How to stay organized at work

Though you’ll never be able to completely control when someone messages you, you can set parameters around when you’ll read and respond to less-urgent missives. Peck advises talking with your teammates and manager about the best way to communicate with you during the workday. And once you’ve created your system for managing your messages, share it with your colleagues and manager so they can help you protect these boundaries.

For example, consider scheduling a 30-to-45-minute block of time as a recurring calendar event to reserve that time each day to read messages. During this time block, determine which messages are urgent and which ones you can answer later.

For messages you can’t respond to immediately, give yourself a deadline for getting back to the sender. For instance, you can make it your personal policy to answer messages within 48 hours of receiving them.

Resist the urge to schedule meetings or complete other tasks during your designated message management time. You can even create a ritual around it: Pour yourself a cup of your favorite tea or coffee, slide on some headphones, and play your favorite workday tunes.

Take a look around your department and find out:

• Everyone’s name and their role in the organization

• What your colleagues do each day

• Your colleagues’ schedules, so you know when they’re busiest

• Your colleagues’ working styles—who likes to lead group initiatives and who’s an introvert who prefers to tackle problems independently

• Their personal goals within the organization

Don’t forget to also share this information about yourself, so your colleagues are aware of the best way to work with you too.

#organization #goodworkhabits