Rather than surfing the Internet or chatting with colleagues while you’re waiting for the five o’clock bell to ring at the end of this workday, take some time to organize your office and prepare for tomorrow by following these quick tips:
Organize Your Desk
Place all other paperwork where it belongs (click here for some easy-to-use filing suggestions) and clear your desk of any clutter. Toss the garbage, put pens back in their places and straighten the desk accessories. Starting with a clean desk each and every day will help you get more work done, rather than spending your time looking for things. Click here for tips on having an organized desk.
Clean Your Inbox
According to a report released a few years ago by The Radicati Group, Inc., a technology market research firm, the typical corporate email user sends and receives at least 110 messages daily. How many emails are sitting in your inbox? Hundreds? Maybe thousands? Set up folders to keep emails organized (and keep you from missing important ones!) and spend a few minutes at the end of each day cleaning out your inbox and folders.
Plan for Tomorrow
Take a quick look at your calendar to see what appointments, phone calls and meetings you have set for the next day. Do you have everything you need for each activity? Take time to write down addresses, call-in numbers and names of clients in addition to pulling together the materials you will need for each call or appointment. This is also a good time to coordinate other tasks on your list—can you drop off the postcards to be printed on the way to your 9:00 AM meeting? Do you drive right by the office supply store on your way back to the office? Add those tasks to your To Do list (see below)
Make a To Do List
Grab a notebook (or one of these great note taking apps!) and just start brain dumping everything that needs to be done. Make sure you are very detailed with this list—giving as much information as possible so you aren’t left scrambling to find things the next day. Prioritize the list, making sure you leave enough time to tackle more detailed tasks (like your expense report) and moving tasks that you know can wait. Crossing everything off of a To Do list is a great way to keep your mental space clean and healthy. Want the To Do list making task to go even faster? Create a TOMORROW folder for your inbox and on your desk for anything that pops up that needs to be tackled the next day. At the end of the day, simply go through those folders to make your To Do list.
Make Copies
We suggest making an electronic copy of the next day’s agenda and tasks and emailing it to yourself and a colleague/assistant. If you find yourself stuck in traffic or are unable to make it into the office, you will still have the contact information and details needed to get the job done—even if getting it done means calling a colleague to step in for you.
Talk to us: What is the one thing you do before you leave the office?
image courtesy of flickr CC/Darren