GETTING ORGANISED AT WORK IN 2021

If you are like most people, you are already compiling your long lists of things to do, stuff to change, and things to get organised. It can be overwhelming really, as there is always so much to do.  You can go the traditional route by only picking one thing or start off the year with a range of goals to improve your life, home, health, and workplace.

Here are 5 simple tips to think about getting organised at work in 2021

THE NEVER ENDING ‘TO-DO’ LIST

Is your to-do list currently a few scribbles on a post-it note that always happens to disappear?

Do you continuously add but never delete anything from it?

It’s probably time you invested a little effort in getting organised.  You could move your to-do list online by downloading an organisational app so it is on your phone wherever you go.   Or, simply buy a diary and create a numbered to-do list at the end of each day ready for a fresh start in the morning.

Let the ‘ticking off’ excitement begin.

ORGANISE MY OFFICE

This is too general, although it’s fine to think big – you need a plan.

Ask yourself WHAT in your office needs organising?  Is it email and diary management, clearing of paperwork and filing or do you have the right equipment, tools and apps that can help you create more time and less stress?  You can’t do it all at once, so set micro tasks and make them timebound.

ORGANISE MYSELF

The one thing we don’t have as busy work individuals is plenty of time. Take a look below at some useful tips to improve your time management and increase your productivity:

• Use the first 30 mins of your day to SIT – THINK – PLAN.
• Using a time tracking app like Toggl Track can help you understand what is taking most of your time each day allowing you to question whether it is productive.
• Scheduling your time will reduce stress and release energy.
• Complete your most demanding and important task first thing in the morning.
• Ensure you take regular breaks – the brain can only focus properly for 90 minutes at a time.
• Finally – learn to say NO!

CHECK YOUR ONLINE IMAGE

Take a look at your online presence – is it portraying your professional image? Don’t fall into the trap of thinking the odd spelling mistake doesn’t matter – it does! Are you promoting your business on the right platforms? Are you keeping in touch regularly with your followers and customers?

If you don’t have time for a social media revamp or find it daunting to manage your platforms, ask a professional business support company to help.

SIMPLE WAYS TO HELP YOUR COMPANY GROW

• Get to know your customers – building the right customer relationships is essential for any organisation. It not only increases trust and loyalty which will result in repeat business, but also can lead to customers recommending you to their friends or colleagues.
• Offer great customer service – going above and beyond can reap rewards in the long run. Creating a consistently stellar customer experience plays a major role in your success.
• Nurture existing customers – and look for new opportunities.  They might need the additional services you offer but didn’t know you had them.
• Use social media – yes, that minefield!  There are vast benefits of using social media if you have the time. Some of the plus points include:
• Attracting customers, getting customer feedback and building customer loyalty
• Increasing your market reach and reducing overall marketing and advertising costs
• Developing your brand
• Increasing traffic to your website and improve its search engine optimisation
• Keeping an eye on your competitors

However, if you are a technophobe or don’t understand how to pull together a social media campaign, it is strongly recommended that you use a professional business support company to help you.

• Measure what works and refine your approach as you go.

So, having decided your goals for the New Year, you are probably asking “how do I actually achieve them”!  This involves three basic steps – assessing, planning, and implementing. Here are a few tips to help manage your program for change as you enter the new year:

ASSESS

Make a list and organise them into goals that make sense to you. Then for each goal, write exactly how you are going to achieve it. Example, if one of your goals was “make more space in the office,” you should have subcategories that say: declutter filing cabinet, box and store all paperwork from 2020, file invoices in date order etc.

PLAN

Once you have your main goal and subcategories written, rank them by importance. What is interfering most with your efficiency? Today, you are just planning and prioritising.

If ‘make more space in the office’ is a top priority, make a plan for how you do it. If you are really short on time, divide your time into micro-tasks. Example: clean out the desk one drawer at a time, then move onto the filing cabinet. Breaking down projects into smaller tasks will incrementally get you organised, while giving you a forward-moving sense of satisfaction.

IMPLEMENT

Get going on your tasks and be sure to reward yourself as you complete them. Don’t be afraid to include family members or friends in the work. If you have kids, you will be doing them a great service by teaching them organising skills and good habits when they’re young.

Don’t get discouraged if you don’t get everything done on schedule. Just keep chipping away at your list and do the best you can.

This just leaves me to say a HAPPY NEW YEAR to you all and hope that 2021 rewards you well.