It’s a new year. We're officially one month in.
Have you, like countless others, declared this to be “the year you’re finally going to get organized”? If this was your New Year proclamation, your quest to get organized begs the question: What does “getting organized” mean to you? Really?
When you think of getting organized, does your mind immediately go to bins, tins, and baskets? But you’ve tried those before, haven’t you?
At the start of the year did you purchase organizing products only to get home to discover they weren’t what you wanted, or needed?
Don’t misunderstand. Organizational products do help. They ensure your belongings stay in or get returned to their designated spaces. Certainly, products do have their place—a very prominent place, indeed, with annual retail sales to the tune of $12.2 Billion. The point is this. With the many tasks, possessions, and people you need to manage (at home and at work), using organization products, alone, will not get you the organized results you strive for.
Here is what will.
Identifying Your Motivation for Getting Organized
When it comes to organizing, you have to be in it for the long haul, because it can get tough. It will cost you time, effort, and sometimes even blood, sweat, and tears. Well no blood, hopefully, but enough sweat and tears to make you want to give up. The return on your commitment and investment will far outweigh the cost. But there may be times when you’ll need to focus hard on your “why I’m doing this” to help you work through those rough periods. Having this in mind, what is your reason for getting organized?
Desiring a more organized and functional home or office space?
Wanting to create a clear vision for your life?
Making room to pursue the goal that’s been on the back burner (going back to school, starting a business, changing careers, working toward a promotion)?
Eliminating the distractions in your home or office that keep you from getting things done?
Reducing your stress and anxiety levels produced by your chaotic home or work environment?
Increasing your efficiency and productivity to get more done?
Decreasing the time and money disorganization costs you?
Defining What Being Organized Looks Like to You
Organizing is not one-size-fits-all.
Applying someone else’s “perfect” organizational system is likely to lead you down a path of frustration, stagnation, and continued disorganization. Your lifestyle, your home, your workplace, and even your possessions, are all unique to you.
On a broad level, there are similarities, sure. Let’s take schedules as a simple example. Everyone has places to go, things to do, and people to see, right? Of course. But, a single-parent homeowner who works ten-hour days may not want to invest the time needed to manage his or her life with bullet journaling. The entrepreneurial, work-from-home couple with no children who live in a rented apartment, on the other hand, might. A bullet journal is an excellent way to plan and organize…if it works with your lifestyle. If it doesn’t, the journal is just one more thing you have to do, and it becomes more burdensome than helpful.
Success with organizing your time, your space, and your life will come when it’s individualized and customized to fit you. A system that doesn’t fit the details of your life will fail. This being said, what does “organized” look like to you?
Organizing Your Life, Not Just Your Things
To be organized, you need to take the time to introspectively examine where you are to determine what changes you need to make to get to where you want to be.
Being organized is about clearly defining your desired life, planning a systematic approach to achieving your goals, taking consistent steps to progress forward, and finding solutions to the pitfalls and hindrances that threaten your success. It’s also about using your time, talents, and treasures in the most effective ways possible to render the greatest results. In this regard, where are you headed and how are you going to get there?
As you journey along your road to living an organized life, remember that the main idea behind being organized is to free your time and open your space to make room for the life you want to live. And, yes, you will inevitably need to use a few bins, tins, and baskets along the way. But, you’ll have to dig a little deeper in your pile to find what getting organized means to you.
Let us know how you're getting organized this year. Comment below.
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