The words "visual management" are often scary.Too serious, too off-putting, we find it hard to imagine them applying outside the offices of a large company.The reality behind these words, however, could not be more simple and universal.It can be summed up in this old adage: a drawing is worth a thousand words.Sight is indeed, of our five senses, the one through which we process the greatest amount of information the fastest.Visual facilitation (which we prefer to the term visual management) is already present in the vast majority of our daily activities, without us even realizing it.Take, for example, transportation.We know very well that a solid line drawn on the road means that we cannot overtake, while a broken line allows us to do so.No need for a sign that warns us, in full: "you can now pass for 200 meters".Visual facilitation is therefore sometimes as simple as that! Here we have selected five visual facilitation tools, all very simple to set up and with quick and concrete effects on your daily organization.

1.Maintaining motivation: the countdown (aka the b.a -ba of visual facilitation)

Don't underestimate the power of a simple little foglietti! The countdown, placed in a clearly visible way, is an excellent way to not lose sight of your final objective and therefore to give meaning to the small tasks of your daily life.

Choose the next big step for your project, the end of your current project, an important meeting you will need to prepare in advance or simply the launch date of a project you are working on.

Place it in an easily accessible place, where you will see it every day, ideally near your workstation or in a common place if you work in a team.Having to manually change the date every day will help you to be aware of the time passing and the progress made (or the delay!) and therefore to maintain your level of motivation.

Also remember to write down the name of the deadline, on your foglietti or next to it.The simple fact of reading it every day will help you not to lose sight of it.

2.Limiting the risks: the addiction spider

Viewing deadlines to move towards them more calmly is good, but managing to limit the risk of delays to increase our chances of meeting this deadline is even better.To achieve this, we advise you to try the addiction spider exercise.

The Dependency Spider helps you visualize the people or groups of people you depend on to carry out your projects.It can be suppliers, colleagues, a customer who has to send you his order or even your superior whose validation is awaited.

Draw you or your team in the middle and, all around you, all the groups of people with whom you are linked in the context of your work.Try to be quite specific.For example, in the case of suppliers, don't just put a "suppliers" group but draw a group for each supplier.Connect all these sources of addiction to the center of your spider (i.e. you).Ideally, and to maximize the visual effect, do not write only the names, but associate them with symbols, photos or avatars representing these groups.

On a daily basis, as soon as one of these groups blocks your progress or forces you to wait, place a foglietti on the line connecting you.On it, clearly and simply describe the reason for the blockage and its consequences, also note the name of the group at the origin of the blockage as well as its start date.As soon as the blockage is resolved, write on the corresponding foglietti its date of resolution.

Update your addiction spider daily.You can decide to keep it in place for an entire project or over a specific period, for example a quarter, in order to analyze your sources of dependency.At the end of the chosen period, photograph your spider and collect all your blocking foglietti.Analyze them, alone.e or as a team, and, for each, try to see how the blockage could have been avoided or shortened.If the blocks are recurrent and higher in a group, it may be necessary to dig a little deeper...

3.Manage your time better: the interrupt gauges

In the same spirit, you can monitor and analyze the interruptions you have to deal with on a daily basis thanks to the interruption gauges.This exercise will allow you to identify your real sources of interruption and transform a possible feeling towards a colleague, a customer or a supplier into concrete data that will allow you to initiate real change with him.

There are two ways to do it here.One simpler and more concise, the other richer and more documented.It's up to you to decide which one best suits your situation.Draw on foglietti or on a wall (in this case using masking tape) "gauges" each corresponding to a source of interruption.Each time one of these sources interrupts you in your work, fill in a foglietto clearly and concisely describing the interruption and its consequences and place it in your gauge or color a notch of your gauge.

Set either a time limit (eg "I will analyze this information on the 30th of the month") or a maximum interruption threshold (eg "I will analyze this information as soon as a gauge reaches 5 interrupts”), then analyze the interrupts.Try to find solutions there too and offer them to your interlocutor.Beginning the exchange on concrete facts that you have listed rather than on a feeling, by nature subjective and charged with emotions, will be more constructive and better accepted by your interlocutor.

4.Better manage your stress: the stress barometer

Another visual facilitation tool that will allow you to defuse potentially heated or sensitive discussions or situations in advance is the stress barometer.Like all the other tricks presented in this article, this barometer can be used as well as you work alone.e or in team

To make it, take four foglietti of four different colors.Define, in your own words, four levels of stress/zenitude that you are likely to experience.Write each level on a foglietto, according to the color code that will speak to you the most.If you're feeling creative, feel free to add designs that will speak for themselves.

Then assemble these foglietti together using masking tape.Finally, hang this pretty string of moods on a wall, ideally at the entrance to your office.Every morning, when they arrive at the office, let your visitors know your level of stress for the day by moving a small clip to the corresponding foglietti.

If you work in a team, this will be an opportunity to take a minute at the start of the day to find out about everyone's state of mind.e and align with each other.Whereas if you work alone.e, this brief moment of introspection will give you the opportunity to become aware of your state of mind and, if necessary, to remedy it (for example by being a little more tolerant.e with yourself that day) or adapt your tasks for the day accordingly.Reserve more social activities, such as client meetings, for days when you are more zen!

Bonus: One of the great advantages of Foglietto cards over Post-its and notebooks is that you can print on your cards.Here we show you how.

5.Boosting self-confidence: the goal of the day, or benevolent visual facilitation

Simple but effective: take the time to define at the start of the day one thing you want to accomplish today, then write it down on a foglietto that you will keep clearly visible all day.

The goal is not to be ambitious, but to boost your self-confidence by helping you become aware of your accomplishments.To this end, do not throw away your daily foglietti, but keep them preciously, and bring them out punctually to take stock.

Let yourself be guided by your creative streak and create posters of your greatest accomplishments of the month, grouping all your daily goals together.Post it somewhere and, as soon as you feel your motivation and self-esteem flagging, admire it and savor how far you've come.

In summary.

Visual facilitation is made for everyone, whether you are an employee, an entrepreneur, the head of a multinational or your own small business.It is a clear and simple way to communicate and understand information, but also to analyze a situation.

Due to its colours, its different patterns, its small format, its robustness and its modular and 100% flexible nature, Foglietto is the ideal tool to get started in visual facilitation.Know that the ultimate goal of visual facilitation is to make your life easier, so you can feel completely free to imagine your own tools, test them and experiment to find those that will best suit your situation and your needs. your needs.

Many other methods exist, one of the best known (and richest) being the Kanban method.You can also find our article "How to create your Kanban wall in 5 steps" here.

*Some of the visual facilitation tools presented here are inspired by the methods of the agile coach Jimmy Janlén.