 23 Make organized choices!

Organizing Thoughts for Today

I bring simple solutions into my home and life!
I am action oriented and get things done!
My office is efficient and simplified!