Are you the office worker who claims that even though your work area is a mess -- you know where everything is and you can lay hands on all the important pieces of paper you need at anytime? Hard to believe. The truth is you have no idea what's under all those piles of papers -- you just think you know.
It's time to get organized! Getting organized is a way we can get in control. Being organized or being disorganized is a choice we make. New tasks and problems keep on coming but, until we organize our work and our work area, we can't deal with them in an orderly fashion.
After a few weeks, piling papers on top of papers, and piles on top of piles, your "filing cabinet" (read: brain) gets full. Your brain can only hold so much important information at one time. Every time you add another item to be "filed" in your brain, you shift something else further back. Something's got to go. It may even be something essential -- but you can't really keep track of all those piles of paper on your desk and in your office. So, here's a few time saving techniques and tips that may help you.
Get three empty boxes. The first box is for stuff you can pitch. The second is for stuff you need to keep & store. The third is for stuff you need to handle. You have to go through everything and make a decision -- but once you have everything separated -- you're already more organized than you were before. For some of us, the hard part is next. You have to follow through. You pitch the stuff, store the stuff you need to keep, and then you have to take the time to prioritize the stuff you need to handle in the order of importance -- and then -- handle it.
Having trouble finding that document file? You may want to think about cleaning your Word or Word Perfect files that are no longer needed. Can you lump all your form letters into one folder? Use sub-folders, label them, and consolidate the files you can. You can do the same with Access and Excel. Get rid of anything you don't need. If you have a hard copy and an email about the same thing -- one of those can probably go.
Is the phone making you crazy? Are your email requests driving you up the wall? Do you feel like you just can't get that project done because of the phone and emails? Try closing your door to focus on your work. If you can, put your phone on "Do Not Disturb" and your messages can go to voice mail. Don't take any calls unless it's an emergency. Return your phone calls twice a day. Try 10 AM and then again at 2 PM. Remove your "notification" message on your computer that notifies you that you have an email. If you do that, you won't be as distracted. Here's a drastic idea -- Don't even open your email until 10 AM. (I just made myself crazy). If you can do it, you'll be able to focus with no email distractions. Taking care of your phone calls and emails twice a day instead of "as you go along" might give you the space you need to complete that project that seems to never end.
Here's one more tip -- Stop work 10 minutes early. Clean up and get ready for the next day. Use the time to dust off your desk and computer, put those paper clips back into the container, put the pens into the pen holder, clean out your coffee pot, water your plants, and wash the dishes you left in the sink. Straighten up your office area, and make a list of the things you need to do tomorrow. You'll probably feel better when you walk in the next day.
There's an old phrase -- "the pot is calling the kettle black" -- I know I have no business telling you how to take care of your business -- until I take care of my own. I need to straighten up my own work area, my own messes, my own computer that's jammed with old document files and old emails, and so on and so forth. I'm feeling like I've lost control of the bus I'm driving, so I've got to get busy.
Now...give me a minute...let me think...Where did I put those boxes to throw all this stuff in? I know they're around here somewhere...