Efficiency and organization are important. We all work hard, but, if you’re going to put in the effort and time, are you reaching your goals? This could be the calls you planned to make in a given day, or tasks or projects on your to do list (assuming you use one). It’s one way to try to be efficient and organized. Many ideas exist to help with this and most are right in front of us, but can be easily missed.
Are you a morning person or a night owl? Either way, do you schedule your days to take advantage of when you have energy and alertness, or do you slog through your day based on other’s schedules or because of perceived “normal” work hours? Fighting this makes no sense, when most people can work remotely from anywhere at any time of day or night. Sometimes you may have to show up at an hour of the day not optimal to your internal clock, but scheduling work when you are more likely to be in the zone just makes sense.
Another area we all can work on is organization. It doesn’t matter if you hand-write a to do list, calendar items, use tasks in Outlook, or an app meant to help with organization. You have to find what works for you and it may not be the first thing you try, or even the second. Whatever you try, make it as simple as possible because your system shouldn’t be so time consuming it actually is inefficient unless you find no other way to stay organized or on task.
I encourage you to speak with others on how they work. It’s kind of like diets these day in that everyone seems to have their own way of doing things. Something someone you know is doing may be your answer to efficiency and organization. Or maybe part of what they’re doing can work in the system you already have, but make it a little better. Between trying new things and being honest with yourself about how you work best is the opportunity to improve your efficiency and organization. Done right, it can free up more time. Then you have to decide whether to work more or take some well-earned time for yourself. It sure seems like a good problem to have.
