Who hasn't dreamed of being able to control their schedule, prioritize their tasks efficiently, and complete their projects - all with complete peace of mind? Better overall organization is based on optimized time management, the ability to prioritize tasks and effective collaboration in project management. The objective of this optimization is clear: to save time and energy, protect concentration and gain serenity in daily life. To achieve these goals, training in work organization is essential. They should enable you to master three essential aspects: the organization of your diary to better structure your time, the art of prioritizing and arbitrating your tasks for greater efficiency, and finally, project management to strengthen collaboration and the organization of teamwork. In this article, we'll explore these three areas in detail to help you choose the training course best suited to your needs.

1. Learn to organize your diary

Learning how to organize your diary is essential if you want to organize your work more effectively, because it helps you to structure your days efficiently, avoid wasting time and divide your tasks more evenly. With a clear vision of your priorities and deadlines, you can concentrate on high value-added activities, thus reducing stress and improving your overall productivity. NUMA training in work organization gives you the keys to creating these times of concentration and better ritualizing your agenda by tackling the following points.

Plan time for concentration

Deepwork times are specially dedicated time slots to protect your concentration and enable you to make progress on substantive or priority subjects in your week. They are characterized by a total absence of distractions, and allow you to immerse yourself in complex tasks requiring sustained attention. For example, a software developer might set aside every morning from 9am to 11am to work on coding a new feature without interruption. By locking these slots in his diary and informing his colleagues of his unavailability during this period, he maximizes his productivity and creativity.

These deepwork times are crucial to increasing serenity and productivity at work. By devoting yourself fully to important tasks without being disturbed, you get more done in less time and with better quality. This method also reduces the stress of dealing with emergencies and constant interruptions, so you can end your working day with a sense of accomplishment and greater peace of mind.

Challenge your meetings 

Good work organization training should enable you to challenge your meetings and critically evaluate the need, duration and format of each one before organizing or participating in them. This means asking yourself some essential questions: is this meeting really necessary? Couldn't it be replaced by an e-mail or a brief report? Do all those invited really need to attend? For example, a marketing team might decide to replace its weekly one-hour meeting with a written report, allowing everyone to read the information at their own pace and ask specific questions if necessary.

By reducing the number of unnecessary meetings, you free up valuable time to concentrate on high value-added tasks. It also minimizes frequent interruptions, often a source of stress and disorganization. By taking part only in essential meetings and optimizing their format, you can better manage your time and preserve your mental energy.

Create recurrences

Creating recurrences consists in establishing regular routines and habits for certain tasks or activities, thus structuring your schedule in a predictable and efficient way. For example, a project manager might set aside every Monday morning to plan the week, every Wednesday afternoon for team meetings, and every Friday for weekly reviews. By automating certain parts of her schedule in this way, she avoids wasting time constantly reorganizing her days.

Regular routines reduce the mental burden of planning and decision-making, freeing up energy to concentrate on more important tasks. It also ensures that crucial activities, such as planning, team meetings and reviews, are never neglected. By having fixed slots for certain tasks, we can better anticipate workloads, manage priorities with greater clarity, and reduce the stress associated with the unexpected. 

2. Learn to prioritize and arbitrate effectively

When your to-do list seems like a never-ending marathon, knowing how to arbitrate between urgencies and prioritize effectively can transform your daily routine. NUMA's Prioritization and Decision-Making training courses provide you with concrete tools to free up time and help you to arbitrate effectively in a context where everything is urgent. 

Prioritizing

The Prioritization training course gives you the essential skills to set relevant, structured objectives, thereby increasing your effectiveness and impact at work:

• ‍Knowing how toset the right goals to organize your week: Learning how to set the right goals to organize your week is essential. The SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, Time-bound) goals method helps you formulate concrete, measurable objectives, such as "increase sales by 10% next quarter" rather than vague goals like "improve productivity". These SMART objectives enable you to monitor your progress objectively and adjust your efforts if necessary. In addition, using tools like the Eisenhower matrix to rank tasks according to urgency and importance is useful. This helps you distinguish between what needs to be done immediately and what can be planned, delegated or eliminated, thus optimizing your management of time and priorities.

