6 Top Tips for Staying Organized
Linsay Foley Traffic Director
All of my professional life I have been referred to as a super-organized person. On most days I would agree, but there are some days where staying organized seems like an impossible feat. Emails are constantly flowing into my inbox… I’m being pulled in multiple directions… I have important deadlines on the horizon… I can’t find my favorite pen. You get the point. Here are six tips I follow to help stay organized and reduce stress during the day.
1. Make a to-do list
In my opinion, writing out a to-do list is a key component in staying organized. Try doing this first thing in the morning. It helps schedule out your day and determine priorities so you know what to focus on. When you start to feel overwhelmed, it’s nice to refer back to the list and get grounded in the tasks at hand.
2. Limit multitasking
Have you ever heard of the turtle race? It’s what happens when you’re juggling multiple tasks at once, and you can’t seem to get a single thing done. Try dedicating your time to one task at a time. You’ll be surprised how much faster you get things done. Then you can put a little checkmark on your to-do list, and that is very satisfying!
3. Don’t be a slave to your email
Nothing can get you off track faster than reacting to the emails popping into your inbox. Consider closing your email while you try to tackle a project, or only check your email at the top of the hour. Find what works best for you so you don’t get sucked into the email black hole and lose sight of what needs to be accomplished for the day.
4. Take a break
Are you one of those people who hunkers down and doesn’t come up for air until lunchtime? Or, the day gets away from you, and next thing you know you’re eating lunch at 3 o’clock, and you go home completely exhausted. It’s important to take a break even for just five minutes. Take a quick walk, do some stretches, grab a snack… whatever you choose, you’ll thank yourself later.
5. Take time to clean up
Do you find unrelated documents paperclipped together? Can’t find the email with important information for a project? Take the time to file papers away in folders and recycle what you don’t need. Adopt the same idea for your email inbox as well. As Benjamin Franklin once said: A place for everything and everything in its place, and for every minute spent in organizing, an hour is earned.
6. Stay flexible
Life doesn’t always go as planned. Some days you won’t be able to complete a single task on your to-do list. Some days will be chaotic as you “put out fires.” Be open to the possibility of your day shifting focus because it will happen. Approach the next day with a positive attitude, and don’t forget to make your to-do list.
Linsay Foley
Traffic Director
Linsay has been managing client projects and budgets at Kinetic since February 2016. She comes from a newspaper background where she coordinated the production of more than 100 special projects a year. She thrives in a fast-paced world, inspired by awesome clients and a great team.
When Linsay isn’t wearing her project manager hat, she’s spending time with her husband and three rescue pups, Rusty, Mickey and Bryan, watching her favorite musicals (over and over again) or searching Pinterest for the next recipe to test out.
