How to be more organised in 4 easy steps

A guide to organisation – from an account manager whose primary responsibility is to be organised .

Ever wondered how to make the most out of your day? Recently there’s been a trend of people “doing the most” with the same 24 hours in the day as everyone else, which almost makes it seem like they have been gifted an extra couple of hours, miraculously. But how do they do it? We can’t answer for everyone, but there are some tactics which you can implement to make your day more efficient and productive. This is all down to planning. Plan. Plan. Plan. We’re probably going to repeat that a few times…

In this blog, we’re going to delve into the various strategies we use to help you also make the most out of your day, helping you stay organised, manage your time, and achieve your goals. All from our Account Manager, Rhea Zakir.

Whether you’re a student, professional, or someone seeking to enhance their daily routine, this blog will provide you with valuable insights on planning the day for success. Now, over to Rhea for her organisational tips.

1. The power of to-do lists

My top #1 tip for to-do lists is that I usually start them before I finish work the day before. By doing this, it means even if I have morning brain fog, I’m reminded of some of the tasks I’ve got to do which helps me plan ahead and get started straight away. 

Tip #2: In the morning, when I ‘finish’ my to-do list (even though they never are finished in the morning and more things are guaranteed to get added during the day), I will look at the list and try separate out the “quick wins” from the longer tasks. For me, I find it easier to get the quick wins done and out of the way first and leave the rest of the day for lengthier, more time-consuming tasks – this can make you feel more accomplished and makes it seem like you have less things to do rather than if you had started the other way around. And yes, make sure you’re ticking things off or highlighting or crossing things off as you complete, this will give you the satisfaction of emphasising the fact you’ve completed it and will in turn boost motivation. It’s also a visual way to track your progress.

Tip #3: Be realistic. Don’t add 20 things to your to do list for the day if you know for sure you can’t get all of them done. This will be daunting and could make you less productive because you know you’ve got a long day ahead. Instead, you could prioritise the tasks and then add some to the following day’s to-do list. Also, remember to be realistic with how long things take. If writing a blog usually takes you 3 hours but one time it took you 2 hours, schedule it in for the realistic amount of time it usually takes (3 hours) and use the rest of the time to have a break, as I could imagine you’d need it. Then if necessary, you could start your next task sooner if it meant an earlier finish, but be sure to not miss the break, that’s an essential part and we’ll touch on that later on.

Tip #4: Keep contingency time for ad hoc tasks and meetings, they will always pop-up. Which links nicely onto the next section… 

2. Time management

I’m sure you’ve heard plenty of times about time management, but I can assure you, it does actually work, and it’s a lot easier than you think. Below I have listed out some techniques to help you plan your time accordingly. 

Tip #1: Time blocking. Having your to-do list and calendar work in synergy will benefit you in more ways than one. 

Having spoken to my colleagues last week about meetings and schedules, a common factor causing stress and the feeling of disorganisation was down to meetings and prep time not being factored into their schedule, so in the workday, almost all had been allocated to work and then they would have an additional hour or so of meetings per day. This then meant that tasks would sometimes have to fit around the meetings instead of having their own time and place. I’ve definitely been guilty of this in the past, being in a meeting but not 100% concentrating as I’m either working on something else or my mind is elsewhere because I’ve not factored in time for it. Or working an extra hour to finish tasks that weren’t completed.

This is why syncing your calendar and to-do list is essential. 

Being able to see how many meetings you have in the day is essential as it tells you how much time you have left to schedule in your other tasks. But, don’t forget to keep some time aside to prep for the meeting, rather than rushing 2 minutes before the meeting is set to start. A good rule of thumb is 15 minutes prep time per hour meeting.

Another tip mentioned in section #1 which applies to time management is being realistic. If you know you like to have regular breaks (which you should have), but especially after a long call then schedule that into your diary. I’ll cover breaks in more detail later, but even if you know it might take you a bit longer to complete tasks today because you didn’t get the best sleep, then add an extra 10/15 minutes onto the task to allow for that. 

Tip #2: Buffer. Keep some time spare in the diary for any ad hoc tasks, meetings that might come up, or even replying to emails. 

Just because we have (around) 7.5 hours in the working day doesn’t mean every single second of that workday needs to be booked up. I’m not saying that you should leave hours and hours spare for you to twiddle your thumbs, but maybe for days you’re in the office and you know you like to catch up with your colleagues then this buffer time allows for that without you feeling like you don’t have enough time in the day to even say hi. This time is vital for sharing information and bonding with your team, boosting productivity and wellbeing in the long run.

