Read these 8 simple tips to organise your work life and reduce work-related stress
1. Make a to-do list
At the end of each day, or week, depending on how busy you are, ensure you take the time to create a to-do list detailing all your required tasks for the following day- this will help wrap up loose ends and finish tasks. You should opt to prioritise them in order of importance. As the day/week goes on, seeing each task get crossed out with be hugely satisfying, reduce stress and act as motivation for the remaining tasks.
2. Create a daily/weekly task list
Create a document you can keep close by with your daily tasks on. These tasks are the ‘bare minimum’ you must complete every day, often repeated on a weekly basis. Ticking each task after completion will ensure you haven’t forgotten any of the basics.
3. Avoid deadlines that lack clarity
'When you can', ‘ASAP’ or ‘right now’ are often used in the workplace as deadlines, however, these are extremely vague. You should ensure you understand when the task is actually required to ensure you can prioritise and organise your tasks appropriately.
4. Organise your inbox
Suffering from ‘inbox congestion’ can become extremely overwhelming – ensure you keep your inbox fully organised. Create folders, use labels and tags to highlight important emails. Delete anything you don’t need – this will ensure you can clearly see the tasks remaining.
5. Declutter your workspace
As with your home life, clutter at work can affect your ability to concentrate and lead to stress. Ensure your desk/work area only has the essentials on display, including documents, stationery and personal ‘ornaments’. Don’t be afraid to be ruthless – do you really need all those pens you picked up at that exhibition? Use the likes of trays and magazine files to store clearly labelled documents.
6. Adopt a RAG filing system
Red – ‘to do’, Orange – ‘in progress’ and Green – ‘complete’. Store documents in designated areas using this code to this to ensure you know exactly where you are with each task. It may be worth labelling each document with a date to ensure nothing is staying in ‘red’ or ‘orange’ for too long.
7. Ensure you have designated spaces for materials
Keep all your work materials is consistent places, returning them after use, to ensure retrieval is easy and stress-free. Try and ensure theres some logic to these locations: e.g. paper stored near the printer, so even if the location does slip your mind for a moment, common sense will kick in.
8. Don’t leave cups at your desk/workplace when you leave
Don't act like a teenager, collecting a multitude of mugs and glasses! Walking into your workspace first thing the following morning to see mess, clutter and dirty crockery will be somewhat irritating and disheartening. If you take pride in your workspace, it’ll naturally become a more appealing and motivating area to be.
