Manage your work flow

Lawrence-Selan says you can sometimes tell the difference between financial advisors who have a process in place to manage their work flow and those who don’t. One advisor might ask another with the same workload: How do you manage to meet the demands of your business and still have a family life?

Comments such as these indicate that different advisors with similar workloads generally use different strategies to get through their day, Lawrence-Selan says.

When you have a large number of tasks on your desk, your brain becomes “cluttered,” Lawrence-Selan says. And if you don’t have a structure to manage that flow of tasks, you may try to do too many things at the same time and end up getting less done.

Below are four steps you can take to manage your work flow to increase your efficiency and productivity.

1. Track your core activities
Chart your work flow over a defined period — say, three months — listing all the tasks you perform. Next, identify the activities that are essential to your business. Sort these core activities into categories, such as business building, client meetings and administrative tasks. Then, determine the amount of time spent in each category of activities.

2. Set priorities
Now that you know where you spend your time, determine, which activities are most important. “Remember, your primary goal is to focus on building your business,” Lawrence-Selan says.

Ask yourself: “Which activities have the greatest value? Which activities can I delegate to other team members or my assistant? Which activities can I merge to save time?”

Then, based on the answers to these questions, prioritize your activities according to importance. “Document your workflow to give a clear picture of what you plan to do,” Lawrence-Selan says.

3. Put a structure in place
A re-ranking of your priorities should allow you to put a new structure in place to manage your work flow. Ensure that team members are accountable for any tasks that have been reassigned to them, relieving you of those responsibilities. This delegation will allow you to focus on high-value activities, increasing your efficiency and productivity.

If you have to take care of one-off incidental activities, make sure you do so at your earliest convenience to avoid a build-up of unfinished tasks, Lawrence-Selan says. “Maintain a running list and cross out completed items.”

4. Manage your workflow
Keep tabs on your new workflow to ensure you are achieving the efficiency and productivity gains you anticipated. “Make adjustments if necessary without giving up tasks you should be responsible for,” Lawrence-Selan says.

Your goal is to be better organized so that you can do what you do best efficiently and with less stress.

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