Restaurant Management Productivity Tip: Why Every Great Manager Uses a Notebook

Do you want to know how I really do it? Do you really want to know how to be able to wear so many hats and have so many responsibilities at once and still be successful and feel like everything is easy? Do you want to know the real reason I make it look easy? The answer may surprise you.

I don’t believe in “secrets” of the trade – there’s no such thing. Nothing here is secret, just unknown. But if there was something that felt like a secret hack to the trade, it would be this – the notebook.

At all times, I keep a simple, pocket-sized notebook in my back pocket with a pen inside. That’s all it is. That’s the whole secret. But you wouldn’t believe how many times it’s saved me from forgetting everything. Ever since using this pen-and-paper method, I’ve been able to save myself so much mental work and stress in the restaurant, and if there was one practical piece of advice I’d give to the starting manager, it would be this.

Here’s how it works: every time someone tells me something important or gives me any info at all, I write it down as a bullet point in the notebook. The reason is because I know I will forget everything. When I am done with the task, I cross off the task from the list. When I have crossed off all the tasks on a page, I tear out the page. You don’t need to do the tasks in order, just review the tasks and always be thinking about which task you can do right now. Your productivity will increase tenfold. Just remember to always have a pen with you, or you will fall into the same trap as before.

We’ve all been there – an employee tells you they need next Tuesday off for a doctor’s appointment. You make a mental note, because you are busy and then don’t remember the fact until it’s far into next week and you’re short-staffed on Tuesday because you completely forgot that fact when you were making the schedule. Many managers ask people to text them instead of give them verbal information, but so much gets lost in even text.

What you need to do is have a little notebook into which you can write your bullet-point info that you know you will forget. You cannot trust your mind to be able to keep track of a million things at once, so don’t even try to keep track of any of it in your mind. Don’t try to process any of the info until the end of the day. Just write it all down, and, at the end of the day, review your notes and see what you need to get done. When you have some slower periods at work, whip out the book and start going through your to do list of all the things from the past few days that need to be done. All at once, you can sign people up for orientation, file I9’s, order inventory, etc. Don’t rely on yourself – your mind isn’t reliable in these moments, and you need not be ashamed to say it. Help yourself by writing it all down and let the book do the organization for you so that you can focus your mind in the moment.

You may say to me – “Hey, isn’t this just a normal to-do list? Aren’t you sort of re-inventing the wheel here?” Yes. It is exactly that simple. That’s why it feels like a secret in plain sight. Because nowadays we have so many organization apps and productivity hacks, we forget that there is such a simple way that works better than all of the above. Keep it simple – a list of things to do. Do you really already practice something so simple? Or are you trying to make it seem more difficult than it really is?

As a related sidenote, this is a great tool to use for when you are ordering truck. On all our truck orders, there are items that are crucial, but not ordered often, whether it be certain size boxes, tools, or produce. Have piece of paper attached to a clipboard in the office that is solely for the purpose of remembering these items. Whenever anyone in the store sees that you are running low, write it on the paper. It makes ordering truck significantly easier, because in addition to the main bulk of the order that it always necessary, you will not have to search the store multiple times ensuring that you didn’t forget the small stuff.

This tool has been such a life saver in my professional life that I find it to be the reason I stay on track in my personal life as well. I keep a separate notebook filled with all the things I need to get done in my daily that I seem to forget until it’s too late. No matter what I need to get done, whether big or small, I just write it down. Then on my day off, I just start going through the list and getting them done: get groceries, get car oil changed, tell Mom thanks for the socks, etc. It may seem daunting to use your day off work to do more personal work instead of prioritizing relaxation, but I promise you that this is an element of setting yourself up for success. You will feel significantly more stress-free if you live your life knowing that your to-do list is only getting smaller. It may take some faith but there will come a day where your to-do list ends and you can truly sit back and enjoy the day. Although the list may never end at work, you can still come to work in a good mood more often and enjoy your job knowing that you are productive and helpful to yourself in getting work done. And that’s really what this blog is all about – de-stressing yourself at work little by little.