Some of us are naturally organized and some of us are just… not. There’s no shame in whether you are organized or not but it does help to have a certain degree of organization, especially in our work life. Keeping up with everyday tasks, projects and documents can seem like an overwhelming and unending chore for most people.
A really convenient way to keep most things organized is by using post it notes. Though not the only way to keep things streamlined at work, this is one of the easiest way and in this article, we will tell you how to use it.
Use the term ‘action items’
An action item is a specific task that must be carried out. It does not matter if the action item is directed at an individual or a team.
Examples of action items when working are:
- Emails
- Business meetings
- Phone calls
- Creating a spreadsheet
Our days are often packed with action items. They refer to a single individual task and we all know that our day is so full of things to do that we will not remember them all. It is rather difficult to prioritize and schedule our day when we are unable to remember what our action items are.
List your action items
During the quiet time of the day, preferably at the start of the day when your mind is fresh, just list down your action items as they pop into your head. You do not have to worry about the priority, system or chronology of how and when to do it.
If possible, each action item is broken down even further into more specific tasks. If they are broken down, list those items as well!
Purchase a notebook and a package of post-it notes
Just get a simple notebook. It can be an old one or you can use this as an excuse to purchase a new one.
Also, please make sure to purchase a few colours of post-it notes such as Colourful Sticky Pad Cube so that you have a good selection of colours to choose from.
Write headings on the notebook
On the pages of your notebook that you will use, write out each day of the week as headings. If you are a really busy person with a lot going on, you can even subsequently divide each days into different pages such as ‘Wednesday Afternoon’ or ‘Friday Night’.
Headings can also be broken down further by specific task areas. For example ‘Monday Morning: Team Meeting’ or ‘Friday Afternoon: Follow Ups’.
The important thing here is to get the headings down that you will understand and is easy for you to use. Do not be worried about filling up your notebook. After all, notebooks are quite affordable, you probably have a few extra old notebooks lying around and it’s an excuse to buy more notebooks!
We say so because it is much easier if you break down your week into as many pages as possible. Within reason of course. It has to make sense.
Instead of being overwhelmed by tasks that would take hours to accomplish, you are actually breaking down your tasks into smaller to-do lists that are easy to tick off. This will make you feel as if you have managed to effectively and efficiently accomplish a task, which will further lead you to be more productive.
Copy your action items onto a post-it note
Remember the list of action items? It is now time to go through the list. Copy each of the action items onto a post-it note of different colours.
Stick the post-it notes directly on the pages of the notebook. You can organize each action item to its rightful page according to the headings that you initially listed. When you stick it on your notebook, be sure to stick it in order of priority, from top to bottom.
If you are just starting to use this system, make sure to write each action item onto a different coloured post-it note. Do not worry about trying to come up with a colour scheme system for the various post-it note colour options.
The reason for this is, as you use the notebook of post-its as a visual reference, with each action item assigned to a colour, it will actually help you to remember what action goes with what colour.
Over time, as you continue to use the post it notes, you will automatically assign a specific action item to a colour without even realizing you are doing so. It’s amazing how our brain works!
Get to work
Work on one action item at a time as you progress through the day. Remember that you have already arranged your to-do tasks (action items) in order of priority from top to bottom so start from the top.
As you complete each action item, tear off the post-it note and you can either throw it away, recycle it or keep it in a small pile in a corner of your work desk. We recommend keeping it in a small pile so that you can see exactly how many tasks you have accomplished throughout the day. Only then do you dispose of it.
At the end of the day, you may have a few action items left on your notebook. If it makes sense for you to reschedule those items, simply unstick them and move them to a new page with another heading. If it does not make sense, either reassign it to another page heading or it simply was not important in the first place.
Remember that no one is perfect and it can sometimes be quite hard to accomplish everything we set out to do. There could be distractions, or a task actually took longer than expected so moving your action items or cancelling them altogether is perfectly fine!
Wrap up
The important thing to remember here is that you have a simple and effective system in place with post-it notes and simple notebooks. Easy to use, your work day should not be hard to tackle anymore after your work day is organized. Remember, if your action item still feels rather overwhelming, dumb it down even more by breaking down the task. If you are looking to get a few post-it notes, you can get your supply from Double M. As your system improves daily, you can even get each sticky pad personalized to your liking. Now get to organizing! Your day awaits!
