Take a 30-Second Time Out

Life is hectic, especially in the fast paced business world. Even for the most organized person, it can be hard to stay organized and on top of things when it seems like everything needed to be done yesterday. When situations like this happen, being organized helps you be more effective and efficient. Valuable time can be wasted looking for information that was misplaced or going back over something that was already worked on earlier. For those who are lacking organizational skills, trying to get organized can seem like a unachievable goal. However, it is possible. With a few simple organizational skills, even the most unorganized person can finally find that post-it note she wrote down or that email that he can’t find.

Plan Your Day the Night Before

Take a quick time out at the end of your day to plan out what you want to accomplish the next day. You can do this by making a to-do list, stacking your files in the order you want to do them in, or another method of planning to jumpstart your day. It doesn’t take long to do and you will find that when you come in the next day, you don’t waste time figuring out what to do first because you already know.

Create Time Blocks for Your Day

Responding to emails and answering phone calls can be a major drain of your effectiveness throughout the day. Each email and phone call pulls you out of what you are working on and it takes time to get back in once your phone call is done or email is sent. When you are planning out your next work day, consider setting aside time blocks for phone calls and emails.

Clean Out Your Email Inbox

If you are one of the many people out there with an out of control email inbox, consider taking thirty seconds of every hour during the workday to pick away at your email. Determine what emails you really need to save and which ones you don’t. Create a file system within your email file folders for the email and correspondence that you need to keep.

Stretch or Step Away

Sometimes the best thing for your productivity is to simply walk away from your desk, especially if you are feeling overwhelmed. Rushing yourself just to get something done can result in poor work or missed errors. Taking a thirty second break away from your desk can help you get back into your tasks with a fresh, renewed mindset.

Learning organizational skills training can take time, but by changing a few things around, you will discover how much more time you have to accomplish your tasks. Planning is key. If you take the time, just 30 seconds, to plan, it can help the rest of your day fall in place.