Staying organized at work can be challenging, especially if you face tight deadlines, increasing demands from your boss and co-workers, and the need to complete multiple projects in a limited amount of time.
If you keep up with all of your tasks, however, you’ll be able to devote more time to fulfilling your responsibilities—and helping others when they need help.
These 11 simple tips will help you stay organized at work and develop better work habits that will make you more productive throughout the day.
How To Stay Organized At Work
1) Start by Planing your week
If you don’t want to spend your entire life running from meeting to meeting, it’s important to take some time to plan ahead. Make sure you have a calendar where you can track your tasks and appointments in order to stay organized. This will save time and effort because you’ll be able to see exactly what lies ahead each day.
Use these tips:
- Plan out your week on Sunday night,
- categorize tasks into manageable chunks,
- break larger tasks into smaller ones,
- block out time for unplanned events.
For example: If planning a party on Saturday afternoon is going to take up more of your time than expected, then schedule less-important items for that morning so you can devote more energy toward putting together a great evening for friends or clients.
How to Stay Organized at Work
- Have a designated work space.
If possible, try to have a designated work space at home where you can keep all of your necessary work items. This will help you to stay organized and avoid having to search for things every time you want to work.
- Create a to-do list.
A to-do list is a great way to keep track of the tasks you need to complete each day. This will help you to stay organized and ensure that you don’t forget any important tasks.
- Use a calendar.
A calendar is a great way to keep track of important deadlines and appointments. This will help you to avoid any last-minute stress and ensure that you can meet all of your deadlines.
- Keep your desk organized.
Keep your desk organized by sorting your papers into folders and keeping your desk clear of unnecessary items. This will help you avoid becoming too overwhelming and stay focused.
- Create a filing system.
Create a filing system for your papers to make it easy to find what you need. This will help you to avoid becoming overwhelmed by paperwork and will make it easy to find what you need
Use a calendar
One of the most effective and simple ways to stay organized is to use a calendar. This seemingly trivial thing has helped many people improve their productivity, stress levels, and life.
First, it helps you manage your time and space better. One study showed that people who used a digital calendar system were 10% more productive than those who didn’t. Also, you don’t have to carry around little scraps of paper and worry about losing them or not having them when you need them. Use your phone—it has everything! Alternatively, if you want a physical calendar but are sick of tracking everyone else’s stuff along with yours (your spouse/partner’s schedule; appointments for your children), try finding one just for yourself—they exist!
Why is It Important to Be Organized?
There are many importance in staying organized at work. One of the most important reasons is that being organized can help you be more productive. When you have a system for organizing your work, you can work more efficiently and get more done.
Another reason why it is important to be organized at work is that it can help you avoid stress. When you are organized, you know where everything is and you know what you need to do. This can help reduce the amount of stress you feel at work.
Finally, being organized at work can help you maintain a good reputation. When you are organized, it shows that you are professional and that you take your job seriously. This can help you build a good reputation with your co-workers and your boss.
There are many reasons why it is important to be organized at work. Being organized can help you avoid stress, stay focused, be more productive and maintain a good work-life balance.
Being organized means having a system for managing your time, tasks, and belongings. It means being able to find what you need when you need it. It means making a plan and sticking to it.
There are many reasons why it is important to be organized. For one, being organized can help you stay focused and on task. When you are organized, you know where everything is and what you need to do, which can help reduce stress. Additionally, being organized can help you save time and money by preventing you from wasting time looking for things or buying duplicates of items. Finally, being organized can help ensure that your work area is clean and tidy, which can make you appear more professional to your coworkers and superiors.
2) Delegate everything you can
Delegating can sound scary, but it makes sense if you think about it. Most of us have one major weakness or another that keeps us from achieving our goals as efficiently as possible. For instance, some people aren’t very organized and need help with that task, while others are always on deadline and need help with time management. Find out what your weaknesses are, then delegate anything you can do for someone else to do for you. Consider hiring a virtual assistant to manage day-to-day tasks or even find a professional organizer who can get your office in order if you’re too overwhelmed to handle it yourself.
3) Take notes during meetings
Taking notes during meetings allows you to take advantage of all of that priceless information shared by your colleagues. It’s also a great way to keep track of topics you’re interested in or have questions about, and ensures you can ask specific follow-up questions later on. Taking notes can also help bring clarity to an otherwise chaotic meeting and ensure everyone involved remembers important details. Even if your handwriting is terrible (like mine), try taking some notes—it may help you pay more attention to what’s being said!
