Successful Time Management For Dummies, 2nd Edition

Part II

Establishing a Good System

When you're organized, your productivity increases, your frustration level decreases, and without clutter, your mind can focus on the tasks at hand. Here are the top five ways to get your workspace in order.

1. Purge your office: De-clutter, empty, shred, get rid of everything that you don't need or want. Look around. What haven't you used in a while?
2. Revise your filing system: The digital age has eliminated the need to store many paper files. Ask yourself what you can store digitally and what files might be duplicated. You may be able to lose some of the files and folders you've used in the past.
3. Clean and organize your desktop: Your first step is to take everything off your desktop and give it a good cleaning. Then put back only the items that you use on a daily basis. Use desktop organizers or containers to organize the items on your desk; use trays for papers and containers for smaller items.
4. Organize your drawers: Use drawer organizers for little items, such as paper clips, tacks, and so on. Put items used together in the same drawer space — for example, put stamps with envelopes. And be sure to use a separate drawer for personal items.
5. Clear your stacks of stuff: With your clean and organized office, you won't create piles of paper anymore! But you still have to sort through the old stacks. Go through it all, a little at a time if necessary, and put everything in the appropriate place … or dump it.

Discover what time-consuming tasks you ...