Productivity is all about efficiency and doing more with less. With increasing demands from today’s work landscape, it has never been more important to adopt new and efficient ways to be more organized at work. Success is a result of daily action, long-term planning and efficient organization. Organizing your daily work helps you gain more control of your time so you can plan and complete the tasks and projects needed to achieve your goals.
Yet, being organized isn’t just about meeting deadlines or individual goals. When employees manage their work efficiently, the whole team benefits too. If you are looking for tips on how to stay organized at work, we’ve got you covered, with ways to better manage your time, tasks, and performance. Here are seven things you can do to begin moving in the right direction.
Create a routine
Especially when working from home, you’re likely to encounter obstacles and distractions. Having a regular routine will help diminish those setbacks and focus on optimizing performance and being more consistent.
Setting up a routine is key to improve concentration, keep work organized, and maintain a high productivity level. By structuring your day efficiently, you are more likely to achieve better results. Some people get things done most effectively before lunchtime, while others tend to get their creative burst of energy in the evenings. Consider when you work best, and, if you can, group your tasks into the time of day that makes the most sense for when you will best complete them.
Keep your desk organized
Your desk is your main workspace and should strive to keep it clutter-free. Desk organization has always been difficult for many employees that work from home or at an office. You should start by getting your layout right. Your monitor should be in front of you at eye-level and put frequently used items, such as your phone or supplies, on your dominant side to avoid having to reach across.
Keep the supplies that you use every day on the desk and keep items that you use less in a drawer. Only keep relevant and active projects and documents on your desk. At the very least, tidy your desk before the end of the workday so you don’t have to do it in the morning when you’re ready to work. Overall, keeping your physical space clean and your virtual workspace organized will help you stay more focused at work.
Keep your data digital
Every industry is moving further away from the need to print and keep paper documents. While some sectors still require hard copy backups, do all you can to keep your work stored digitally. Also, avoid adding things to your desk area that can be used on your computer instead. For instance, while you could get a large paper calendar to set on your desk, use a digital calendar instead to access from your computer or phone to keep up with your work.
Keep your inbox clear
Emails can pile up quickly. If you miss a day or two, you can be looking at hundreds of emails, many of which contain important content. Checking your email or responding to emails should never overwhelm your work. It is key that you stay on top of things so that they don’t become yet another problem to solve. Schedule at least two blocks in your day where you will check your email and find a system that best works for you. This way, you will always have your inbox organized and clear.
Put time limits on your work
Putting a time limit on your work means that you decide in advance how much time you are going to spend on a given task: you may set it to a certain number of hours and not a minute more. If you want to increase your productivity before any new task you start, put a time limit on your work. You will quickly see how effective you will become after setting a specific amount of time to do the job. Limiting the time that you spend on a specific task, not only saves you time, but also makes you more conscious about how you spend your time.
Choose five priorities each day
The key to choose your priorities intentionally is to plan your day or week before it starts. Multitasking can greatly decrease your productivity. The best way to avoid it is to choose only five priorities each day and stick to them. This will make you a more proactive person since you won’t be distracted by other “urgent” things. Starting your day knowing exactly what you need to start working on will increase your chances to getting work done and not get distracted or overwhelmed.
Create a centralized to-do list
Creating a to-do list is just the first step to organize your daily work. It helps you prioritize your tasks and visualize your work to efficiently increase your performance. You may prefer to write tasks down on paper or use websites developed to keep your work on track, such as Airdesk. Airdesk allows you to see all your tasks, update their status and mark them as completed. You can organize your to-do list by distinguishing priority levels. Keeping your to-do list centralized and accessible wherever you are, enables you to keep track of tasks and gain more control over your work.
Becoming more organized at work brings many benefits, including better performance, greater productivity, and improved skills to solve problems. Take active steps to organize your working environment, so that you can easily find everything you need, and focus on completing all your tasks. These tips will hopefully help you feel more organized and in charge at work to efficiently achieve your goals.
