Being organized and having a work ethic may increase the productivity of your performance. It also helps reduce stress and tensions at work because you have everything planned out, and you deliver top quality services.

But what are the most important elements of self-management at work? And, most importantly, how do your organization techniques impact your performance.

In this article, you’ll find key aspects of self-organization along with some tips to become better at planning your work.

The pillars of self-organization

As we previously mentioned, self-management at work is crucial for improving performance and ensuring success. However, if you want to improve your abilities, you may want to learn what are the most important elements at the basis of self-organization.

Planning

The first thing that comes to mind when talking about self-administration is planning skills.

Carefully scheduling activities to fit into your day is a seriously useful skill. It makes you more reliable and trustworthy. Not to mention that it helps you work less stress because you’re not worrying about due dates and continuously running against the time.

Efficient planning is based on a couple of micro-elements, such as:

• Prioritizing tasks and solving urgent ones. This way, you respect deadlines and risk creating a chain of delays.
  
• Independent work process. This means that you don’t need frequent help to do your job.
  
• Fast and effective communication that’s always up to date. This means that you answer emails and phone calls as soon as possible without postponing meetings and other collective activities.
  
• Organization in the work environment. Having a clean and tidy workplace helps with productivity because you always know where things are. Also, documents in alphabetical order and post-its are handy. You can even go one step further and digitize your documents so you can even directly search for important files. If you’re handling legal documents, you should make sure to use templates for contracts. This way, you don’t have to create them by scratch and you always know where to look for them.
  
• Punctuality. Arriving on time or early is a sign of professionalism.
  
• A calendar that includes all the free days, weekends, leaves, office parties, etc.
  
• Preventive communication and measures. An organized person notifies their boss about the leaves a week or two prior so that the company doesn’t suffer from delays and other issues. Also, a person who can manage themselves always has a backup plan in case of an emergency.

Accountability

If you are an independent employee who can manage their work, the chances are that you prevent many errors through your careful planning. Nevertheless, mistakes happen, and when they do, you might want to show that you can answer honestly to your superintendents.

Nowadays, managers and CEOs look for employees who are not afraid of taking responsibility in case of slip-ups. The last thing companies need is workers who try to blame others for their faults. Therefore, admitting your failures and successes is part of the journey, and it saves the funds of the company.

Here’s how an organized employee manifests their accountability:

• Accepting challenges and new responsibilities if they’re confident about their role.
  
• Declining new tasks and projects if they think that they’re not capable of completing them.
  
• Admitting their success with confidence.
  
• Admitting faults with a critical mind and thought of improvement.
  
• Reliability.
  
• Adaptation skills for unprecedented situations.

Initiative

Another crucial aspect is the initiative. Being able to find new ways to do your work or come up with new ideas for the whole business is one of the most useful skills.

Most agencies that wish to expand try to find employees who can work autonomously. Also, they look for people who can bring useful input that can accelerate the company’s progress.

Having initiative skills include:

• Problem-solving skills through new and creative ideas.
  
• Coming up with innovative ideas that aid the company’s growth.
  
• Taking action without waiting for a superintendent’s encouragement (unless it’s a risky situation that requires approval).
  
• Encouraging others to take measures and to get involved.

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How to become a self-managed employee

Improving your management skills is a long process. You won’t become organized in a day, it takes time. Moreover, you need to explore different strategies to find out what works best for you and what’s most efficient.

Nonetheless, you can start with the basic strategies to manage your schedule, and then you can develop more specific methods. Here are a couple of quintessential self-management tips.

1. Make a list and set up a smart schedule

Since most organizing is planning, try to place important meetings, deadlines, and other important dates onto your personal calendar. Try to get tasks done a day or two before the due date so you have time to fix possible errors.

For example, you have an assignment due on Wednesday. Try to finish it on Monday and send it on Tuesday. This way, if your cloud storage stops working or your file’s formatting is off, you have time to sort it out.

Don’t forget to make specific to-do lists for each day and start with the harder tasks.

2. Organize your documents, desktop, and space

If you’ve never put your files in order, start now. For some people, this task is extremely time-consuming because they have a lot of misplaced things and documents. However, this step is crucial, and it can’t be skipped.

Start with your cloud storage and computer. Gather similar articles and apps in folders with appropriate and descriptive names. Your desktop should be almost empty, and your files should be easy to find.

Next, tackle real documents: bills, files, notes, brochures, journals, etc. Use shelves and folders to put things in order. Then organize your workspace and clean it.

Once you’re done, you’ll have everything sorted, and when you need a file, you’ll know exactly where to find it.

Remember to keep things in place: as you add new documents, put them in apposite folders.

3. Use technology

Technology is helpful for self-administration. Some devices have in-built apps that help you create to-do lists that you can tick off. Also, some apps offer a broad range of features such as alarms for meetings, fitness and health trackers, and interactive notepads.

This way, you don’t need paper, and you always have your mobile journal on your phone.

4. Become independent and responsible

This tip requires a shift in mentality. If you want to manage yourself and your work better, then you might want to take responsibility for your actions.

Also, don’t wait for your boss to tell you what to do. Start in advance and put more passion into what you’re doing. This way, your colleagues and superintendents will see you as a model employee.

Remember to ask for what you want. Whether it’s a raise or a training course, ask your manager about it and be straightforward.

5. Collaborate

Just because you can manage yourself doesn’t mean that you have to do everything by yourself. Collaborating through candid communication is key to success in the workplace. Don’t be afraid to ask questions or to suggest an idea.

For example, even if you’re a desk employee, reach out to the CEO if you have an innovative idea for the company. The result may be a promotion, a raise, a boost in your reputation, or all three.

Conclusion

Being self-organized is vital for your work. Your productivity increases, your colleagues and your superiors appreciate you more.

The three staples of good self-administration are planning, accountability, and initiative. So, if you wish to improve in self-management, try these five tips:

1. Make a list and set up a smart schedule.
   
2. Organize your documents, desktop, and space.
   
3. Use technology.
   
4. Become independent and responsible.
   
5. Collaborate.