Staying on Top of Chaos!

Ah yes, organisation. Apart from mathematics, probably the single topic that I’m least qualified to talk, or write, about. Still, it is essential for trying to stay somewhat sane, for any given value of sanity, in the modern working world. I learned this lesson the hard way, as I tended to just trust my brain, which ended up with me jumping from pillar to post and got me alarmingly close to a burnout on more than one occasion. I tried to get a grip on things back in 2019, when I first set up an organisation system to help me stay somewhat focused. 

Then came a new job, followed pretty quickly by a pandemic, and while I was initially able to cope well, as the months turned into first one, then two, years, I found myself jumping from pillar to post more and more, struggling to keep up. Even post lockdown, things didn’t really get any better, not helped by that knee injury I managed to inflict on myself back in May 2022 and that would eventually send me to hospital. It is only now, in early March 2024 as I’m writing this that I’m able to really think on how to get myself back into a more organised state. As such, this post is as much an attempt at brainstorming as it is a record of my experiences.

Start Early

Don’t worry, by that, I don’t mean actually getting up early, I’m not that much of a sadist. Rather, I mean laying out your expected workload and tasks for the day laid out before getting started. For me personally, I’ve started using my daily commute to sort through my work emails, file away the vast majority of them that don’t require any action from my side and flag the others for follow-up later during the day. I mean, I take the bus to work, what else am I supposed to do during that time. On the days when I’m working from home, I usually use my twenty minutes on the couch while catching up on the news for the same purpose.

Mind you, I don’t actually answer any emails, barring absolute emergencies, during that time. The idea is simply to not be greeted with an avalanche of emails when I get to my desk and open my laptop. It also means that, by only having, say five to ten emails that actually require work, I have more bandwidth for the usual slow flood of tasks that come trickling in throughout the day. It should however go without saying that this only works when you’re walking to work or taking public transport. Don’t, I’m serious, DON’T do this if you’re driving to work. Seriously, there are enough oxygen thieves on the road already who incessantly fool around with their phones while driving and as a result endanger everyone around them!

Block off Time

This is one that I’m honestly very hesitant to use. As the headline suggests, this means blocking off certain times of your day or week for dealing with recurring tasks. This can be anything, from a one-hour block every Monday morning to sort out whatever the other teams have cooked up over the weekend to blocking off twenty minutes in the afternoon to send out a daily email report to setting aside some time at the end of the day to plan out the tasks for the following day. As mentioned, I struggle with this. My current job relies on me being available for my sales teams as much as possible and so, apart from one hour every Monday, I try to keep my calendar clear for the most part.

However, the good thing is that this doesn’t require planning massively ahead. This works on the small scale too. Have a task pop up short notice that needs to get done *now*? Just set yourself to Away in whatever messaging client you’re using and get to it. Personally, I’ve found the so-called pomodoro technique to be a great way for me to block out any distractions, especially since I found out that my work laptop has a timer built in that will automatically schedule the 20-minute blocks the technique calls for. It’s not fool proof, but it will help you deal with the many tiny requests that your co-workers will inevitably bombard. And while we’re on the topic of co-workers…

Block off Colleagues

Aaaah, one of my favourites! On a more serious note, unless you’re monitoring the behaviour of otters in some remote national park (If you are, do you have any vacancies? I love otters!), chances are that you’ll be subjected to a steady stream of emails, messages and calls throughout your day. Plus, if your co-workers are anything like mine, even setting yourself to Busy or Away in Slack, Teams, or whatever messenger you use at work will have little effect, as that status will generally be ignored.

Unfortunately, hiring a team of assassins to deal with this issue will likely not be covered by your employer’s expense policy and is also generally frowned upon by HR. So, you’re likely going to have to find a more HR-compliant, not to mention less permanent, way to deal with these interruptions and silence your IMs. There are generally two ways to go about that.

The first is simply letting the people know that you are at capacity. Naturally, this works best when you already have a good working relationship with the colleague in question. Seriously though, you’ll be surprised at how understanding these people can be once you let them know that you’re up to your neck in work. I’m someone who doesn’t really like to inconvenience people but even I’ve found this method to be surprisingly effective.

Sometimes however, only a brute force approach will suffice. And no, that does not mean hiring assassins is justified, put that phone down now! It means actually blocking out messages and notifications. Noise-Cancelling headphones are ideal for this. I’m not even joking, silencing notifications, turning on some music that helps you concentrate and simply powering through is sometimes the only choice. I mentioned a built-in Focus Timer on my work laptop in the previous section. This is an integrated component of Windows 11 and will silence your notifications while it is active, and while this is likely better suited for the next section of this blog post, it was a game changer when I found it!

