Organizing for Success
You may have heard that one of the biggest obstacles to your success is yourself. We get in the way of our true potential in many ways. Fear and doubt are huge hindrances, but another is our lack of organization. When we are unorganized, outcomes are haphazard at best and efficiency is nowhere to be found. You will find that successful people are organized and efficient. They organize their tasks, workspaces, and the tools they use to get work done.
It all begins with knowing what you want (goals), then mapping out how to get there (a plan). One of the main reasons people do not take the time to organize their lives is they think it will take too much time. I can vouch from experience that it costs considerably more time to plow through life unorganized. When I fully organize my week and then each day, I achieve many times more tasks than on the days that I fail to plan. The same is true with my workspaces and the tools I use to get my work done. If my workspace is a mess or my tools are scattered, I spend more time finding what I need than actually doing the tasks.
Once you commit yourself to being organized, you will never be able to go back. The efficiency you will experience and the freedom of being able to put things in their place to deal with later are priceless.
In this article I will simplify all three areas that I feel need organization: tasks, workspaces, and tools. You can spend a lot more time learning how to organize all three of these areas, but this summary should definitely get you off to a good start. Once you are finished reading this, however, you may think that it sounds too easy. In a way it is, but it does require thought, time, and effort, but the payoff is worth it!
We will start with tasks. In organizing your tasks, here are some guidelines to being the most effective:
1) Create a list of to do items for the week, then each day.
2) Prioritize those items (let your priorities rule your day and not your list).
3) Set a realistic number of items to do each day.
4) Keep your planning system with you at all times.
5) Allow adequate time between appointments.
6) Allow time for unexpected items each day.
7) Use a system for retrieving information that works for you. I have not seen a system that is perfect for everyone. Examples of some planning systems include Franklin Covey, Palm, and Day-timer.
8) Do not retain unnecessary information.
9) Plan for large tasks weekly and small ones daily.
10) Schedule time for advanced planning.
Once you choose the system that you will use, learn as much as you can from the manufacturer and others on how to use the system most effectively. If you improve your efficiency by just one percent each day, by the end of the year you will have grown tremendously in that area.
What you need to address next to improve your productivity is your workspaces and the tools you use to get things done. First list all of the areas in which you work (i.e., the office, home office, Starbuck’s). Then you need to list all of the tasks and tools you need handy in each of those places. We will start with the example of organizing your office and some tools to get you started.
The list of tools may include a computer, a filing cabinet, pens, pencils, printer, envelopes, stamps, reference books, and educational books. Brainstorm a complete list of the tools you need accessible in each of the areas you work.
Once you have a complete list, the next step is to give each item a value from one to five. The values of this scale are as follows:
1- For items which you need frequently and will want within arm’s reach (i.e., pencils, computer, disk drives, flash drive input, and envelopes)
2- For items that you access frequently, however, you do not need to reach from your seat (i.e., printers and a scanner).
3- For items that you need maybe weekly, but not daily (i.e., filing cabinet and reference materials)
4- For items you need occasionally and do not want to go into storage to retrieve them (i.e., reference books and old notes)
5- For items that you seldom need access to but cannot throw away (i.e., old files, tax returns, extra paper, and ink)
Once you have given all of these tools a value, then organizing your office space is relatively elementary. Start out by thinking in terms of areas (i.e.,: value one is, of course, on or very near your desk, items with a value of five are probably in the closet or basement). You may even want to sketch out your office and define areas to get a rough draft of your space, not worrying about the details yet.
Once you have done this, the next step is fine tuning. I recommend working on one value set at a time, then moving on to the next one. For example, start with tools you need that have a one value and organize those items where they work best for you, then move on to items with a two value, and so on.
One of the byproducts of this process is that you will find several items that should not be taking up space on your desk and maybe not even in your office. Getting things out of your office that do not belong will free up a lot of space and enable you to be more efficient in a relatively small office.
Set aside some time in the next few weeks and once you have organized your space, you will be amazed at how much easier it is to get work done efficiently.