As an unorganized person myself,  I've always been into the work smarter-not harder mindset but couldn't get myself to follow it until recently when I discovered a few ways of getting more organized with my work.

Why it is important to be organized?

Being organized makes it easier to establish a healthy routine that reduces the stress and anxiety of our daily tasks. Creating a good routine will assist in creating patterns that make you feel at ease at work.  That's why it's extremely important to learn how to work smart by being organized before starting your week, so that you can avoid burnout.

The best way of staying organized is to start each week with a to-do list. You can spend 10 minutes on Monday to plan ahead for the week. This will set the stage for all your high level priorities that you know that you need to get done during the week.

The first step in maintaining organization at work is to set clear priorities. Not everything is of equal importance, so categorize tasks into three main categories: urgent, important, and non-urgent/non-important. Focus your energy on the urgent and important tasks first, and avoid the tasks that don't align with your goals.

1. Plan everything out in your calendar. The fact that calendars are among the most productive tools is not a secret. Planning your calendar helps you with you time management, allows you to cross things off your to-do list, and help you as a reminder of future projects.

2.Create your daily/weekly tasks in Google Calendar. I find it useful because they remind me of the tasks that need to be completed during that day. I usually put them in my calendar and mark them as done after I complete them. You can put more tasks if you want for that day and  if you tick them from the menu they will disappear from your calendar.

To create a task go to your Calendar> on the right-corner click on Tasks>click on Add a task. After adding your task in the calendar make sure the Tasks option is ticked under My calendars so it can appear in your calendar.

3.Time-Block your calendar for deep work. This means no meetings- no distractions -just work- (you'll be amazed on how much you'll get done by doing this).

4. Clear and organize your inbox regularly/ put your emails into different categories. If you receive lots of emails and don't know which to prioritize first you can create rules to sort your emails automatically or folders to organize them in order or based on priority. You can read more information in here if you are interested in this.

5. Keep notes-  Writing things down during meetings can help you stay focused and organized. You can either keep your notes on paper or by using sticky notes/ google keep .  

For me, a good way to keep notes is by using Google Keep, apparently here you can keep your notes and even share them with others, add pictures etc.

6. Avoid multi-tasking. Pick one thing to work on during that day and do your best until it's done. Try to avoid multi-tasking because you'll often get less done when you try to focus on many things at the same time. Also, multi-tasking makes it difficult for people to  maintaining focus in general, so it is always a good idea to only have one task at a time.

7. Take care of your mental health. I can't stress enough the importance of taking breaks between tasks. I've noticed that my attention and general productivity decreased  when I neglected my breaks. That's why it is important to allow time for your mind to regroup and recharge.

Make sure you take 10 minutes break every 50-60 minutes to refresh your brain and increase your ability to focus.

When you take care of your well-being, you're better equipped to handle the challenges of a busy work environment.

Staying organized at work is about creating a structured environment that supports your productivity and mental health. By implementing these strategies, you can navigate your tasks and responsibilities with confidence. Becoming good with organization takes time and practice, so be patient with yourself and celebrate your progress along the way.

Hope that helps!! Also,  massive appreciations to Timea for giving me this amazing idea and inspiration to write the blog post!