Did you have a mountain of work that piled up on your desk over the holidays? Now it’s back at it and you don’t quite know where to start? I can help!
Where to start?
The first thing you should do is spend 10 or 15 minutes going through everything on your desk. Clear a spot so you can sort your work into 3 or 4 piles. As you go through the pile on your desk, prioritize and sort it into no more than 4 piles. Does your work have deadlines? Do you need to schedule appointments, arrange for Notary services? If so, sort it accordingly. In the first pile place things that you absolutely have to get done today, the second pile can either wait until tomorrow or maybe it’s something you cannot complete yet because you are waiting on information or for someone else to finish a piece. The third pile should consist of work you have to do, just not immediately and if you have a fourth pile it should consist of work you could task someone else, an assistant or intern to do.
Now you’re on a roll!
Once you start plowing through your sorted work try to totally complete each task before you go on to the next one. Pick up a piece of paper only once. For example: If you work in accounts payable and your first task is to pay an invoice from Company ABC, don’t put that invoice down until you’ve paid it, recorded it and filed it away. If you do, you won’t wake up at 2 o’clock in the morning wondering if it got paid or not. Immediately put that task to bed, so you can sleep!
I hope you returned to work after a wonderful and blessed holiday! My holiday consisted of family and friends, lots of good food and of course, celebrating the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ.
Happy New Year!
By the way, where did the term “Blue Monday” come from anyway?
