Jen is the first friendly face that you’ll see when you walk into our office. She helps keep the office running, from keeping us stocked in candy, to ensuring our invoices go out on time, and she helps out with administrative and accounting processes that require a high level of organization and detail, too. We’re all impressed with Jen’s ability to keep so many different things on track simultaneously, so we asked her to share a few thoughts on how she keeps herself organized. Here’s what she had to say:

I really think exploring and finding what works best for your style and routine habits is the key to making organization easy and fun. For me, using both digital and hard copy to-do lists and reminders helps keep me on task and ensures that I don’t forget anything important! Some of the tools I use include:

  1. Daily/Weekly/Monthly Task list. I keep a journal that helps me organize all of my personal events, work reminders, meetings, and to-do’s in one place. For me, writing things down helps me remember them, and it’s a great backup if the digital calendar isn’t available or working for any reason.
  2. Google Calendar. I use Google Calendar for reminders and notifications of upcoming events or important to-do’s (see below for more on that). One of the most useful features is that the app lets you color-code as many events as you want to keep them separate, organized, and easy to read. I have different colors for my personal and work calendars.
  3. Set Reminders and Notifications. I think this has become pretty standard for many people, but it’s definitely something that I use a lot. I use the app on my smartphone to set reminders for important events and work tasks, and it will ping me for those reminders at the time and date I choose. It means nothing ever slips through the cracks!
  4. Monthly clear-out. Finally, I’m a super minimalist. I really enjoy doing what I call a “monthly clear-out,” at both work and home. I clean my desks, closets, my bathroom, even my fridge! Having a neat work and living space makes it easier to find things more quickly, but it also means there’s room for anything that might pop up in the future. If a monthly clear-out sounds overwhelming, try doing it with a friend or family member that enjoys organizing!