how to get organized

25 tips to help improve your productivity at work

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Being organized at work isn’t all that different from being organized at home. You just have more people to deal with. The number one productivity tip I can offer for each is the same: Write it down. Writing things down saves your brain from trying to remember everything you have going on. And seeing things on paper helps you sort out and prioritize.

Use one calendar to write down meetings, appointments, and important deadlines. And use a planner to write down your daily tasks and things you’re keeping track of.

“Do I have to write everything down?”
“No, just the things you want to get done.”

Here are 25 additional tips to boost your productivity at work Continue reading →

What’s your personal brand?

organizationalhabits Baby steps to start getting organized, Building your personal brand, Business tips, Changing habits, Organizational Exercises, Setting organizational priorities , , , , , , , ,

Businesses build or chip away at their brand with every customer interaction. Brands like Nike, L.L.Bean, and Coca-Cola are known for specific and calculated brand elements – like style, functionality, innovation, customer service, reputation, price, or comfort.

Brands are designed to make customers feel good about them and companies spend millions making sure they do! The payback is that best customers stay with them – sometimes for a lifetime – because they feel they know and trust them.

You are also a brand that you build or chip away at every day. The goal of creating Organizational Zen in your life is to help you make time to do your best work – to help you focus on the big stuff by getting the small stuff taken care of. And that’s a huge part of what your personal brand is.

Think about your personal brand
If you asked three members of your family, three friends, and three co-workers to describe you, what would they say? Be honest. No one is reading this but you. And remember this isn’t what you’d like to be – it’s how people see you in your everyday interactions. Make three columns and write down as many adjectives as you can that describe your personal brand for each group. Continue reading →

How “creative avoidance” messes with your obit

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Creative avoidance is the fun stuff you do to skirt getting to the big stuff. When you’re pondering a big, juicy project, it’s hard to get started for many reasons… And if you don’t have time, you have the perfect excuse!

“I’d love to get this done but I don’t have time.” Continue reading →

How heavy is this rock?

organizationalhabits Baby steps to start getting organized, Business tips, Changing habits, Getting started, Organizational Exercises, Setting up a planner, Tips on using a planner , , , , , , , , , , ,

Single rock

This rock fits in the palm of your hand. Could you stretch out your arm and hold it for five minutes? Sure, no problem. Could you hold it for an hour? Now how heavy is it? It’s heavy. How about if you had to hold it for a day? For a week? For a month?

Oh, and I should have mentioned – there isn’t just one rock I need you to hold. Here are the rest of them. Continue reading →

How to change a habit

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Want to change a habit?

A couple of months ago, FastCompany published a great article on ways to change the habit of exercise.

  • A control group was asked to exercise once in the next week. 29% of them exercised.
  • Experiment group 1 was given the same task along with detailed information about why exercise is important to your health (i.e., “You’ll die if you don’t”.) 39% of them exercised.
  • Experiment group 2 was asked to commit to exercising at a specific place, on a specific day at a specific time of their choosing. 91% of them exercised.

Continue reading →

Declutter before you organize

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You’re tired of searching for a pen every time you make a grocery list and decide to organize “that” kitchen drawer. You go out and buy nifty dividers. But when you refill the drawer, you still can’t find a pen!

What might have gone wrong?

  • You have too much stuff in the drawer.
  • It isn’t grouped into “like” categories.
  • No one stuck to the organized drawer plan.

The toughest part about organizing a loaded drawer, stuffed closet, or overflowing garage shelves is that before you organize you have to declutter. And decluttering takes time, focus, and a willingness to get messy before you see results which is why decluttering often gets skipped. Continue reading →

The gatekeepers are off duty

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As a business professional, I am known for organizational efficiency. But as a kid, my parents used to refer to me as “the messy one”. Why couldn’t I keep my room clean? Why did I never pick up?

Because:

1) It was my room.
2) I liked seeing my stuff. Continue reading →

Energy Audit

organizationalhabits Baby steps to start getting organized, Changing habits, Getting started, Organizational Exercises, Planning impacts on your health , , , , , , , ,

If you’re trying to get organized, it can feel overwhelming and it’s hard to know where to start. My recommendation is before you jump in, do an energy audit. If your energy is low your focus will be weak, and taking on organization may be too much to ask of yourself! So what’s draining your energy?

Energy Audit Exercise
1. Sit somewhere you are comfortable and have room to write. If you are at your desk and it’s messy, move everything except paper and pen to the floor. You don’t have to clean the desk, and please don’t clean the room! Just move your stuff off the desk for now so you aren’t distracted.

2. Take a deep breath and sent an intent: “I need to know what’s draining my energy”

3. Spend time visualizing each item on this list and decide: Does this part of my life raise my energy? Feel neutral? Or lower my energy? Next to each point, put a +, 0, or – sign. Continue reading →

Thoughts and tips on using a paper planner

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I’m a big proponent of using a paper planner over a digital planner. Here’s why.

The Internet
When you log into an e-planner, you face all the time sucking temptations of the web: checking email, surfing YouTube, reading Facebook or Instagram posts, and, and, and… If you are trying to get organized for the day – or keep organized during the day, the last thing you need is a temptation to lose focus.

Working in a quiet place of your choice
You may keep a paper planner at your desk – or you may work in a quiet place away from your desk. Wherever it works best for you to plan and focus, a paper planner goes with you. No electricity or log-in required! Continue reading →