Nobody’s Perfect: The first step – admit there is a problem and get organised!
Stress – it affects us all in one way or another. When dealing with umpteen computer things going wrong or trying to keep organised, it only adds to the irritation of everyday office life.
They always say if you want something done, give it to a busy person. Well, one fateful day this summer – I was that busy person. I was keeping those plates spinning and whilst signing for a parcel with one hand, I answered the phone with the other. My hay fever was playing up at the time so as soon as I had a hand free, I reached into my top drawer to grab my nasal spray. I waited for a suitable gap in the conversation, unscrewed the top and gave a good squirt. Something felt wrong… it didn’t feel normal.
The utter horror when I realised I had squirted the stamp pad ink refill bottle up my nose. I now had to remain professional on the phone with black ink streaming down my face, down the back of my throat and all over the desk. Needless to say, I didn’t get any sympathy from my co-workers, though my eyes were blinded by tears I could still hear them laughing!
Juggling umpteen jobs and trying to keep track of everyone can be a nightmare. I’ve pulled together some of my top tips and tools to use to keep things in the office running smoothly. It also pays to keep your desk drawers organised!
– Use Rules in Microsoft Outlook to help deal with the constant flow of emails. I have set up folders for some contacts and automatically move their emails into them. It just means I can see the wood for the trees and know when there is something I need to respond to immediately.
-Use AutoText in Outlook for paragraphs of text that I have to use often. It saves me so much time typing, proofreading and spell checking every time.
-Have a good filing system for storing your documents etc. That way you know exactly where to find that quote or letter, saving all that time browsing or searching through your computer. Make sure everyone knows the filing system and adheres to it. It might take you a day to get organised and get everything where it should be, but I promise you – it will save you time in the long run.
-Use Tasks in Outlook or the built-in Windows 10 Sticky Notes to keep track of your to-do list. You can’t throw these away by accident and it’s very satisfying marking them as complete at the end of the day.
-Use Microsoft Teams. Depending on your Office 365 subscription you might find you have the ultimate (or at least pretty good) team management software already available to you. You can create plans, store documents and more for a project or a group of people. Collaboration in real time is the key here. For an overview of its capabilities look here or give me a call and I can give you a quick demo. https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoftteams/teams-overview
Get in touch if you would like assistance setting up these helpful tools to organise your work – info@castle-computers.com, 01228 590900