I know I’m starting to sound like a broken record BUT being back in the office changed my weekly routine drastically. I had to plan my meals (more on that later this week!!!) and pick outfits for each day (also coming this week….hop on over on Wednesday!). But in order to stay organized at home and at work I’ve been relying on some productivity apps and tricks to help my days.
review my calendar before the week starts
I review both my personal and work calendars at the start and end of every week – this helps me make sure I’m not forgetting anything super important! Knowing what client meetings I have coming up helps me prepare for the week and know what to expect each day. Looking at my calendar (and making sure it’s updated!) are essential for keeping everything going in my personal life! I love Google Calendar on my phone but rely on this planner at home.
block off time on my work calendar to do ACTUAL work
I don’t know about you but my calendar fills up quickly with meetings! So in order to keep myself task I schedule blocks of time to get things done – I leave my time as “free” in Outlook in case things come up. I use this more as a reminder to me to dedicate time to getting things done. It’s harder to forget items if they pop up as a reminder!
write things down
I don’t trust myself to remember anything that I don’t write down! There are too many random things that come up in daily life to try and stress about remembering them. I LOVE Google Keep and use it all the time for shopping lists, reminders, and general notes. I also am a big fan of keeping notepads anywhere you could need to write something down – the kitchen counter, your bathroom, bedside table, etc! How cute is this notebook, and this notepad?
inbox zero mentality
This is a bit harder in my personal life because I’m not as obsessive about my emails, but at work I try not to let my inbox get above 5 unread emails. Sound crazy? Well I love it because it forces me to be organized! If you haven’t heard of “inbox zero” there’s a full explanation here but here’s the spark notes edition: each email has 5 potential options. Delete, delegate, defer, respond, and do.
Not relevant? Delete it. Is someone else working on this project? Forward the email (aka delegate). Know the answer right away? Respond to the email right then. Is an email asking you to do a task? I usually write a note and then sort the email into the appropriate folder. Emails that need to be “deferred” are the ones I need to dig into more and I mark those as unread. This really helps keep my inbox clean and I don’t get overwhelmed when I look at it! I’ve done all the tasks I could, replied when I could, and made notes of outstanding tasks. See, no stressful emails lurking!
write to-do lists daily
Before leaving work each day I look at that day’s to-do list, cross off everything I did, and write the outstanding items down on tomorrow’s list. Then I add anything I know I need to do the next day. I throw out that old list and start fresh each day! I also add to the list all day as things come up (in email, meetings, etc). This REALLY helps me not stress at home and worry about things I might forget – I know I’ve got my trusty list sitting on my desk when I get back in the morning!
Sorry for this post basically becoming a brain dump of my work mentality….I really do love writing lists and sorting emails! (ha) After feeling a lot of stress my first few months after college trying to remember everything I realized I didn’t need to rely on my memory – so that’s why I use all these tricks! I hope that something today has been valuable or interesting to you – let me know if you have any questions in the comments!
