If you explain it more than once... write it down

Have you ever explained how to do something... then explained it again... and then realised you’ll probably have to explain it again next week?

That will be your sign that it should really be written down. It doesn't have to be a big manual (and that possibly wouldn’t be helpful anyway), it could just be:

- a straightforward step-by-step checklist with a few bullet points,

- a short SOP (Standard Operating Procedure), or

- a quick ‘how we do this’ document.

The aim is not paperwork for the sake of paperwork, but it’s to make the job easier for you and for anyone else who needs to do it next time. Plus, once it’s written down you, or members of your team doing the task, might start spotting where the process itself could be made simpler.

So here’s a question for you: What have you explained more than once over this last month that would save time if it was written down?