|
|
| Get Organized - Organization Information |
|
|
|
|
The Top 10 Habits of Organized People
Have you ever wondered how some people seem to have "it all together ? all the time," while you struggle with deadlines, misplace items, and run late for appointments? Are you interested in learning the secrets to their organizing success? If so, implement the following strategies and you too will experience the joy of more focus, time and success. 1. Assign a place to keep all of your belongings. Isn't it interesting that we never misplace our car (except in a big parking lot). It's because we've chosen to designate a space for it ? the garage. Allocate a room and a specific drawer, shelf, basket, or other container for each kind of possession. Keep like things together and store each type of item closest to the place where you will be using it. 2. Design processes to manage paper flow. We have more information delivered to us on a daily basis than ever before so it is imperative that you set up systems to touch paper once and keep each type of document where you know you will be able to find it. For example: When at home, collect your mail from the mailbox and immediately toss the junk, place all invoices in a special container (throw away any promotional material included with the invoice), file important documents right away, and place magazines into their own container (be sure to pitch the oldest issue). 3. Know how long to keep important papers. Educate yourself using the guide at the following web address to determine what to keep and for how long. Then shred all unnecessary documents. http://www.oprah.com/foodhome/home/housekeeping/print/home_print_200409_chart.jhtml 4. Regularly, dispose of items that are broken, torn, stained, or haven't been used for a period of time. Purging items that have lost their usefulness will make it easier to find what you want ? when you want it plus, give you room to store new items should you purchase more. You can toss items, sell them, or donate them to your favorite charitable organization. 5. Put each item away as soon as you are through using it. Avoid the mentality?"I'll set this down for now, it's just temporary." All too often, temporary turns into days, days turn into months and soon you'll have a mountain of stuff to sort through. You have a choice?a minute now or hours later. 6. Use a calendar. A calendar is a great tool if you use it consistently. For instance, it's harder to overbook yourself when you only have 24 hours per day on your calendar. More importantly it requires that you make choices?you can't do it all and be successful. Try this strategy:
7. Only buy new items when you have sufficient space to display them, store them, or you are prepared to let something else go. Its false economics for you to keep buying more stuff if you can't see, easily access, or enjoy it. 8. Say, "No thank you" to family and friends who want to give you their excess. If your parents or friends are downsizing or moving and offer to give you a number of household items, don't take them into your home unless you love them and will use them immediately. 9. Organize everything in your life. Organizing isn't a one time task, it's a habit. You will reap the greatest rewards if you organize everything in your grasp: your space, your time, your projects, your briefcase, your calls, your errands, your purse, your computer, your play time, etc. 10. Adjust your organizing system for new and changing circumstances. You would make adjustments in your life if you lost your job. The same is required of your organizational system if your circumstances change. Adjust for a new baby, new projects, another hobby, loss of an assistant, or a dependent leaving the nest. Your environment isn't just any ole space. It's your safe place, creative place, productivity place, and the place that reflects what you value most and supports your interests and lifestyle. Honor it, organize it, give it the attention it deserves and you will be amazed with the results. Pam N. Woods is co-author of a bestselling book, Create the Business Breakthrough You Want: Secrets and Strategies from the World's Greatest Mentors; endorsed by Ken Blanchard and Dr. Stephen Covey. She is a Coach U graduate and President of Smart WorkLife Solutions, a coaching and consulting company devoted to co-creating customized solutions to fit clients business and personal organizing needs. Prior to founding her own firm she had a successful 20+ year career as an insurance executive and Vice President of Human Resources. For more free how-to articles and advice, or to contact Woods, visit http://www.worklifecoach.com. Copyright 2004 - Pam Woods
|
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Home Organizing Tips & Gizmos Staying organized can be a constant battle. The following organizing tips should help you in various areas of your home, even if you are "organizationally challenged": 10 Tips for a More Organized Morning 1. Teach your children to use an alarm clock or clock radio. Nagging is not the way to begin anyone's day! Organization Tips - How to Organise Your Computer Files Everytime Mary had to find a file on her computer, she always had great difficulty. And it was no wonder why. Every file had been saved under the folder "Mary" and that was it. There were no other categories. Consequently every time Mary searched her folder she spent ages sifting through all the documents. Success at Work : Techniques : A Cluttered Desk I followed my boss to a co-worker's cubicle where my boss requested a certain document from the co-worker. The actual surface of the co-workers desk was not visible because it was covered with a cluttered pile of papers, catalogs, booklets, and other paraphernalia. I was prepared to see my co-worker embarass himself by not being able to locate the requested document in that messy pile. Taking Care of You: De-Clutter De-Cluttering our lives can be an extremely liberating exercise. There are many types of clutter than can hinder us having the quality of life we want and deserve. There is clutter that is in our minds as negative self-talk. There is the clutter that physically exists in our homes, cars, offices, such as old newspapers waiting to be recycled, stacks of magazines you will never read, old clothes that are destined for the good will because they no longer suit our style or size, etc. There is another form of clutter often referred to as "tolerations" that