Get Organized at Work | Career, Leadership, Project Management, Productivity, Time Management

Stop Getting Organized. Start Building Leadership Capacity. Have you ever stopped to ask yourself why getting organized actually changes the way you lead? For years, I've taught productivity systems, OneNote, weekly planning, and dashboards. I've experienced firsthand how these tools transformed my own career—but this weekend, I finally found the words to explain why they work. In this episode, I'...

The Freedom Every Leader Is Really Looking For As we celebrate 250 years of independence this Fourth of July, I want to explore a different kind of freedom—the kind every leader is really looking for. Not freedom from work. Freedom from constant reaction. Freedom from carrying your to-do list around in your head. Freedom to leave work on time, be present with your family, and lead with intention i...

You Know What Matters. So Why Are You Still Reactive? The Missing Link Between Reactive and Proactive Leadership Most leaders know what matters. They know their priorities. They know they should review their goals. They know they should proactively plan their week. So why do so many leaders still feel overwhelmed, reactive, and stuck in firefighting mode? In this episode of Get Organized at Work,...

Most Leaders Don't Need Better Time Management. They Need These 5 Systems. Are you struggling to stay organized at work despite trying every productivity tip and time management hack? In this episode of Get Organized at Work, we're taking a different approach. Instead of focusing on time management, we're exploring the five core systems every leader needs to operate proactively, reduce overwhelm,...

When Life Interrupts Your Plans: The Real Purpose of a Productivity System After breaking my toe and losing a goal I'd been working toward for months, I was reminded of something important: the best systems aren't designed for perfect weeks—they're designed for real life. After unexpectedly breaking my toe and losing the opportunity to run a race I had been training for, I found myself reflecting...

Fix Your Projects: The 4 Kanban Boards Every Leader Needs If your projects feel overwhelming, the problem may not be your workload—it may be your system. In this episode of Get Organized at Work, I'm continuing the "Fix Your" series by tackling one of the biggest challenges leaders face: managing projects, priorities, and workflows without feeling scattered or reactive. The truth is that not all w...

5 Signs You Need Better Organizational Systems at Work - Which One is Holding You Back? If your workday feels reactive, chaotic, mentally cluttered, or like you’re constantly trying to “catch up,” this episode is for you. In this rerun of one of the most impactful episodes of the Get Organized at Work podcast, Kayla Fahey-Ahrndt breaks down the hidden signs that your organizational systems at work...

Fix Your Energy: Systems to Stop Burnout and Protect Your Time as a Leader Feeling exhausted, overstimulated, and constantly behind — even when you’re trying to stay organized? In this episode of Get Organized at Work, I’m sharing why the real productivity problem for most leaders and working professionals isn’t actually time management… it’s energy management. We talk about: Why traditional produ...

The Tool Isn’t the Problem: Why Most Professionals Still Feel Overwhelmed Do you feel overwhelmed at work even though you’ve tried every productivity app, planner, or organization tool out there? In this episode of the Get Organized at Work podcast, healthcare leader and systems expert Kayla Fahey-Ahrndt shares a powerful realization after leading a Microsoft Teams and leadership systems workshop:...

Fix Your Week: How to Plan Your Week as a Leader (Weekly Dashboard System) You know that feeling when your week just… happens to you? Meetings, emails, interruptions—and suddenly it’s Friday and you’re wondering what you actually accomplished. In this episode, I’m walking you through exactly how to fix your week using a simple Weekly Dashboard system I use inside my OneNote Hub. This is the system...

Fix Your To-Do List: The Simple Task System for Busy Professionals Who Feel Overwhelmed Are you constantly rewriting your to-do list, forgetting tasks, or feeling overwhelmed before your workday even starts? In this episode of Get Organized at Work, we’re kicking off the Fix This System series by tackling one of the biggest productivity challenges professionals face: a to-do list that just doesn’t...

Unplanned Work Is Stealing Your Time: How to Make It Visible with Kanban Boards Are you constantly feeling behind at work—even when you have a plan? Like your day gets hijacked by emails, meetings, and “urgent” requests you didn’t see coming? 👉 The problem might not be your productivity… 👉 It might be unplanned work. In this episode of Get Organized at Work, we’re diving into how unplanned work...

