In the Mood for writing – yes? What even in these cold dark days? You must be special, because most of us struggle with writing, particularly when the weather is grim and the days are short.
The planning and fieldwork stages of an audit are what we are trained to do, and we can execute these stages effectively. But when it comes to writing the draft of the audit report the problems start. There are a several good reasons for that:
Many audits are also under pressure to deliver because if any time has been lost during the review, then it’s the end stage of the audit that gets hit. That’s the audit draft report.
There is also a feeling of tension. What will my report look like, how will it be received, will it be criticised, will I get ‘pushback’?
So a couple of tips:
Engage as a team with one of our report writing courses. They’ve been around for years and have kick-started many an auditor’s report writing career.
Mood
Know yourself. If you are a ‘morning person’, ‘a lark’, an ‘early bird’, or, in Scandinavian countries, an ‘A-person’, who tends to get up early in the morning and goes to bed early in the evening. Then clear the desk and start writing first thing in the day.
If, by contrast, you are a ‘night owl’, ‘late nighter’, or, in Scandinavian countries, a ‘B-person’, that tends to find it difficult to get up. Then do something manual like organising your notes or updating work-papers or organising travel to start your day, and when you get into your swing – later in the day – then clear the desk and start writing.
Food and drink
If you are thirsty or hungry when you are trying to write, then you will find an excuse to get up, wander off to get a cup of tea or coffee and when you sit down again, you will have lost the mood.
Go get that drink or snack and get it out of the way. Then start your writing. And, if you get going you will probably find that cold cup of tea, alongside you, later in the day. That tells you that you really were able to concentrate!
Noise
We all know that noise in the background, like two people talking, or phones ringing, or your email going ‘ping’ robs you of your concentration at the vital moment. Just as you were about to put down that vital phrase – you’ve been diverted.
So why not find an empty room, grab a laptop and head for a quiet space, or work from home – to cut down on those ‘open office’ distractions. You know it makes sense, you just have to get organised.
Try it out. Our team always does it. We get our reports written in a third less time that way.