I could dump links to articles of interest, telephone numbers of key people related to the project and issues that needed resolving. It was where it really didn’t matter whether things were beautifully laid out or were in any kind of organised list. My to-do list manager told me what work I should be doing that day and my notes app was where I kept all my project notes, things that needed thinking about and things I was waiting for.

My calendar always told me when my deadlines were, where I was meant to be and when. I had my to-do list manager, my calendar and my notes app. When I decided to create an all-digital productivity system in 2009, I adopted a similar approach. As a result of this system, our service department had one of the highest customer service ratings in the country. It was a system that worked and one that led to very few mistakes. Any issues, anything waiting from the parts department and customer requests were all written down on this worksheet. This sheet contained the list of work that needed to be carried out, notes made by the person taking the booking and a place for the mechanic to write what he had done and what he believed needed to be done. When the car came in, however, a worksheet was placed inside the car. Apart from the make and model of the car and the customer’s name, there was not much else on the booking sheet. For example, it might have “full service” or “oil change”. The booking sheet contained only the basics of what work needed carrying out on the car. When they took an appointment for a service or a repair, the basic work required was entered on a booking sheet and a day was assigned for when the car would come in. One of the lessons I learned from the service centre was how they organised their work. The service centre of the dealership I worked at was attached to the showroom and I had a lot of contact with the team that worked on the cars brought in for service and repairs. One area of the business that stood out for me was the service centre.

I learnt a lot in those days about people and about how a business with multiple parts could work together.

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