Employees often use post-IT to remember tasks and deadlines, gluing them in all kinds of places they consider “in sight” and even on the edge of laptops or keyboard.
Many employees use post-IT not to forget. Photo archive
At first glance, post-IT seem to be a quick and simple solution to note your important ideas, tasks or meetings. Often, we use them to mark crucial information that we do not want to forget.
Most of the time, say psychologists, these small pieces of paper have become the symbol of a fast but efficient organization.
“Because it helps us to better plan our time, which means that an employee who uses them is very organized ”say psychologists quoted by Myjob.
Thus, we can talk about “time planning and management”, because post-IT are useful to make a list of urgent tasks or to organize different activities per day. Each color or positioning can mean a priority level or a different deadline.
On the other hand, we can talk about photographic memory, studies showing that we tend to better retain information when we see them frequently. Therefore, post-IT can function as visual memories, constantly reminding you of the tasks to do.
Sign of organizing or overwhelming?
In many offices, the desk covered by post-IT are a common phenomenon. This can have two meanings: on the one hand, it may indicate that the person is extremely organized and wants to have all the visible and accessible information. On the other hand, it can reflect a state of stress or overwhelming, in which the employee tries to gather his thoughts and manage his tasks.
Specialists in time and psychology management have some important observations.
Sign of organization:
-visual clarity: Post-IT is an effective tool to organize visual information. Productivity specialists claim that having a visual organization, such as post-you, can help effectively plan the days and maintain a clear work flow.
-Easy to use: post-IT are fast to apply and remove, which makes them ideal for a flexible task approach. If you do not have time to record a task in a more complex system, a post-IT can be the quick solution.
Sign of stress or overwhelming:
-Sign of concern: If your office is full of post-it, this may report that you feel that you have too many tasks and that you are overwhelmed. Psychologists claim that a chaotic office can reflect a “chaotic” head and a high level of stress.
-Procrastination: Sometimes post-IT is used to postpone more difficult tasks. Instead of solving them, you note them on post-IT as a way to postpone them. This behavior can be a sign that you do not feel comfortable facing the respective tasks.
What the specialists say about the habit of using post-IT
Specialists in psychology and productivity have divided opinions about the excessive use of postal. On the one hand, these small notes can be very effective when used to organize tasks and clarify the goals. On the other hand, if your office is covered by post-it, it could be a sign that you have not yet found a more effective way to organize your activities or that you feel that you have to focus too much on small details, leaving the big ones aside.
Advantages:
– Clarity and visibility: It helps you keep your mind clear and see what you need to do immediately.
– Flexibility: You can quickly adjust the tasks or priorities, and this does not require a complicated organization system.
-Motivation: The possibility of eliminating the posts in front of you offers a feeling of accomplishment and progress.
Disadvantages:
-Visual pollution: The office covered by post-IT can become overwhelming and can prevent clear thinking, generating more stress.
-Lack of a centralized system: The use of post-ID may indicate a lack of centralized organization. Specialists recommend the adoption of a digital system or a more detailed planning to prevent the agglomeration of the desk with notes.
How to use effective post-IT
If you like to use post-you, but you want to avoid covering your desk with them, here are some tips to use them effectively:
-Limit the number of post-IT: Be selective with what you write down and make sure they are just the most important tasks or ideas.
-Grouping of posts: uses different colors for different categories of tasks (for example, red for emergencies, yellow for ideas to be followed).
-Keep them in order: if your office is already covered by post-you, try to organize them on topics or priorities, to avoid visual chaos.
-Move them to a more organized system: after using them to organize tasks, try to transport them to a digital system or a physical planner to avoid agglomeration.
Post-IT is a useful organization tool, but when your office is filled with them, it may be a sign that you need a more effective way to organize your tasks. Whether they are used to organize your day or postpone things, it is important to be aware of their impact on your mental health and your general productivity. If your office is covered by post-it, it may be a sign that you need more clarity and a more efficient organizing system.
