I’m all in when it comes to continually learning how to help keep myself sharp, but this year’s lessons have been bitterly cold with new concepts like -30ºC (-22.ºF) and terms like #PolarVortex. Thankfully, the birds are now chirping and we can rely on some older terms like spring cleaning.
Spring is not only a great time to clean the office of those not-so-cute dust bunnies, it's also a good time to reinforce or rethink about ways to help keep organized at work. Here’s a list of the 4 tips that work well for me.
1. Tidy Up Your Desk
No surprise that this makes the list. Start by deciding what’s actually needed and throw away anything that hasn’t been used in years. You can also find another place for these items, but your workspace should not be used as storage. Organize in a way that helps you find items quickly and make decisions faster. Once everything’s in its place, make it a habit to return items to where they belong as soon as you're finished using them. Your workspace should always be conducive to making you efficient at your job.
2. Make Lists and Set Goals
Make daily, weekly, monthly, and long-term lists that outline the tasks requiring your attention. You should try to make the list specific to tasks and items that need attention immediately: this shouldn't be just a general list of “work to get done”. As a bonus, you should communicate the status of your tasks to co-workers or managers if applicable: this can help get you early feedback.
3. Manage Your Time
No matter the job or task at hand, each day should include some aspect of scheduling your time. I recently switched positions here at Method:CRM and am using this as an opportunity to introduce some new behaviour to help organize my clutter of work beyond just the basic calendar for time management.
4. Be Realistic
Taking a realistic approach to each facet of your day is critical to your overall organization. Step back and be realistic about what works for and what doesn’t, and even more importantly, about what you can and cannot control. Don’t mislead yourself or others by pretending you've "got it covered" when you don't: doing so will set you on a sure path for failure. Your workspace should work for you, not everyone else. Goals, lists and time management should reflect what you have control over.
That's my list: what are some of the strategies you use to keep organized during hectic periods? Leave your responses in the comment section!
Val