Organise your Work

ORGANIZE YOUR WORK

Now, there is this interesting parable in the Bible, I Kings 20:39-40 (Living Bible) Prophet says to King Ahab, “Sir, I was in the battle, and a man brought me a prisoner and said ‘keep this man, if he gets away, you must die or else pay me $2000. But while I was busy doing something else, the prisoner disappeared!”

The point here is, while the man was so busy doing something else, the prisoner disappeared, and the man stood the risk of losing his life. What matters is not how busy we are, it is how effective we are.

Organizations or people do not generally reward us for our efforts as much as they reward us for our results. We must therefore be result-oriented. When you apply for a job, the fact that you studied for long hours in the night will not matter if you did not pass your examination. The important thing is your result.

Your boss in the office cannot be satisfied with stories of how much effort you invested in your assignment if you don’t have tangible results. More importantly, you cannot derive much fulfillment from work yourself, if you put in so much effort only to achieve little results.
To find fulfillment in our work therefore, we must be result-oriented and for us to achieve tangible results, we must organize our work. Activity does not necessarily guarantee accomplishment but organized activity guarantees definite accomplishment.
I suggest that you take the following steps towards being organized.

1. Set your goals: At the beginning of every month, every week and every day, decide what you want to accomplish. Decision determines destiny. You must decide what you want before life will deliver it to you. Be specific about your goals, and giveyourself deadlines when they must be accomplished. Just saying, “I will see the Managing Director of NNPC” is not enough. Which day will you see him? What time? When will you book the appointment, if necessary? Set specific goals with deadlines.

2. Develop a Plan: When you have specified what you want to accomplish, plan how you will accomplish it. Usually, there are some steps between where you are, and where you intend to be. Plan how to get there. You may need to buy a form, write and submit an application, post some letters, book an appointment or see some people. Develop a plan, and stick to that plan. Avoid distractions. Concentrate on working out your plan.

3. Prioritize: When you have specified your goals, you will notice that you cannot accomplish all of them at the same time. You must therefore arrange them in their order of priority. Do the most important and the most profitable things first. Get the most out of your time. Some things look urgent but they are not very important. Don’t let them take up you time. Don’t major on minor things. Do the first things first, on a daily basis.


4. Reserve your most productive time for your most important jobs: Block out some of your time, especially when you are at your best, to tackle your most important assignments at least one day in the week. Don’t leave your important assignments till spare time.

5. Plan you leisure: Take your rest and your leisure as important as your work hours. It will help you to get more work done when you get on the job. Time taken to relax is not time lost at all. Be careful about doing too much overtime on your job. It saps your energy and leaves you unmotivated. Eventually it will affect the work you are trying so hard to do. Also spend time with your family, because a crisis at home will ultimately affect your productivity

6. Organize your desk and your office: Make yourself comfortable and provide enough space around your desk. Good ventilation is important. Inadequate oxygen will make you feel drowsy. Give your office space a business-like look. Don’t make it look like a place to socialize. Those who have nothing to do should not spend all their time at your desk. It will help if you always have a notebook or note pad around to jot down ideas as they come to you.

If you will take these steps today, and channel your energy to achieve greater results. Work cannot be boring, work will be exciting. Your life will be full of accomplishments everyday.

You will Succeed!