How do you stay organized ?

Adrian Marsland answered on 23 Jun 2021:

I always plan my week out around meetings in Outlook calendar and generally use excel for tracking project deliverables. Any projects that require more detail then MS Project works well.

Lists in a notebook, dated is also a great way of feeling a sense of achievement, very important when working from home so much.

Chloe James answered on 23 Jun 2021:

Being organised is one of the most important things in my job, as I have lots of different data sources to analyse. Similar to Adrian, I also use my outlook calendar to plan any meetings I have for the week, or any urgent deadlines.

Day-to-day, I tend to have a notebook where I will write all the things I need to do for that day. It’s really satisfying then when I can tick those tasks off!

Caroline Roche answered on 23 Jun 2021:

Similar to Adrian, I use my outlook (work e-mail) calendar to plan my week. If I have a deadline to reach for submitting a document or piece of code, I’ll put a calendar event in with a reminder a few days before.

I also use a To Do list app on my phone for general items, so if I have to do something but there isn’t a date. I will add it onto that and I have it on my home screen of my phone so I can’t miss it.

Emma Crook answered on 23 Jun 2021:

to do lists are my friend! i have a notebook that i write everything down in each day, so if i need to refer to anything i can do. and a lot of what we do is done on computers and with email, so there’s lots of meetings and online calendars.

Katie Rae answered on 23 Jun 2021:

I use outlook calendar as well, to plan meetings and my lab time etc. Then we have a weekly meeting for each of the projects I am working on so I make a list of what needs doing each week in those meetings. I have a notebook I use for this, where I usually have a weekly to do list written.

I’m not sure I am naturally the most organised person, so these things really help keep track of everything!

Murat Islam answered on 23 Jun 2021:

To stay organised, I first check my emails to see what is important/urgent for the day, and prioritise my workload. I sometimes use postit kind of notes, but mainly use my personal and work calendar and keep a record of all my committments, and deliver them. If something happened and I can no longer deliver on my committments, I let people know in advance so they can adjust their plans, which means I expect the same from others. I use software to collaborate with others and inform each other on what needs to be done or can no longer be done. If I am working on a project, I create a Gantt Chart (https://www.apm.org.uk/resources/find-a-resource/gantt-chart/) which is a schedule of tasks and responsibilities. I adjust this schedule if needed and share the plan with all my “stakeholders” (whoever can be impacted by the plan)

Helen Randell answered on 23 Jun 2021:

Like the other engineers i rely on my work and personal calendars with lots of reminders set and to do lists! I’ve also got a notebook which i use to record any notes or ideas or rough timelines for things i think might be coming up so i can plan ahead and make sure things are put in my diaries. I also share my diaries with my team at work and husband at home so we can help remind each other of things as well, teamwork definitely helps when things get busy!

Sam Hurst answered on 23 Jun 2021:

Outlook calendars and todo lists ! I try to build in my lunches and breaks in advance and save them as sacred times.. you really shouldn’t work whilst eating lunch as its bad for you..

I also try to only read my emails once per day to avoid being distracted all of the time by notifications.

Tommy Shinton answered on 23 Jun 2021:

I try and keep a to do list going which I update every couple of days (it’s satisfying scoring things off too!). I use Outlook as a calendar for meetings too.

We also need to record all the time we spend on each project every week – so that the clients are paying us for the work we do.

It can be difficult to prioritise sometimes when there’s lots of different things needing doing at the same time, that’s why managing your time and being organised is a great skill to have.

Mark Eyles answered on 24 Jun 2021:

Keeping a diary of activity is a good idea. I use OneNote these days.

Carys Kelly answered on 28 Jun 2021:

Fab question! Nobody told me when I started working that I’d spend so much time just organising myself! I make a lot of to do lists and have a notebook I use all the time to do this, as I prefer paper lists. I also put everything in Google Calendar, even social events or fun stuff I’m doing. Basically if I don’t put something in my calendar then I’ll forget it!

Question: How do you stay organized ?

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