Recently my husband and I celebrated our one-year anniversary by going out for a nice meal. It was a locally owned eatery that offered excellent service, great wine and superbly prepared food. It was a stellar evening all around.

The following night we wanted to use a gift certificate we received for our anniversary at a national chain restaurant. The place was crowded but we didn’t have to wait too long for a table. When we sat down, I noticed the manager was deducting food from a nearby table. As we waited for our food to arrive each one of the tables around us had a complaint about our server. As it turns out so did we, our appetizer took 30 minutes to arrive and our meal came 3 minutes later. The kitchen had to hold my meal and it came out rubbery, like tires - yuck!

I’m not interested in ranting against this restaurant, but the point I’d like to make is about how a disorganized person can cost people in their path time, frustration and they can cost their employer or their clients money. If our server was trained properly, she would have known to punch in the appetizer order before the meal and she would have checked back frequently to see how we were doing. Instead the manager of the establishment ended up waiting on our table and several tables around us.

Here are a few simple tips you can add to your daily life to make everything go a little smoother:

1. Planning and communication are big time savers and help set early expectations so everyone knows what is going to be done for them, and how to manage their part of the project. 2. Sharing information without overloading is another way to make sure expectations are set. 3. Arrive on time. Interestingly, “on time” means different things to different people. For me, “on time” is 10-15 minutes early. For some of my colleagues, it means 1-2 minutes early. There are people that consider “on-time” to be within 15 minutes after the set time, huh?! 4. Decide what the next steps are and who will do which part. 5. Follow up to make sure every one is on track with their piece of the puzzle.

I know these seem simple. Usually by breaking it down into simple steps, it makes the entire project go more smoothly. So, next time you begin a large (or small) project, think about how much time, energy and money your disorganization can cost you if you don’t make a plan. It might surprise you!

Sharon McRill is the President of The Betty Brigade, a full service personal assistance & concierge business based in Ann Arbor. She can be reached at sharon@bettybrigade.com.