Organization, time management, and effective communications are all very important parts of the puzzle for success in the work place. All must come together to complete the puzzle and create a smooth running work place. Poor organization leads to poor time management (Huntington, n.d.). Lack of communication leads to poorly understood work objectives and poor time management. Lack of time management leads to poor organization and lack of direction to complete work objectives (Pillai, 2010). All these elements make one big circle, play on each other and without them undesirable consequences can occur.
As the Executive Officer, for a directorate within the Army’s Office of The Surgeon General, organization is vital. We receive numerous tasks from multiple organizations on a daily basis. It is my job to organize all received task products into task action folders (TAF), log and track task suspense dates, and close out completed actions. My work organization is managed by two things: task log and the TAF (files). When tasks are received all items and email are placed into a folder on the network share drive. All folders are organized in the following manner: “fiscal year” is the initial folder. The next folder is “month”. The last folders are the individual TAFs that are named according to suspense date and title. I use a task log for ease of determining what is due (30 days out, 14 days out, and 7 days out), this prioritizes the tasks. It is organized by suspense date and color coded. There are two tabs one for open tasks and the other for closed tasks. To quickly locate a TAF, simply search for the name on the log, once located look at the suspense date. The suspense date will point you to the correct file location based on the developed hierarchy.
Work organization keeps the work flow focused and makes it easy to locate files in an efficient manner. There are numerous ways to organize work products and with the development of technology it has made organization easier. Organization is an evolving process and when a person is organized it helps reduces stress and leads to better time management (Huntington, n.d.). In my career time management is a must. With all the tasks, meetings, monthly requirements and trainings, a calendar plus a log is essential. All items are put on the calendar to include blocks of time set aside to complete reoccurring tasks or requirements. The task log created stays open on the computer showing upcoming suspense dates for tasks. Without these two tools which outline my monthly activities I would be unable to stay on track and it would be difficult to add anything new to my schedule. Without time management the days would be blindly started which would be disaster.
Key elements for time management to be successful are organization and communication. You must be organized so time is not wasted trying to figure out your plan or where the files needed are located. You must have effective communication with your managers and employees to ensure all work objectives are understood and clarified. If communication is not effective, time will be wasted in trying to figure out the objectives or doing work that was not necessary (Employee-motivation-skills.com, n.d.). Communication is used to communicate meetings, trainings, get or provide clarification on tasks, and to make sure all objectives are on track with what management wants. Multiple