Get Organized So You Can Kill It In 2020: 10 Tips From Real People

Like many others, I opened up my work laptop and pulled up my email inbox (which, mind you, I had not looked at since December 21) this morning to filter through a mushroom cloud of emails.

With equal parts dread and a nagging urge to organize and triage, I sorted and caught up on unread messages. I relished the fact that 2019 means getting myself back on track and staying organized — hopefully not just for the first week back to work, but for the entire year ahead.

Everyone has different organizational challenges. Maybe your sticky notes aren’t cutting it when it comes to staying on top of your to-do list, perhaps your work and personal calendars has presented a constant double-booking problem, or maybe you hyper-focus on one task for so long that you forget the other important items on your plate for the day.

Whatever it is, this is a great time of year to try out some new ways of staying organized. Just as not everyone has the same weaknesses, not every organizational tool will seem appealing — or useful — to everyone. Truly, it’s about finding something that works for you and using it to your advantage so that you can be your most efficient self at work, cut down the stress, and open up a lot more mental energy for more things that make you feel accomplished.

Ahead, we rounded up 10 tried-and-true ways (from real people!) for staying organized and efficient, no matter how weird or old-school. Read on for some inspiration on new methods to try out this year to optimize your workflow this year.