Learning to filter out unnecessary tasks and decide which items on your to-do list are the most important is a helpful organizational skill, because it forces you to tackle high-priority tasks before less important ones. According to Business Town, it's better to develop a "time strategy" than a "time schedule." This way, you'll accomplish tasks with earlier deadlines or greater effects on time and in a thoughtful manner. If you don't prioritize, you may do small tasks first because they take less time, but put off bigger jobs until the last minute, causing you to do a substandard job on them.
Managing your time is a key organizational skill. According to managementskillsadvisor.com, time management is "the ability to manage time using a range of skills, tools and techniques to effectively manage tasks, projects, goals and schedules." If you have two hours to accomplish a half-hour task, do it right away so that you can relax for the remainder of the time. If you relax during the first hour and a half and then work, you'll be rushing to finish the job and the quality will be lower than if you devoted more time to it. Combating procrastination can be difficult, but it's essential to staying on task and organized.
Staying focused is a key element of organization. To this end, designate one place for everything in your home and office and make sure everything is always in its place when it's not in use. This is a good skill to teach your children if they tend to scatter toys and clothing around the house. Choose specific places for items, such as a toy box for all toys or a certain dresser drawer for socks, and make an effort to put things away as soon as you are done using them. If you keep everything neat and organized, you can stay focused on completing pressing tasks, not on searching for your stapler or rummaging through your closet for the match to your shoe.
Making a weekly plan for how you will spend your time is crucial to staying organized. If you have trouble remembering where you're supposed to be and when, buy a daily planner and write down appointments, meetings, lunches, classes, bill due dates and other activities as soon as you learn about them. This will help prevent you from missing deadlines and from forgetting that you're supposed to pick up your son from soccer practice at 5 p.m. or meet that important client. If someone asks you to do something on a specific day, a quick glance at your planner will tell you whether you're free.