Product Description

Do ever you feel like you live at the office instead of your house? Do your coworkers see you more often than your spouse? Take back your workday and your life! Organize Your Work Day In No Time will show you how to use your work time more efficiently through simple time management and organization techniques. Author and professional organizer K.J. McCorry will show you how to organize paper and electronic files, deal with e-mail overload, use contact software to its full potential and structure and easy-to-follow action less to become more efficient while you're at work. You will also have access to downloadable shopping lists, worksheets, to-do lists and other helpful information to help you get and stay organized. Get more done in less time and get more time at home and away from work with the expert help of Organize Your Work Day In No Time.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #178911 in Books
• Published on: 2005-04-15
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 240 pages

About the Author

Organize Your Work Day In No TimeAbout the Author

K.J. McCorry is the president and founder of Officiency, Inc., a professional productivity and efficiency consulting company based in Boulder, Colorado, since 1996. Officiency, Inc., specializes in development of paper and electronic office systems for individuals and companies. Ms. McCorry's unique talents in designing systems and coaching individuals in organizational skills make her a leading productivity specialist. Her work in office process simplification has been recognized nationally in the New York Times; in the International Herald Tribune; in Mobility Magazine; and with TV and radio appearances including the Do It Yourself Network and The Peter Boyles Show. Ms. McCorry received her bachelor's degree in psychology and international business from Metropolitan State College in Denver, Colorado. She is currently working on her master's in business from the University of Denver. She has been actively involved in the National Association of Professional Organizers (NAPO), currently serving on the Certification Committee. She is the former national Public Relations Chairperson and also served for the Colorado chapter as the Professional Development Chair. She is an advocate of corporate social and environmental responsibility and has served on the board of the Colorado Chapter for Business for Social Responsibility, has served as president of P3 (People, Planet, Profit) of Colorado, and currently serves on the board of the Colorado Sustainable and Environmental Business Association. For more information about Officiency, Inc., consulting services, visit http://www.officiency.com.

© Copyright Pearson Education. All rights reserved.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Introduction

learned about organization mainly from my parents, who were divorced. My mother was the epitome of organization—impeccable order in our house and at her office. She would invite me to come to her office to organize even further than she already was. I would file and organize till the day's end for her office and her colleagues. I enjoyed it immensely and seemed to have quite a knack for office organization. At the time, I didn't realize that every kid didn't organize her mom's office. I thought this was normal kid activity.

I happened to also live part-time with my father, a PhD in psychology, who was the absent-minded professor type. Clutter was everywhere in his household. My father was always looking for that important phone number he had scribbled on the corner of Tuesday's newspaper on the sports section, which invariably I had thrown out or was buried under many other newspapers on the floor. I became my father's personal organizer at the age of 8. We created system after system, until something really worked for him. Between my two parents, I learned how to organize for those who organized naturally and for those who did not think organizationally at all.

In the 1960s, the organization tools and methods we had were limited. Now in the turn of the century, we have so many organizational gadgets, tools, planners, and supplies it is hard to know which ones will offer the most benefit to our specific need. Thankfully, because of our increased organizational tools and knowledge, organization is now not limited to one traditional way. The key is finding the right tool, the right method, the right way for you to be organized.

In my trainings and workshops over the years, I have asked hundreds of participants, "What does organization look like?" Usually the answers come quickly: "a clean desk," "no papers anywhere," "an orderly file system," "a pristine environment." Then I ask, "What does organization feel like?" To that question, I get answers such as "control," "calm," "empowered," "motivated," "light," "free," and "relaxed." My goal in helping you to organize your work day is for you to get yourself organized so that it feels right; how your organization looks is less important. In today's information world, it is a difficult task to have a completely paper-free desk and a pristine environment. To create an organizational method for yourself where you feel in control, empowered, and motivated—that is organization.

How Organize Your Work Day In No Time Can Help You

With the onset of technology, most of us were not prepared to manage our time or information. We had no idea how overwhelmed we would be with the amount of information and electronic data we receive on a daily basis. With data coming at us from email, fax machines, multiple telephones, computers, disks, PDAs and good old-fashioned paper, we all need a way to organize this electronic data and gain control of the technology, information, and time we have.

When will we get it all done? The answer is we will never get it all done. There will always be more email, more action items, more projects, more paper, and more information that will come each and every day. The key is learning how to manage and control this incoming data and information, so that it is not overwhelming. If you feel as though you have lost control to external factors such as your company culture, boss, colleagues, and family, you also probably feel overwhelmed by your responsibilities. Organize Your Work Day In No Time offers multiple ways to help you manage your daily workload so you can have control of your projects and schedule and proceed through your day with the confidence that you're getting it all done.