4) Set reminders for yourself
It’s easy to get distracted at work. So when you know that you need to take action on a certain task or conversation, set a reminder for yourself with tools like Reminders in your email or an online calendar. It’s helpful to have those details pushed back into your face—and if you can, do it at a time that won’t cause too much interruption. I usually set reminders for myself whenever I leave a meeting or end my workday; it’s far less disruptive than having them pop up while I’m actively typing away and thinking about something else.
5) Use a task manager
There are a lot of really awesome to-do list and task management applications out there. From Trello to Wunderlist, you’re sure to find something that works for you—and with your team. Whatever application you choose, though, keep in mind that these are just tools: not all of them are going to be organized enough by themselves. Don’t just open an app and hope it magically makes things better. Instead, look for ways to make sure your team is actually using their tools correctly: Is everyone updating Trello every day? If they aren’t, why not? Are they creating tasks that don’t align with company goals?
6) Keep important documents in one place
It’s common to wake up in a fog, but if you give yourself a few minutes to come around and then get started on your big task of the day, you’ll be able to knock it out early. Getting it out of your head will allow you to focus on other things for a majority of your day and will take off some stress as well. Save any small tasks until later in your day so that you aren’t getting distracted by easy wins that won’t do much for overall progress. By doing one big thing first thing, you can make all other tasks after that easier to finish.
7) Schedule recurring tasks
We’ve all got them, those pesky tasks that we do weekly (or even daily) that just don’t seem to get done. Whether it’s filing, paying bills or cleaning out your inbox, these tasks can add up quickly and steal time from your schedule. Fortunately, there’s a solution: automated reminders. Whether you opt for an online calendar or an app on your smartphone, setting reminders for recurring tasks keeps them in front of you so they don’t get overlooked. Bonus: All those hours you save from doing things manually can be put toward more important work—like building your career!
8) Do your big tasks first thing in the morning
If you’re anything like most of us, your to-do list can seem never-ending. Big tasks can feel intimidating and, often, we procrastinate on our biggest goals until it’s too late. Before you let a big project slide, consider doing that project first thing in the morning. Studies show that completing work early increases motivation later in the day and sets a positive tone for productivity.
9) Don’t Multitask
Studies have shown that multitasking lowers our productivity and not just a little. By adding more tasks to our plates, we’re actually making each one take longer to complete. Researchers from Stanford found that it takes as much as 50% longer to complete a task when you’re doing other things—whether it’s checking your email or answering text messages. Keep focused on one task at a time for better results (and happier employees).
11) Make A List
A to-do list is a great place to start. It gets you thinking about what needs to be done and gives you a sense of accomplishment when you check off items on your list. To get started, write your tasks as they come to mind—no need to wait until your head is completely clear (or full).
Just jotting down making a dentist appointment or cleaning out the closet will help keep things in perspective and make sure that nothing falls through the cracks. Plus, studies show that when we are thinking about tasks with time pressure, it helps us remember them later on.
10) Always Clean Up
A messy work area leads to stress and distracts you from your tasks. Try leaving a clean workspace as soon as you’re done for the day; it will make for an easier start tomorrow. If you can’t get everything in order before you leave, take a few minutes to neaten up when you come back in—it will be much easier than trying to re-organize once things have gotten out of hand.
12) Put Your Phone in Silence or Use DND
When you’re distracted by notifications, it’s easy to lose focus on what you’re supposed to be doing. The constant dinging, buzzing, and ringing also have a tendency to make us feel like we need to rush through things so we can deal with whatever’s coming next. It can also cause us unnecessary stress if our inboxes are overflowing or important emails aren’t being replied to in a timely manner. To help avoid all of that and stay organized at work, turn off alerts or use Do Not Disturb mode on your phone when you need to buckle down and focus.
What Happen When You Are Not Organized?
Studies have shown that disorganization negatively impacts our productivity, stress levels, and ability to get things done. It can make you appear less trustworthy in your job or even interfere with social relationships.
The good news is that being organized doesn’t have to be difficult; in fact, it only takes a few small changes in your habits and routines to be more productive and efficient daily.
In addition, adopting a few of these changes will likely lower your stress levels as well (and maybe even improve how much fun you have during work hours!).
So whether you’re running late for an important meeting or burning out from too many emails piling up in your inbox, try incorporating one or more of these 11 simple tips into your work routine.
Bottom Line
The better organized you are, the less stressed you’ll be and, ultimately, your work performance will improve. While there are many hacks out there to make it easier to stay organized and on top of things when it comes down to it sometimes all you need is a great set of tools.
The key to making sure that you can always find what you need quickly is keeping your desk clean and orderly. What if I told you that there was a way for everything in your workspace—from papers to files—to go in one spot?
And once it’s been placed back in its designated location, it’s practically impossible for someone else to misplace or lose? This is where desktop organization systems come into play.
