3 Quick Tips to Be More Organized
We all get caught up in our daily busy bee life of tasks, projects, deadlines and overflowing email inbox explosion. I am always trying to find ways of improving myself and my organized chaos, as I like to call it. Instead of trying to rearrange every aspect of my daily work life I figured I would start off with trying a few tips out to see if it helped me and so far these 3 tips have helped immensely.
1. Microsoft Outlook Tasks
I found that adding tasks to my task list in Microsoft Outlook has helped to improve my electronic to-do list. Not only can you add the tasks in with details and attachments, but you can set reminders, so they pop up letting you know when the task is due. You can even turn an email into a task and set it with a reminder so you don’t forget. Simply right click on the email and set your reminder in the follow-up section. You can even make a task recurring if it’s something you do bi-weekly or daily; it will pop up based on how you set the recurring criteria.
2. Time Blocking on Calendars
Since I use my Microsoft Outlook task reminders a lot, I try and keep my calendar clear with only meetings or phone calls set with clients and staff. What I have started doing though is blocking my calendar with times that I would like to be free of disruptions. If I have a deadline or a project to work on and I need to dedicate that time then I block my calendar out and name it with the project I am working on. This also helps track your utilization of time. For instance, today I blocked out an hour to write a blog. If something comes up and I am needed, then I can simply reschedule or nicely decline and stick to my schedule. Remember that it’s ok to say “no” to meetings if necessary to stay on track.
3. Setting Up The Day
In addition to my electronic to-do list I like to write out paper lists. I am a little old fashioned in that sense, where I like to write things out because it does help me to organize and remember. Before the end of my day I organize what I’ve taken care of and start a new list for the next day. Even if the list gets longer or some aren’t done as fast, I know that keeping them in order of importance will help greatly. No one likes to have tasks staring them in the face begging to be checked off, but knowing what you have coming up the next day has been a big organization tool for me.
Those are just a few of the things I’ve incorporated into my daily and weekly routines to help keep me organized. We are all different and organize ourselves differently so make sure you try and experiment with what works for you.
Written by Paula Smith, Services Coordinator at DSD Business Systems
