Category: Organization

These articles are typically guides and tips to help increase organization on a day to day basis.  They are specifically geared towards the IT field.

How to Organize Your Day

Summary

A few years ago, I had quite a few employees under me. They would always marvel at how I could keep track of the few hundred emails a day. I showed them how to organize them as described in “Inbox Zero“. Many of them took to it, others liked it but could not drive themselves to do it.

That about sums up my management style. I am always happy to show you what works for me. Not with the intent of forcing that methodology onto anyone. I do it to provide another way of doing things so that anyone can take that and mix it in with what works for them.

In this article, I aim to walk you through my processes. Take what you want from them and help make them your own. Write back and tell me how you have implemented them so others can learn too!

I do not think it would be appropriate to discuss organization without mentioning The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. If you have the time, I highly recommend ordering a copy and reading it.

Keys

Some of the key themes are to set a time limit, use tools to help you organize/track and be intentional when possible.

First Thing

I usually wake up between 5-6AM. This may seem terribly early for some and late for others. We have two very active children so having some quiet time first thing in the morning is a hot commodity.

I read somewhere, quite a long time ago that the most successful people start out their day early. They are up at 5-6ish, catching relevant news to their job/business/industry, even if it is just playing in the background. It seems to have worked well for me. Wake up late and you are just playing catch up all day.

For me, I wake up to a nice cup of coffee and slowly wake my brain for the day. I follow a few subreddits on reddit. I typically limit this to 10-15 mins.

Sometimes I will have a small project or some emails that came in from overnight that I will start plugging into for about 30 mins.

The important part of this activity for myself is to lightly plug into things. It is just a warm up for the day. Otherwise, I’d just be a workaholic telling you to wake up at 5AM and start working all day!

Schedule

My schedule is very routine. I find comfort in this and it helps me stay organized. With that said, your schedule needs to be flexible enough for things that may derail it. Do not try to plan ever minute. Work “fires” happen, projects land on my desk unexpectedly. The framework I have setup for my day does not usually change though.

For example, when I arrive at the office, my first tasks are to check emails and log into our ticketing system. I also drop a line on any work chat applications to let everyone know I’m in and in front of a desk incase they need me.

I then look through my tasks and organize them based on priority. From 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, “First things, first!”. Many times things are marked “urgent” but they are not important. Those do not need your attention. Work on things that are important and urgent and then just important. Many times “urgent” issues that are not really urgent get cold fairly quickly.

Take Breaks

Taking breaks is extremely helpful. Many times when I have been spinning my wheels on difficult projects, I ultimately put it down for a bit. When I came back, I was refreshed and many times had a solution to the problem. This also works with smaller tasks. When you are able to focus, do so with intensity. Do not expect to be able to maintain that intensity for long periods of time.

Switch It Up

If you find that your returns are diminishing on a task and it is starting to slow down, start a new task. This pairs up with take a break. Many times we just need to switch away from the current task to get a breather. Finding a new task that we can meet with enthusiasm helps. Returning client calls for 20 mins and worn out? Switch over to catching up on industry/career news for a few minutes. Again, be intention and set limits. Don’t let that 5 minute switch over lead you to seven layers deep in a wikipedia article (yes I have been there!). This helps organize your time and make it efficient.

Winding Down

At the end of the day, I try to wind down a good 30-45 mins before the steam bell rings. I realize this is not always possible as some jobs are pedal to the metal from clock in to clock out. Even then clock out is a blurry line. If you can though, wind down 30-45 mins prior. Many times, trying to crank out work until the last minute causes you to run over and deter you from obligations after work. Again, be intentional! If you intend to put in another 1-2 hours for the day at work, go ahead. If you want to try to leave right on time, give this a try.

Manage Your Manager

If you know what your manager needs, try to get it to them before they ask. No need to wait until they ask, assuming you have the time to pre-empt their need. If they drop a huge project on your lap but you are already working on a large project, ask them about expectations. Something like “I can certainly do this but I am already working on X. How would you rank the importance? Is it ok to complete it 2 days from now?” You will find being genuine goes a long way. Many times your interaction with your manager and the workload they give you dictates your day.

Final Words

We made it to the bottom and hopefully you have learned a few things to help organize your day. What helps you organize your day?

Inbox Zero – How To Organize Your Inbox

Summary

About 10 years ago my email inbox was out of control and I though there had to be a better way. I had all sorts of rules “working for me” but it all seemed disorganized. Early in my career, I have also had the pleasure of doing desktop support for Executives. A common complaint was how terribly their email client performed. They would have tens of thousands of emails in their inbox. I then came across Inbox Zero.

What is Inbox Zero?

The basic premise is to keep your inbox count at zero or close to it. Use your inbox as a basic todo of things that need immediate response. Move or archive emails from your inbox that no longer require your attention.

Reminders are extremely helpful. Tools like Outlook allow you to mark emails for follow up with reminders while gmail has the snooze feature. The old school method is also to tag emails with a category and use a calendar item to remind you to follow up.

How Can I Achieve Inbox Zero?

Starting Out

The easiest way to start is to move all of your inbox into a new folder. If you use Outlook connected to either Exchange or IMAP, there is a good reason to split your folders to keep them under 10,000 emails. This is mainly for performance issues. Something like Gmail or G-Suite, simply apply a label and/or archive them.

Rules that auto move emails into folders are typically a bad idea. Disable or delete all of the rules you have. You want to process every piece of email that comes through with few exceptions.

Maintaining

This is the difficult part of the task. It requires a high level of commitment. Here is a high level thought process.

  • Is the email some sort of automated process that you just need to keep but not look at? This is one of the few types that I archive. For these I archive automatically if they indicate success. If they are error or warning they go into my inbox
  • Can I respond immediately to it? If so, respond and archive.
  • If the email is not something you can respond to timely, move to a folder and mark for follow up or use the snooze feature in gmail.

Automated emails that you do not even need to process should not require your attention. Many times we need them or have no choice in receiving them but may need to refer to them later on. These are ideal candidates for rules to auto archive.

One of the tenants of Inbox Zero is to be responsive. If you have an email but cannot properly respond, try replying that you received it but set a time when you can. Something as simple as “I received this but I am in meetings all day today and cannot fully respond until tomorrow”. This provides them with a response and an expectation of when to get an answer.

Keep in mind the goal is to get down to zero. Some days it happens, other it does not. Do not stress about not being able to get to zero. Do focus on continually trying to get there though.

Timing

Since this most likely requires more attention than you are used to, allocating time is important. Do not feel like you need to jump to your inbox every time a new message comes in. Wait for a few or only check it 15-30 minutes. The frequency of combing through your inbox is determined by your ability to context switch.

Context switching is the ability to stop one task and immediately start up another. This typically takes some level of effort. That level of effort is dependent on the type of task you were switching from. If you are very deep on a project, it may be difficult to “come up for air” and get in the right frame of mind to switch. It may not be worth it to try to check email often. On the other-hand if you are doing light tasks you may be able to check email more often without much difficulty.

Inbox Zero Sounds Like More Work?

Just like the title says, this sounds like a ton of work. What is the benefit? The benefit is never having someone come up to you asking you if you got the email or could respond. It may seem like more work up front but over time it becomes second nature.

Final Words

My philosophy in management and knowledge sharing is to share and exchange ideas. My way may not be the best but I hope that you can take my method and adapt it to your needs. If you have your own method, before this or derived from it, feel free to share it!