How do you keep yourself organized at work? Remember Chris’ example to this interview question last week? Well, Spark News thought it would be great to actually discuss ways to stay organized. Is your desk spotless, every pen and paper in it’s own specific spot? Or does your work spot look like a tornado has run through and a family of geese had nested before heading south for the winter? There are many ways to keep yourself organized at work, and both methods work depending on the kind of person you are. Here are some tips for how to keep yourself organized at work.
Make a List
I am the type of person who is constantly making lists no matter how easy or difficult a task. The feeling of accomplishment I get when checking something off my list is like no other. If you’ve noticed your work piling up or a number of deadlines all creeping up around the same time, take a moment for yourself. Organize what you need to do in your head and jot each task down my importance and urgency. This way you will have a list handy of the things you need to do and the things you have already done.
Prioritize
Now and then jobs can be hectic and a number of things come up at once making it impossible to focus on one problem at a time. I have definitely been in this situation and have found that not every “problem” is actually a problem. Sometimes things can be dealt with within the minute and sometimes they need more time. Learn to focus your energy on tasks that must get done in the workplace and don’t focus too much on the little things. Prioritizing your time and attention is key in how to keep yourself organized at work.
Plan, Plan, Plan
I’m old school and take my handy paper planner with me everywhere I go to make sure I do not inadvertently miss an appointment or meeting. If you’re more modern and enjoy your online calendar, kudos to you. Either system works for the purpose of keeping yourself organized. A tip I have found that helps me is to sit down Friday afternoon (and again Monday morning) and write/type all my appointments and meetings for the week into my calendar. This way I have an instant reference to go to when I want to see what my week looks like or if I want to add anything to it.
Worst case scenario, if your workload is just too much and no amount of organizing will help, talk to your boss about it. It is better to ask for additional help than try to get everything done at once.
How do you keep yourself organized? Do you find that staying organized at work is really difficult? Tell me about it in the comments or tweet me @nicole_spark.
IMAGE: Courtesy of Alliance Academic
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