How to stay organized at work

Read this great piece by F. John Reh and it's so fitting to share:

Do you need to organize your work life? Are you frequently overwhelmed by the workload and information overload? Are you frustrated that you don't know how or where to start? Don't worry. We've all been there and help is possible. Let's look at the areas of your work life that need organization and tackle them one at a time.

Perhaps the most important of the time management secrets is to do the right things first. Organize Yourself

It's easy to lose focus and spend a lot of time on things that are urgent, but not important. The trick is to stay focused on the important things and not waste your limited amount of time on anything else. Here are some ways to do that.

• Read the 80/20 Rule, also known as Pareto's Principle. This article explains the rule in detail and tells how you can use it to more effectively manage time and many different aspects of your life.

• Get A To Do List That Works. Somehow there never seems to be enough hours in the day to accomplish all the things on your to-do list. Here is the system that has worked for me. It can work for you too.

Organize Your Desk

• Every day more information is thrown at you. Too busy to deal with it right away you Let it pile up. Now you can fight back. Read What's Wrong With A Messy Desk?

Organize Your Office/Cubicle

It doesn't really matter whether you have a corner office with an expansive view or are in a windowless cubicle, there are always things you can do to organize the rest of your office (beyond your desk as discussed above) that will help you be more productive.

Organize Your Incoming Info

• Most email programs give you tools to manage your email and reduce clutter. This article will show you how to use them to get your email under control and ​avoid the email avalanche.

• When you've cleaned up your desktop, it can seem like a losing battle to keep it clean. But you can keep the paper flow on your desk from getting out of hand.

Organize Your Storage

There are two parts to this issue - what to keep and how to store it so you can find it when you need it.

• Filing systems Mastering Your Filing System

• How Long to Keep State Tax Records - by State

Organize Your Team/Organization

• Up, down, or sideways, the better you manage the other people in your organization, the easier your job will be. You need to be able to successfully network, not just with your peers, but also with your bosses and your employees.

• Don't put The Right People in the Wrong Jobs

• Creating an org chart for your department or for an entire company is pretty easy. Here's a quick guide on How to Build an Org Chart

• We all want to Get The Boss To Agree when we present a request. Often he or she says "no". The problem may not be in what you asked for. Instead, it may be in how you asked for it.