Organization at school, home, or work is a great tool to help us increase our productivity and keep our tasks and projects in order. However, becoming better organized means more than just keeping your pens and pencils in the right drawer. It’s more important to develop good organizing habits and valuable techniques that will keep you on the right track in whatever you have to do at school, home, or work.
Keeping Items Within Arm’s Reach
When in your work space, design your work layout so that everything is within your arm’s reach. We waste so much time having to go out of our way to go get a certain file, look around for a ruler or tape or to make a copy of something. Generally, if you have to leave your work or study space to get something, you can become
distracted or lose focus, which can interfere with your work and your level of productivity. So when you get to your work area or where you study or do homework each day, before you do anything else, reorganize your area so you have immediate access to everything, such as your computer, supplies and even files and folders. Taking time to do this at the beginning of the session will not only better organize your work or study space, but it will save so much time that could have been wasted throughout the day.
Only Have Current Projects on Your Desk
You may have a variety of stacks of papers and projects on your desk, but the key is in knowing what is in them. Keep your desk more organized by only keeping projects that you are currently working with, in your work area. Projects that you have finished should be filed away in the appropriate place, while projects that you haven’t yet started should not be in the work area until needed. Having these projects in sight with your current projects can cause confusion and a lack of focus on unimportant details. Stay focused on current projects by keeping them on your immediate desk area avoiding distractions.
Questions to ask yourself when keeping projects on your desk: When does this need to be finished?
Is it something that can be completed later?
Has this already been completed?
Arranging Your Drawers
When you are organizing your different drawers at work or home, think about how each one functions in your everyday routine. What purpose do your desk drawers serve? How often do you use your filing cabinet drawers? Drawers that are within arm’s reach, such as your desk drawers, should house items that you use often, but don’t necessarily need every day. You want to ensure you have access to everything without a hitch, while not letting things clutter your desk workspace. Keep your filing cabinet drawers organized by a certain filing system, whether it is by color labels or alphabetical sorting. However you decide to arrange and organize your office drawers, be sure to find a method that works for you and will help increase your ease with finding anything you may need.
Organize to Match Your Workflow
Every day you face a variety of tasks or projects to complete, so plan your day accordingly, and plan what you will need to have in order to complete these tasks. If you know you will not need your computer, arrange your workspace to utilize the areas around in and don’t bother with turning it on. If you know you will need the copier or scanner all day, organize the supplies and space you will need to accompany that. When you organize your work area to match your current workflow, less time is wasted trying to move between different areas or side step certain supplies, and will increase your productivity throughout the day.
Tips to help organize with your workflow:
Decide what tools you will need for the day
Determine if additional supplies are needed
Focus on that project or set of tasks for the day. Don’t try to mix in other things.
Dr. Eric J. Nach, Ph.D., M.Ed., A.S.D.C., is a Developmental and Behavioral Specialist who specializes in Autism, ADHD and related disorders. Dr. Nach is the founder of the College Life Skills Program where he and his team of professional’s help develop the Emotional Maturity, Executive Functioning, Life Skill and Social Abilities of college students and those high school students preparing for college. The CollegeLSP is a subsidiary program of the Support For Students Growth Center, in Boca Raton, FL.
