{Sometimes I just can’t think of a good title for posts – so I omit them. Hope you don’t mind.}
The last couple weeks have been insane. Work has been super busy – we are holding an event today in Boston & pulling together the last minute details for some trade shows. I had almost forgotten how much I truly love event planning.
In honor of my millions of “to do” lists sitting on my desk, filled with tasks so insignificant it’s a wonder anyone ever remember to include them in the first place – here are my tricks for staying organized in the most chaotic of situations.
- Keep a running “to do” list, & refer back often. Remember to check things off as you go (I like to also write little notes along with them when I complete them, i.e.: “6/9 – emailed list to Bob Smith, received confirmation”). Also, don’t be afraid to keep adding things to your “to do” list. My personal favorite thing to so is to add something I’ve already completed just so I can check it off & remind myself that it’s done at a later date, so I don’t end up duplicating efforts, or going crazy looking through my files for some sort of confirmation (… and I love seeing crossed off items on my “to do” list, haha).
- Print out every confirmation & important e-mail exchange. I know this seems wasteful, but it’s easier (for me, anyway) to keep 1 folder of hardcopy important documents than shuffling through all of your inbox items & computer files.
- Keep notes on all telephone conversations, or send follow-up e-mails immediately (& CC your boss or relevant co-workers). I’m not saying that every single phone call you have needs to have an e-mail to follow, but if you are on the phone with a vendor discussing shipments that must be delivered by a certain date, it’s important to put it in writing & get an affirmative response from them. CC-ing your boss or co-workers will also let people know that you are on top of things.
MORE TIPS AFTER THE JUMP!
- DON’T go crazy with the CC or Reply To All. You needn’t CC everyone in the office, or use Reply To All for every e-mail exchange. Copy people if/when necessary, and use “Reply All” only if everyone included in the e-mail chain actually does need to know your response. Otherwise, you are cluttering people’s inbox – & you know how much that sucks.
- Be clear & concise – ask follow-up questions when necessary, & never be afraid to recap. But don’t take it too far. If you end up needing your boss to recap every single meeting for you, or to explain how to do every little thing, they are going to get frustrated. If you truly need help with something, ask away – but make sure you are being honest with yourself – have you really tried to figure it out, or solve the problem on your own? Have you given it your best & just can’t come up with the right solution? If the answer is yes, then ask. If the answer is no, then put in your due diligence & make sure you try to do your job, before telling your boss that you can’t.
- If there is a problem, always come prepared with a solution. If you go to your boss with every single problem & never seem to be proactively attempting to rectify the situation, your boss will eventually wonder why they have you around, if they’re still doing all the work. My rule of thumb is to always try to present at least 1 solution with every problem. After your boss has learned that you are fully capable of recognizing a problem & delivering a good solution, they will trust you to make the call on your own, without needing to double check with them.
- Don’t get discouraged. You aren’t going to walk into a job & start running the show on the first day, & (especially in a situation like mine, where I switched industries completely) you might not always know what the correct answer is. But as long as you are actively learning, asking relevant, important questions & truly doing the best you can – your boss will see & appreciate that.
- Keep your computer files organized. It’s frustrating when I open a shared drive & just see hundreds of documents, with names like “Dave, Order” or “Conference – Blue”… what does that mean?! When I name documents, I try to put a pretty complete description of what it is, i.e.: Conference XYZ – Registration Forms for Bob Smith – 6.9.11. I also try to make sure that my documents are kept within files – every event gets its own file, maybe even with sub files (i.e.: A “Conference XYZ” folder, with sub folders called “Travel”, “Shipping”, “Completed Orders”, “Pending Orders”, “Marketing Materials”).
So what are some of YOUR tips for staying organized at the office, at school, or even when you’re getting ready to go grocery shopping?