ORGANIZING IS THE KEY TO TIME MANAGEMENT

Tips on Office Organization

Being better organized allows you to have a better chance of managing your time
effectively.

So what is this art to getting organized? Instead of working on somebody else’s
definition, ask yourself, “How organized do I want to be?” When we talk about getting
organized people generally get an impression of a spotless office without a paper out
of place. But a neat office is not necessarily an organized office. If you throw away
every single piece of paper that comes in, certainly your office will be neat, but not
organized. Organizing is a relative term. It is all a matter of convenience.
In an organized office there will be a place for every thing and everything will be in its
place. But at the same time, you should be able to lay your hands on the object you
need the moment you need it. And in this respect, a little bit of clutter is okay.
And it is not enough that you know where every thing is, somebody else should know
it too. In case you are not able to come into your office, somebody else should be
able to do the job for you. It is here that labels and tags can prove to be vital. Every
single file should have a name tag and every thing should be filed properly.

Now that’s enough about office organization. Let’s move on to getting yourself
organized.

Tips on Self Organization
The best way to get organized is to find out the loop holes where we usually end up
in a mess and figure out how to get around them.
For every type of business, the following can be pitfalls:
• Forgetting appointments
• Forgetting deadlines
• Being unable to meet deadlines
• Being late for meetings and appointments
• Forgetting names
• Forgetting telephone numbers
• Forgetting to take important documents to meetings
• Misplacing objects, and so on
Here are nine tips that can prove quite effective.

Nine Hints on how to Become a More Organized Person
1. Accept the fact that we cannot rely too much on our memories.
The human mind is exposed to a hurricane of information every day. As a
result, the mind does a very nice filtering process and very little of what we see
and hear is retained in our minds. So instead of depending on our very
selective memory, write anything you’ll need at a later date on paper.
2. Carry a tiny scribbling pad and a pen with you all the time.
The moment you schedule an appointment or are asked to attend a meeting,
jot it down in the scribbling pad.
3. It is a good idea to write down orders or instructions in your scribbling pad.
Each time you tell somebody to do something or when somebody asks you to
do something write it down in your book along with the date and the time. Do
not be afraid of being thought about as a person with a very poor memory. It
won’t be long before people start thinking of you as a highly organized person.
4. If you have an electronic pocket organizer be sure to use it.
Each time someone gives you his or her telephone number, immediately enter
it into your pocket organizer, along with the person’s name, of course.
5. Use the backside of business cards to help your memory.
Usually we get a lot of business cards as we go about our daily business of
life. The business card, of course, contains the name of the person, his or her
telephone number and probably the name of the firm for which the person
works. But the problem is, the next time we meet the person, the face may
seem familiar but we won’t have the foggiest idea as to where we met the him
or her. The best thing to do would be to jot down a few points about the
person and probably the reason for meeting him or her and the place as well.
This will certainly lessen the load on your memory.
6. Store business cards properly.
As soon as you get back to your office file the business cards you collected.
Don’t just stuff them into your card folder. Take care to read them and perhaps
keep the cards of important clients separately. If you do not find much use for
a person’s card, toss it.
7. Prepare a to-do list everyday.
I cannot over-emphasize the importance of to-do lists in getting yourself
organized. It is probably the most sensible thing that a busy person should do.
8. Plan what you have to do well in advance.
It is a good idea to have daily, weekly and monthly plans. These are basic
plans about the daily, weekly and monthly activities of your business and
yourself as well.
9. Have a fixed timetable.
It may seem kind of mechanical but it would be wonderful if you could have a
fixed time for everything and try to stick religiously to the time table. It can
really help because you will have time for everything and everything can be
done in the time allotted.