Gill & Hooper’s top tips for getting organised

It’s no secret that if you want to be productive, you have to get organised first. Putting in place some simple organisational practices can easily equip you with the tools to put your best foot forward at work each day and achieve your potential within your business or career. Sound good? Read on for our best, Gill & Hooper-approved tips for getting—and staying—organised. You’re welcome…
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RUN THE DAY, DON’T LET THE DAY RUN YOU

This means getting on top of the day from the very start. As soon as you start to let tasks pile up, ignored or unfinished, the day will start to get away from you. A great way of ensuring that this doesn’t happen is to implement a solid morning routine that inspires you to be productive from the outset. It’s no secret that we absolutely love a morning routine—viewing it as a fundamental foundation to the day’s success.

We find that if you’re in the right headspace, have taken some time for yourself and are approaching the day with a refreshed and focused attitude, you’re setting yourself up for success.
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BE STRICT WITH YOUR TIME

This means being scrupulous with where you’re already spending your time—and acknowledging where you could be spending more (and less.) Is it the best use of your time and energy to be spending 4 hours of your workday on conference calls or in meetings? Or could that time be better spent elsewhere?

Often, workdays are bursting with coffees, meetings and phone calls that—mic drop—don’t actually help us meet our goals. Getting really strict with yourself and your schedule and dedicating a specific amount of time to these things each day can be a great way of ensuring that you still have plenty of time to work on more essential tasks.
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TIME BLOCK FOR ADMIN

In a similar vein to meetings, we’re willing to bet that admin tasks often fall by the wayside in favour of having bigger fish to fry throughout the day. We get it! When you’re working on building a business or furthering your career, it can feel like responding to emails or scheduling appointments isn’t the best use of your time. But, the mental load of carrying those many small tasks from day to day and not completing them cannot be underestimated—and before you know it, your admin tasks have become a source of stress and overwhelm.

Blocking out a set amount of time in your day to keep on top of these smaller administrative tasks is a great way to ensure they actually get done, all while keeping your headspace clear and ready for the big ideas!
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IDEAS DAYS

On the subject of big ideas, if you’re struggling with balancing smaller tasks with the overarching job of growing your business or career, a designated ‘ideas day’ with your team can really help to separate creative and ‘ideas-y’ conversations from more functional and administrative ones.

Encourage your team to jot down notes if they have flashes of inspiration as the week goes on, and bring them to a periodical ideas days, where the focus is on brainstorming potential changes, dreaming up big ideas and getting really focused on objectives and goals.
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KNOW YOUR SYSTEM

Want to organise your day via on online calendar? More of a pen-to-paper type of person and favour a physical planner? Do you prefer keeping your to-do list on your devices so that it’s with you at all times or front and centre on your desk so that it’s the first thing you see each morning?

However you like to work, we recommend that you recognise your tools, know them inside out and then stick to them. Whatever you do, don’t end up with half-planned projects or agendas spread across multiple platforms or multiple apps. Acknowledge what works best for you, allows you to keep on top of your role and ultimately, enables your productivity each and every day. Your to-do list will definitely thank you!