This is the time of year where we hear from clients and business associates regarding how hectic their summer has been – with work and/or travel – or how business has been so beyond slow that they’re picking up the phone to make sure it hasn’t been disconnected.
For us it’s been a combination of quiet weeks and ack!! We’re gearing up for fall campaigns and prepping and pitching for holiday gift guides, plus enjoying occasional half days and taking advantage of sunny Florida.
One of the things we definitely encourage during these rollercoaster vs. merry-go-round times, is organization. During those slower days, it’s a great time to get things in order, and your hectic days will 100% be grateful you did, so there’s no time wasted. This often happens during “spring cleaning” time, but it’s good to do a quarterly, mid-year update as well.
Three ways to get organized:
1) Sync your calendars. Most people have this set to happen automatically, but surprisingly, there are many who need to be reminded to update their mobile, Outlook, Google, etc. calendars. Plus, if you do the double calendar e.g. phone and paper, it’s a good time to make sure everything’s accounted for the remainder of the year. A good habit is to do this at the end of each day or weekly. If you’re a person who travels a lot, you’ll appreciate not having to write a diary’s worth of updates.
2) Clean out your e-mails and unsubscribe. I made a comment about e-mail bankruptcy on Facebook last week and a colleague sent me this video:
It took me a full day to do it (it was a busy day of calls and meetings), but I got through cleaning out my inbox via deletion and filing, and I’m also certain there are mind and body benefits to experiencing a somewhat empty inbox. (Not ready to do the whole social bankruptcy thing, but we do recommend cleaning out any toxic Facebook friends and connections as necessary.)
In addition to the above, you may also want to unsubscribe from e-mail newsletters that aren’t really beneficial coming into your work inbox. Yes, it’s great to shop in the middle of the afternoon, but we all know that you’re not thinking about shopping when you’re swamped with work. You can set-up a separate account for these type of promotions, or set up folder rules to automatically archive these e-mails and keep your inbox clean.
3) Scan and/or file. Now! It’s good to get in a habit or routine of scanning and filing away docs that need to be saved. Grab your recycle bin and shredder, and quickly go through any papers that are hanging out or seeking a place to live. For docs that haven’t found a place in awhile, go ahead and discard/shred, the likelihood of you needing it is similar to those lingering e-mails.
What additional organizational items can you mark off of your to-do list?