Fanatical Over Forms

We always say that to be organized and more productive, you should think like a lazy person. Constantly ask yourself how you could do things faster, better...or not at all!

Forms are one of the best ways to save time and gain efficiency. I daresay I am in love with forms. If you're doing something that might ever possibly need to be done again in the future, it's likely worth the time to invest in creating a form. Forms help you capture what you need to know, capture what you learned about the process, and communicate the information easily to others.

Last Saturday my son had a bunch of boys over for his birthday, and we were going over to our new neighborhood burger joint to pick up their lunches. For each boy we needed to know if they wanted a small or large burger, whether they wanted fries, what kind of milkshakes they wanted, and what they wanted on their burgers. Since we really like this burger place, I figured we would be doing this again at another party in the near future... and I didn't want to stand there embarrassing my teenage son like a diner waitress asking each person and waiting around for the answers. So I did a quick table in Word, printed it out, and had them fill out the form in writing with exactly what they wanted. They passed it around quickly and completed it, and I came back for it in a few minutes. I saved the form on my hard drive knowing I would definitely be glad to have it.

The burger place employees were really impressed because we just handed them the form and they were able to fill ELEVEN orders in no time with no confusion. I think if this burger place is smart they will make a form like this of their own and put it on their website... there are many office lunches and other times when people might want to do the same thing we just did.

I have checklist forms for the kids when they pack their suitcases and forms to send notes to the school office, along with many forms for running our business like procedures for wholesale orders of our products, etc. In fact, as a bonus for my readers, I have just put my "Note to School Form" on our free tips page for all of you to have! It's on our flagship Clutter Diet site where we have our online coaching program, and it's on the left side of the page when you go there, in a list of other handouts. It's a way to quickly communicate school absences, dental appointments, early pickups, etc. without reinventing the wheel every time.

I might add that another way to gain efficiency in your life and work is to make sure you know how to use the software applications you have. I have never regretted one minute I spent taking classes on how to use my word processing and spreadsheet software to intermediate and advanced levels. I can whip out tables and forms in record time and filter and sort things with ease.

What forms have you developed in your life to make things easier? Share in the comments!

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Comments

[Pat]

Great hint about forms. I can think of several forms I need to make right now!!

[Scott]

I think I will have to have a burger today! Great idea especially for the office lunch go-getter, and of course the possibilities are endless....I would like strawberry shortcake with my order please!

[Clyde Lerner]

Wow - 11 burgers at once. Glad it was multiple people, not just your son ;-)! Awesome piece as always. Since I eat out a lot, I have a note in Act! what I order most time and just call restaurant from my notes.

BTW, speaking of forms, I recommend Google's latest free Doc product - Google Forms. It's a free alternative to Survey Monkey, which allows you to survey clients and see what they want. It's a "rough draft," but I'm sure will get better quickly.

www.ClydesBlog.net
www.ClydeOnTwitter.com

[Carole]

Wow, you are crazy for forms! I use pen and paper and lists. I guess the cleaning checklists in my ebook could be considered a form. Just a different use. Interesting.

I guess soemone could make forms for local businesses as a way to make some money ;-)

You have me thinking....

[Sherry]

We are retired and travel in our motorhome very frequently. I have a form for myself and one for my husband on what needs to be taken care of before each trip, what to load, what to turn off at home, etc. It really organizes our chores.

[Liz]

I used to use a form for meal planning and grocery shopping. It got so complicated that I turned it into a spreadsheet and eventually a database! Took some work to set up but it was well worth it. You can see it (and try it for yourself) at http://www.DinnerBeat.com .

[Peggy]

I have a grocery list. It's listed according to the aisles in my store and the most common items I buy.

I also have a fishing/hunting packing list for my husband, he always forgets something.

[Tiffany]

Though it's not on paper, I have way I plan for groceries. I always do it in the same order. The day before I go to the store I go through my kitchen and create an inventory what I do have and a list of "everyday groceries," the groceries I always need such as drinks and snacks. I check everything I don't need for recipes to make sure it's all in stock.

The next day I check my work schedule to see how many kinds of meals I need (crock pot for longer work days, regular meals, quick meals, specific lunches, etc.). My husband and I always have different schedules and I have different recipes I can use for each situation. From my recipes and the inventory from the day before I can quickly add to the original grocery list and sort by aisles of my store. I can have everything planned in two fifteen minute periods! It makes the next week or so a whole lot easier, and I don't buy more than I need! It saves me time and money.

[Perla Zapata]

I have a grocery list, a trip list (what to pack and what to check before leaving), a favorite restaurant and favorite foods list (I usually forget what I ordered and if I loved or hated it), I made several lists with my first baby: what to pack for the hospital, what to have at home for baby and me (and I have used it two more times, since I have three girls). My life is really cluttered, so having these lists really realieves stress.

[Dane]

This post is so helpful that I've added you to my Google Reader to remind me to visit your blog frequently for more insightful tips. I love that you used a specific example from your own life (burgers: brilliant!), it really brings the principle to life. And how great that your reader chime-in with helpful ideas of their own (mobile home excursions: perfect!).

~Dane
http://www.BionicButler.com

[Genny Esterline]

Totally agree with this post! A time saver in the long run. Having recently blended 2 homes into 1 we are now trying to remember all the different bills we each have and when we need to pay them. Excel sheet now in the making. Thank you.

Genny Esterline
www.connectionsforwomen.com

[Kathia Emery]

I love your form idea. I've been doing this for my business for years, and last year developed what I call an "Event Planning Checklist" for dinner parties and other entertainments that we host at our home. The whole point of it was so that my husband would realize that schmoozing with guests (his contribution) is important, but that there are 27 OTHER things that need to be done, NOT INCLUDING THE FOOD, prior to any event, and he wasn't aware of any of them because I always routinely do them.