disorganized

How to organize and get more done

Organize your chaos so that you can have
more time for yourself and be more efficient.

Why did I forget to do that?
Where in the blazes could I have put that?
What were those numbers again?

If you find yourself often asking these kinds of
questions when you go to do things, then you
may be a victim of being a little, or a lot, disorganized.

Being disorganized is not so much a disaster (although
it can feel like it at times), but more of a mental
mindset with which we are possibly born.

Even if being disorganized is built into your
gene pool, you can still rise above it and
give yourself more ordered and less stress.

A friend of mine has a son and a daughter.
Growing up the son, starting at 2-3 years old,
would line up blocks, trucks, and organize
everything into neat little stacks.

He would then aways be sure that he put everything back
(in its proper place) when he was done playing.

His sister, also at the age of 2 or 3, would
take everything out of cupboards and pile them
up in the middle of the floor – then leave.
Mom had to clean up the mess.

To this day, these two have not changed.
This young woman has her PhD. and you
cannot walk across her living room floor
without tripping over something.

Her brother still has a proper place for
everything, and can organize anything.

Being organized is not easy for everyone.
It is a state of mind that can be taught
to respond in a different way – a different,
more organized way.

If you are often in a rush (another sign of
being disorganized), and you tend toward
the disorganized side of things, then you will
often just toss things anywhere they may fall.

Things such as clothes may end up on a dresser
or coffee table. Bills that you can’t find to
pay will find their way to the bottom of a pile
of newspapers. Nothing is placed in any kind
of order – because you don’t have the time!

Okay, even if you do have the time, you tend
to wait until the last minute, and go through
the same process of creating your disorganized
environment.

Here are a couple of quick tips to get
more organized immediately.

Plan in extra time

1. Always give yourself that few minutes of
extra time when you are going to do something
or go somewhere.

At the beginning of your extra time,
gather your keys, glasses, and other essentials
(that is if you can find them) together so that you
have them when you leave. Make a permanent place
for these items near your exit.

You may also want to make a place for your
most used items. Your 12 pairs of shoes
may find their place in a corner of your
bedroom out of the way of your walking
through. Try to pair them up if you can.

Place your clothes, don’t throw them

2. If you are a “Clothing Thrower”, then the
easiest way to handle them is to place them at
the foot of a bed, not necessarily folded, but
laid out so that they are not piled up.

If you are not in the bedroom, then you can put
them on a hook or on a small stool.
No, the kitchen table is not the place
for your underwear.

Be generally specific

3. Think in terms of general. Your clothes
will be in one place – usually the bedroom.
Dirty clothes in a box or hamper and not
on the floor.

You may have tools that do not always find their way to
their toolbox, but should have a drawer or area near the
toolbox where you can easily get to them.

You are still creating a “Place” for things, but these
“Places” are only quick fixes for when you
can actually put things where they should be,
like drawers, tool chests, and closets.

This process requires only a very small
amount of planning, but can save you
a lot of time in the long run.

Doing my best, so that you can do yours,

Bob