11 things organized and productive people do every day

11 things organized and productive people do every day11 things organized and productive people do every dayWe often confuse being productive with working as fast as we can, every second of the day. We fear that slowing down to get organized will kill our productivity, but the facts suggest otherwiseThe average office employee spends over one hour each day just looking for things.The average U.S. executive spends six weeks per year searching through messy desks and disorganized files for misplaced information.23% of adults say theyre late paying their bills because they lose them.Being disorganized is costly, in terms of both money and time. But if you can convince yourself to slow down and get organized, the ROI will shock you.For every minute spent organizing, an hour is earned. Benjamin FranklinWhile Benjamin Franklins estimation is overstated, spending time getting organized is still a valuable investment. Experts estimate that every hour spent in planning and organizing saves t hree to four hours of time that would otherwise be wasted.Theres a reason why people who are the calmest and least stressed are the ones who get the fruchtwein done- they understand the importance of organization, and theyve adapted their habits accordingly. The good news is that you can become more organized and productive too, just by emulating the habits that they rely on.They dont let their desks get clutteredYou may think you know exactly where, and in which stack of paper, you can find a particular document. But youre kidding yourself if you dont think youd be more productive with a clean and organized desk. Just the act of organizing the stuff on your desk helps you organize it in your mind. In addition, research conducted at Princeton University revealed that the more our brains are bombarded by the competing stimuli on a cluttered desk, the less were able to focus. And this wasnt just subjective evidence they were able to see the difference in MRIs of the subjects brain act ivity.They never touch things twiceOrganized and productive people never put anything in a holding pattern, because touching things twice is a huge time-waster. Dont save an e-mail or a phone call to deal with later. As soon as something gets your attention, you should act on it, delegate it, or delete it.They dont respond to e-mails as they arrive.Productive people dont allow their e-mail to be a constant interruption. In addition to checking their e-mail on a schedule, they take advantage of features that prioritize messages by sender. They set alerts for their fruchtwein important vendors and their best customers, and they save the rest until they reach a stopping point in their work. Some people even set up an autoresponder that lets senders know when theyll be checking their e-mail again.They work from a single to-do listRemember the days when people used to buy those expensive, leather-bound planners and fill them up with a to-do list color-coded by priority? Those might seem a bit old school now, but no one can deny that it was effective. Why were those planners effective? They reminded us how important it is to keep a single to-do list. When you consolidate everything into one list, you always know where to look, and you can stop wasting time trying to remember which list has the information you need.They have a high level of self-awarenessHighly productive and organized people have a clear sense of who they are. They know their weaknesses, and they put organizational structures in place to overcome them. If they tend to let meetings run too long, they set a timer. If they have trouble keeping meetings productive, they make an agenda. If they forget to check their voicemail in the morning, they set a reminder. The details dont matter whats important is that they think carefully and use specific aids and routines that work with their organizational weaknesses.They make time for lunchWeve all been there- youre head-down busy, and by the time you look up, its way past lunchtime. You end up either going without, or grabbing a doughnut or a bag of chips from the snack machine. Both are really bad ideas. The donut will give you an energy boost for about 20 minutes, but after that, your focus will drop like a rock. As far as skipping meals, not only does it affect your concentration, productivity, and problem-solving skills, it also affects your waistline- and not in the way you might expect. Research from Ohio State University shows that the weight you lose by skipping meals is muscle weight that you regain later as fat.They eat frogsEating a frog is the best antidote for procrastination ultra-productive people start each morning with this tasty treat. In other words, they do the least appetizing, most dreaded item on their to-do list first, before they do anything else. After that, theyre freed up to tackle the stuff that excites and inspires them.They tidy up at the end of each dayThe best remedy for clutter is to set aside about 10 minutes at the end of each day to organize your desk. Although we know that its best to touch things only once, weve all stopped halfway through a task because the phone reihe or somebody stopped by to chat. You really cant prevent such things, but youcanend the day by resolving all of the things you left half-finished.They plan their days the night beforeOrganized and productive people go to bed each night, secure in the knowledge of what theyll accomplish the following day. They get their priorities straight the night before, so that once the day starts, theyre less likely to get distracted by the tyranny of the urgent- those little fires that pop up and get in the way of their real priorities.They make full use of technologyTheres been a lot said about how modern technology extends the work day, making it so that were always on the clock. While that may be true, technology can also make us more productive. Whether its setting up an e-mail filter to keep your inbox spam-free, or u sing an app like Evernote to organize information youre going to need again, technology isnt always bad. Used properly, it can save a lot of time.They dont ignore their snail mailFor this one, we go back to the touch it once philosophy. For most of us, theres not a lot of snail mail ansicht days that we actually look forward to. But ignoring it can cause problems, especially when it comes to things like bills and tax notifications. Just go ahead and open it, and take care of it as soon as it arrives otherwise, youll end up digging under the sofa cushions searching for that overdue bill.Bringing it all togetherEvery minute you spend looking for something you misplaced, or trying to remember what youre supposed to do next, will harm your productivity. That, in turn, eats into your career potential. The good news is that there are many tools you can use to stay organized and productive, and so even the most disorganized among us can put a system in place to keep us in check.Travis Brad berryis the co-author ofEmotional Intelligence 2.0and the cofounder ofTalentSmart.This article first appeared at LinkedIn.Whats your favorite productivity hack? Let us