Time Management: Do it once, right!

Too much time is spent redoing things after they haven’t been done correctly. Shivani Gupta gives advice on how to ensure your business only does things once. 

I was having a coffee at McDonalds before a client meeting in Sydney. I watched two young staff members putting stickers for a new promotion on tables.

One was in a hurry, not caring much, slapping them down everywhere. The other took a bit longer to put the sticker in the centre of the table. I asked the young women why she was being so careful. She wisely replied beyond her years “because I only want to do it once”.

We can apply this wisdom to our businesses. The benefits of doing things only once in business are obvious; improved productivity, customer satisfaction and staff satisfaction.

At a micro-level, how many times do you look at an email, start to think about it and then store it away to deal with it again later?

At a macro-level, having a clear company or team vision will help you and your staff to do things once. If everyone is clear on where the company is going they will be better equipped to choose the right tasks and to do them properly. If that vision is matched to your values and those of your staff then you and they will find it naturally easier to do things right the first time.

As leaders it is our responsibility to make sure everyone in your business is clear on their specific role and that the roles align. Here are my three tips to help ensure your business only does things once.

1. Give people a job description or lists of key tasks (depending on how they work best) along with outcomes and targets.

2. Make sure staff are trained and have the right skills. Cutting back on training may appear to save you money but it is a false saving if there is costly re-work.

3. Allocate some time to look at where re-work is occurring in your business and to simplify systems generally. Get your staff to tell you where re-work is occurring. Tackle the top three areas and measure your success. Repeat the process.



Shivani Gupta is an author, key note speaker, and personal and business coach. She is a successful businesswoman and the founder and CEO of Passionate People Institute. Shivani has won several awards including Telstra Young Businesswomen of the Year. She has a passion for inspiring and challenging women to lead the life they want to live.