Get Organized, Stay Organized

Being organized is essential to the work at home professional.  Whether you are a virtual assistant, Writer, or Computer Programmer, your organizational skills are the key to completing projects efficiently and in a timely manner and acquiring new jobs.  What are the keys to getting organized?  What tools are essential?

The keys to organization are:  time management, prioritizing, and creating systems
The tools you need to help you stay organized are:  calendar (paper or online or both), spreadsheets or other tracking method, and a neat work area.

Time Management:  Without a doubt, people who are organized are good time managers.  It's necessary to be aware of how much time the tasks you need to complete will take.  Sometimes, you have to make you best guess, and sometimes, because of experience you will already know how much time to allot per task.  Regardless, you must have an idea of how much time your jobs will take in order to schedule them.  You might want to add a bit of time to your estimate to cover glitches.

Prioritizing:  Prioritize your tasks in order of deadline and importance.  Get the things with deadlines and that are highly important done first.  After those, the lesser projects will fall into line, but be certain not to neglect those either.

Creating Systems:  Creating systems for organization involves the tools listed in the next section.  You will need to have methods for scheduling and tracking your work, and a good work area that is well equipped.  Once you have these, and use them correctly, you will have created a system for working efficiently.

Calendar:  Some people refuse to use a calendar, but with all that needs to be done in your work life and personal life, a calendar is a necessary and most useful tool.  You can use an online calendar such as the ones that come with Google or Outlook.  Or you can use a wall calendar or a Day Timer type calendar or a combination of all three.  The point is to write down what you need to accomplish and when, where you need to be and when, and who you need to talk to and when.  By using a calendar, you reduce the risk of double booking yourself and losing track of things that need to be done.

Spreadsheets:  Spreadsheets, like calendars can be extremely helpful to the organized person.  They can be used to compile all the necessary information regarding jobs you need to do and your deadlines.  You can also have an entry for what and when you need to be paid for a particular project.  This helps you project your time usage once again, but also the need for supplies for a certain project, or how you're doing budget-wise.

Neat Work Area:  A neat and well-stocked work area is essential.  You must be able to find the tools you need, and you must have all the necessary supplies at your fingertips.  In doing this, you will eliminate needless trips to the office supply store for items you've lost or needed but didn't have in the first place.  A neat work area also lends itself to better concentration.

Using these tips and tools will help you work more efficiently and stay on top of your projects.  Your workday will become easier and you'll ultimately save time and energy.

Posted:Tuesday, August 21, 2007