In my last post, I referenced how January is Get Organized MonthSM and I started exploring a few ways online professionals can get organized. Here are three more organization ideas to help you start thinking about how you can get and stay organized this year.
RSS Feeds
One of my favorite ways to get organized in January is by doing a thorough RSS clean-up. This is a two-part process for me. First, I do a comprehensive feed review and unsubscribe from anything I haven’t read in months and feeds that are no longer active.
Then, it’s time to catch up on unread posts sitting in my reader. I read the ones that I want to read, skim others and mark the rest of the feeds I still want to subscribe to but not read right now as read. I usually take a hard look at the feeds in that last group, though. Many times, it makes more sense just to unsubscribe than keep carrying the weight of a continuous and growing backlog of unread posts.
Smartphone Apps
Like most who like to stay connected even when away from the office, I try out a lot of apps on my smartphone. I can have a cluttered mess after a few months without cleaning it up. A great way to get organized this month is by uninstalling any unused apps, organizing what you do use and creating a plan for keeping it tidy going forward.
Also as part of this idea, I take a few minutes to make sure all of my smartphone data is backed up and syncing properly over the air and across all of my devices, and that all of my active apps are updated as necessary.
Task Management
When you have a lot to get done, organization is vital. But for some of us, deciding on a system for organizing and managing our tasks is the challenging part. If you don’t have a solid task management system, now is the time to explore your options and pick one. Your preference may be pen and paper, a comprehensive project management application, a simple to-do list or something else entirely. It doesn’t matter what you use as long as you have a way to keep track of what you need to do so that nothing falls through the cracks.
For more on task management, read: Task, Information Management and Productivity Systems and 12 Online Tools for Organizing Your Tasks.
I bet these six ideas for getting organized spurred you to think of a handful more that apply to your day-to-day life. What are you going to focus on to help you get more organized this month?
Image credit: slafko
Alyssa GregoryAlyssa Gregory is a digital and content marketer, small business consultant, and the founder of the Small Business Bonfire — a social, educational and collaborative community for entrepreneurs.
