Back in my corporate days, I was often complimented on being very organized. While I feel that is less the case now, I did seem to be one of the more organized folks in my company. Here are a few tricks of the trade. Enjoy.
Multi Tasking is a farce. If someone says they are good at multi tasking, I can guarantee that their desk is a disaster area and the often fail to complete assignments. The key is to focus on the task at hand, and then move on to the next task.
Manage your week. Some tasks need to be performed everyday, but many only need to be done once per week. Perhaps you have a weekly production report you need to complete or follow up letters you need to send one month after your original sale. Of these weekly task, put in the least challenging ones for Mondays. For Fridays, schedule in the tasks that will tidy up your desk for the weekend. Slot times on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday to handle everything else.
Complete one Quadrant II activity every day. By Quadrant II I am referring to items that are not urgent, but are important. These tend to be related to training, education, development, organizing, and planning. Because they are not urgent, i.e. no one is yelling at you to get them done, you will tend to put these items off. However, by completing them you will become more efficient and effective at your other tasks. Please read Stephen Covey to find out more.
Use Manuals instead of Hanging Folders. It is easier to leaf through a manual than to bend over a file cabinet looking for that critical procedure or memo. I was often thought to be the expert at different subjects. The truth was that I was just a lot quicker at looking up the answer than other folks were. The key was spending 10 to 15 minutes per week updating my manuals.
Manage your day. I found that I was most productive during the first few hours of the day. Each of us has a different pattern of when we are most alert and productive, and when we would rather take a nap. During your productive time, try to stay focused and avoid getting interrupted by your coworkers.
Return phone calls promptly. I would sometimes forward my phone to my voice mail. I often would do this on Tuesday mornings because that was my block of time devoted to one of my most frustrating and time consuming job functions. However, every hour on the hour, I would pick up my voice mail and call people back. As much as possible I would try to answer my phone or return voice mails immediately. Generally the longer a customer has to stew over a problem, the worse it is going to be once you do call them back. The key is to kill the monster while it is still young.
Keep a to do list. You can put it on Outlook or Excel or even Access but you need to keep an ongoing list. People that have several dozen post it notes on their desk are just asking for trouble. Having a to do list will not make things go any faster, but you will never 'forget' that something was supposed to be done.
Use the FIFO accounting method. FIFO means First In, First Out. Work your mail, email, paperwork in the order that you received it. Often people would hand me stuff and while they were explaining how important it was I would conspicuously move it into my In Box for handling at a later time. The message you need to communicate is that all your work is important and you will get to their major problem just as soon as you can.
Knowledge is power. The more you know, the less time you need to ask other people questions or scramble to find information. Stay up to date and knowledgeable in your field.
Hope this helps.