by Some offices are just plain chaotic, be it due to a disorganized team, corporate culture, or the unpredictability of the workload. But if you’re someone who loves set structures, a chaotic workplace can really drive you crazy. You certainly can’t change all the office cultures, but you can lessen the impact of chaos in your workplace. Bring structure to your schedule by creating and following a prioritized to-do list for each workday. Avoid interruptions and keep an eye on your tasks and projects.
Take a break if you feel overwhelmed. Leave the office for a moment, go for a walk or get a coffee. If you can’t leave the office, take a mental break by closing your eyes for a moment or doing a few stretching exercises at your desk. A break like this can give you a boost of freshness and you don’t feel like the surrounding chaos is going to suck you up.
Organization in the workplace
In many cases, you will have more planned for your working day than you can actually handle. Inquiries and e-mails that you are supposed to answer or unforeseen interruptions quickly come in and throw your plan overboard. Nevertheless, when you start work, you should take a few minutes to write down: What absolutely needs to be done today? In what thing do I want to move forward today? Write down the most important unfinished business tasks and structure them. Start with those who are particularly important, who are manageable, or who can be done without coordination with others. You delegate other work or do it later in the day. Allow time for the unforeseen and check off what has been done. That makes you feel good!
Pay attention to punctuality
It is always annoying when meetings start later than planned because those present have to wait for others. If the meeting is scheduled at 11 a.m., it must start at that time. Make a habit of being there five minutes in advance. Then you will be on time in any case and can use the time to prepare for the conversation and sort your documents.
In the same way, the meeting should end when it is scheduled according to the agenda and invitation. A meeting that is delayed by half an hour messes up everyone’s schedule. Follow-up appointments cannot be kept. If you have the impression that certain topics cannot be dealt with by the planned end, ask 15 minutes before the end: How do we deal with the limited time?
Crime scene desk
If you’ve spent twenty minutes looking for a piece of paper that if you had tidied it up, you could have found it in twelve seconds, you surely understand how valuable desk tidiness is. We often spend most of our working day at our desks. In addition to the computer and the telephone, there must also be space for many other office supplies. Don’t forget coffee, cell phone, and other personal items. Then it can get tight. And when files, documents, and notes are added, chaos in the workplace is inevitable. However, since the desk is often referred to as the company’s calling card, especially when it comes to customer contact, you should have an appealing, tidy desk. In the event of disorder, it is easy to conclude that there is chaos, excessive demands, lack of competence, and problems.
Stop the chaos – this is how you bring order to your desk
Put back
If you want to permanently eliminate the chaos, you should get used to assigning your work utensils fixed places. All pens in one pen holder. Staples, punches, scotch tape, paper clips, and the like in a specific drawer. Letters and notes in special trays, and so on. Important: after you have used the devices, put them back in their place every time. Don’t just let it lie. That saves search time.
Throw it away
Do you think your desk is too small? I’m telling you a bigger desk isn’t the solution. Let’s be honest: How many pens are in your drawer? How many more on the table? And how many of them do you use regularly? Exactly – pens that no longer write belong in the trash can. Otherwise, a pen, pencil, and maybe a few highlighters are usually sufficient. You can safely throw away the rest. The best order is of no use if you don’t regularly dispose of unnecessary items. A desk is used to get the job done. It’s not an exhibition space or a mini-museum for toys, stuffed animals, or whatever. Keep these things elsewhere and only keep items that will help you get the job done on your desk.
The surface of your desk should be visible
Tidy up your desk every evening – that is usually only a few minutes a day, but with which you will considerably reduce your search time during the next working day. Defend your empty desk at all costs. If someone wants to put something on it, ask immediately what to do with it and why you need the documents. This turns your desk into a taboo area for all colleagues in terms of storage space. Hey, the surface of your desk should now be visible. Excellent! Leave it as it is.
Order on the desk – the PC is one of them
The desktop is nothing more than a digital desk and all the principles from the analog world also apply here. Don’t cover your desktop with files. Close unnecessary programs and delete files that are no longer required. This relieves your computer and it will thank you with more speed. The order of file directories and the assignment of filenames is also very important. Anyone who has to search through file mazes for a long time is wasting valuable time. A well-arranged, clear folder structure that is also comprehensible for other people saves a lot of frustration.
Good things take time
Regularity helps, especially if you want to change something in the long term. New work steps have to be practiced. Humans are creatures of habit and soon it will be perfectly natural for you to be sitting at a neat desk.