• ‍Knowing how toarbitrate collectively and individually: A key skill to develop in the context of prioritization is the ability to arbitrate priorities collectively and individually. This skill is essential for effectively managing resources and balancing workloads within the team. Prioritization training enables you to make informed decisions on resource allocation and task delegation, based on the skills and availability of each team member. For example, as a project manager, you'll learn how to identify the strengths and weaknesses of each collaborator to optimize team performance. In addition, the training teaches you to manage conflicting priorities in a thoughtful way, to recognize and resolve differences of opinion on what is most important, and to find compromises that respect both individual and collective objectives.

Saying no and delegating 

Knowing how to say no and delegate to the right people are two essential skills for effective time and priority management at work. These skills are key to prioritizing and getting better organized at work for several reasons: 

• By saying no to non-essential tasks, you can concentrate on what's really important and urgent. This helps you to manage your energy and attention more wisely, avoiding the exhaustion and stress of overwork.
• Delegating to the right people allows you to leverage the skills and talents of your team. This not only increases overall efficiency, but also enables everyone to develop their own skills and take on more responsibility.

For example, imagine a project manager who is asked to lead a new initiative in parallel with his current project. Recognizing that this new mission could hinder the progress of his main project, he decides to say no, explaining that his focus must remain on ongoing priorities. However, he identifies a specific technical task on his current project that can be delegated. He entrusts this task to a member of his team who has demonstrated expertise in this area. This allows the project manager to concentrate on strategic planning and overall project coordination, while his team makes efficient progress on the technical aspects. In this way, the project manager optimizes not only his own time, but also that of his team. 

3. Learn to manage projects more effectively

Knowing how to manage projects is essential for better organization at work, thanks to structured planning and effective coordination that optimize productivity and reduce stress. 

Structured planning

Good project management starts with careful planning. This involves clearly defining objectives, setting realistic deadlines, and breaking tasks down into manageable stages. By planning in a structured way, you can anticipate potential obstacles and allocate resources optimally. For example, a marketing manager planning a campaign might create a detailed calendar with specific milestones for content creation, approvals and launches. This organization ensures that each step is completed on time, reducing the risk of delays and work overload.

Efficient coordination 

Managing projects effectively requires close coordination between team members and stakeholders. This includes regular communication, clear allocation of responsibilities, and constant monitoring of project progress. Effective coordination ensures that everyone knows what needs to be done and when, reducing ambiguity and duplication of effort. For example, an IT project manager might use project management tools like Trello or Asana to assign tasks, track their progress, and communicate updates. This collaborative approach ensures that everyone is aligned with objectives and deadlines, improving productivity and minimizing conflict.

These skills are essential for better organization, as they provide a clear vision of priorities and processes, and make it easier to achieve objectives with less stress and greater efficiency.

4. How can we learn to organize ourselves better?

The most suitable training formats for learning to organize your work better vary according to individual preferences, specific training content and time constraints. However, here are a few commonly used formats:

1. Self-paced online training (e-learning): Online training offers flexibility in terms of time and location, making it accessible to a wide audience. They can take the form of pre-recorded videos, interactive learning modules, or courses on e-learning platforms. Benefits include the ability to progress at your own pace, and to revise content at will.
2. Face-to-face or online training in small groups: Face-to-face training offers an immersive experience with a live trainer. They usually involve face-to-face interaction, group discussions and practical exercises. This can be particularly effective for people who learn best through social interaction and need personalized guidance. In fact, NUMA has developed an entire training program dedicated to time and priority management. Feel free to download our catalog to find out more about it.
3. Workshops and seminars: Workshops and seminars often focus on specific topics and offer an intensive learning opportunity over a short period of time. They are usually led by experts in the field and can include practical exercises, case studies and brainstorming sessions. These formats are generally suitable for people looking for a quick immersion in a particular subject.
4. Individual coaching: Individual coaching offers personalized support to help identify and resolve specific work organization challenges. A professional coach can provide tailored advice, personalized strategies and ongoing support to improve organizational and time management skills.
5. Books and self-study resources: Books, articles and self-study resources offer an accessible and flexible source of information for improving work organization skills. They can be consulted at any time and tailored to individual needs. However, they often require self-discipline to put the knowledge acquired into practice.

By choosing the format that best suits your learning style, objectives and time constraints, you can make the most of your work organization training to improve your productivity and well-being at work.

To find out more about our approach and how we structure our training courses, click here.