Staying organized is a difficult task, but it becomes especially difficult when you’re super busy. When you have multiple projects, several deadlines, and feel like you are being pulled in a million different directions, organization isn’t really your top priority. Nevertheless, organization needs to become a priority because the more hectic your workspace and mind are, the less you’ll get done. The key to tackling all the different responsibilities and preventing unnecessary anxiety that can arise is staying organized. Staying organized can seem completely unimportant when you have so many things going on, but, trust me, staying organized will change your life. Try out these simple ways to stay organized and keep track of all of your responsibilities. Before you know it, these easy tips and tricks to stay organized will become a part of your regular routine.
- Finish One Task At A Time
At some point, everyone has multitasked. You’re doing one project for work, then you suddenly remember you have to complete another assignment, as well. So, you decide to move on to that assignment, then return to the project and so forth. While multitasking seems like a great way to get many things done, it usually only leads to feeling overwhelmed, and not completely finishing any task. In order to stay organized, you need to finish one task at a time. Not only will you end up doing a better job, you’ll also feel calmer, which is definitely a win-win.
- Write Down Your Most Important Tasks For The Day
Often times, our days are filled with back to back tasks. But, the fact of the matter is that not every task must be completed. In the morning, write down 3 or 4 things that you absolutely must complete. In doing so, you’ll recognize what your priorities for the day are, and over time you’ll become more mindful towards realizing that not everything must be completed immediately.
- Find A Pattern To Your Work
Developing a routine when it comes to your work will help you stay organized. For example, you always have important projects that are due on Wednesdays, and you also have lots of other responsibilities on Wednesday. That ends up making you feel incredibly stressed, disorganized, and overwhelmed. But, after checking your calendar, you see that on Mondays, you don’t have any responsibilities. What you can do is use Mondays to work on your project. By doing so, you’ll be able to avoid all-nighters, and you’ll feel much better mentally. Overall, the main idea is to recognize a pattern in your work schedule, and then use that to organize what tasks you’ll do when. Our brains absolutely love routines, so after developing a routine to tackling work, you’ll feel confident in your ability to handle the tasks.
- Don’t Procrastinate
At some point in our lives and careers, we’ve all let things build up. We keep procrastinating tasks until we have so many tasks to do that we don’t even know where to start. If you have some little things you need to do, but you keep procrastinating them, consider doing them, even if you’re swamped. The little things really do make a difference. When you get the little tasks out of the way, it’ll feel like a weight has been lifted off your chest. Another positive is that once you get some of the little tasks out of the way, you’ll be able to better focus on the big things that you have to get done.
- Break Up Intimidating Tasks
Sometimes when we have a big project to do, we tend to just ignore it, and hope it’ll just go way. Putting those intimidating tasks on the back burner will not make them go away, and it’ll only make them feel even more intimidating. The best way to deal with those intimidating tasks is to break them up into smaller, more manageable tasks. Doing so will not only help to improve your workflow, it will also make it easier to focus on what’s important.
- Implement A Calendar System Into Your Daily Routine
While it may seem very simple, implementing a calendar into your daily routine will absolutely transform your organization. Whether you want to have a calendar at your desk or utilize the calendar app on your phone, it’ll make all the difference in how you organize your life. In your calendar, you can include everything you have to do from work assignments to social engagements. When you write down everything you have to get done each day in your calendar, you’ll no longer have to think about if you’re forgetting something, instead, you’ll be able to focus on the tasks you have to complete.
- Organize For The Week Ahead During The Weekend
Taking time during the week to organize everything you have to do can seem impossible given the endless list of tasks you have to complete. So, the best time to organize everything you have to do during the week ahead is the weekend. During the weekend when you have some time off, you can plan your to-do list and calendar for the week ahead. And, don’t worry, it won’t take all weekend! Just allotting 20 minutes on Sunday evening can help you organize everything you need for the week ahead.
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