October - December 2010
Partnering

No matter the task, partnering can be the most powerful way to accomplish a task! Working by yourself, you may be unmotivated, not make good decisions or not even get started. Finding a partner is the antidote to procrastination and the answer to completion.

Find the partner who works with your strengths. Not everyone is a good fit! It takes knowing what your needs are and knowing your own strengths most especially. In each situation, assess! With each project, what are you doing well and what is holding you back? Do you want a fresh perspective to analyze? Do you need a partner with technical knowledge? Do you need physical strength and stamina? Drill down to your strengths and the needs of the project.

Partnering at home can take many different forms. Use your cell phone to chat with a friend while doing a task. You can sort or fold laundry, empty the dishwasher, or toss trash throughout your home and feel accomplished. For paperwork there are several different options. You can both work on the bills, one person can pay online, while one can file. Another option is one person can write checks, while the other enters on Quicken. Being creative and effective are the most important aspects of your partnerships. Enlist a clutter buddy to be with you while you are organizing your stuff. This is someone who offers no opinion, but may offer options helping you reflect and focus on the task at hand. Family responsibilities can also work around partnerships. Mom and son cook, while dad and daughter clean up. Think about mixing up the partnerships so everyone partners with different family members for different tasks. Partnerships can be effectively reinforced in your family meetings too.

Partnering at work is vital as well. An assistant can effectively act as a partner in entering dates on a calendar, establishing time lines, and reminding you about upcoming projects. In group projects, use your strengths to get started, focus and complete projects. Make a list of what is needed for the project, and then include group members who will bring that to the table. Confer on your vision of the outcome and then break this into small, manageable, well defined roles. It is the synergy and collaboration of the partnerships that leads to an even greater outcome than originally proposed. In addition, partnerships add accountability with mutually agreed upon dates and direction. The key to successful partnerships at work is setting consistent meeting times with short agendas to keep the work process flowing.

Having difficulty determining where to begin with a new partnership? Start with the tasks you like least, the projects that are most overwhelming, or a spot where you are paralyzed. Now you are ready to find partners!

If I can assist you in assessing or getting started, please connect with me by email, Twitter or my Facebook Fan Page!

    

For more tips on organizing, visit the Tips Archive (left column).

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