Holly Uverity CPO®, Office Organizers
There’s really no magic to getting organized; it requires a change in the way you think and act, but there’s nothing mysterious or magical about it. Like any other change you want to affect in your life, getting organized starts in your head and you must be willing to invest some time and energy into it. It’s also important you truly understand that getting organized is a process and not an event. Change happens slowly and in small increments, but it’s these small changes that can have the most impact on your time, space and stress level.
I can promise you that if you continue to do the following, not only will you NOT get organized; you’ll be frustrated, cluttered and stressed. It’s your call.
Be Indecisive
This is the number one option for staying disorganized. If you can’t make decisions about what to do with both the items and the information that comes into your office, I guarantee you will never get organized. Clutter is the physical manifestation of indecision. Period. Decision making is a skill and it’s something that everyone can learn. It’s like a muscle – the more you use it and exercise it, the stronger it becomes. As always, start small, decide on one thing for now, make one decision and then stick to it. Decide to leave your desk clear at the end of the day, decide to always rinse out your coffee cup, decide to check your emails three times a day, or decide to return calls in a 24 hour period. If you get stuck, if the decision seems too big or too complicated, keep breaking it down to smaller and smaller parts until you get to a size you can manage. You’ll begin to see that once you start exercising your decision making muscle, it gets easier to use. If you want to stay disorganized, continue to be indecisive.
Use Someone Else’s System
In my work with clients over the years, I’ve learned that disorganized people spend an inordinate amount of time searching. They’re searching for the right tool or gadget or system. In the course of their searching, they are bound to choose a system or tool based on what they’ve seen works for someone else. This is not always the wisest choice. Think of it this way – do you and your best friend or closest work colleague eat the same things or dress the same way? Of course not, you each have your own individual tastes, likes and dislikes. This holds true in all aspects of your life, including your choice of organizing tools and systems. Remember that what works for one person may not work for you; it’s in your best interests to take some time to figure out what will work for you. Certainly you can ask for suggestions and help but it’s a mistake to invest time or money in a system simply because it works for someone else. If you want to stay disorganized, don’t bother taking the time to learn what’s best for you.
Be Inconsistent
Being inconsistent, even in the smallest of things, is the quickest road to frustration and stress. How much time have you wasted looking for your glasses, your keys, your client files, that important phone number or your newest contract worth millions? In my view, learning to consistently do the same thing with the same things is one of the hardest skills to master as you begin creating your organized environment. It’s also the most rewarding. Learning new habits takes time, so give yourself a break as you start changing how you do things. If you normally leave your working files in piles on your desk, it may take some time for you to learn how to consistently put them away each day. You may also forget where you put them, and that’s ok. Simply write yourself small notes to remind you where things are until you learn the new locations. The same is true for how you deal with information, not just where you put it. One of the worst things you can do is start one system and a few weeks later start a second and then get frustrated and start a third. You’ll be in much worse shape than if you’d never started at all. Make yourself cheat sheets if you have to until you learn the new system and the new locations; no one will know but you and by writing down both the procedures and the locations, it will help you remember what they are. If you want to stay disorganized, keep reinventing processes.
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Holly Uverity, CPO® is the owner of Office Organizers – The Entrepreneur’s Organizer. She can be reached at 281.655.5022, www.OfficeOrganizers.com or www.FB.com/OfficeOrganizers.