Find the Tools that suit you!

There are a multitude of tools, techniques, courses, and products out there that claim to help you be more productive. Naturally, not all of these tools will work for everyone, so it’s best to “hack yourself”. No, that does not mean resorting to body modifications, it simply means to use those techniques that play to your strengths and interests, as the chances are much higher that you’ll stick with those in the long run. 

So, if you’re a pen-and-paper aficionado, just use that. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with using post-its or that truckload of company-branded notebooks to help you keep track of what you need to do or remember. And of course, if you want to treat yourself and get that amazing leather-bound Moleskine notebook you’ve been eyeing for the last six months, just go for it. Once again, there’s no wrong choice here, as long as it works for you!

Naturally, the same goes if you’re a card-carrying gadget hound like me. Find the app that suits you and go for it. Whether it’s Microsoft To Do, Google Tasks, whatever task management tool ships your phone, or my personal choice, Todoist, there is very likely an app out there for you. Personally, I use Todoist to manage more formal tasks while using the Flag function in Outlook to highlight emails that I need to follow up on. In addition, I use OneNote as a general note-taking app to capture any information I might need for work, while using Google Keep for anything private, from ideas for blog posts to recipes!

It's not a question of either-or either, there are plenty of hybrid tools out there that combine the feeling of taking notes on paper with the convenience of an online solution. Whether it’s the Rocketbook notebooks I looked at a few years ago, or the more high-class and high-price options such as the Remarkable series of tablets, feel free to mix and match to your heart’s content.

Finally, feel free to think outside of the box and use tools in ways that their inventors probably didn’t intend for them to be used. I already mentioned the Focus Timer built into the Notification Center on Windows 11. I’ve personally found this tool to be supremely effective at helping me concentrate when used in conjunction with a core component of both Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge: Progressive Web Apps.

Basically, PWAs are “containerised” versions of web sites that are run outside of the browser and act more like their own programs than web sites. Both Chrome and Edge allow you to install pages as web apps, and I’ve used that to install Calm, the meditation and mindfulness app that I use, directly on my machine. Now, if I really need to concentrate, I not only use the Focus Timer to silence incoming notifications but also pull up Calm to physically block out the view of Teams while I’m doing that task. It’s surprisingly effective.

Oh, and remember those comments I made about noise-cancelling headphones I made earlier? I wasn’t joking. Being able to block out your surroundings, especially in an office environment, is crucial when it comes to focusing on a certain task. The good news is that a good set of noise-cancelling headphones or earbuds doesn’t have to break the bank anymore either. Apart from my venerable Bang & Olufsen H8 headphones which have been with me for eight years at this point, I also use a pair of Jabra Elite 4 Wireless earbuds that cost me a little over 60€ and have no business sounding as good as they do! And yes, a thorough review of those is in the works!

Put Away your Phone!

The gadget hound and flip phone fanatic in me is screaming in pain as I write these lines, but it is true, nonetheless. Phones, foldable or otherwise, are a distraction. If you have to keep them on your desk at all, set it into StandBy if you’re an Apple user or focus mode with notifications disabled while you’re working. There’s a reason why my own phone spends most of its time folded half-way, acting as a desk clock or digital picture frame while I work. Now, I’m not saying you can’t use your phone at all but try to stick to the breaks between tasks. Your mind will thank you for the reprieve from the incessant doom scrolling. And yes, I struggle with sticking to this as well, confounded in my case by the fact that, well, I have a foldable.

Take your Time & Experiment!

The bottom line here is that there is no one-size-fits-all solution to getting more structure into your day. So you’re going to have to experiment and play around with different tools or techniques until you find something that works for you. This might be something completely different to what your colleagues are using, and that’s okay. 

Also, don’t expect this to be a quick fix. When I set up the system that I’m, still using today, with some modifications and additions, I ended up taking a few days off just to get started. Okay, part of the reason is that this also involved sorting and filing away a frankly insane amount of physical paperwork into binders, but even with that, it was not a quick solution. And that’s what it essentially boils down to. This will take time, and even though the tools mentioned in this thread can help massively to get to grips with the often chaotic nature of work, a lot of the work will still have to be done by the squishy biocomputer between your ears.