Last week, Emily packed her trunk to go to Pony Farm Camp as a Counselor in Training (CIT). Similar to when she attended as a camper in previous years, there was an extensive list of things to take for her month-long adventure.

My job was to get everything through the laundry. Her job was to gather everything on the ping pong table in the family room so we could review it together and make sure she had what she needed.

But the afternoon before we left, there were still many items on the list that were missing. When I asked Emily about them, she said she still needed to use them before the trip – things like her cell phone charger and toothbrush.

I have to say, this caused my brain to lock up a bit – it meant that I was going to have to help her remember several last minute and important items the morning we were leaving. A morning, I don’t mind telling you, that was already filled with things like picking up the rental car, feeding the pets, and trying to get out the door on time.

So I made a decision – for the final 12 hours at home, the ping pong table would become Emily’s “base of operations.”

We moved her cell phone charger there. We moved her cosmetics bag there. We moved everything we would be taking there. In other words, Emily lived as if she had already left for camp … even before she actually did!

I use the same approach with clients when helping them move to a new way of doing things: Everything moves, 100%, as soon as possible. The alternative is bedlam.

Can you imagine, for example, trying to move to an electronic calendar when you’re still writing in your paper version? You don’t know which calendar is up to date so you have to keep checking and cross-referencing both.

Or how about a new billing system? Keeping some customers in one and some customers in the other as you slowly transition is a recipe for disaster.

The point is, even if you’ve put in the effort to get the new system 90% of the way there, you can’t have confidence that it’s accurate – because it’s not. And this is why so many efforts to change how we work fail. You have to be 100% in, as soon as possible.

With that in mind, and whether it’s a new calendar system, contact management software, project management tool, or something else, here’s how to make your move a success:

1. Commit. Make the decision that this is the right thing for your business and don’t look back. Second guessing is a waste of time and hinders progress.
2. Make the time to make the move. Set aside an entire day. I know that sounds like a lot. But I guarantee that you’ll waste far more than that with all the back and forth and after the fact fixes if you don’t.
3. Be thorough. If you’re moving your calendar, move every appointment, every birthday and every event that you have in your paper calendar. Don’t say “I’ll do the birthdays later.” We both know that won’t happen!
4. Get the support you need. Make sure you have someone with experience to answer your quick questions while you’re making the move. There’s nothing more frustrating than wondering if you’re doing it “right” while you’re in the middle of doing it.

Making changes in the way you run you business can be daunting. Still, they need not be frustrating and painful. Prepare before you move and then get to 100% as fast as you can!