Are You Organized at the Office?
A fabulous reader emailed me to ask:
“I wanted to know if you have any tips on organization esp at the office… I may be stepping into a new role and am finding by current methods a little outdated and underwhelming for the amount of task that get directed my way.”
I’ll be honest. When it comes to work, I’m not very unorganized. The best advice I can give is:
1) make sure you know AND understand your boss’ expectations, and
2) establish priorities based on the task/project’s level of importance and the impact it may have on your organizational goals.
My career field is very political so I establish priorities based on the project’s dollar value and visibility. Then I rely on my staff to carry out the tasks and keep me abreast of hot topics. Once I delegate, I trust them to do their jobs and I provide support where needed. While they’re working on priorities, I try to protect them from an ambush of non-value added tasks. I also spend most of my day in strategy meetings to make sense of what we’re all supposed to be doing, but despite the best laid plans, 90% of my day seems to be reactionary. I do what I can in a 9-10 hour day and exercise after work to manage stress.
Do you all have any recommendations for organization at the office?
This blog is a personal account of my journey to become Healthy & Wealthy. If you like what you've read, feel free to subscribe via (feed reader) or (email) to follow along.
7 comments:
Write a comment:
Want an image next to your comment? Get your Gravatar here!
Have you read the Fabulous Financials comment policy lately?
I attack the scariest projects the first since I know it would take me some time to get it right. I might have down time during the day or month when not much is going on, and project that I fear the most is not due for another month or so, even if I do not have all the facts available to me, I lay ground work so that first I have time to make mistakes and correct them, and second I am not scrambling for time shall something else come along that requires attention at the same time. In my field it is always something that intercepts with what I am working on at the moment, therefore I do not procrastinate, unlike some of my projects at home :-(
I am total driver at work and total passanger at home
[Reply]
I no longer work in a formal office. However, when I did, I suppose I wasn’t as organized as I wanted to. My boss seemed to forget his own orders. Once he asked me to do A, soon he’d ask me to do B without asking the progress of A (and if I did remind him about A, he’d make it expired). *sigh*
[Reply]
I think it depends on the type of job that the reader has b/c that will depend on whether they are doign similar tasks each day. My job is one that I do similar things each day. So I have mentally set times in the day to do certain tasks. I use Fridays as my catch all day to do things that I have placed on lists that take more time to complete. Also, I have to keep up wiht hearings and other deadlines, so I have a big calendar on my desk with these dates marked. It’s easy to look at it and know week to week.
[Reply]
as you go thru the month, keep a calendar of what you’re doing so that the next month you will be prepared and have a sense of what’s coming up. you can also go thru last years calendar to get a sense of deadlines, etc.
be kind to the administrative type folk because they can really help you if you get overwhelmed or even make suggestions if you forget something.
order some big binders, hanging folders, and divided/pronged brown folders and use one for each project that you are working on. whatever you do, don’t use manilla-too confusing.
[Reply]
1. i’ve recently created a folder system that seems to work for me. i often juggle multiple, make that many projects and they each come with an arsenal of meetings, impromptu updates, documentation, etc. for each project that i’m working on, i create a folder and in that folder i put everything that relates to that project: meeting notes, e-mail confirmations, draft documentations, management comments, etc. once the project is completed, i file the entire folder and its contents manually or electronically (by scanning the contents). the folder system has been great for a couple of reasons: (a) keeps me organized and (b) if i’m out of the office another team member could easily address any concerns if questions came up in my absence.
2. another thing i do is create a “to-do” list either at the end of the previous day or first thing in the morning. of course i write in “pencil” because things are constantly changing throughout the day, but at least my day begins with some sort of focus. i’m in a level in my career where the details of how i accomplish a task or project is up to me – management provides the end goal and my job is to get it done.
[Reply]
I think it depends on your job. My organization system was different when I worked at a high pace where regulations could change within an hour and my current job which is project based.
When I worked in an office where rules and procedures changed a couple of times a day, it was important to keep up and I took time to read everything in my in box. I then filed in in hanging file folders, unless it was an odd procedure or something that came up often. In that case it lived within a pile on my desk for future reference. This worked so well, I was able to auction off my files when I left.
For my project based job, I create a new folder for each project. I also take time to break down the project into different steps and I attach this to the front side of the folder. This allows me to update my boss whenever she asks the status of the project. Once the project is finished I file everything within my filing cabinet.
I think the most important think to do is take the time to create a system that works for you.
[Reply]
I wasn’t always the most organized person at the office. However, stepping into a new supervisory rule recently has forced me to make some changes.
A few things I do are:
Before leaving work I try to clean and organize my desk.
Use post it stickers with labels for filings, staff assignments, speak to boss etc.
Do a review every two weeks of ’stuff’ that is still on my desk, shred, shred, file file.
My desk being cleaner has helped me to work a bit more efficiently and respond quicker to staff and management.
[Reply]