As Edmund Burke once said, ‘good order is the foundation of all things.’ Being orderly and organised can make life a lot easier. In the workplace, it can be the difference between excelling and dropping the ball.
Here are 3 ways you can become more organised, starting today.
1. Declutter and tidy up – regularly
It’s no secret that mess creates chaos. Start with your desk. Get rid of anything you don’t need. Recycle papers you’re not using. Do an audit of your stationery – do you really need ten pens? Place any papers you need to access in clearly labelled folders, so you can refer to them quickly and easily. Set up a recurring time in your calendar to do a desk tidy-up, e.g. every Monday morning at 8.30am.
2. Digital clean up
With the shift from paper to digital, learning to organise your computer is equally as important as your desk. Move unwanted files into your trash bin. Separate documents into folders such as ‘accounts’, ‘projects’ and so on. Back up your computer regularly either on a hard drive or save everything in the cloud. Don’t save documents and files on your desktop, move them to their relevant folders.
3. Write lists and make notes
Relying on your memory to check off your to-do list, attend appointments and recall other important information can be challenging. Get into the habit of writing lists and making notes, especially when in meetings. Being able to refer to notes will remove the stress of trying to recall information unexpectantly.
Anyone can learn to become organised with a bit of effort. Being more organised will not only make daily life easier, but it will give you more time and create less stress.