Tip #3: Learn when to say no. 

We can’t be the only one who struggles to say no? Sometimes when we say yes too often, it really does bite us back in the A$$. From experience, just because you can do it all doesn’t mean you have to, and certainly doesn’t mean you should. Being able to say no or even delegate is a useful tool you should get well acquainted with. It doesn’t always have to be as harsh as actually saying no, and finding the sweet spot of setting boundaries can be a challenge. Taking on too much can lead to missed deadlines or burnout, so it’s not good for you or your company. Instead, explain you have a lot on, ask when it is required, and give a realistic timeframe for when you can complete the task.

Tip #4: Avoid giving in to the urge of thinking it’s quicker if I did it myself. 

Say a junior member of the team is asking for some help and instead of thinking it’s easier if I just did it myself, why don’t you say ‘let’s brainstorm some ideas of ways in which that can be achieved’. Once you’ve thrown a few ideas back and forth and they’re on the right track, ask them to put it into practice and come back to you so you can have a read over. This will benefit them for their self-development and you as you’re not now trying to add more work to your already stacked workload.

3. Balancing focus and breaks

Tip #1: Taking breaks boosts productivity – who would’ve thought?

When you work for longer periods of time without a break, how often do you feel refreshed after? Probably never. It’s more a sense of relief that it’s over. Working for extended periods without a break leads to mental and physical fatigue, therefore resulting in decreased productivity and performance. Making sure you take regular breaks allows you to rest and recover, replenishes your energy levels and improves your ability to concentrate and focus for when you do return to your work. Breaks prevent burnout and will actually pay off in the long run for yourself and your company. Otherwise, you may end up overworking yourself, causing burnout and then needing to take a week or two of leave. Then you may start to feel guilty for having to take the time off. So, take some breaks and get refreshed.

Tip #2: Breaks enhance creativity and problem-solving

Have you ever been looking for something and you start getting flustered because you can’t find it, so then you start doing something else and suddenly you remember where you put it? Often because stepping away from the problem at hand allows your mind to wander and generate new ideas – which does pay off, you find the thing you were looking for.

Alternatively, remember that if you’re in the swing of things, fingers to keyboard, typing away and you feel deeply engaged but you’d scheduled a break right bang in the middle of it, being able to recognise this productive state and stay adaptable to your workflow is great. The break can wait .

Tip #3: Awareness

We aren’t going to be focused all hours of the day, nor are our creative juices going to be flowing all day either, so understanding when you do feel the most and least focused can be an advantage. An easy rule of thumb can be the following: 

Most focused – block time out for longer tasks that require more attention. 

Least focused – easy tasks, quick wins that doesn’t have much room for error and don’t require all your attention.

Tip #4: Understand what type of work environments work better for specific tasks. 

My colleague has told me that they prefer to write content on the days that they work from home due to being less distracted. As someone who organises their schedule, this helps me massively as I now know when to book in any type of copywriting. This benefits them as they feel more accomplished being able to complete the task, giving it their full attention. And I benefit as the work gets done. Win, win for us all. 

For me personally, I know I’m more creative when I’m in a group situation rather than having to come up with ideas on my own. Therefore, for any tasks like an ideation session, I would try ensure these are done in person in the office, or at a collaborative working space.

4. Stop relying on your memory

Tip #1: One thing I’ve learned in my 25 years on this planet is to stop relying on my memory. It’s never as good as we think it is.

Even though I do have an excellent memory (if I do say so myself), getting myself into the habit of jotting things down when I think of them has been such a useful tool. This links back to the first section on to-do lists. During the day I might think of tasks I need to do the next day, or that week, or just sometime in the future, and writing that down means I’ve got a point of reference to refer back to and remind me. Would you rather not take two seconds to write it down and know you won’t forget it, or rely on your memory, however excellent it may be, and then run the risk of potentially forgetting? Make use of the notes section of your laptop to jot down quick notes, then set aside some time each day to read through and action or schedule anything required.

So, there you have it. Various strategies for planning your day effectively to enhance productivity. By utilising to-do lists, managing your time, setting boundaries, having buffers, planning ahead, regular break taking, and jotting things down, you should be well equipped to start maximising your productivity and feeling like you’ve got the right amount of hours in the day. This isn’t a one size fits all, so finding what does work for you and implementing that into your life is the key. Here’s to a more organised and productive day ahead.

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