It’s 9am and you have arrived at work…your inbox is overflowing with emails, your desk is full of paper work, the voicemail light is blinking on your phone, you have work from yesterday to finish, co-workers are stopping by for information and you still haven’t had your morning coffee. Turn your morning work marathon into a relaxed atmosphere where your creativity and last good nerve are spared. It’s time to get organized.On the first day try to get to work 30 minutes early to organize your workspace. If your workspace looks like a hurricane hit it…try and hour early. Make sure you have plenty of files and labels on hand.
Before you start work
Your desk is where it all happens so let’s get rid of the clutter!
- File all current projects and tasks in a file organizer that sits on your desk. Having your “must have tasks” at the tip of your finger tips is key for easy access.
- Put all old paperwork, proposals, and other papers in a file with a label that indicates the name of the task and the year. Recycle the paper of all duplicate information.
- Surf through emails and detect the ones that are most important. If an email only needs a quick response take care of it quickly. In doing this, you have eliminated a task and your co-worker can move on with their task because of your speedy reply. For emails that need a little more time move them into a To Do file on your computer. Make sure you write the email task on your To Do list for the day so you won’t forget.
- Check Voicemail and return all calls
Sidebar: Checking email and voice mail are tasks that you do every day. Couple them along with other tasks you must complete every day. I like to call these my Bundle Routine Tasks (BRT). Just like the phone company you can bundle your tasks that are reoccurring, so can you. Do you have daily or weekly tasks? Think about them and create a daily bundle routine and a weekly bundle routine to keep you on track.
During Work
- Create a To Do List for the day (In the beginning of the week and month create a To Do List for the Week and for the month to keep you on schedule)
- Pick up where you left off the previous day. Start your day with the most vital tasks. Once you have completed a task, send it off to your co-workers that are in need the information and put a nice big check next to the item on your To Do List.(smile) Move on to the next task on your To Do List.
- Mid morning email check: Surf through your email and reply to vital emails.
- Mid morning voice mail check: Review your voice mail and return important phone calls.
- Any important tasks that you could not take care of during your mid morning email and voice mail check put them down on your To Do List.
Lunch- Enjoy your time to yourself. Leave work at work and indulge in a good lunch and Me Time. You not only deserve it, but you body needs to regroup.
After Lunch
- Continue to work tasks on To Do List
- Do you have any afternoon Bundle Routine Tasks? Complete them now.
- Afternoon email check
- Afternoon voicemail check
End of the day wrap up
10 Minute Prep: Take the last 10 minutes of the day prepping for tomorrow. Organize the tasks you will be working on tomorrow and place them on your desk so they will be the first thing you see when you arrive at work. File items you no longer need. Begin your To Do List for tomorrow and place your new To Do List next to your tasks for the next day. Finally, your workday is complete. Enjoy your evening.
For more check out Karen’s Blog, Working Divas™– A lifestyle blog that is geared towards work/life balance for women. Follow her on twitter @ www.twitter.com/karenvaughn
