OFFICE SENSE 101: STAYING ORGANIZED

Don’t you just wonder sometimes how some people stay organized regardless of how hectic their schedule is? It is even interesting if both of you are on the same schedule and even better, if they have more task than you do, yet they are always organized and are champions of punctuality. To enjoy the office, it is important to have a great sense of being organized.

The truth is; whatever happens in life is all about choice. Making decisions and sticking with it till you get it right. A lot of people have no daily plans on how they want their day to be, they just wake up and join the multitudes of people everyday. They run through the day and suddenly realise they still have not achieved considerable success; they always suffer backlogs from yesterday’s work. This makes it difficult for them to manage pressure from both internal and external customers, sometimes, their emotions takes toll on them.

Let me say at this point that it is possible to be organised regardless of how clustered your life is right now. It can be achieved…you only need to want it really bad! Below are few tips to help you stay organized.

1. Understand your job function. Know what you are employed to do. Know why you are there in the first place. When you know what you are there for, you will know how to mind your own business and concentrate on the important things.
2. Begin by checking the level of your disorganization. Where are you and where do you want to be? Where exactly does it all begin? At what stage do you need to improve?
3. Declutter your whole life….Entire life, everything. Do you keep every piece of paper on your desk, even the ones you do not need? How many times do you read stuff and just slip the paper into the drawer or you just leave it on the table? When a task comes, you just work with that same paper on your desk. Do you find it hard to throw away pieces of paper because you fear you will need them in the future? You do not even know which is important or not, you keep everything! I bet your workspace is filled with all manner of stuffs, pictures, Tea mugs/cups, books, pen, Flowers, files, just about anything and everything. You are virtually living in that space. To be organised you need to practice constant Declutter of stuffs, you cannot use everything and you cannot keep everything. It will only complicate your work speed and efficiency. Take the time to go through every item, paper and know which is important. Which you should keep and discard.
4. Define space for every item. Since you now know which is important, you define space for every item. This will make them easily accessible and help you reach stuffs when you need them without ransacking your whole work space and mixing everything up. Have folders for every paper you need and label them, so that you can keep it for future use. This will help things stay in their space when they are not needed; instead of having them stare at you sitting on your desk. You can use a tin/cup for pencils and pens, label your files, use boxes,portable shelves etc.
5. Plan. Plan your day with the details you already have. Know what you what to do, how you want to do it and when you what to do it. When you wake up in the morning, even on your way to work, think through the task at hand to know how to effectively plan with the time you have. Things can change sometimes due to unforeseen circumstances and emergencies but an organised person can easily cope compared to someone who is disorganized. Plan saves you from confusion and you can cope when monkey are on your back. Don’t just wake up, rush to work and start your day, if you have no plan, you just take things as they come and your whole day becomes jammed with undone tasks. At the end of the day you are fatigued and underachieved. When you start your day on the wrong foot, it has a way of affecting your whole day, your work ethics and those around you.
6. Timing is everything. Time every task on your plan. Assign time to each task, so that you can know when you are likely to finish.  This will you do more in little time, resist the situation of having many unfinished task for the next day. When you start your day with so many of yesterday’s work undone, you experience a pull back and achieve very little. The truth remains that work will keep coming, if you are good at managing your time, you will cope with pressure in the work place. Timing gives you an edge and saves you from wasting time in unimportant scenarios.
7. Know what is important and what is not. This will help you prioritize your tasks, your day and office relationships. This will help spend more time where it is essential and get thins done effectively. This will help you achieve balance without being excessively overworked. If need be, you know which task to postpone and which should never be left undone.
8. Do not forget this is an office….not your house. When you do not know how to draw the line, you can become someone who brings anything and everything to the office; it will only occupy more space. Regardless of how much time you spend in the office, it can never become your house. Knowing things will help you enjoy your work space without clutter.

Hoping you become better organized, achieve more and enjoy your balance!