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Organizing Tips
- Discard useless and outdated items. Purge your belongings at least once a year. If you have not used something or worn it in a year, it is time to let go.
- Create a place for everything you own, and locate often used items in a convenient place.
- Banish clutter. Use bins, baskets, stacking trays, etc., to keep things organized.
- Put things back in the proper place after use. Do not create piles.
- Consider your work habits in order to make your space work for you.
- Record appointments and deadlines on a calendar. Consult the calendar on a daily basis.
- Hang a bulletin board by your computer or in an accessible place.
- Have a specific place for outgoing and incoming mail. Open incoming mail near a trash can and discard junk mail immediately.
- File paperwork on a consistent basis, and purge files every six months.
- Combine like tasks (for example, running errands).
- Get others involved in returning items to their proper places.
Time Management Tips
- List goals and set priorities—A's for most important,
B's for next important, C's for least important.
- Write down your
ideas, and don't trust your memory even if it is good.
- Make a daily "To Do" list the first thing
every morning; keep it with you at all times.
- Don't try to do more than one item on your list at a
time; work on one thing until finished.
- Get enough sleep at night; don't catnap during the day.
- Ask this question often: What is the best use
of my time right now?
- Use your high productivity hours for your most stressful
projects; use your low productivity hours for easy-to-do projects
and casual reading.
- Do it now! Procrastination creates trouble and
extra work.
- Do one least enjoyed task each day.
- Get into the habit of comprehending what you read the first
time you read it.
- Carry reading material with you at all times; use waiting
time to read.
- Use the telephone more to save time.
- Keep two kinds of people out of your life: Those who
make unreasonable demands on your time and those who constantly
try to take advantage of you.
- Be candid when someone asks, "Have a minute?" Learn
to say NO.
- Distinguish between the urgent and the important.
- Don't waste time regretting your failures.
- Keep a list of things that can be done in five minutes or
less. When
you have five minutes, go to the list and pick one.
- Ask yourself if this activity needs to be done at all or
who should be doing it; eliminate all unnecessary activities.
- Tackle time-consuming projects in stages—break them
up.
- Have a place for everything, and keep everything in its place.
Copyright—Carol A. Silvis, M.Ed., 2008
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