Let’s Chat…Organizing a Work Day!
Welcome back, everyone! Today, we’re here to supply you with a bunch of tools through which you can organize your work day. Whether you’re planning for a return to hybrid or full in-person work format, working fully remotely, or in the office every day, following an organization strategy is key to creating daily consistency and ensuring that you are setting yourself up for daily success. Keep reading to find out about 4 main organizational strategies and identify the best fit for you and your role!
Organizing your Work Day…
- The MIT Method: Standing for “most important tasks first,” the MIT method focuses primarily on the prioritization of obligations and deadlines. It’s easy to log onto your computer and feel compelled to check emails or tackle other administrative-like tasks that are looming over your day. However, we encourage you to explore a new way to stimulate the start of your workday by categorizing your highest priorities and getting to them before all else! If anything, make sure to block out the time that you spend doing the more tedious types of tasks so that you don’t end up dedicating hours of filler time to work that could get done more quickly if given full attention (for example: going through emails every day from 9:00-10:00 AM instead of every hour or as they come in).
- A/B Scheduling: This technique brings me back to my days in high school, filled with “A” and “B” days splitting courses up throughout the week. In reflecting on this experience, I think that it poses a fantastic opportunity to refresh and recharge on new tasks without becoming fatigued. So, try out breaking up your priorities into two schedules, A and B. See if this allows you to recharge and come back with a fresh and rejuvenated mindset on a periodic basis instead of the repetition of one schedule for each day. For example, if you spend half of your days tracking projects towards deadlines, and the other half planning for new types of work, make sure to switch off so that you can mentally prepare for what the day holds and understand what to expect! Many roles are filled with a variety of responsibilities, so identifying them and separating them into buckets is a great way to stay focused and on track with deliverables.
- Energy Flow: Energy flow is presented with its title because it signifies 50-90 minute “sprint” work periods throughout the day. Let’s be honest, we are not our most productive selves 100% of the time throughout the workday. So, to combat dips in energy and a clouded mind, try out energy flowing through tasks! If you’re the most productive and awake in the morning, after lunch, at the end of the day, or whenever, fit your flows in here. And always make sure to give yourself breaks throughout the day to consistently recharge and remove yourself temporarily from screens!
- The Pomodoro Technique: Similar to a few of the other strategies, this technique utilizes 25-minute blocks of uninterrupted productivity on a single task. If you’ve been dreading an upcoming presentation, putting off a certain project, or otherwise need to sit and focus for a solid block of time, this is a great strategy for you. If you’re easily distracted by other tasks, this may be for you too!
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