Organize Your Life in 8 Steps : WGNS Radio

Help improve your days by managing your time in a simple way by adding some structure. These tips will help you change your habits and become more organized.

1. Check in on your checklist at 2:00 pm. If you are like most people, you probably wait until the end of the day to take a look at your to-do list and check off what you have accomplished. By checking in on it in the mid-afternoon, it allows you to know what needs to be done before you have to extend your workday. By following this tip, you may actually leave the office at 5 pm!

2. Make out your to-do list every day. You can do this in the morning, or the night before, depending on what you would prefer. The list should have specific tasks rather that broad ones. You may also need to assign tasks to the next day if they take longer to complete or did not get finished. Don’t make your list too long either.

3. Break some of those bad habits. Make a do-not-do-list. If you have a habit of checking Facebook at the start of every morning or breaking your day for a cup of coffee, try to break the habit. Your day will seem to move faster and you will get a lot more accomplished.

4. Make your calendar your life. If you keep your calendar in front you at all times, you are more likely to stay on track and know what to do next. Live in your calendar and you will be checking off your list quickly enough.

5. Keep each day organized. Don’t jam-pack your whole day. A lot of people don’t realize how long the tasks they set for themselves actually take to complete or how many unexpected events will pop up. Don’t underestimate the length of time it will take for you to check off an activity and leave some room for the unexpected. If something comes up that does not need to be handled that evening, suggest starting it in the morning when everyone is feeling fresh.

6. Schedule your email breaks. Wait to check your email and text messages instead of answering every one as they come in. Organize your emails into folders so when you go to reference one of them, you know exactly where to find it. If the message received requires more thought, add it to your to-do list. If you want to acknowledge you received it, respond with a quick, “got it.” If it is something you will need to reference, print it out. A meeting, add it to your calendar.

7. Have a purpose. Before going into a meeting or conference call, know what your purpose is and have a plan. The reason people feel exhausted after a meeting is because there was no set, clear plan for how the meeting was to go. Identify the most important activity for the day and do it first.

8. Improve your time management. Programs like Outlook and Google calendar can set appointments easily and even remind you of an appointment in advance.

If you start to implement some or all of these, you will be pleased with how much you are able to accomplish in your day. When you feel more accomplished, you will also feel more energized.

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Organize Your Life in 8 Steps : WGNS Radio