refers to all those nagging little things that drain our energy every time we encounter them. This type of clutter can encompass the other two types and also includes things such as the broken toaster that only toasts one side of the bread, the whistling kettle that no longer whistles, that phone call you've been meaning to make for two weeks. This type of clutter or tolerations, fill up time and space in our lives by their very existence. When we are able to reduce and then eliminate most clutter, we have so much more energy for what we really want in our lives. Thinking Outside the Box Much of my time as a Professional Organizer is spent helping people to put things into containers and boxes. But, success in this business requires as much thinking "outside the box" as it does about putting things into containers. I was reminded of this recently, while consulting with clients who own a large, well-appointed suburban home. Two of the issues that the clients presented were the lack of closet space on the main floor, and the constant clutter on a small, built-in desk. Limited closet space resulted in coats' being deposited in the front entry. Shoes were removed inside the garage and dropped on the floor, by the other door into the house. The homeowners were tired of tripping on shoes. And the last thing they wanted (guests) to see was a wall of coats hanging in the foyer. So, the challenge was clear: This active family needed more closet space. Lightening The Load When I tell people what a FREEING experience moving is, they usually look at me like I'm crazy. "What do you mean freeing? It's the most stressful thing I've ever been through!" While there are stresses associated with relocating, each move offers you the opportunity to lighten the load. When I was in college, I moved at least once a year, and sometimes once a semester. You had better believe that I only took the bare essentials with me - because I didn't want to spend all of my time packing boxes and hauling a lot of junk with me from residence to residence. If I didn't use it regularly, it was either sold in a garage sale, given to charity, or tossed in the trash. Overcoming E-mail Overload Using Microsoft Outlook Do you feel like you just get too much e-mail? If you're like me, some days you just don't know where to dig in. Fortunately, I've found a few tips that can help you dig out from under the pile and organize the important e-mails in your life. These tips are primarily for Microsoft Outlook users, though others may find them useful as well. How Long Do I Need to Keep This? - A Guide to Receipts, Statements and Financial Clutter at Home In most homes, paper causes clutter. And it seems to mysteriously multiply by itself. But just how long do you need to keep all those receipts, bank and credit card statements and other financial papers? Below is a handy reference that you can use for dealing with your home paper trail. A Simple Effective Tool To Get And Stay Organized Often we are in overwhelm because we are holding too many things in our brain. We are trying to make everything a priority and get it done now. When really we can eliminate 60 % of those things get more accomplished and be more successful. The True Definition of an Organization The true definition of an organization is one that is organized. Organized in all areas of fundamental business best practices. A business that is not organized should instead be known as a chaoticization. Is Your To Do List The Problem? You start each week with great intentions. You are determined to get a grip of your workload. You are determined to write a to do list, you even promise yourself that you will stick to it and use it and reprioritise each day so that you finish what you want to every day. Effective Closet Cleaning Tips - Let Go of More Than Skeletons I know I have a problem when I have to battle with the overflow every time I try to shut my closet door. Well, okay, it's not really a closet, more like an overgrown cupboard, but as it's all I have something's got to give. When it comes to clothes and shoes, I'm the worst. Perhaps it's the result of coming of age in the last two decades of the century ? living through wave after wave of recycled fashions. After all, aren't asymmetrical tops back in? Getting Organized for Achievement Getting and staying organized is critical to achieving your goals. A well organized person is more productive, has more free time, wastes less money, and experiences less stress. This article will outline a simple, effective, and flexible system to help you get and stay organized by using a top down approach. This system will allow you to keep some of your current scheduling systems in place, if they are currently working for you, and makes suggestions with some new ideas and changes that can be made to make you more productive and organized. Files vs Piles I recently read an article that had some interesting but not surprising statistics. Harte-Hanks published a survey in December, 2001 which reported that 96% of businesspeople interviewed were frustrated by their companies' information management. It's no wonder. An IDC white paper published in August, 2001 told us employees can spend up to two and half hours a day looking for information. How Can I Deal With It All? Are you feeling overwhelmed? Have a to-do list a mile long? An in-tray that's about to collapse? Closets that are jam-packed with junk and a stack of family photos? 5 Steps From Clutter To Control Are you overwhelmed by clutter wherever you turn? Here are 5 practically painless steps to a clean slate. Just How Organized Are You? Take This Quiz For Individuals The Productive Environment Scorecard? Clutter-Clearing and Your Authentic Self Have you ever felt so discouraged, your life so out-of-control, the universe so unresponsive to your needs and desires, that you couldn't help it: you just had to clean up? By paying attention to these impulses we recognize the deep connection between our personal environment and our innermost selves. It's as though by shifting the arrangement of our belongings we hope to rearrange the molecules of our emotional lives as well. Can You Really Improve Your Organisation Skills I'm sure most of you have heard of Zig Ziglar International Sales Guru. Well in one of Zig's weekly newsletters, there were a number of comments about the habits of well-organised people which I couldn't resist sharing with you.
|
| home | site map |
| © 2005 |