Trust the process

By Zoe Webber, Tender Specialist, Brisbane.

After weeks or months working on and looking at the same project, it can be easy to overlook small errors or let your attention to detail slip. Which is why it’s important to map out the steps that need to be undertaken in order to ensure accuracy and consistency when finalising a submission.

This usually includes:

• Checking through for terminology to ensure a term has been used consistently throughout the bid

• Checking appendix references and numbering

• Checking figure / table captions and cross-referencing

• Running a spelling and grammar check

• Ensuring cover pages and dividers are correct

• Removing highlights and comments.

When it comes to closing out a submission, I have always found it most helpful to set myself a checklist. Depending on my workload or complexity of the tender, this may just be a list of each of the schedules I have been assigned that I cross off as I go, or this may be a more complex spreadsheet with each task that needs to be completed to ensure that I don’t miss a step.

Task paralysis is real, and the feeling of being overwhelmed by too many tasks and not knowing where to start is something I have battled with many times. A close out checklist not only allows me to track my progress, but also allows me to visualise my workload and segment into more manageable chunks. Each time I check off an item, I am able to see what I have accomplished and how much closer I am to being done.

The ultimate check mark comes when it is time for the final PDF and upload where the last item on the list is giving myself a pat on the back and thanking my past self for all her hard work.