Hi!
Happy New Year! As we roll into 2016, I am linking up with the Frenzied SLPs to share some organization tips. I feel that most SLPs have some sort of genetic mutation that makes them a little more inclined than the average human to be slightly OCD. I remember in high school, one of my teachers informing me that my binders and labels on my things were just too organized and that when I went into the "real world" that would not be necessary - nobody else labeled things. Then I went to college and found "my people". The other (future) SLPs all had binders and labels too!
1) Start fresh. What keeps me most organized is making sure my desk and therapy table are organized at the end of the day. That way I can start fresh when I come in. It makes me feel at peace. If I walk into clutter first thing, somehow I already feel more stressed.
Do you see how clean that desk is? Doesn't it make you feel some sort of zen? This is how my day starts. By the end of the day, my desk always mysteriously converts into a paperwork fortress that some may mistake as a portal to the Bermuda Triangle. I promise you that the 5 or 10 minutes to put those papers away and wipe down your desk before you go out the door is worth it.
2) Go paperless. As much as I can, I try to use Google calendar for keeping track of my seemingly endless meetings. My special ed department has a google calendar dedicated to meetings so we can easily see when meetings are and who is attending. We use bright green for all things special ed so we can easily spot them on the calendar! I am also starting to use google forms to help eliminate some IEP paperwork. Check out my post on that here!
3) Prioritize your inbox. If your school e-mail is anything like mine, you get approximately 924 emails a day. If you use g-mail, did you know you can filter your inbox to send emails to certain folders and you can even color code emails? For example, I have all emails from my medicaid coordinator coded as yellow and they automatically get send to my "medicaid" file in my email. This helps me prioritize what e-mails I need to read now (e.g. my principal) and what e-mails I can save for later (e.g. the new swim coach position at a middle school across the county).
How are you keeping organized? I'd love to hear your ideas. Interested in learning some more tips to keep you organized this year? Head on over to check out these lovely ladies' ideas!
~Erin
OMG! Love, love, LOVE google! I didn't know about the filtering, though. I'm definitely going to see if I can figure that out!
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