In a typical work day one has to deal with ad hoc meetings, absence of an employee and unexpected issues that throw one's schedule off track.
When unforeseen situations arise, routine tasks need to be pushed aside and this leads to chaos.
In order to maintain focus and stay on schedule, you need to organize your day.
If you are leading a team, you need to know what your team is doing and when they will be completing the tasks assigned to them.
This will allow you to pass one any additional responsibilities to your team depending on their availability.
To organize your workday you need to block out your time and your team's schedule on a planner.
You should ideally maintain a soft copy of the schedule as well as a hard copy which you can access even if your computer is not functioning for some reason.
You should include project milestones, team responsibilities and end dates of assignments on the planner.
You should maintain a record of the phone numbers of your team members as well as any other numbers you are likely to call often.
Keep a hard copy as well as a soft copy of this data for easy access.
Organize all documents into designated folders whether you are using hard copes or soft copes.
Before a presentation or before traveling check that you have all the materials you may need.
Star each day by making a list of tasks and check each one off as you complete them.
This will help you keep to your schedule and will allow you to see what pending task you still have.
Plan meetings in advance so that your team members have enough time to fit the meetings into their schedules.
Make a list of your team members and their respective strengths and skill sets.
You can use this list as a ready reference while assigning duties to them.
It is important to be organized in both your professional and personal life.
Make time to spend with your family and for yourself.
If you are taking work home too often try and see how you can plan better so you can avoid the constant recurrence of such a situation.
Although making lists, blocking out your schedule etc will take time it will help you stay focused in the long run.
You will always have to face situations where unexpected issues may crop up.
However, having a schedule in place will help you deal with these events.