Learn Exactly How to Get Organized So You Can Finally Get Things Done

So Many people struggle at one time or another with getting things in their lives organized so they can get things done, whether it is at home or at work. As a matter of fact, two of the main complaints that I hear from executives and managers at all levels is how busy they are and how they don’t have enough time to do what they have to do. Both of which result in them feeling stressed and burnt out. If these feelings continue for extensive periods, they can prohibit your ability to access creativity and getting the desired results you want.

In many discovery sessions with my clients, here are some of what they reveal:

1.       Dis-organization.

This is when you do not plan your activities efficiently. You do not create a system or process for yourself and your workflow and ultimately create dis-order and too often, chaos.  This sometimes redound to do-overs, multiple people doing the same things without knowing until its too late, not to mention people doing un-necessary work. I remember consulting with an organization and discovering a whole team of people doing work that nobody was checking, measuring nor requiring!

You get trapped in feeling “busy” and yet not productive or not as productive as you could be. People come to you for everything; some things, you may be required to address, although not at their time and many things are not really for you to resolve, but you allow the on-going disruptions by accommodating them. Sometimes, your desk is cluttered or your filing and retrieval system is not set up to align with how you work and what you need close at hand. Which explains perfectly why you feel stressed. 

 2.       Lack of focus

You allow yourself to get distracted by seemingly urgent matters. Other times you get distracted by your own discomfort of having to sit and stay focused on your important work.  Work that is likely to get you closer to your overall objective. This becomes evident when you find yourself wanting to do something else other than what you have tasked yourself to do. Things like getting a glass of water, making a phone call, checking on what other people are doing, allowing interruptions. Anything to distract you from your work.

 3.       Unwillingness to delegate

This one is a tough one for many. Too often, leaders believe it’s easy to “just do it myself” to avoid the challenge of having to explain what they want done, sometimes for the first time, others for the tenth time. Some leaders believe that taking on these tasks themselves is a way of preventing their team members from feeling stressed and overwhelmed.

 How to Change this Pattern

 The first step to changing this pattern is becoming aware of it. Do an audit of your day to assess exactly how you spend each hour of your day. You may be surprised at what you’re doing with your time.

The second step is to accept your current reality, recognizing that you have done the best you can with all you know, without beating yourself up or blaming anybody, including yourself. It is from this place of acceptance that you can look to next steps and see all the choices available to you.

The third step is to decide what you want to deliberately use your time to focus on and what you consciously want to spend your hours doing each day.

Getting Organized

Once you have decided and are committed to making these changes, be aware that it will take time, patience and a plan.

Here are some tools to get you started:

1.       3D’s. Create the 3 categories of tasks.

Do. These are those tasks that only you can do. Eg.  Relationship building with your team or going to the Doctor.

Don’t. These are tasks that you can easily pay someone else to do such as filing, picking up clothes from the cleaners, going to the supermarket etc.

Delegate. These are tasks that are best done by other skilled personnel such as Accounting, Marketing or IT 

2.      The Folder. Create a Folder as a part of your filing system where everything pertaining to the project or client paperwork goes there so it eliminates scrambling for all the pieces when needed. 

3.       Touch the Paper Once. Action it/delegate it/ file it /dump it

4.       Your Calender. Create a weekly schedule of all your activities and tasks. Commit to following it.

What are the benefits?

1.       Higher productivity

-          List making allows you to prioritize.

-          Focus on each task.

2.       Reduced stress

-          Increase confidence.

-          Increase the experience you have in your own life. 

3.       Improved working environment

-          De-clutter creates more space to work.

-          Develop a new habit of staying organized.

I’m Nadine Seaga and I’m a Life & Leadership Coach, Founder & Chief Energy Officer (CEO) of People Development Consultants. I can help you to harness your full potential and the full potential of your most valuable asset! Check out more of my website here at pdconsults.com for more information or shoot me an email at nadine@pdconsults.com to connect and get started on this life-changing work.