Organize Your Work Day In No Time was created for busy people who want to maximize their time and technology for optimal efficiency. Each chapter guides you through a step-by-step process in multiple areas of your work day so you can become more productive managing your time, managing your data, and managing the structure of your work day. Using the specific and helpful techniques you learn in this book, you will create new habits and gain control over your work day.

This book was meant to help bridge the gap between specific software how-to books and time management books. It teaches you how to use time management principles along with your computer and other organizational tools for maximum efficiency. Most information technology (IT) staff and consultants don't have the time to spend with each and every individual to explain how to customize or best use their computers organizationally. This book steps in where the IT consultants step away, to help individuals learn how to use their time and tools to maximize their efficiency and get the most from their day.

Who This Book Is Written for

Coast to coast, small to large offices, administrator to CEO—most of us have too much to do. American workers are consumed with email, delegations, a constant flow of current projects and new projects, and enormous amounts of paper. With no end in sight, the feeling of finally being done or finished just appears to be nonexistent.

This book is for the average worker in the home or office who would like to experience more control over her work day and computer. The book focuses on using your computer more effectively to maximize your time, but it also offers some good, old-fashioned paper options.

This book is for you if you would like to

• Utilize your system tools more effectively and efficiently

• Learn what it means to "take control of your day" and learn how to do it

• Gain control of your email communications

• Reduce paper and create a paperless filing system

• Create more control with your time and not have urgencies, crises, and interruptions take your day from you

• Learn options for tracking your action list and ensuring you get things done

• Gain ideas on how to maximize meeting time so it doesn't feel like a waste of time

How This Book Is Organized

This book is organized into three parts, and here is what each part contains:

• In Part I, "Understanding Your Organizational Issues and Goals," you'll discover what you want your perfect day to look like. You will gain awareness of how you currently manage your work day and how you optimally would like to manage it. You'll learn the basic principles of organizing and using time management tools to their optimum effectiveness. By the end of Part I, you will have a better vision of your optimal work day and the areas in your life you want to change and simplify.

• In Part II, "Using Organizational Tools," you'll learn how to use your computer more effectively and the secrets to organizing electronic data. You will gain an understanding of how to think electronically and how to maximize the software tools you already have in your computer. You'll also learn how to create a perfect electronic file structure to start the paperless process. You will discover the most useful aspects of using electronic time and contact management software, as well as paper planners. Finally, you'll find out how to protect and manage your electronic data system, so your information is secure and reliable.

• In Part III, "Managing Daily Tasks," you will learn how to manage day-to-day activities. This part includes useful and practical guidance for managing your email and preventing it from overtaking your whole day. You'll learn the basics of how to best manage, track, and organize projects, how to have an effective meeting, and how your participation can make meetings successful. Lastly, you'll learn how to tackle your daily action items, reduce interruptions, and maximize phone communications.

Of course, you're welcome to read this book from cover to cover, which ...

Customer Reviews

Read this book to improve your productivity
K.J. McCorry covers everything you need to know about organizing your work day, beginning with deciding how you'd like to spend it. The electronic organizing information is essential--manage Outlook better, organize your email files, use your electronic calendar. Loaded with easy to implement how-to's and easy to understand instruction, this book will help you put things where they belong so you can find them again. It will help you save that useless time spent hunting for things!

With this book, you can form a new organizing habit in 21 days by tackling things in "small chunks".

Best tip: Train your mind to clean up before you move on to another task.

you NEED this book
My favorite chapters are "Improving your relationship with Email",
"Creating the Perfect File System" and
"Using your Contact Software to Its Full Potential"

I am going to start with the email chapter and see if i can't get rid of some of these 1,000 emails in my inbox-ughhhh

This book caught my eye because my work style is very disorganized.
My email clutters up, my contacts are not in any categories and I am so tired of dealing with all the paper work by the time 5 p.m. comes that I am too tired to go home and clean anything at all.

I really need this book. I hope I can follow through with all these suggestions.
I have decided to take one chapter a month.

A must read for easy to do solutions!
What a great book! Whether you are an organized or disorganized person, you will be able to find useful and practical information in this book. There are so many factors that can affect our workday and this book addresses them. From paper and electronic filing systems to managing e-mail overload, the tips and time savers takes the unmanageable and makes it manageable. If you are looking for an easy to read and easy to implement book that deals with the real day to day issues, I suggest you read this book.