Jamie is finishing her associate’s degree and has a part-time job. As she starts to look for a full-time job, she realizes that her desk is very disorganized. She missed paying a bill for her apartment and finally found it buried under some important class notes she thought she’d lost. (The business cards she’d been looking for since the career fair two weeks ago were also in the

Question

pile of paper.) Keeping up with follow-up phone calls for her job search, juggling her class and work schedule, and taking care of her day-to-day needs is harder than she thought it would be. She knows she needs a system to stay on top of everything.

What suggestions do you have for Jamie as she organizes her desk?

Answer 1

Start utilizing tabbed folders or binders to keep on top of loose papers. For example, she could have separate folders or binders for her bills and personal mail, her schoolwork, and her job search. Then, at the end or beginning of every day, she can start a habit to sort all her paperwork into the various folders or binders. Online, she can create folders in her email inbox that have the same titles as her folders or binders. She can then organize emails similarly. She can even create divisions within each binder or folder. For example, for the job search, she can utilize the organization system mentioned in Chapter 1, the Career Builder Files. For schoolwork, she may organize by class name. Lastly, she can utilize her calendar to keep on top of deadlines. She can create different colors for each binder or folder and use that same color in her calendar. She can start a habit to look at the calendar each day to see what’s coming up and create her to-do list accordingly.