Staying organized and on-task can help boost productivity, no matter how busy your week may seem. However, increased productivity certainly isn’t the only benefit that comes with organization. In fact, Bustle magazine noted that getting organized can have a positive impact on your health as well, helping to increase energy, reduce stress levels and promote better sleep. To help yourself relax and stay focused, give these four organizational techniques a try:
Make lists
Writing everything down that’s on your agenda for the day or week is a great way to prioritize everything you have to get done. Plus, crossing one item off after another is a truly satisfying feeling. If you’re more of a digital person, use your smartphone or computer to draft your to-do lists. Just make sure you choose one tool so you’re not going back and forth between several different lists.
Keep clutter to a minimum
Ever find it hard to concentrate when clutter surrounds you? Well, there may be a reason for that. Princeton University found that when you have too much physical clutter in your surroundings, your ability to focus and process information could be diminished. What’s around you causes your brain to have its attention on numerous things at once, which can increase stress. Take time to throw things away that you no longer use or need, whether it’s tossing unnecessary emails or organizing the stacks of paper on your desk.
Learn to Manage Responsibilities
You have a research paper due by the end of the week, but you also have to find time to work on a big presentation at work. Looking at those tasks at once can seem overwhelming. Instead, try breaking up those big projects into smaller chunks to make them appear less intimidating. First, focus on what’s most important. What’s due first? Then separate the projects into manageable tasks. For instance, spend one afternoon researching and creating an outline for your paper and designate the following day to creating slides for your presentation.
Download an app
Need to get organized? Well, there’s an app for that. There are several free apps available that can help you stay on track right from your smartphone. For example, Cozi is an app that allows you to do set reminders about appointments or even create grocery shopping lists. There’s also Evernote, which is where you can keep all of your notes and paperwork organized, from short to-do lists to long documents. This app syncs up with your computer and stores everything online so you can access it from wherever you are.
* Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook 2021. BLS estimates do not represent entry-level wages and/or salaries. Multiple factors, including prior experience, age, geography market in which you want to work and degree field, will affect career outcomes and earnings. Herzing neither represents that its graduates will earn the average salaries calculated by BLS for a particular job nor guarantees that graduation from its program will result in a job, promotion, salary increase or other career growth.
