Are you spending countless times looking for your documents, emails, phone charger more than you are working on? If this is true, then it means you’re losing valuable time and most likely aren’t organized enough at the office. Well, there is good news because you can change all of this quickly.
Being organized at the office is important, and you don’t want to be spending more time organizing than working. But, in short, that is nothing but a nightmare. In fact, according to a study, 40% of offices claim that they have to go through a messy desk every day.
Furthermore, don’t worry about this if you are one of these people too. Today, we will show you nine productivity tips you can use to re-organize your business objectives.
9 productivity tips & systems for re-organizing your business objectives
1. Organize your desk
Keeping supplies and gadgets organized daily is a must, especially keeping them within easy reach. Because the world is going digital, you don’t need to overflow your desk with many pencils and pens. What is essential to have close to you? Probably a pen, a pencil, a notepad, and your computer. It doesn’t get as simple as that!
The items you have on your desk should be the same as the circle of friends. The items you don’t often use shouldn’t be kept near you. The items you rarely use shouldn’t even be anywhere around you.
Moreover, you can consider using platforms that create a paper workflow system for incoming documents. This inbox can be used for all those documents you haven’t reviewed yet and those you’re currently working on.
Ensure you don’t look at documents for some time and then put them back on your desk. This isn’t good practice and will only result in you making a messy work desk. Hence, this will only waste your time re-organizing your messy desk.
2. Use an OKR
You may be wondering what an OKR is? An OKR is a goal-setting system that lists key results and objectives. The OKR method guides you to focus on your efforts, make impacts, build alignments, and ensure everyone is on the same page.
The philosophy behind an OKR is quite simple; all you do is break down objectives into manageable and measurable results. OKR seeks to boost employee engagement levels and ensure that you take them seriously since it directly affects productivity levels .
The main components of an OKR are objectives and key results. To make things easier, you can consider using an OKR template. For example, Leapsome’s free OKR template assists you in defining long-term business priorities, transforming business priorities into strategic goals, breaking down annual tactical goals, and more.
3. Time management
Keeping a running to-do list is essential if you don’t want your daily tasks to go down the river. That will ensure you are on track and that you meet deadlines without missing anything. And we all know that if we miss one deadline, it may become a habit, and everything will just fall out of place.
Clear at least one hour per day so that you can focus on essential action items and projects, and ensure that you eliminate any distractions so that you’re entirely focused on your job. Moreover, you can try measuring the time it takes to complete tasks so that you can schedule everything.
Put your phone away; even though the technology is great, at the same time, it can interrupt essential things you are doing and take up your time.
4. Create a to-do list
To-do lists are simple to set up and, at the same time, are highly effective for increasing your productivity throughout the workday. To-do lists are excellent for writing tasks down that you are trying to accomplish. To ensure you are productive at the maximum level , prioritize the most urgent assignments. For example, put your tasks that need to be accomplished by the end of the day or the upcoming days at the top, and put those that are least important at the bottom.
According to studies, 41% of businesses that use to-do lists never complete them. Consider writing them on a document or using a sticky note and putting it on your desk, so you don’t forget. For example, you can try highlighting the most critical tasks with red and those least with blue.
5. Try using an agenda
Agendas, similar to a to-do list, operate exceptionally well in organizations and directly affect productivity levels. Start using a planner and write down in-depth events and their details. By doing this, you are well aware of what kind of due dates and meetings are coming on your schedule. In short, it’ll help you progress better with your goals and remember events much more effortlessly.
Overall, there are different types of agendas. Some are specially designed on a weekly or monthly basis, and some are for a daily basis. So think carefully and consult with your team on what kind of planner you need; what planner suits your business? If you need help, you can consider using Onboard’s agenda builder to avoid getting confused and not start from scratch!
6. Start developing a filing system
Generally speaking, there’s no correct way to develop a filing system. But, until it matches how you work, it’s easy to maintain. To make things simpler and not make your workplace look messy, mix up files both electronically and hard copy-wise so that you don’t have many files around your office. Moreover, don’t be afraid to include electronic forms of your hard copies and vice versa.
Furthermore, this puts an end to saying, “where are the files?” and having people interrupt you out of working hours and more. If you can’t find the hard copy, just search for the electronic form. Taking up physical space isn’t a requirement anymore!
7. Go digital
Being organized digitally is just as tricky as physically when things get out of hand. Create special folders and subfolders in your email inbox for every client you serve and project you participate in. Then, whenever new emails arrive, it won’t be difficult for you and means that you’ll act right away with the appropriate e-folders.
For example, you can consider creating folders each year and include emails in separate folders based on their sent year. Moreover, only keep things that are needed in your email. Don’t allow unnecessary emails to overtake your inbox. You’d be surprised how many emails you actually don’t need. Go ahead and try it out!
8. Try using labels
Labels are excellent practice for organizing files. You can clearly label every file you have and arrange them based on your requirements. For example, you can try ordering them in alphabetical order or by year.
Don’t only use this approach for physical files, you can do this with digital files as well. Files labeled clearly allow you to locate them much more manageable and not waste time searching them up.
9. Don’t forget to take a break
Breaks are significant if you want to stay on the top of your game. Unfortunately, most people will refuse to take breaks, but this isn’t a good practice. In fact, according to a study, many things can go wrong without taking short breaks in between your work intervals.
During your break interval, try walking around, getting some lunch or a snack. Make sure you are actually taking a break and not thinking about work or doing something else related to work! You want to reset your focus completely !
Wrapping it up
That’s all for this article; these were our top nine productivity tips and systems that you can use to re-organize your work at the office or even remotely. You’d be surprised how much time you are actually wasting when working but don’t realize it. The last thing you want is a messy desk and a bunch of files wandering around that you, yourself, don’t even know about.
Keeping files organized at the workplace is essential if you want to maximize your productivity levels. We can indeed agree that not all of our work is at our full potential, but what we can change should be changed. So, keep your desk clean, name your files and organize them based on your requirements, organize them both physically and digitally, and don’t forget to take a break. We are sure you’ll be working in a clean and productive environment if you do all of this!