It’s January, first full week at work, and it feels like…there’s so much to do already! Our head is still on vacation, and frankly just looking at the state of our desks makes us want to run for the next exit! It’s the start of the new year, and for many of us corporate sisters (with the exception of our super-human, uber-organized counterparts), it may just feel like the start of an organizational headache…Yet it doesn’t have to be though…
- Please, Clean Your Desk! Nothing like a cluttered, paper-filled, disorganized desk to make you want to run for the hills first thing in the morning. As a self-proclaimed slightly moody person, and not much of a morning person (unless you unleash a barking dog at me first thing in the morning), I need MOTIVATION! And since I can’t afford just yet my own personal life coach on call, I need help! And getting to work in the morning to a clean, de-cluttered, even slightly pretty space gives me hope that somehow, some way, I can make it through the first week of the first month of this first month of this new year…So get your Starbucks fix (the new Caramel Flan latte is amaaazing), set an hour or so aside, and get to filing, organizing, maybe even dusting (you know those dust mites are staring at you)..And while you’re at it, why not add some funky, colorful inspirational accessories that make you smile as you go through your first 30 emails since you’ve been back…
- It’s time for Digital De-cluttering! What does that even mean? Well, get acquainted with the term because the whole concept may just keep you from throwing your computer out the 12th floor window…You know after an entire year of saving random files and documents, including your kids’ pictures, those random meeting minutes, etc…, your desktop looks like your grandma’s closet (no disrespect). And let’s not even start with the National State of your Email Inbox, with emails from two years ago that you’re holding on to just because…As to your browser, it desperately needs some saving grace from you opening about 40 tabs at once during your lunch hour (and forgetting to close them). So there goes another hour, and another Starbucks latte, that you may want to dedicate to clearing the digital air around your desk. Take advantage of services such as Dropbox in the cloud to save your extra files, or Evernote for all those reminders and digital sticky notes floating around. Install a cloud bookmarking system for your browser, and as for your inbox, just reload your Starbucks card and start letting go…
- Get a New To-Do List! Better yet, get a new to-do system! Instead of your old, scribbled over, updated-by-the-minute, long-as-hell-to-do-list, invest in an efficient system that will work for YOU. What does a great, productive, off-the-chain week look like for you? Close your eyes, picture it, open your eyes and….put it on paper, NOW! Make a calendar that fits your needs, priorities and deadlines, and once you’ve set up your professional to-do foundation, now in all your professional kindness, let everyone know how you can fit them in…Just sayin’…
Are you getting organized?
