Holly Uverity CPO®, Office Organizers
Getting more organized is not for everyone. And contrary to what you may have read, seen or heard, there are no “organizing police” out to fine you for having a less than perfectly clean and clear workspace. Organizing your work area is a very personal undertaking; since each person thinks about things and processes information differently, the “Hows” of getting organized are often much different for each person. A system that works well for one person may be completely incomprehensible and unworkable for another person. Inasmuch as the “Hows” of getting organized can vary, so can the “Whys”.
Clients often tell me they have feelings of shame and guilt over not being able to control their disorganized tendencies. They believe this is something they should be able to control and master and if they can’t, they feel as if they’ve failed somehow. For those people, being disorganized can affect their work (they may turn in work late or sloppily), their work habits (they may be constantly working in reactive mode instead of proactive mode), their mental health (they may be worrying about what they haven’t done yet or constantly thinking about how far behind they are), their physical health (they may develop sleeping and eating disorders) and their family life (they may have less quality time to spend with their families and friends).
On the opposite end of the spectrum – and organizing is a spectrum, to be sure – are people for whom having clear spaces can cause mild anxiety attacks. They actually thrive in chaos and rely on their stacks of stuff to keep them motivated and inspired. Their creative juices dry up when faced with empty spaces and organized lists of things to do.
So the question is, which type of person are you? Do you know? And if you are one of the latter types of person, why bother to get organized? If you’re perfectly comfortable with your level of clutter and disorganization, why should you take the time and energy to become better organized? The answer is a conditional you shouldn’t.
Nothing is free; everything that you do has a cost so you simply have to determine what and how your being disorganized is costing you. If you can live with the answer, then you don’t need to change a thing. It’s only when your disorganization is adversely affecting your life or the lives of those people you interact with that you need to start making some changes.
There are two costs to being disorganized – tangible and intangible. Tangible costs are easy to identify – here are just a few:
Late fees because you’ve missed payment deadlines
Costs associated with replacing or recreating documents you cannot find
Money lost due to not invoicing your clients on a timely basis
Storage fees for ‘stuff’ you don’t need or use
Costs for buying duplicate items because you don’t know what you have
Intangible costs of disorganization are also easily identified but may be a little bit harder to quantify – or admit to.
- Missed business opportunities because you were unable to respond to a request for more information in a timely manner – how much money have you already lost?
- Not planning your work can cause you to waste time on projects that don’t pay off – how much do you make per hour x the number of hours you spend on unimportant projects? Now multiply that by the number of employees you have who also don’t plan.
- Time spent looking for information can cause work slowdowns, stoppages and bottlenecks – how many people have to stop what they’re doing to find what you need? How much do they make? How much further behind are you putting them?
- Stressful working conditions for employees can lead to illness, a decrease in productivity, poor morale, and ultimately, more turnover – how many employees can you afford to lose, train and lose again?
- Consistently working in reactive mode (putting out fires and responding to what’s happening right now) can cause you to lose your competitive edge – do you want your customers to do business with you or your more organized competitors?
You don’t have to get organized if you don’t see the benefit or payoff. As a normal part of your business, you should be always assessing what’s working for you and what’s not. You should also recognize the costs – ALL the costs – of how you act in your business life every day and make decisions about which costs you’re willing to pay and which you’re not. If you’re willing to pay all the costs associated with being disorganized, then you don’t need to change a thing.
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Office Organizers is The Entrepreneur’s Organizer. Founded in 1993, they work with business people to create solutions to their organizational challenges. Contact them at 281.655.5022, www.OfficeOrganizers.com or www.fb.com/OfficeOrganizers.