know on our Facebook group, The Climb.11 things organized and productive people do every dayWe often confuse being productive with working as fast as we can, every second of the day. We fear that slowing down to get organized will kill our productivity, but the facts suggest otherwiseThe average office employee spends over one hour each day just looking for things.The average U.S. executive spends six weeks per year searching through messy desks and disorganized files for misplaced information.23% of adults say theyre late paying their bills because they lose them.Being disorganized is costly, in terms of both money and time. But if you can convince yourself to slow down and get organized, the ROI will shock you.For every minute spent organizing, an hour is earned. Benjamin FranklinWhile Benjamin Franklins estimation is overstated, spending time getting organized is still a valuable investment. Experts estimate that every hour spent in planning and organizing saves three to four hours of time that would otherwise be wasted.Follow Ladders on FlipboardFollow Ladders magazines on Flipboard covering Happiness, Productivity, Job Satisfaction, Neuroscience, and moreTheres a reason why people who are the calmest and least stressed are the ones who get the most done- they understand the importance of organization, and theyve adapted their habits accordingly. The good news is that you can become more organized and productive too, just by emulating the habits that they rely on.They dont let their desks get clutteredYou may think you know exactly where, and in which stack of paper, you can find a particular document. But youre kidding yourself if you dont think youd be more productive with a clean and organized desk. Just the act of organizing the stuff on your desk helps you organize it in your mind. In addition, research conducted at Princeton University revealed that the more our brains are bombarded by the competing stimuli on a cluttered desk, the less were able to focus. And this wasnt just subjective evidence they were able to see the difference in MRIs of the subjects brain activity.They never touch things twiceOrganized and productive people never put anything in a holding pattern, because touching things twice is a huge time-waster. Dont save an e-mail or a phone call to deal with later. As soon as something gets your attention, you should act on it, delegate it, or delete it.They dont respond to e-mails as they arrive.Productive people dont allow their e-mail to be a constant interruption. In addition to checking their e-mail on a schedule, they take advantage of features that prioritize messages by sender. They set alerts for their most important vendors and their best customers, and they save the rest until they reach a stopping point in their work. Some people even set up an autoresponder that lets senders know when theyll be checking their e-mail again.They work from a single to-do listRemember the days when people used to buy those expensive, leather-bound planners and fill them up with a to-do list color-coded by priority? Those might seem a bit old school now, but no one can deny that it was effective. Why were those planners effective? They reminded us how important it is to keep a single to-do list. When you consolidate everything into one list, you always know where to look, and you can stop wasting time trying to remember which list has the information you need.They have a high level of self-awarenessHighly productive and organized people have a clear sense of who they are. They know their weaknesses, and they put organizational structures in place to overcome them. If they tend to let meetings run too long, they set a timer. If they have trouble keeping meetings productive, they make an agenda. If they forget to check their voicemail in the morning, they set a reminder. The details dont matter whats important is that they think carefully and use specific aids and routines that work with their organizational weaknesses.They make time for lunchWeve all been there- youre head-down busy, and by the time you look up, its way past lunchtime. You end up either going without, or grabbing a donut or a bag of chips from the snack machine. Both are really bad ideas. The donut will give you an energy boost for about 20 minutes, but after that, your focus will drop like a rock. As far as skipping meals, not only does it affect your concentration, productivity, and problem-solving skills, it also affects your waistline- and not in the way you might expect. Research from Ohio State University shows that the weight you lose by skipping meals is muscle weight that you regain later as fat.They eat frogsEating a frog is the best antidote for procrastination ultra-productive people start each morning with this tasty treat. In other wo rds, they do the least appetizing, most dreaded item on their to-do list first, before they do anything else. After that, theyre freed up to tackle the stuff that excites and inspires them.They tidy up at the end of each dayThe best remedy for clutter is to set aside about 10 minutes at the end of each day to organize your desk. Although we know that its best to touch things only once, weve all stopped halfway through a task because the phone rang or somebody stopped by to chat. You really cant prevent such things, but youcanend the day by resolving all of the things you left half-finished.They plan their days the night beforeOrganized and productive people go to bed each night, secure in the knowledge of what theyll accomplish the following day. They get their priorities straight the night before, so that once the day starts, theyre less likely to get distracted by the tyranny of the urgent- those little fires that pop up and get in the way of their real priorities.They make full u se of technologyTheres been a lot said about how modern technology extends the work day, making it so that were always on the clock. While that may be true, technology can also make us more productive. Whether its setting up an e-mail filter to keep your inbox spam-free, or using an app like Evernote to organize information youre going to need again, technology isnt always bad. Used properly, it can save a lot of time.They dont ignore their snail mailFor this one, we go back to the touch it once philosophy. For most of us, theres not a lot of snail mail these days that we actually look forward to. But ignoring it can cause problems, especially when it comes to things like bills and tax notifications. Just go ahead and open it, and take care of it as soon as it arrives otherwise, youll end up digging under the sofa cushions searching for that overdue bill.Bringing it all togetherEvery minute you spend looking for something you misplaced, or trying to remember what youre supposed to d o next, will harm your productivity. That, in turn, eats into your career potential. The good news is that there are many tools you can use to stay organized and productive, and so even the most disorganized among us can put a system in place to keep us in check.Travis Bradberryis the co-author ofEmotional Intelligence 2.0and the cofounder ofTalentSmart.This article first appeared at LinkedIn.