Sue Burzynski Bullard’s advice for editors: Do what you say you’ll do — by being organized

This guest post by Sue Burzynski Bullard continues a series on advice for new top editors in Digital First Media newsrooms.

Sue Burzynski Bullard

A piece of advice someone once gave me became my rule to live by as an editor: “Always do what you say you’ll do.”

Sounds easy, doesn’t it? But the transition from being responsible only for you to being responsible for others – reporters, copy editors, and photographers – isn’t simple. Suddenly, the demands on your already packed schedule get even crazier. Everyone wants you. Everyone needs you. Right now.

And you want your team to be able to depend on you.

So “do what you say you’ll do,” or to “be where you say you’ll be” means getting organized. And if your idea of organized is smacking Post-it notes all over your computer, you’ll quickly discover you need a better way.

Here are a few digital tools that may help you:

• Use a calendar. I prefer Google calendar because it’s simple to use and it connects with my Gmail account, contacts and other Google apps. Google has a slew of training videos on how to get the most out of your calendar. One of my favorite features is setting up text message alerts for events in my Google calendar. Check out these tips for using Google calendar from BetterCloud.

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