Arrrgghhh! You are supposed to follow up with a contact you met at a networking function, but you cannot find their business card!
Or, your boss wants the project on their desk by the close of the business, but where did you put the latest sales report your sales manager delivered earlier in the day?
Does either of these statements describe stress points in your current work day? Do you feel that more effective organization would help you to be more productive while eliminating unnecessary stress factors?
Certainly effective organization of your office will improve your productivity, but getting and staying organized can seem overwhelming. The following tips can help you turn those piles into smiles, eliminate the stress and time wasters of "searching" for needed items, and improve your organizational skills and productivity:
1. The Geico Rule - Set a Timer. Getting and staying organized requires effort over time, as well as effort to get started. So, set a timer for just 15 minutes and work the entire time on filing, sorting, trashing, etc. to organize your work space. If you are on a roll after the first 15 minutes, then reset the timer, and if you are frustrated, then at least you got a 15 minute start. Commit to following "the Geico Rule" - just 15 minutes a day can make the piles go away.
2. The Kindergarten Rule - If you use it, put it back. How many folders are on your desk right now that you put there yesterday or the day before and told yourself, "I'll just put these back later"? All of these "later" folders turn into piles. So, as soon as you're finished with something, make your kindergarten teacher proud, and put it back.
3. The Prime Real Estate Rule - Location, location, location. All of your most used items should be placed or filed within an arms reach. This area, or arm's reach radius around you, is your prime real estate in your work space. Items that you use occasionally should be placed in the next area, just out of arms reach, and things that you rarely use should be placed in areas beyond that - or eliminated all together.
4. The Fast-Food Rule - The value of combos. To gain productive use of your time, organize smaller activities into one block of time. For example, block times during the day to make and return phone calls, reply to emails, complete errands, etc. By completing all of these smaller time activities during one block of time, you will be able to focus on larger priority projects for longer periods of un-interrupted time.
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