Let’s Get Organized

The 7 Habits of Highly Organized People.

1. They have clearly defined goals that they review on a regular basis and always know the outcome they want to achieve.
2. They take the time to create organized, efficient and effective work environments.
3. They deal with paper work, correspondence, issues as soon as they touch it and put things back or away when they are finished using it.
4. They prioritize and plan out their daily activities the night before.
5. They stick to their prioritized “to do list” and finish tasks before they start the next.
6. They create or use efficient systems to manage and accomplish tasks and activities.
7. They remain calm, positive and do not allow interruptions to take up unnecessary time and distract them from task on hand.

Look, you are already halfway there. Now we just need some good systems and habits that can make a huge difference in the balance of your life. These habits should be held consistent at home, at work, wherever you are and whatever you do. They are simple and easily developed by a slight reminder when you get off track.

Continually prioritize your tasks and activities the night before or before you leave work. This simple task can free you up for evenings with your family or maybe your next goal. This will help you sleep better not having to worry about everything you have to do the next day.  It also helps smooth the morning when the family is a little tired, possibly rushing around because they feel a little disorganized or have to get going to the many things they have to do.

Review your goal or objectives on tasks before engaging in them to get the purpose fresh in mind. This is very important if the task is complex and of high importance. It helps ground and center you in the task. It helps keep the main thing the main thing.

Work on only one task at a time in a clear work area. Clear from being able to see other things, don’t clutter the desk or the mind with 10-15 things around you. As simple as this may sound it works like a charm especially with the amount of distractions we get on a regular basis.  It works just as well on dealing with an incoming distraction helping you return and get back focused quickly.

Focus and concentrate on the task at hand. Do not answer telephone calls, emails or other disturbances unless you have to. When distracted shift your focus to them, especially when it’s someone important and then shift back. When the mind wanders or you are distracted literally tell yourself what I always say “focus” or “concentrate” out loud and get your attention back.

Put things away when you are finished working with them even if you are going to come back to it later. Many, many times we don’t make it back anyway so just pack it and put it away, close the file, put away the tools, etc. It only takes a minute and doesn’t leave undone things. When you do return the simple unpacking where you left off tends to get you back on track right away.

Complete one job before starting another. Do not have multiple tasks on the go at one time or you will end up not doing any of them well. It is better to do fewer projects in order of priority done well than a bunch of them done poorly, especially if they are not important. This is a common characteristic of highly successful men and women. Once you have good habits developed with one task you can then attempt multiple tasks with similar structure and organization.

 

Create the Work Environment
There is no one way to get organized. You will have to create your own system and set up that meets your particular needs. You will want to consider your overall environment. Lighting, heating or air-conditioning, comfortable furniture such as a well-designed chair. You may add access to water and or healthy food to endure the long hours one can spend at a work station or office. In this section we will focus on setting up an efficient work station and developing good habits that can make a major difference in information control and your performance. Set up a micro environment that will include furniture arrangement, filing systems and machinery to help you process your work. Then you can develop good management habits and organize your time accordingly.

“Before we choose our tools and technology, we must choose our dreams and values, for some technologies serve them, while others make them more unobtainable.”
Marylin Ferguson