Well, the new year has came and gone. We all had those get organized or be a better planner type goals. At this point, your probably just surviving again. But, organizing is not required to start on the first day of the year. It is also a slow process for a not naturally organized person. Take it from someone who was, and is still working on this. Organizing does not come naturally for me but its its something I have always been obsessed with doing. So, Let's talk about small steps that can simplify your routine, help you organize your day, and eventually decrease the clutter.
Do you have sticky notes everywhere?
GET RID OF LOOSE PAPER.
I use one notebook for one entire year! If your obsessed with dates and tracking, then I would check into trying a bullet journal. (this is what I use for personal planning) I use a loose version of that for my office. I dedicate one whole page to my day. I list my to do for the next day, and write notes or to do's such as call backs etc. As these tasks are completed I highlight them. Ya'll, this has literally saved me a million times. I can go back to a task to make sure its completed, or since its highlighted and not crossed out, it is still legible. YOUR random slips of paper, and your 400 sticky notes are off your desk. (note: I still have obsessions with sticky notes for certain occasions. If I need to keep the note, I can put it in the notebook to reference back to.) Fear of deleting and losing information keeps me holding on to these task lists.
Are you an email clicker?
CHECK THE EMAIL, TAKE CARE OF THE TASK!
Worlds worst e-mailer here! My spam in my personal email is like 300 a day. (I should just get a new email, but did I mention I have delete anxiety?) With my work email, the delete anxiety was really, real. I am constantly keeping "paper" trails to have reference, or proof should I need it. Anyone in a professional setting probably feels the same way I do. I have had to come up with ways to make sure I have the proof, and yet not have 500 emails in my inbox. There are many reasons you should not have a list of emails showing on your inbox. Take care of the task, email a response, delete the email or file it in a folder. DONE. Why you ask? Your email is like a second task list. If its full, your probably missing something that needs to be taken care of. If your inbox is empty, the tasks are complete, or redirected. The response is so that person knows that you have received and/or taken care of the request. The sent mail in my outlook does not get deleted, it shows the original email and the response! Win! P.s. check your email before you leave the office. Then you know you wont leave any thing lingering, unless it is necessary to migrate it.
How many times have you touched that paper?
TOUCH ONE PAPER, ONE TIME!
One of my friends actually gave me this advice when I got my first office job. She was working for a financial company, and I had just began my job as an insurance agent. Like I said, organization does not come naturally to me, although I LOVE office supplies and organizing! I have a right brain left brain personality. So, for me this was a huge revelation. I realized I had constantly shuffled these papers. "Organizing" them by tasks, but failing to actually complete the "larger" and "save for later" tasks. So, I keep a folder of my working files on my desk. I use the small sticky notes on the right of the paper and write the name or subject of the file. This allows me or my office the ability to find it easier. Every day I open the folder, get the top file, and work it, and file it or shred it. If it is still working I move it to the back and move to the next one. If you keep forwarding the intimidating, larger, or more time consuming paper tasks to the back, you will never get to them, and your motivation to finish them decreases.
Did you write your "to do" list?
LIST YOUR TO DO, OR DO IT!
We all know that list, its either every day tasks, or something that you just can't get to. Before I leave for the day I write on the next days page, a list of to do's. That might be the things I did not complete the day before. In Bullet Journal this is called migrating. Migrate your tasks not completed, or maybe rescheduled to the next day. The ideal thing is to complete your list each day. But, things come up, or sometimes there just is not enough time in the day. This migration or future scheduling will help you not forget the tasks when you come in the next day. Most importantly for me, I have been able to not run this list over and over in my brain all night. I can truly leave the day on the desk.
Keep putting off the bigger tasks?
GET THE BIGGER TASK OUT OF THE WAY!
When making my list for the next day, I try to list the things I have to do each day. We have a work list, and its a list of changes that have been created to policies or it might be a new business I created. I have to approve, sign, and send them to the state office (headquarters). This is sometimes easy, and sometimes sends me on a goose chase. So, I often dread it, because it can get me off track, or take longer than the time I have. But, on the days I actually work the list first, it gets done. If I put it off til later, it might end up being last, and then someone else might ask me for something, or a client walk in. Guess what tomorrows list is longer now. Also, notice I did not check my emails first. Email is something I save until I have completed my work list, and those important tasks that need to be done first thing. Once you open your email, you could be in that thing all day long. My emails also create more for my list. So, I just save that task for the appropriate time.
Are you showing up on time?
BEING ON TIME IS LATE!
Let me make this known, reallllly quick; I am not a naturally early person, or on time. :) This is my number one struggle in life. I wake up at 5 am and I am still late. I start a load of laundry, work on a post, or wash the dishes "real quick". I blame my multi tasking, make the most of my time brain. I also work in a job that my time is flexible. I got in the habit of taking advantage of that. It is not necessary for me to be on the money, 8am , on time. But, I noticed me working harder to stay caught up. I made the transition to trying to be earlier. Setting my mood with an empty office, starting those important top level tasks. This also allowed me to be not caught off-guard when someone showed up right at 8 am. Did I mention, control is a thing for me. Not managing my time was managing me. ANY day I do not get started on time, I am in a constant battle to stay focused, or stay caught up. I say that to prove that it is a work in progress...
Are you questioning your sanity?
YOU CAN'T CHANGE HABITS OVERNIGHT!
Trust me, this is not something that you can change overnight. You have been perpetually late for your whole professional career? Maybe you just got worse when you added dressing kids, and daycare drop offs? Your desk is about 10 years of paperwork high? You literally don't write it down at all maybe? Ya'll, I am the weakest link her. I GET IT. I have always been obsessed with office supplies. So, I have always been a manila folder filer gal. But, I am a paper hoarder. I perpetually used the most of my time, and it ended up using me. I have been using a notebook/journal at work since the day I started. There are blank pages, from days I just got thrown in the busy water, and was just trying not to drowned. ( I also know those days I didn't utilize the book, even the too busy to stop and write ones, I felt less productive and more mentally exhausted than when I took the time to manage my tasks.) So, I did not beat myself up. I did not give up. I just set up my next day tasks. Started again. Until, its just becoming normal to write, do, highlight, and move to the next task. Writing my next morning and evening tasks in my personal journal every night, helped me see the time I have, utilize it, and KNOW I MUST LEAVE by this time. I am known by my family and friends to show up late for Sunday school class and be rollin' in on two wheels for any specified time to leave for anything. Hey, we can all be perfect. But, with each day, and the will to start, fail, and start again a few times. You can, and will be a more productive you.
Take it from someone who has had to learn... The hard way.
Check this notebook out to help you get started with your new list keeping. A few images below show you how I use my notebook.
My plain little notebook.
A peak at my daily list.
The "fancy" sticky note filing method.
my desk on a clutter day. The pile on the left is my "working file" the only sticky notes on my computer are reminders about a system change we had, and a few extension numbers I use frequently. I have my mail out holder on the right, and a binder for my sales goals and tracking on the left. (I am also thinking its time for a re-design looking at all the pink, ha. Nothing has changed since I was 23, 7 years ago.)