Six Easy Habits for Improving Efficiency, Part 1

The Wealthy Writerby Michael Meanwell 1. Keep it clean. If your office is a mess, you’re probably a mess, too. Get into the habit of clearing and cleaning your desktop…

1. Keep it clean. If your office is a mess, you're probably a mess, too. Get into the habit of clearing and cleaning your desktop at the end of ech day and your office at the end of each week. By keeping your workplace free of clutter, you'll start the day and any new tasks quicker and fresher.

2. Plan each task and each day. Often projects can appear insurmountable until you break them down into individual tasks and prioritize them. The same applies to your day. There's always so much to do, but what do you do first?

Start each day with a "to do" list. Prioritize the most important tasks for the day and, if they are not completed, transfer them to the next day's list with an appropriate priority rating. In addition to a daily plan, keep weekly and monthly plans for longer-term or larger projects. Each week, review the list and transfer tasks to your daily lists, as required.

3. Keep a shopping list. When you're running low on supplies, add them to your shopping list to ensure that you have them when you need them.

Check back tomorrow for the next three efficiency tips!

Scott Francis is a former editor and author of Writer's Digest Books.