How can I become more organised at work?

[Whydoesnothingwork]

I work from home, it's busy but it's lots of little jobs all the time, I've only been in the role a few months and get bit overwhelmed and don't know where to start. It's a job I've done before, I'm mid 40s and I know a lot of the people I work with, I shouldn't be overwhelmed.
Right now I have loads to do but just don't know where to start, I end up with lots of scrappy bits of paper with to do lists on them, then I get distracted by other stuff.

Help!

Bumping for you, because I'm in a similar position and also want to know.

This book is great - lots of different strategies and you can see what works for you. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Make-Time-focus-matters-every/dp/0593079582

I use the tasks app. And add everything. Including emails which are flagged with dates. Then I live my workday by doing what my list tells me.

It is great! I actually don't tend to feel like I am going to forget stuff all the time.

A great tip I was given years ago by a time management expert. Put just 3 things on your to-do list each day.

It stops you feeling overwhelmed, you get the three done and feel good, and the next day you move onto another three.

I have done this for 20 years now (self-employed with multiple clients and a busy family life) and whenever I feel overwhelmed I go back to it...works like a charm.

Thank you, hayfever is not helping today, my eyes are so sore!

Prioritise and put tasks in your diary. I have a massive job of many smalls tasks and other chunkier ones. I recently put a list of everything I do as one half of my job together - I have two reporting lines. Prioritising plus to do lists are absolutely key. You have to push yourself sometimes to do the things which are the priorities versus the things you find easy/quick. On other occasions half an hour spent motoring through a few quick wins is helpful.

Put every task on a post it note then prioritise them if you're feeling overwhelmed. If you're not clear on the priorities you need your line manager to guide you.

What’s the ‘other stuff’ you get distracted by?

I use a version of a bullet journal to-do list for work i.e. one notebook that I write absolutely everything that I need to do, remember or think about in one place. Tasks, ideas, actions, meeting notes, all in one notebook. Every day, add a date heading. Put a bullet point by each item you write down. If you do it, cross through the bullet in an X shape. If you don’t, at the end of the day put a .> arrow around the bullet point. Next day, write a new to do list starting with what you didn’t get to.
Use a new page with a heading for meeting notes. Then, when you review the notes you can turn anything into an action bullet point to do - add to your list.

It’s a running record, basically. Used alongside a digital calendar but I like writing things down, helps me focus.

As a PP mentions, time blocking is also helpful. I have a fair amount of deep focus tasks that take a few hours, and emails etc can be distracting. So set times to check emails, times to do admin and routine tasks (if you use particular systems batch the tasks to a time every day, or once a week or whatever), and times where you’re not available on email/messenger as you’re completing something.

Thanks, I've just bought the kindle version of this for 99p.

What software do you use for your remote work - is it Teams or similar? I use Trello to keep track of my to-do list, and my line manager and direct reports can see what's on my list, add things to it, or check the progress of things without having to ask me. I think Microsoft Planner does something similar as does Slack etc.

When you're in meetings, either add tasks to the list as they arise, or afterwards, using the list of actions (either you create or whoever does the minutes).

Use time blocking so you set aside time to work on specific tasks and people don't just book you into more meetings. Allow yourself 30 minutes focus and 10 minutes tea break before you move onto the next thing (or whatever time works for you).

Be really open with people about how if they want you to do things, they need to send you the request in email/on Teams or whatever your preferred method is, with a deadline and clear information, as you have competing responsibilities and you need to prioritise.

My top tips are

• prioritise tasks
• digitally track your projects or to do list of you can, as it can auto-sort projects according to priorities assigned and deadlines
• try and focus on finishing tasks (according to priorities) before starting on new ones. Don’t try to tackle everything all at once, have a work queue
• keeping ‘in progress’ tasks with you at any one point to as few as possible is key to not feeling overwhelmed
• if you genuinely have too much to do and feeling overwhelmed, speak to your supervisor (I look after a team of colleagues and we have lots of deadline driven projects, I always appreciate it when people tell me they need some support so I can redistribute tasks or act appropriately to support them. No one wants their team to feel overwhelmed!)

Thank you all

Everyone finds their own way of managing a to do list but the main thing is keeping it in one place and getting every single thing down on the list.

This stops your mind jumping about as you know everything is written down and you don’t have to keep
it all in your head.

My main strategy is ‘lick the frog’. Whatever is hardest, something you’ve been putting off, do it first thing in the morning/as soon as you start work.

I second the Trello suggestion. I have one main list to dump everything in that needs doing so it’s out of my head and an organised section for the week I’m currently on. And the best part at the end… the ‘Done’ section. Love dragging things over to that.

I find a few minutes at the start of the day when I have peace, to do the tasks that take a short amount of time, helps. The 'to do list' is much shorter then.