Unfinished Business - How to get the job done

With the end of the year fast approaching, wouldn’t it be great to start the festive season with a clear conscious by having all those unfinished work tasks/projects completed?

I’m talking about those tasks/projects that play on our mind, weighing us down and preventing us from feeling like we are on top of things. They are almost always thought of in a negative frame of mind and make us feel like we are failing.

Let’s get started and make it a reality!

Think about (or actually stand in) the room that you do your most work in, whether it be at your office, in a home office or a space in the home where you spend the most time working. Picture it in your mind or if you are there, look around and get a really good feel for exactly what your office contains. Pay close attention to the following:

· The ambience – is it too dark, musty, unventilated?
· The layout of furniture
· Miscellaneous items and their placement
· The many piles of paper all over the desk
· The contents of drawers and cupboards

Now ask yourself the following questions:

Do you like this room?
How do you feel being in this room? Choose a word that describes your feeling.
Does your office function well?
What changes would you make if you could make them?
What unfinished projects are here, pulling at you?
Do you know where everything is? Can you find the things you need?
Is this room clean?
Is this room decorated in an inspiring way? If not, what simple changes would help?
Are you able to get work done efficiently in this room?
Could the furniture be moved to be more functional and appealing?

If your work space is tidy, functional and clean … fantastic! If you love being in this room, even better! You are fortunate and should be able to get stuck into those unfinished projects right away.

However if this is not you, making a few changes can make the world of difference to your productivity. What we so often observe is people try to do important work in a room that doesn’t work for them. This can be caused by a range of things, such as:

Unpleasant surroundings, eg old impractical furniture and lack of fresh air
Poorly set up, eg also doubles as the sewing, ironing and gym room
Dark, dusty and cluttered eg not cleaned and no direct sunlight

By now you might be realising there are some simple changes that can be made to your work space to enable you to work with clarity and purpose. It is really important that you feel good in the space you work. Even if you work in an office and don’t have any control over the actual location or furniture, you can still make some positive changes to make your space more pleasant and functional. The first step would be to tidy up and organize your work into trays. Clean your desk surface and add a few personal touches such as a pretty photo frame and a nice plant.

Often people have a great space to work in, but their work habits and lack of organisation find them with a To Do List full of unfinished items and surrounded by piles of paper. Is it any wonder that they feel defeated at the end of each day?

Now that you are feeling happier about your environment and you have organized your desk space, compile a To Do list and make sure to put in the time each task should take to complete. Work your way through the list by starting with the most urgent items. If you have some long outstanding tasks, choose one to complete each day and before long they will all be done and your conscious will be clear. Just in time for the Festive Season!