Organizational Skills Training

Digging Out: How to Get Organized and Get Control When You Are Overworked, Overcommitted, and Overwhelmed

Program Overview

A cluttered desk, messy files, or worse still, no files at all, are symptoms of disorganization. Well, get your shovel, toughen up, and prepare to reduce clutter once and for all. In this idea-packed training program, participants will learn how to streamline daily tasks, organize personal space, effectively use calendars, get out of voicemail purgatory, and more.

Program Objectives

At this program's conclusion, participants should be able to:

• List barriers to successful organization.
• Explain strategies for reducing clutter.
• Develop an action plan for reducing clutter.
• Understand and demonstrate the use of to-do lists and the ABC prioritization technique.
• Explain the benefits and drawbacks of various calendar systems.
• Understand methods for reducing electronic and paper mail.
• Manage voicemail to reduce time spent checking messages.
• Write SMART goals and explain their benefit.
• Begin implementing goals created during the session.

Course Outline

Get It Together: Or Why Did You Fall Apart?

In this introductory discussion, participants will identify their organizational pitfalls, explore the benefits of being organized, and understand the importance of respecting themselves enough to adopt new work habits.

There's Too Much Junk in Your Trunk: Cleaning out Personal Space

Paperwork, files, pictures, notes, and miscellaneous other "stuff" can grow faster than office gossip in the cafeteria. This unit introduces participants to techniques for toughening up and tossing unneeded junk, stuff, things, treasures, and other doodads that clutter workspace.

Virtual Clutter Control: Your Computer Is Worse Than Your Desk

There are over 10,000 messages in your deleted email files. Worse still, you use that trash can as a storage system of sorts. Files are everywhere: on the desktop, in document folders, floating on a network, etc. And of course, there are multiple versions of each. The whole machine just bytes--until now. In this portion of the training, participants will learn techniques for organizing online and how to match paper and electronic files for easy retrieval.

Pick One, Use One: Calendars, Lists, Personal Organizers

In this segment, participants will learn how to stay on top of appointments, keep track of contacts, manage expenses, and other critical information. The trainer will emphasize selecting the right format, deciding on the right size, and setting up a system that is flexible, easy-to-use, and convenient.

How to Spread the News: Voice Mail, Email, Snail Mail

Expert organizers know how to effectively manage office communication. This lesson  reviews techniques for handling all types of communication for maximum effectiveness.

Be SMART: Goal Setting for Peak Performance

Delegating and setting realistic and manageable goals is a critical skill for expert organizers to possess. This section of the training explores the components of SMART goals and allows participants to practice developing long and short-term goals.

Scaling Back: Tactics for Managing Home Time Better

Sometimes work feels like a vacation, especially when home is more stressful than the office. In this component, participants will look at practical ways to balance work and home, techniques for reducing home chores, and ways to streamline activities.

Don’t Just Sit There:  Start Doing Something Now

This program concludes with participants creating their own personal action plan for getting organized and staying organized.

At the program's completion, participants will have a plan for better organizing their space and their time. This course can be modified to accommodate traditional and nontraditional work environments (e.g. those where participants do not work in an office setting).