Organise Yourself (Creating Success) [Paperback]

Praise and Reviews

"Organise Yourself is a practical, no gimmicks, no nonsense book which takes its subject seriously ...It raises many good points and offers sound advice."

NINE TO FIVE

Are you never quite able to get on top of your workload? Is your day spent plunging from one task to another - not enough time, too much paper, too many interruptions? It is a common problem. In every walk of life, competent people are struggling to respond to the constantly rising pressure to squeeze more out of their working day.

To meet this challenge you need to be organized. This means being clear about priorities and being able to manage time, people, paper and technology effectively, in order to deliver the results on which you will be judged.

Organize Yourself offers a concise but comprehensive guide to improving all aspects of personal organization, including: determining goals and priorities; managing time; developing new work habits; improving decision making; working with others; organizing reading and paperwork; using technology productively; organizing office space; and maintaining effective filing systems.

With the assistance of this book, you can make lasting changes to the way you work, and reap the benefits of greater organization. These include:

less time spent fire-fighting and responding to crises;

a sharper focus on the things that matter most in terms of producing results;

the ability to see your way through complex problems and challenges;

more time for family, friends and leisure;

reduced stress and fatigue.

John Caunt is a freelance writer and trainer. His previous experience includes over 20 years in further education, during which he designed and organized numerous training programmes and held a range of senior management responsibilities. He is the author of 30 Minutes to Manage Information Overload, also published by Kogan Page.

John Caunt

John Caunt is a freelance writer, coach and trainer. His previous experience includes more than twenty years as a practitioner and manager in further education. During that time and subsequently he has been concerned with the design, organisation and delivery of personal and professional development programmes for individuals and groups of all ages and backgrounds. He is also the author of Stay Confident, Organise Yourself and 30 Minutes to Manage Information Overload , all published by Kogan Page.

Introduction 1

1. Know where you are going 6

Reasons for disorganisation 8; Attitudes

towards organising 8; Why do you want to

be more organised? 10; Setting objectives 12;

Balancing the different elements of your

life 16; Determining day-to-day priorities 17;

Summary 20

2. Organise your time 21

How you use time now 21; Planning and

tracking your time 24; Scheduling your

time - estimating time requirements 33;

Procrastination 35; Meeting deadlines 38;

Time management and projects 42;

Summary 44

3. Understand the way you work 45

Schedule tasks at appropriate times 45;

Maintain concentration and motivation 49;

Mobilise the power of habit 50; Sharpen up

your decision making 54; Summary 59

4. Organise information 60

Identify the important information 61; Adopt a

systematic approach 62; Avoid overload 65; Read

more efficiently 67; Preview for increased

understanding 71; Use your memory 73;

Summary 75

5. Organise the way you work with others 76

A strategy for meetings 76; Delegate 82;

Overcoming distractions and interruptions 85;

Help others to be more organised 89; Learn to

say 'no' 91; Summary 93

6. Organise your work space 95

Think about ergonomics 96; Tackle

disorganised work space 102; Get rid of the

piles 105; Summary 109

7. Organise filing systems 110

Setting up your filing system 113; Filing

documents 114; Electronic filing of paper

documents 116; Organising computer files 117;

Summary 120

8. Use technology to assist 121

Know when not to use technology 121;

Choose appropriate software 122; Useful

tools 125; Summary 138

9. Organise yourself at home and away 139

Working from home 139; Organising yourself

away from the office 145; Summary 148

10. Keep up the good work 149

Review your objectives 149; Check your

progress 151; Find ways of staying on track 151;

What if old habits reappear? 152