How to Improve Effective Organizational Skills

Simplify your life with organization skills.

Whether you are a college student or legal secretary, possessing effective organizational skills is key to achieving success. Strong organization can prevent you from wasting time, help you get things done efficiently and make your life easier to navigate. Cut out a lot of unnecessary stress and frustration simply by streamlining your life and making a few lifestyle changes.

Instructions

1. Use lists. Daily life is busy, and it can be hard to remember everything that you need to do each day. Instead of relying on mental notes, keep a notebook on your desk for jotting down your upcoming tasks and errands, from dental appointments to picking up the dry cleaning. Provide yourself with a constant visual reminder of your biggest and most pressing priorities. If you do not work from a desk, keep your list on your refrigerator or another visible place.

2. Throw unnecessary items out. Regularly conduct a quick assessment of your possessions, from your desk drawers to your folders. Determine what you absolutely need and what you definitely can live without. Try not to use the "I might be able to use this someday" excuse because, chances are, you probably won't. Do not be sentimental by holding onto things just for the sake of it. Eliminate clutter from your life to enhance your focus and organizational skills.

3. Go through your mail daily. One big culprit behind lack of organization, clutter and total chaos is piling up mail. If you do not make a point to go through your mail every day, things can easily get out of hand. Take five minutes every day to check your mail, throwing out junk, taking care of bills and filing any important items.

4. Avoid procrastination; procrastination only causes additional angst and frustration later. Waiting until the end to do something rarely yields positive results and only encourages rushing (and therefore, making mistakes and overlooking important things). Also, the more you put something off, the longer you have to think about it. A task also becomes much more intimidating if you procrastinate too long.

5. Accept help. Do not be too proud to take assistance from other people, especially if they are volunteering. Life can be chaotic, so if someone is willing to give you a helping hand, accept it graciously. For example, if a fellow mother offers to pick your child up and take him to school as part of a car pool, say yes. Be willing to return the favor when you can, too.

6. Embrace the modern age. The Internet makes cultivating organizational skills a lot easier. One way in which this rings true is when it comes to paying bills. Most companies offer customers the option to pay everything online. Reduce the chaos of clutter and stacks of bills all over your home and office by handling everything digitally, from your water bill to your phone bill.

Tips & Warnings

• Relax when you get the chance. If you do not sometimes take time for yourself, you prevent yourself from being able to collect your thoughts and recharge. Whether you sit down on the couch in front of a funny movie or enjoy a cup of coffee with an old friend, relaxation is essential for increasing organizational and concentration skills.

References

• CNN; 10 Habits of Highly Organized People; August 2011
• "Psychology Today"; How to Get Organized - Finally!; Hara Estroff Marano; March 2006
• Marie Claire; 7 Ways to Stay Organized; March 2009
• PsychCentral; 6 Ways to Get Organized and 5 More to Bust Through Procrastination; Margarita Tartakovsky
• Pace University: Get Organized