Are you as productive as you should be?

Are you organized?

Are you feeling overwhelmed?

You know the old saying “10 minutes of preparation saves hours in execution” – I hate to say it but it is SOOO true, being organized is a must!

I am writing this on a Friday because you have a few days to work on it but you can really do this on any day of the week.  If you are feeling a bit overwhelmed and feel like you are not being as productive as should be during your “work week” try getting organized.

It does not matter if your office is in your home, in a space in your garage, or you rent an office space – the “ambiance” is one of the biggest factors in your productivity.  A large contributor to this is being organized in your space.  Here are some suggestions you can use to organize your space:

• Clean your desk (this is a hard one for me) – think organized while cleaning it off
• Clean out any drawers you use – desk and file drawers – get rid of old unneeded files and be more organized
• Places items you use a lot around you within arms reach, like computer, phone, fax, printer and office supplies – so you are not getting up and down – be organized
• If you have others working in your “space” get totes or boxes for each person so you can put “to do” papers in there for them – get them organized too
• Create separate places for personal papers & “to do’s” and your business papers & “to do’s” – be organized
• Be sure you have a clear and simple filing system in place (maybe color code folders for easy recognition) – be organized
• Create a comprehensive list of outstanding items to be done – from small tasks to full projects – once they are all noted ~ put a letter or number prioritizing them and indicate realistic time frames.  Based on the priority level recreate your list and set up a plan to get them completed. – tough but definitely organized
• Start a Tickler-File – you will use this to track when and what to do.  (I will give instructions on creating or buying a tickler file next week)

Above is a short list to get you started on being organized.  We don’t want you starting this clean up project and feel overwhelmed. Creating an organized productive manner of working on a daily basis requires habits to be learned and set in.  Habits take time to take hold – so start small.  First is the clean up, working of being organized in the  your “space” is the most important starting point to being productive!  You might need to stop by your local office supply store and purchase different containers and tools to be more organized – this is very important, get the right materials to set yourself up right to be organized!!

“A place for everything, everything in its place.” — Benjamin Franklin

Don’t Agonize…Get Organized!

Do you need help being organized?