Keys to being Organized in the Workplace

Organization in the workplace or anywhere else is crucial to our efficiency and peace of mind. There is nothing worse than being unorganized and running around looking for something wasting valuable time. There is a saying that if you want to get something done give it to a busy man. The busy man has probably learned to manage his work load so that you can count on him to come through. He is organized and doing a whole lot more than the lazy man. You can’t shake him off of his game because he is too organized. He is working while the lazy man has his heels propped up on the desk. You can’t confuse him because he has a handle on all of the resources available to him and can get his hands on just what he needs to get a job done. He will not allow you or anyone else to sidetrack him. He will always have the job done right, on time, the first time, and he will have covered each and every contingency.

The biggest thing that you need to do to be organized is to have a plan. Know what you need to do and just the correct way to go about it. Don’t let others get you off track with their own agendas. People don’t mind wasting your time and will gladly do so if you allow them. People don’t care about how busy you are or what you have to do, they just want what they want from you when they want it. Don’t allow people to get you off of your schedule. Sometimes you just have to politely say no. Sometimes you just have to make yourself unavailable. People will dump their emotional and any other baggage on you that you allow them to.

Learn how to prioritize. The worst unit that I was ever assigned to while in the military was a Division which never prioritized anything. Everything had to be done right now. There is no possible way to do everything right now. Some things can be taken care of while others will just have to wait. What are the most important things which you need to accomplish. They will have to be taken care of first. Prioritizing is just as important as execution of the plan. Having the right priorities in place and sticking to them is vital. You can wreck your own operation if your priorities are not in line.

Don’t waste time with people who are unorganized. The biggest killer of my day is people who have a question that they don’t know how to ask or people who want you to do something when they didn’t even bring all of their tools to the table to work with. Don’t waste your time with stuff which doesn’t matter or questions which are not important. You don’t have time to explain everything that you are working on to someone who doesn’t even have a need to know.

I have learned that I need to be the one in control of my work area. I can’t allow customers to look over my shoulder and tell me how I need to conduct business. I don’t need for my customers to take over the conversation and ask all of the questions. I need to get them on my sheet of music so that I will maintain control of the situation and navigate through it quickly and easily. I also can’t allow others to dictate my day. I can’t allow a customer or co worker to decide that they will pop in at a certain time and get me to perform a task. I have to control my actions and movements. You can do this by establishing a schedule that your coworkers and customers are aware of. I have gone to MacDonald’s many times just a little too late for breakfast. Each time they politely showed me the sign that said breakfast ended at a certain time. They didn’t allow me to dictate the serving time to them, they dictated it to me.

Plan backwards. Plan the dates and times that you will finish all of the small tasks that you need to accomplish in order to take care of the bigger task and stay on track. Keep your workplace and your mind free from unnecessary clutter which zaps your efficiency. The Good Life