Let’s Get Organized, Organized
To me the word “organization” is similar to the word “productivity”: it means different things to different people. I know some wonderful declutter specialists who help people get their houses in order, and different kinds of organization can help you get… you guessed it… more $hit done. (You can buy the book on getting $hit done here.)
Physical organization can help you improve productivity
I’m not a neatnik. I like to blame my parents, who were. I was forced (forced, I tell you!) to become messy as a rebellion against them. Or it could be that I just hate cleaning. So I’m not the one who will tell you to remove every scrap of physical matter from your desk.
However, I am the one who will tell you that a lot of items on your desk can be distracting. And we all know, when faced with a big and/or important project… that sometimes cleaning is a good distraction from it. Cleaning is for many people (especially writers, for some reason, ha ha) a key procrastination exercise.
If that’s you, then you will probably benefit from a quick clean of your desk at the end of every workday as part of your shutdown ritual. (You don’t HAVE a shutdown ritual? Oh honey, get on that. It’ll help you transition into non-work-time, which your brain 100% absolutely needs, a lot easier.)
I personally can have a fair amount of certain items on my desk that don’t distract me or entice me to clean. Because of that, my desk can be what others might find messy. But there are some things that I know distract me, like my phone, and they are off-limits to my desk.
In other words: if it distracts you or is more of a procrastination tool than anything else, take it off your desk and put it away.
Time organization is key to time management
I was talking to someone the other day who apologized for showing up a few minutes late because his staff had taken advantage of the fact that we switched from in-person to Zoom by loading him up with more meetings. They didn’t leave him any buffer room.
Meeting after meeting after meeting, with no breaks, is an amazingly ineffective way to schedule your day. Your brain benefits enormously from buffers between meetings, because you’re changing the focus of your attention as you change meetings. The buffer doesn’t have to be a huge period of time either. Ten or fifteen minutes is fine, though fifteen minutes is probably easier to schedule on most digital calendars.
If you have staff putting meetings on your calendar, then they need to be aware that you require, say, fifteen minutes between meetings. Let them know they need to block off a break after the meeting in addition to the meeting time.
For example, if someone puts a meeting from 1 to 2 pm on your calendar, they need to also add a buffer block from 2 to 2:15.
Avoid extending the meeting itself for an additional 10-15 minutes. If your staff books you from 1 to 2:15, you probably won’t end it at 2:00, and then you end up with the same problem.
If you’re a business owner (or anyone) who wants to have a positive impact on the world, then you need to be in control of your time, not the other way around. That means important meetings and focus time don’t get rearranged around other meetings; they’re the rocks that anchor your calendar.
I’ve changed my own approach a little bit. I used to use a paper planner and my digital calendar. But I found that every once in a while I’d miss an appointment because it was in my paper planner and not my digital one or vice versa. It didn’t happen often, but it did happen.
Now I book all appointments on my digital calendar and use my paper planner to jot things down. I don’t know if it’s just because I’m old school or because I’m Gen X, but I NEED a paper planner to look at!
Computer organization is also important for improving productivity
Similarly with physical clutter, digital clutter can distract you and get in your way. If you have a ton of tabs open on your browser, you have to go hunting for what you’re looking for. That can easily take more time than simply opening another tab when you need it. Plus it’s distracting and helps you procrastinate. Close out everything except what you need for the (ONE) task you’re currently working on.
Instead of having your documents all over your desktop, where again you have to hunt around to find what you’re looking for, create your own digital filing system. You can save documents in folders and sub-folders with names that make sense to you. (You can do this in your email as well.)
For example, I have a folder called Receipts. I make a new subfolder for each year and dump all my receipts into it. Makes tax time so much easier too.
I also have folders for different projects I’m working on or different topic areas. I won’t get into the specifics because they have to make sense to you and be easily findable to you. Someone else looking at my folders might not have any idea what’s inside them, but I do.
Also be aware of how many folders you really need; too many subfolders can quickly become a nightmare to wade through.
Recap (tl;dr):
Getting organized means different things for different people, but organizing in a way that makes sense to you can help you be more productive.
Got the organization down but need help figuring out priorities? I got you! Schedule your free consultation here.
Photo by Paul Hanaoka on Unsplash.