Get Organised!

If there's one thing we should all be doing at this time of year, its getting organised to have half a chance of fulfilling those new year's resolutions. How many times have you cleared your todo list only to find it fill up again ? I'm not suggesting that the list will never fill up again but there are things you can realistically do to keep it at bay, with a little effort. And if even thinking about getting your life better organised sends you running for the nearest happy hour, here's some tips to get you started before you head out of the door!

First off, you need to pinpoint where the clutter is coming from...emails, paperwork, and meetings are common offenders, and its time to get tough. Ask yourself 'what will I achieve by responding to this email?' or 'would I just be better making a note to phone the sender up this week?'. Ask yourself what action is needed on letters and files, whether it is essential or not, and thin out the contents of your action tray accordingly - place everything else in a 'weekend tray' and bin any unactioned contents at the end of the month. Drastic ? maybe but as long as you don't bin anything critical it works! Then there's meetings - a one hour meeting can take out a whole half day once you've got there, the meeting has overrun, then you've got back and answered emails and phonecalls. Thats without even thinking of followup, so unless a meeting is essential try a) putting off non essential meetings till then end of the week b) using the phone or c) using internet software to conference and share info online.

You'll also need to get your filing system in shape -make sure you seperate new and pending items and logically sub divide the files so as its a) clear what's in them and b) matches your schedule for doing something about it. Use colours to reflect importance and make sure any urgent items are somewhere you will see (and action!) them regularly. If you really have more documents than you can handle, some businesses do, it may be time to consider a scanning and filing system for your PC, there are various solutions around but you'll need to find the right one for your needs and budget.

If you're still having problems look for a professional organiser - as with anything else having someone help you break the backbone and break the bad habits can make all the difference. Innov8 offers affordable organising sessions and tools, for more information please visit our website www.innov8hk.biz.