Tips For Organizing Your Work Life

Tips For Organizing Your Work Life

It's the beginning of 2018 and I feel as if  I'm running around like a chicken with its head cut off. Staying organized is a never-ending task. It seems impossible to stay on top of things when you have deadlines and projects piling up.When being pulled in a hundred different directions, try out these simple tips that will keep you on track and on top of your schedule. Here are 5 tips on how to stay organized when you have a busy schedule.

Create A To-Do List

Before you start your day, create a detailed to-do list of everything you need to accomplish. Whether it's on a piece of scrap paper or in your planner, you are not relying on yourself to remember and you have one less thing to keep organized. Just write it down and nothing will slip the cracks.

Find A Pattern Of Your Work Flow

We are wired to love routines! Even though things feel chaotic, there's really a pattern somewhere in there. Open up your calendar to find it. Are weekends fairly slow? Do you have deadlines due by Tuesday? Or are you barely keeping your head above water come Thursday? Are Mondays and Wednesdays your busiest days? If you have something due, block out time during a less busy part of your week. Organizing ahead can cut down on the all-nighters and late deadlines.

Prioritize

When working on a couple of projects, you're going to need a designated spot on your desk to keep everything on track. Stack with a purpose! Have a dedicated small shelf or basket for pending projects and stack them in order of deadline. Create a second file if the deadline isn't today. When your projects are organized by importance you will not have to worry that something will slip through the cracks.

Don't Let Things Pile Up

It's very hard to stay focus when you are busy with many tasks. Don't put things off. If you can do a task in less than five minutes do it right then and there, instead of making a pile to be filed later. At the end of the day, put things away and get items you'll need for the next day. Those little steps keep things in order and keep the chaos down to a minimum.

Break Up Intimidating Tasks

When we have a heavy workload or big project we tend to procrastinate. To keep yourself on track, break up work into smaller manageable tasks. By breaking up big tasks into smaller ones, you fight the urge to procrastinate and it keeps you on task.This will help you to focus on what's important and which items can be delegated to improve the workflow.