Structured work: helpful and proven methods

When things get crazy at work, the phone is ringing non-stop, emails are piling up in your inbox and colleagues are already calling you for a meeting, you can feel overwhelmed. To help you keep a clear head and an overview, we would like to introduce you to some helpful methods today. These will help you to work in a structured way in the future.

Mindtools

Mind tools help to promote productivity and creativity while at the same time achieving order and calm. There are four methods that have proven themselves over time to relieve the brain in the long term and enable structured work.

Method 1: Externalize
This means that you use your environment as a memory aid so that it takes the pressure off your mind. If, for example, a letter needs to be sent the next day, it is a good idea to lay it on the table prepared so that it can go straight into the post the next day. The aim here is to relieve the memory and thus the mind so that it doesn’t have to remember every little thing.

Method 2: Writing by hand
Just like when learning vocabulary, it is also more efficient to write things down by hand in everyday working life if you want to remember them. Studies prove this.

Method 3: Set priorities
These are best set at the beginning of each day. Whether with the help of a to-do list, a calendar or index cards: a ranking order clearly shows what needs to be done so that nothing is forgotten. Once you have completed this list, you can sit back and relax in the knowledge that you have done everything.

Method 4: Clear your head
To do this, take something to write on, whether a laptop or a sheet of paper is up to you. The important thing is that everything that keeps you busy and possibly stressful is removed from your head and moved to an external memory card. This could just as well be a diary in which you write down your worries. Once you have written this out of your system, your mind is receptive again.

Getting things done with the David Allen method

David Allen is a management consultant who has developed the “Getting things done” (GTD) model. This is primarily about being productive and reducing stress at the same time. This is achieved through five phases that help you to work in a structured way.

Phase 1: Collect
As with the method mentioned above, all the things that fill your head should be put on paper here. However, in addition to your own thoughts, this also includes emails, mailbox messages and all kinds of notes that have accumulated. This gives you everything at a glance and frees up your mind for more important things.

Phase 2: Processing the previous notes
Which of these things need to be turned into an appointment? Which note becomes a task and which can be dispensed with altogether? If an action is necessary, this is recorded in the next step.

Phase 3: Organize these actions
Each action has its own list, which is divided into “calls” or “errands”. This allows you to keep an overview and, for example, complete all calls one after the other and already have a completed list. This is motivating.

Phase 4: Reviewing the lists
All lists, emails and calendar entries are viewed and sorted. This helps with planning the next steps and lists.

Phase 5: Completing
The good preparatory work that has already been done in phase two comes into play here. If you are sitting in the office, you should now grab the list that you can best work through here. If you are on the plane on the way to a meeting or customer appointment, you can devote yourself to a different list. This way, you always have an overview of what you can work through and when, without the tasks piling up and the risk of things getting too stressful.

Pro tip for structured work

If you are using these methods for the first time, it all seems like a lot of work. After all, such lists or index cards have to be created first. That takes time. But don’t worry, because structured work can be learned and, as is so often the case, it’s also a question of habit. So don’t bury your head in the sand, but rather plant structure in your head. Gradually, both the mind tools and the phases of “getting things done” will come easily to you.
One person may learn this sooner than another, but as I said, it can all be learned.