Work On Your Wellness: Get Organized
Being organized has advantages. Organization can contribute to professional advancement and personal well-being. Following an organized schedule reduces stress and builds confidence, thereby helping IT workers focus and perform better in the workplace. Lower stress and more time for oneself can bring about positive lifestyle changes that promote health, balance, and happiness.
Some people have an organized personality. Organization comes naturally to them. They are used to keeping things in order at home and at work. But not everyone is inclined this way. For some, a degree of disorderliness is the norm. They are used to living amidst some clutter and chaos. Some artists and other creatives are comfortable with a messy desk or studio. Albert Einstein was famously untidy.
In a professional environment, however, where one has to meet deadlines and often collaborate with coworkers to complete projects, a well-organized schedule can promote efficiency and help further goals. When you have all tasks, projects, meetings and deadlines marked on a calendar, it becomes easier to prioritise, plan work and establish a routine.
If you’re not naturally organized, don’t worry. Organization is not necessarily and exclusively a characteristic — it is also a habit that can be developed. Habits are behaviours or actions that are performed automatically.
An automatic action is the result of repeating that action frequently in the same setting. According to research on habits by Phillipa Lally and team, published in the European Journal of Social Psychology, it takes 66 days on average to form a new habit.
Benefits of organization
The constant pressure to meet deadlines can be very stressful and detrimental to general well-being. Overwhelmed workers can experience challenges at work and in personal life. Organizing one’s workload helps save time, enhance productivity, and improve work-life balance.
Managing one’s personal life better involves prioritising family commitments and forming healthy lifestyle habits, such as eating balanced meals at fairly regular intervals, exercising, getting adequate sleep and making some time for yourself.
Changing behaviour patterns and developing organization in your professional and personal space can bring significant benefits:
Reduced Stress — Organization helps you manage your workload better. Being able to complete projects on time reduces work-related stress and increases confidence.
Increased Productivity — Being organized helps you focus on completing tasks in order of priority and meeting deadlines on schedule. When you don’t have to rummage through papers, emails, notes and other documents, it takes less time to finish assigned work and frees up time for creative thinking and high-impact work.
Improved Work-Life Balance — When you follow an organized schedule, you are more likely to get your work done during office hours and less likely to take work home and spend personal time answering calls and responding to e-mails. This leaves evenings and weekends free for family, friends, and yourself. Better work-life balance enhances mental and physical wellbeing and has a positive impact on professional and personal life.
Better Quality of Sleep — Lower anxiety and not having to check work e-mails and messages outside working hours helps you sleep better and longer.
Better Exercise/Relaxation — Everyone needs to take a break and relax. It helps calm the mind and free up mental space. Slotting in some physical activity in your daily routine can improve physical fitness to a significant extent. Exercising a few times a week is also beneficial.
More Time for Hobbies — Spending time on enjoyable and stimulating pursuits in your free time brings a sense of satisfaction and contributes to better mental health.
Workplace Benefits of Organization
Organization helps you perform better, accomplish more and move ahead in your career. Being organized facilitates the achievement of both short- and long-term career objectives. Organized people normally complete work in less time. This makes it possible for them to develop new skills and knowledge in their free time.
In the personal space, being organized can help you spend more time with family and fulfil family responsibilities, adopt a healthy lifestyle and have more control of your life.
How to Get Organized
Getting organized is possible for anyone who is willing to adopt the right strategies and form a habit of following the same.
Here are some techniques and strategies:
Time management — Time management is a critical skill and key to being organized. There are a number of time-management techniques, which include the Pomodoro technique, time blocking, eating-the-frog and time-boxing.
A Pomodoro refers to a short work phase of 25 minutes during which one minimizes distractions and tries to focus totally on work. This is followed by a 5-minute break, after which one begins the second phase of work and so on.
As for eating the frog, Mark Twain allegedly said, “If it’s your job to eat a frog, it’s best to do it first thing in the morning. And if it’s your job to eat two frogs, it’s best to eat the biggest one first.”
The eat-the-frog-first method is a popular time management technique. When productivity consultants advise you to eat the frog first thing in the day, they mean you would do well to deal with the most challenging tasks first.
Once you get the most complex work out of the way, take on the second-most difficult one and keep going until you have the relatively simple tasks to complete at the end of the day.
Time blocking refers to including all activities, including coffee and lunch breaks in your daily schedule. This helps you keep track of time spent on each activity. Time-boxing involves fixing timelines for each task. Aim to finish each task within a specific time.
Organize Your Workspace — Declutter your desk and arrange documents in files. Create a digital or physical filing system that works for you.
To-Do Lists — Make lists of all tasks that need to be completed. You can use automations and templates to simplify your work process and ensure you don’t miss anything.
Calendars and Schedules — You can use a digital or paper calendar to mark all work events for each month and schedule your commitments.
Prioritize work — Prioritizing work in line with company objectives will help you take care of the most important work first.
Establish and Follow a Routine — Make it a habit to stick to a daily routine. When you complete a task, strike it off your to-do list.
Plan meals — It’s important to eat balanced meals at regular intervals to help maintain stable energy levels. Avoid unhealthy fast food. In order to eat healthy, you need to plan meals in advance.
Focus on Work — Avoid checking e-mails and messages as they arrive because this disturbs concentration and disrupts work. Depending on the work, it might help to break down tasks into manageable components.
GoCertify's mission is to help both students and working professionals get IT certifications. GoCertify was founded in 1998 by Anne Martinez.
