As someone who juggles two careers—freelance writing and life and success coaching—I can’t stress enough how crucial organizational skills are. Seriously, they’re a game changer. These skills are the backbone of how I manage my time, stay productive, deliver quality work on time, and, most importantly, keep my sanity intact. Organizational skills are not just useful for managing your current job—they can also help you land a new one or score a promotion. And the best part? You can definitely improve your organizational skills and show them off during your job hunt.
What Are Organizational Skills?
With a never-ending list of tasks, requests, and expectations, organizational skills are what help you manage your time, energy, resources, and mental space efficiently. These skills make it possible to stay on top of things without feeling overwhelmed. Organizational skills are about tidying up your physical and digital spaces and managing everything on your to-do list so that it all gets done smoothly. In simple terms, organizational skills help you get results at work, making you more efficient and effective at your job.
5 Essential Organizational Skills for the Workplace
Here’s a rundown of some core organizational skills and tips on how to improve them:
1. Physical Organization
Keeping a tidy workspace can boost your productivity and help you focus by reducing the time you waste searching for things. An organized space also promotes a calmer environment. Wouldn’t you rather work at a clean desk than one buried under piles of papers? Physical organization includes keeping your desk clutter-free, filing papers into labeled folders, returning items to their designated spots after use, and keeping all your resources in order.
To improve your physical organization, Elizabeth Pearson, an executive career coach, suggests creating systems that support workflow, cleanliness, and efficiency. Basically, establish organizational systems and stick to them. Start by decluttering—get rid of unnecessary items that take up both physical and mental space. Then, assign a “home” for everything so you always know where to find it. The easier it is to put things back where they belong, the more likely you are to keep things organized. You could also schedule 5-10 minutes at the end of each day for tidying up so you can start fresh the next morning.
2. Digital Organization
Since many of us work on computers, organizing your digital world is just as important as your physical space. When you’re not wasting time searching for files or emails, you’re more productive. Digital organization includes things like labeling and storing files, setting up folders for important emails, and keeping apps or links you frequently use easily accessible. It also means using tools to manage your team’s work and keeping shared resources like documents well-organized.
To improve your digital organization, decide where everything should go and communicate those rules to your team. For example, create a shared Google Sheet in a clearly labeled folder for your team to add client details. For your inbox, Pearson recommends setting up folders and filters to sort your emails, so they’re easy to find and prioritize. Lastly, take a few minutes at the end of each week to back up important files and tidy up your digital systems.
3. Planning
Planning means thinking both short-term and long-term to organize tasks in a way that boosts productivity and performance. Planning helps you break big projects into smaller tasks, decide when each task should be completed, and figure out what resources you need. This is especially useful for project management, where you’ll need to delegate tasks and keep everything running smoothly.
To step up your planning skills, start by reverse-engineering whatever you’re working on. Get clear on the end goal, then brainstorm the steps needed to reach it. Arrange those steps in a logical order, set deadlines, and figure out who will handle each task. Be sure to check in regularly with your team to make sure everything is on track. Most importantly, trust your gut. You might not have all the answers, but starting with a plan will help you avoid wasting time second-guessing yourself.
4. Time Management
Planning is about organizing tasks, while time management is about figuring out how to schedule those tasks. Time management is key to staying on track and avoiding procrastination. When you manage your time well, you prioritize the most important projects and complete them on schedule.
To improve your time management, focus on two main things: prioritizing and scheduling. Start by writing a to-do list and then prioritize tasks based on deadlines and urgency. After that, schedule your day around those tasks, working on high-priority items first. Allow for flexibility in your schedule to account for unexpected requests or tasks that pop up. Using a time-tracking app can also help you understand how long tasks take, making future scheduling easier.
Everyone has their own rhythm when it comes to productivity, so experiment with what works best for you. Pay attention to when you feel most focused and use that time for high-energy tasks. For example, if you’re most alert in the morning, tackle your biggest tasks first, and reserve afternoons for less demanding work like meetings or emails.
5. Communication
Communication might not immediately come to mind when you think about organizational skills, but it’s critical. Miscommunication is a major source of problems at work, and being able to express your ideas clearly, ask the right questions, and give feedback effectively is key to staying organized.
Good communication isn’t just about speaking—it’s also about listening and interpreting nonverbal cues like posture, eye contact, and body language. To improve communication, focus on active listening. Instead of planning your response while someone’s speaking, focus on understanding what they’re saying. This can help you respond more effectively. When it’s your turn to communicate, be direct and clear about what you want to convey. Clear communication saves everyone time and helps keep workflows running smoothly.
How to Show Off Your Organizational Skills During a Job Hunt
Since organizational skills are essential in almost every job, it’s important to highlight them when you’re applying for positions. Here’s how to do that:
On Your Resume
Pearson suggests including organizational skills like deadline management, delegation, goal setting, decision-making, team management, and project management on your resume and LinkedIn profile. Don’t just list them in the skills section—integrate them into your work experience with strong examples. For instance, you could say something like:
- Developed a digital organizational system that improved team workflow and boosted productivity.
During Your Interview
Instead of just telling your interviewer you’re organized, show it. Have specific examples ready that highlight your organizational skills and the results they produced. Don’t wait for the interviewer to ask about your organizational skills—use any question as an opportunity to showcase them. For example, if your strength is planning, share a story about how you mapped out a project, set deadlines, delegated tasks, and created systems that led to a successful launch.
To prepare, practice with a friend or career coach and rehearse how you’ll talk about your skills in the interview.
In the end, no matter what job you’re applying for or what company you’re targeting, one thing is clear: organizational skills are absolutely essential in the workplace. And the time and effort you put into improving them will always pay off.