Being organized is great for your productivity – it’s how you can find exactly what you need, exactly when you need it. There’s no scramble to search for things, which means more time to work on your tasks. But there’s just one thing: Getting organized can be tricky if you don’t have a good system in place. That’s where the best organization tools for work come in – they can help you get everything in order.

Best organization tools for work to improve productivity

There’s nothing wrong with needing a little help to get organized. Your job can put a lot on your plate and make it tricky to keep everything neat and tidy. But clutter can slow you down, so you should get it under control. The list below includes some organization tools to help get you started.

1. AI meeting assistant

Organizing your meetings – from your meeting agendas down to your meeting notes – means you’ll spend less time looking for what you need. With Fellow, the most accurate and secure AI meeting assistant, you can collaborate on agendas, share AI meeting notes with the whole team, and so much more. You can scroll down from your most recent notes to see all your old ones too. It’s about as organized as meetings get.

2. Smartphone notifications

Most phones come with a handy reminder app that lets you set notifications for tasks that are days or months down the line. Setting up your smartphone's notifications to give you a head’s up when dealing with a hectic work schedule can help keep your head above water. You can take your notifications a step further with reminder apps like BZ Reminder. With this simple app, you can color-code events for better organization.

3. Desk organizer

You can put all your essential office supplies in one place to free up space on your desk with a desk organizer. For starters, that makes it easier to find supplies when you need them. More than that, working in an uncluttered space can be better for your productivity and less stressful overall.

4. Collaborative calendar

Collaborative calendars help you hold regular meetings through schedules that your entire team can edit, making for much more effective time management. Google Calendar, for example, is maybe the most popular collaborative calendar tool. It comes with Gmail, and you can use it to set up collaborative calendars for your whole team. This way, no one misses any meetings.

5. Daily planner

There’s plenty of online software you can use to keep track of your plans for the day, but a good old-fashioned physical planner can help too. Jotting down upcoming events or tasks can help you track them better. You can also personalize your planner with stickers and stamps, which is one of the very few things you can’t do with most calendar apps.

6. Note-taking tool

The downside of physical notebooks and planners is that you can only write so much before you run out of pages. Note-taking tools don’t have that problem, so you can write as much as you need. You can get your tasks done right the first time when you have clear notes to look at before you start. Microsoft OneNote is a great example - you can take notes, add images, free-draw, and more.

7. Timer

Managing your time is key to getting the most use out of your schedule. For example, let’s say you often find yourself taking long lunches and falling behind with your work. Setting up a timer can help you get back to work on time and keep you on task. Most smartphones include a timer, but if you want something a bit fancier, there are other options. For example, you can use the free version of Focusmeter to create two timers: one to track work time and one to track breaks.

8. Organizing trays

Desk organizers are a great start to organizing the top of your desk, but what about the inside? Organizing trays can help you make better use of your drawer space, keeping everything neat and within reach. These trays are generally small but can lock together to fit into a drawer of any size.

9. Rolling storage cart

Say you’re working somewhere without drawers and you have all kinds of papers and supplies. A rolling storage cart can give you plenty of extra space for everything. Plus, since it’s on wheels, you can easily roll it out of the way.

10. Monitor stand with drawers

A monitor stand can add a little more storage to your desk. Stands with drawers are convenient places to store pencils, paperclips, and other office supplies. Other stands might have space underneath to store bigger desktop items.

11. Pen holder

We’ve all lost more than enough pens to know how useful a pen holder can be. You can use it to keep your favorite pens in one place so they don’t roll off your desk and disappear. And they’re not just functional – they can be fashionable too. Pen holders often come in designs that can add a little personality to your workspace.

Benefits of organizational tools

It’s easy for teams to put organization aside if they’re too busy to put in the time for a big change. But you could be losing some productivity when you’re disorganized. Using the best tools available can help turn you and your team into a well-oiled machine. Here’s why.

1. Better collaboration

Sometimes, when you’re disorganized, you’re the only person whose work suffers. But since you’re part of a team, your disorganization can have ripple effects. For example, cross-functional collaboration is all about effective communication with your team, but that’s tougher if most of you are disorganized.

2. Sharper memory

You probably have a lot on your plate on a day-to-day basis, and remembering it all is no easy feat. Jotting down your thoughts in a note-taking app or a notebook can cement them in your mind. Additionally, taking notes to look back to can help refresh your memory if you’re ever lost on what to do next.

3. More time saved

You can get your work done way faster when you don’t have to search high and low for important documents (or your favorite pen). Every second counts on a project, and good organization can help you prioritize tasks more effectively.

4. More productivity

An organized schedule and uncluttered work environment can make it easier to focus on your job. Without unexpected meetings or lost documents slowing down your process, you can stay more focused on your work. And the more focused you are, the more productive you can be.

5. Fewer mistakes

The result of fewer distractions, more time, and better focus is higher-quality work. Paying more attention to your tasks can mean fewer mistakes. And that means better work.

Pave the road to success

Organizing your work life can be time-consuming, but once you’re organized, you’ll get all that time back and more. Using organization tools can help you stay organized in the long run.

Among the best organizational tools for work is Fellow. You can use this meeting management app to collaborate on meeting agendas, take meeting notes, and assign meeting action items. With Fellow by your side, your work can be more organized than ever before.