Organized System at Work

Re: Organized System at Work

• Karla CS member

  November 2013

  I try to take 5-10 minutes to get my hand written notes into typed copy. I find it's easier for me to reference back to them and I usually will jot down some really stupid abbreviation or just a few words thinking 'of course I'll remember what this means!' - and I do remember a few minutes later, but I definitely don't remember weeks later.

  
  

  To do lists, and calendars, I manage in Outlook.

  
  

  And all of my electronic docs are filed exactly the same, for every single client. Exactly the same. I have the same primary folders for each client, with customized subfolders if necessary. Every document is titled clearly - "Client Name - Document Date - Document Description" (I'm a bit anal - my analyst has since learned that 2013.08.13 is not the same thing as 8-13-13, but it comes in really helpful for sorting.)

  
  

  It was a PITA when I switched to a new division and took over for someone else who had NO organization, but we got everything up to speed and our division has since converted all their online document storage to my format.

  

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• aglenn member

  November 2013

  I use a three-ring binder and I have a tab for each client with notes, planning calendars, meeting notes, etc.  In front of all the tabs I have a few pages with general calendars - a yearly calendar, a monthly calendar for the current and next month, and at the end of each week I print weekly and daily calendar pages from Outlook for the upcoming week.  I also use Outlook's task list, sorted by client, and print my to-do list out once a week to keep in my notebook.  As the week goes on I hand write things on the daily calendar pages that I need to do that day.
  

  

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• jlaOK member

  November 2013

  I am an engineer, so I have a lot of handwritten design notes.  When I'm finished with a project I scan all my notes into the project folder.  I will keep the handwritten notes in an out of the way file just in case.

  

                                                

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• MommyAtty member

  November 2013

  I have the same issue! No laptops or iPads in meetings. I got the Office Depot version of the Circa notebook system and I love it! I can keep one to do list. And if we start ranging through different projects and cases in a meeting, I can pull out a few pages and then put them behind their respective tabs so everything is organized. I could do it with a 3 ring binder, too, but the system seems somehow neater to me. And def more compact. I have the smaller size and it's perfect for my needs.

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• preggersin2011 member

  November 2013

  Do you have a scanner at work? I would scan all my notes into my computer for 'back up' if I were you. Then file them in your office. Depending upon what you do you might work from paper and do electronic back ups. I too like old fashion to do lists
  

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• eyenigh member

  November 2013

  A friend of mine uses a smart pen that he takes notes with on regular paper and then just syncs it with his computer to keep everything electronically organized. It still writes in ink so there's always a backup. I don't know his particular model but he swears by the system for staying organized.

  
  

  
  

  
  

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• redjellybean128 member

  November 2013

  I manage my to do lists for both work and home in evernote.  When I'm in a situation where I can't use the computer, my phone or ipad, I would just handwrite and transfer into evernote afterwards. I use to just keep notebooks, but as I filled them it just made it hard to go back and find what exactly I needed. My office has also used Asana as a PP suggests. 

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