When people walk into my office, the clutter always surprises them. For some reason, everyone thinks my office will be neat and well-organized, but that's hardly the case. I live in a world of piles on the floor, Post-It notes and scraps of paper everywhere and two large, over-flowing paper-recycling bins. I know where everything is, and the system works perfectly for me.

Managing your job search is just like managing any other project. You must create an administrative infrastructure that allows you to operate efficiently, productively and with some order. Here are some strategies to consider as you create a system to manage the flow of contacts, resumes, follow-ups and interviews throughout your search campaign:

Technology Is Not the Answer to Everything

Technology is not always the best way to be organized, albeit a valuable tool in your job search. In fact, conducting a job search without technology is nearly impossible in today's virtual market. However, not everything has to be automated.

One of my techie buddies teases me about the Rolodex that sits proudly on my desk. I love it. It takes me two seconds to find a phone number. But he wants me to automate it, so every time I want to look up a number I have to go to my PC, open a program, type in the name, and minutes later I'll have the phone number. Somehow, it just doesn't seem too efficient to me.

Create Two Work Spaces

I use two desks -- one's my PC desk for all my writing, email and research. The other is where I talk on the phone, write notes, keep important files and do administrative tasks. Each desk has a priority pile of items. The desks are side-by-side, so I can easily reach from one to the other, but they are separate and distinct workstations. It allows me to keep PC work separate from the stuff I need at my desk.

Establish a Schedule

I write early in the mornings and handle priority projects. I then save the afternoons for phone calls and administrative tasks. I know other people who prefer the exact opposite. It is difficult to sit at your PC, trying to write a cover letter and email a resume in response to a ChiefMonster job posting when you promised three people you'd follow-up first thing in the morning or scheduled an appointment with your career coach for 9 a.m.

Set aside quiet times each day to attend to whatever writing tasks you may have. I guarantee your productivity will increase. However, remember that flexibility is vital. If you've established 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. as your designated writing time, and you're invited for an interview at 4 p.m., I recommend you accept the invitation.

Prioritize Your Email into Three Categories

I receive a great deal of email, probably an average of 75 messages a day. Whenever I receive incoming email, I go through it in three steps. First, I immediately delete all the unsolicited emails. I then respond to the messages I can respond to quickly, and then work my way through the balance, which requires more than a quick thought. I figure for every 25 messages I receive, I handle more than 70 percent of them within 10 minutes.

Touch It Only Once.

Whether we're talking about each day's snail mail, your email or folders on your desk, do something with it now and be done with it. When the mail arrives, I immediately sort it, throw useless information into the recycling bin, put bills in the "to pay" folder and put everything else into it's respective place. The less frequently you touch each piece of paper or the less time you spend procrastinating, the more efficiently you will be managing your entire campaign.