What you do at work each and every day goes well beyond what’s in your formal job description. It’s often the little things you do on a daily basis that will set you up to succeed or fail at whatever your position entails.
One of those little things is organization.
Have you ever been in search of a piece of information and spent the entire afternoon searching for it? Or maybe your desk is overflowing with items that could use a home?
No matter what your unique situation, we could all use a couple of pointers when it comes to keeping important business information organized.
Table of Contents
Create a Central Database for Information
There’s nothing more frustrating than trying to remember where you put something. Technology can make the search even more frustrating.
Instead of visiting separate databases and searching each one individually, use data catalog software to keep all that information in one place.
By consolidating all of your information into a single repository, all you have to do is search for an item once, and the software will retrieve the data, no matter what it’s an original location. It will undoubtedly save you a lot of time, and it will save you a lot of frustration.
Don’t Wait to File Important Information
When you have so many things to do, it can feel irritating to have to take time out of your day to file away important information, whether that means organizing it in the cloud or filing papers away in a filing cabinet.
Although it may seem frustrating, it’s better to file that information properly as soon as you can rather than waiting until it all piles up. By following the two-minute rule, and completing all filing tasks that take less than two minutes as they come up, you’ll ensure everything ends up exactly where it’s supposed to go. Not to mention, your office and desktop will be a lot cleaner!
Organize Your Passwords
Have you ever wasted precious time entering a slew of passwords to log into a program, only to end up having to reset it? You aren’t alone.
We all have countless passwords and advice that are meant to keep our passwords secure so that every password we create are entirely unique.
You’ll feel much better, and you’ll save much of your time if you organize your passwords. A password organizer like LastPass is a quick and easy way to store your passwords so you can retrieve them as needed, it can be just as effective as writing them down.
Just make sure you don’t use a Word document that’s saved on your computer to store passwords. That would make it too easy for hackers to get ahold of your information!
Organize Your Inbox
Many of us are slaves to our inboxes. We spend way more time than we should be combing through messages, making sure we aren’t missing an essential piece of information. It’s a huge time taking task and can leave you with very little energy for others.
- Setting up different accounts for work, personal use, and newsletter subscriptions.
- Creating different folders for your work account to keep information organized.
- Always unsubscribing to emails that are no longer relevant or useful.
- Using a calendar that interfaces with your email to make scheduling meetings and appointments easier.
- Planning specific times to check your inbox throughout the day.
- Striving to empty your inbox, or getting as close as you can, every day.
A Place for Everything, and Everything in Its Place
You’ve probably heard the phrase, “A place for everything, and everything in its place.” It’s true when cleaning your home in the spring, and it’s right in the office if you want to keep relevant information organized.
Use a label maker to label cabinets, drawers, baskets, and anything else that contains essential information. Proper labeling and filing systems on the computer and in the cloud can help too. That way, everything has a place. Your coworkers will know where everything goes too, which means something won’t accidentally get filed away in the wrong spot!
Don’t let a large chunk of your day get drained away due to poor organization. It’s true that the tips on this list might take a little extra time upfront, but it will pay off in the long run. You’ll know exactly where to find everything so you can give 110-percent to more important tasks at work.
