Color Coding Organisation can really (really!) help you!
It may sound kiddish at first but it is my all time favourite systems to get everything in place.
Not only does it make it easy to understand, but it also makes it quick. All you need to do is look at the color and you know what is expected of you
Is a task pending?
Is a task completed?
Do I have a call today?
What do I need to do today?….
….I know all of this just by looking at colors!
We recognise colors instantly and associate them with some meaning faster than we read text (and process it). By applying this idea to your daily work life, you can become more efficient and effective.
All that said, do not get carried away with it. Keep is simple and consistent (with minimum colors).
If it is too complicated, you will stop using it instantly!
THE 3 THINGS YOU SHOULD APPLY COLOR CODING ORGANISATION TO, IN YOUR BUSINESS
There are so many more things in your life and business that you can apply color code organisation to but…
In this post, we will talk about 3 business related items.
Why?
Because everyone uses them in businesses and they are the easiest place to start off.
Color Coding will help you save time and be more organised and productive.
Color coding your processes and calendars at work can be a visual way to give yourself prompts and quick cues to keep on top of the workflow.
Besides thats, human beings feel strongly about certain colors and hence, they can be used to designate specific tasks. For example, red is associated with urgency. That makes it the perfect color for things that are urgent.
1 | YOUR INBOX
The average professional spends 28% of the work day reading and answering email, according to a McKinsey analysis.
That is a lot of time spent on checking email.
If you want to reduce this time (along with reducing the stress level to keep up with email), start color coding your email according to the priority level.
Now, this method of color coding works really well if you get lots and lots of email (or if you have an assistant to sort your emails out for you).
You can start by assigning different colored stars on gmail or flags on Mac Email. For example, red can refer to urgent while orange can refer to “can go back to later”. Grey could mean it is a trash email and you can completely avoid reading it.
You can start your day by organising your emails so you do not waste a moment more later in the day.
Another way of organising emails is to sort it by type. This method can work only and only if you get a lot of different types of emails (i.e. work, friends, family etc). You can assign label color to each of these emails so you know which one to get to first.
2 | YOUR PLANNER
If you use a planner or a bullet journal, it is time to take out the color pens and start color coding.
You can start by assigning each task one color which will keep things easy, consistent and nice.
and, that is exactly what you want from a color coding system.
Red – Reached Deadline
Yellow – To Do Today
Orange – Things you can get to later sometime
When you start color coding your planner, you can instantly know what tasks are on your plate and what you can push for later.
3 | YOUR DIGITAL CALENDAR
Not everyone uses a planner, but a lot of us (including me!) use a digital calendar. For example, Google calendar.
Just as we color code the planners, you can start by selecting a few colors and color code your calendar.
Keep the options at a minimum so color coding does not get overly complicated.
For example, you can use pink for all appointments, meetings, deadlines etc and purple for all to-dos.
Be creative, go wild.
All right friends, these are my top 3 picks for you to apply color code organisation in your business.
Pick any one thing to color in your business today, work with the new system for a week or two and then see if it is working for you.
Because, I bet, it does. It makes planning easier and in a few seconds, we know what categories demand our time.
Isn’t that right?