Productivity and organization go hand-in-hand. The more organized you are, the more productive you can be.
Organization can come in many forms: physical, mental, digital, to name a few. At our virtual Coaching at the Corner session this week, we talked about these 8 strategies that can help us become even more organized.
Self-talk. When we believe that we are organized, we behave as though we are organized. By telling ourselves in the present tense, “I am organized,” our self-talk can influence our behavior. Therefore, the foundation of becoming more organized is to both believe it and say it to yourself. Repeatedly. And again
Give everything a home. This one is my mother talking in my ear constantly. I can’t tell you how many times she reminded us to “Put it back.” By assigning a place for everything, you have a place to “put it back.” And when it has a place, you can find it again. This works well in both families and workgroups. In addition to physically organizing that junk drawer, you can apply this strategy to your digital files, your calendar, and your online activities. After you use that pen, put it back. After you take your calculator out of your drawer and use it, put it back. After you pull a file and review his information, put it back.
File don’t pile. This is an extension of giving everything a place. When you adopt a habit of filing extraneous documents at the end of every day, or on a regular schedule such as at the end of every week, your physical and virtual desk clutter becomes more organized.
Your desk is your command center. Wherever you work primarily should be your command center. This is where your productivity is increased by having the resources you need to accomplish your tasks at hand. By mentally claiming it as your command center, you can see it in a different light, one that enhances your organization and productivity.
Arrange according to frequency or function. The more you use something, the closer to your fingertips it should be. And the less you use something, the farther it can reside from your command center. Just as you don’t need the rarely used blender on your kitchen counter, cluttering your work area’s fingertip space with things you don’t use regularly can sap your productivity. Sometimes you can arrange things in your command center according to function – as an example keeping everything you need to pay bills in one place or file drawer makes it easy for you to perform that task at the time it is due.
One Primary Place. By designating one tool to be your primary reference, you can avoid missteps and having to search for information in multiple places. As an example, I use my physical Franklin Covey planner as my primary calendar and information hub. Many people do this online. Another example is using technical tools such as Last Pass to store all their passwords. By designating something as your primary source and making sure that is the one place that you make sure you update things, you can avoid having to search or question which sources are more current.
Create systems. When you must perform repeated tasks, it can be useful to create systems that work for you. The same process every time, rather than having to rethink the procedure that works. This is what I call “grouping like tasks.” You can be more productive when you do similar things in a block of time rather than what I call one off’s. Examples can include preparing invoices, filing, making telephone calls, signing letters, etc.
D D D D
The D strategy. This is one of my favorites. It is more about Doing than organizing, but it ultimately can help you eliminate the clutter that gets in the way of your productivity. With every task, you have 4 choices: Do. Delete. Delegate. Defer. And the overarching D is to Decide. Instead of the productivity sapping D – Delay. Delaying a decision about what action you are going to take just creates double work. When you can discipline yourself to make one of those 4 choices every time you evaluate a task, you will ultimately impact your organization and productivity.
What you think of these? What organizational strategies have worked for you?
