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Tools to Stay on Top of the ‘To-do’ List (Conclusion)

“A laundry/linen manager’s ‘to-do’ list is seemingly never-ending. How can busy laundry/linen managers keep track of the tasks they have to accomplish in a day, and what tools can help them?”

Hotel/Motel/Resort Laundry: Nick Fertig, Rosen Hotel and Resorts, Orlando, Fla.

As a laundry manager, you will often find yourself thinking there just aren’t enough hours in a day to get everything done. We go into every workday with the intention of finally clearing that pesky “to-do list.”

Inevitably, we get sidetracked by one of a million different scenarios that takes up our entire afternoon, and before we know it, the sun is setting and the day is over.

Countless days like this lead me to utilize what has been called a “cascading to-do list.”

Essentially, I take several big steps back and think about the items I want to have complete at the end of six months. Then, I take those action items or goals and break them down into smaller and smaller increments until I have a clear and organized plan that ensures my success.

Twice a year, I will complete my six-month plan exercise. Once complete, I then plan out each of the six months with the action items that must be complete at the end of each month. Planning ahead like this keeps me out of the “weeds” and ensures I stay on task to hit my goals. 

Next, I break down my to-do list into two-week periods. The two-week list clearly identifies what I am working on in the current week and looks ahead to the week following. 

Included in the two-week list are key actionable items that must be complete to hit my six-month plan, as well as typical work items like important meetings, inventories and deadlines.  

Lastly, I create my daily to-do list. This list is updated and revised at the end of each workday. It will consist of three to five items that I need to work on today. I make sure to do everything in my power to complete these tasks.  

Anything that I simply cannot get to goes immediately to the top of the list the following day.  

While this type of to-do list isn’t groundbreaking or new, it keeps me honest and helps me stay on track. Planning six months out and creating your roadmap for success allows you to focus your time and energy into execution instead of working in circles. 

Uniforms/Workwear Manufacturing: Scott Delin, Fashion Seal Healthcare, Seminole, Fla.

Last month, while sitting on the plane returning home from a week of travel to the West Coast, my mind started to wander as I tried to recapture the events of my successful trip.

Looking out the window, I started to think about the tasks and follow-up that needed to be addressed for the customers just visited. As I recaptured my visits one by one, I took a deep breath and slowly started to drift into panic mode: What needed to be addressed and by when? What type of follow-up was needed? What samples, if any, do I need to request and how many? When should I schedule a follow-up meeting? What marketing pieces do I need to develop to make their sales process go easier? Then I thought, How am I going to remember all this?

Being in management, our to-do lists seem to be get longer and longer every day. As we strive for efficiency in our employees, perfection and good customer service, what tools do we as managers have available to us to make our to-do lists less stressful and more manageable? As laundry/linen managers, what can we use to make our day-to-day operations less stressful? How can we make our lives as managers easier to navigate while accomplishing more and being more efficient?

After a long sigh, I took a break to regroup my thoughts by playing a game of Candy Crush on my smartphone.

I’m sorry. What I really meant to say was, after a long sigh, I reached for my smartphone to check my e-mails, and it dawned on me. There are several apps out there that are designed to assist people like myself and busy laundry/linen managers with the daily challenges and tasks we face. I immediately went into action using these apps.

First, I dictated a few reminders to my smartphone “girlfriend,” Siri, reminding me to make a few follow-up calls to several customers I recently visited. Then, I opened up my Notes app and made several entries on specific items that would have to be addressed and why. I also was able to use this app to list some of the obstacles and issues of concern that were presented to me during my meetings.

Last but not least, I turned to my online to-do list and made several entries of tasks and timelines needed for follow-up.

I felt much better about my trip, what was accomplished, and what was needed to make the trip even more successful and productive.

Smartphone applications are one way for us managers to make our to-do lists easier to manage. However, for those of us who do not have smartphones, we have the ability to develop to-do lists on our laptops.

We can also place a whiteboard on our office wall and list projects and timelines that need to be addressed on a daily basis. Another trick to managing tasks is to have morning meetings with our leadership team whether they be daily, weekly, twice weekly or, in some cases, monthly to discuss projects and ways to keep on track with the tasks at hand.

Delegation is another way to accomplish more tasks and stay on course. As successful managers, we surround ourselves with top-notch team members, team members who are empowered to take ownership of some of the tasks at hand and make sure they are addressed timely and efficiently. 

By trusting our team to take the ball and run with it, we not only get more accomplished, we develop a stronger teamwork environment that allows our team members to feel that their input and decisions do make a difference and impact on the tasks at hand, as well as giving our customers the customer service they expect from us as an organization.

As managers, we strive, lead and motivate to get the most from our employees while offering the best customer service to our customers. We need to take advantage of any tool or tools we can to keep us on track of the daily tasks and challenges we face in our day-to-day operations. Whether it be smartphone technology, apps, laptops, whiteboards or just plain old paper to-do lists, we need to take advantage of them all whenever possible. 

It is easy to go off-course and lose sight of the light at the end of the tunnel, but by using some of the ideas listed, the light will remain right in front of us.

Oh, and for the record, by my using these tips myself, I was able to conquer another level on Candy Crush.

Miss Part 1, with advice from healthcare laundry, chemicals supply and textiles experts? Click here to read it.

Have a question or comment? E-mail our editor Matt Poe at [email protected].