The Monthly Check-In to Get Back on Track at Work (How Organized Leaders Build Self-Awareness and Intention) Feeling behind at work—even when you’re busy all day? It might not be your workload… it might be a lack of intentional reflection. In this episode of Get Organized at Work, Kayla Fahey-Ahrndt walks you through the monthly check-in process that organized leaders use to build self-awareness,...

Why Your Work Isn’t Getting Recognized (NASA’s Artemis 2 Mission Just Proved This) NASA’s Artemis II mission just changed how they’re communicating its value—and it’s a leadership lesson every professional needs to hear. In this episode, we break down what shifted in NASA’s messaging, why the value was always there but not clearly communicated, and how you can apply this exact approach to your own...

You Don’t Need Another Productivity App — You Need a System That Connects Everything at Work Are you using multiple productivity tools at work—but still feeling overwhelmed, reactive, and scattered? In this episode of Get Organized at Work, we’re diving into the real reason your organization system isn’t working—and it’s not because you need another app. If you’re juggling Outlook, Microsoft Teams...

Stop Carrying It All: The Hidden Cause of Overwhelm at Work (It’s Not Your System) Feeling overwhelmed at work—even when you have a planner, to-do list, or organization system that should be working? In this episode of the Get Organized at Work podcast, Kayla Fahey-Ahrndt breaks down the real reason you feel scattered, distracted, or mentally exhausted at work—and it’s not your workload. It’s what...

Performance Review Season: How to Write a Self-Assessment and Set Better Goals for the Year Performance review season can feel stressful — but it’s also one of the best opportunities all year to reflect on your work, demonstrate your impact, and design better goals for the future. In this episode of Get Organized at Work, Kayla shares how to approach your self-assessment and annual goal setting in...

The Proactive Success Algorithm: 6 Weekly Questions Every Leader Should Ask Are you ending each week feeling busy but unsure what actually moved forward? In this episode of Get Organized at Work podcast, we’re talking about a simple but powerful leadership habit that helps leaders become more intentional, proactive, and strategic: weekly reflection through Leader Standard Work. Kayla introduces he...

Stop Reacting All Day: How to Create a Weekly Leadership Dashboard in OneNote Are you ending every week feeling busy… but not strategic? In this episode of Get Organized at Work, we’re talking about how to stop reacting all day and start leading with clarity by creating a Weekly Leadership Dashboard in OneNote. If you constantly feel pulled into email, meetings, Slack messages, and urgent requests...

Why Leaders Feel Overwhelmed — Leadership Lessons from the Olympics on Letting Go, Trusting Systems, and Avoiding Burnout Why do leaders feel overwhelmed — even when they’re capable, experienced, and highly motivated? In this episode, I share the hidden cause of overwhelm that most leadership advice never addresses — and what the Olympics can teach us about letting go, trusting your preparation, a...

How I Stay Organized at Work and Run a Business Without Burning Out (My OneNote + Notion Systems) How do you stay organized at work, lead multiple teams, run a business, and still protect your energy without burning out? In this episode, I’m sharing the exact systems I use to stay organized at work and run my business using Microsoft OneNote and Notion. These are the real productivity systems I re...

Systems That Protect Your Energy: Boundaries, Decisions, and Recovery at Work Are you managing your time at work—but still feeling drained? What if the real goal isn’t better time management, but systems that protect your energy? In this episode of the Get Organized at Work podcast, Kayla Fahey-Ahrndt breaks down three types of systems every leader needs: boundaries, decisions, and recovery at wor...

What if getting organized at work felt more like The Home Edit — and less like hustle, urgency, and mental overload? In this episode of Get Organized at Work, I’m introducing the concept of Grounded Leadership Systems and sharing why the way we organize our work has everything to do with how we lead, decide, and protect our energy. Using familiar metaphors from The Home Edit, I walk through how pr...

Stewardship at Scale: Time, Energy, Systems — and Leading Together in Uncertain Times Leadership doesn’t scale through hustle — it scales through stewardship. In this episode of the Get Organized at Work podcast, Kayla Fahey-Ahrndt explores what stewardship at scale really means for modern leaders navigating uncertainty, pressure, and complexity. This conversation moves beyond personal productivit...

Proactive vs Reactive Leadership: How Organized Leaders Choose Better (Without Overplanning) What’s the real difference between proactive and reactive leadership — and why does staying proactive feel so hard once work gets busy? In this episode of Get Organized at Work, we build on last week’s conversation about decision fatigue and explore how organized leaders move from constantly reacting to in...