So, the countdown to Christmas is on. Typically, a busy time of year socially and in the work place where suddenly deadlines need to be met before people take holiday leave.  For job seekers it can be a time to get applications in before the quiet period starts. Here’s a tip – hopefully other job seekers are taking a break, thereby reducing the competition.

I won’t deny that I’m a list person and lately things have got a little out of hand.  We’re talking back of envelopes, whiteboard, post-it notes, notebook (Spirax, not Mac) and my iFriends ~ iPhone and iPad.  Earlier this week I even created an Excel spreadsheet thinking a weekly schedule will keep me moving forward with my business.  Unfortunately my multitude of lists has lead to a scattergun approach and some procrastination.  I was due to write this blog post two days ago!!

This is how I cleared up my clutter:

• I downloaded a free app called Wunderlist and keyed all my items into categories and set due dates and reminders.  Loving it!
• Scrap paper lists are now in the recycle bin.
• My Excel schedule is now my screen saver for daily reference PLUS I’ve saved it to this handy file storage app called Evernote.  When I find interesting information like documents, photos and website links, I can save these to one place and access files remotely.  I use this for saving career and job seeking resources.   Similar cloud based file storage tools include Dropbox and Google Drive.  I’m still new to Evernote and found that there’s a free workshop coming up in Melbourne.
• My whiteboard stays.  I’m a visual learner.

How does this help job seekers get organised? 

Keeping track of your activity can help keep you motivated in your search.  Set some goals and a task list and find the right tool to store these for easy reference.  Trello is a beaut scheduling tool available as web, IOS and Android app.  If Excel is your thing try recording your job search pursuits in a table or spreadsheet like this:

I refer to these ideas in my blog post on keeping positive and finding that balance between daily job search endeavours and taking care of your health.  Setting up a home office and applying structure to your search can give you a sense of a working day – and yes, schedule your tea breaks…oh look at the time!