Make Time to Get and Stay Organized
- Image by JStove via Flickr
What’s the best time to get organized? The ideal answer is, “all the time.” However, taking advantage of natural times can kick-start or motivate the organization process: a New Year’s resolution, spring cleaning, start of the school year, an important deadline, etc. all provide opportunity to get organized.
Many people use the excuse “I just don’t have enough time to get organized.” If you don’t have enough time to get organized, then you’re a prime candidate to get organized. It takes time and energy to get organized, but brings the gift of added time to your life. So… what are some simple ways to manage your organizing time?
Break-down your tasks
Sometimes on our quest to get organized we can tackle too much at once. As a result, we can get overwhelmed and give up. The best way to get on track is baby steps.
Break the task(s) into small piece. If the whole task or goal seems too big to tackle, then break it down into smaller, more manageable pieces. The flip side of that principle is, when you have trouble getting started on the small steps, look to the big goal.
Coordinate similar tasks
Avoid repetition of labour. For example, if we have to deliver a document at an office and collect a document from another office which is on the same block, both these tasks can be done together.
A lot of time is lost in the starting, stopping and changing of different levels or types of activity. Save time by performing like tasks together. Make all your outgoing phone calls at the same time; organize your errands into a single run; reply to e-mail; etc. You will find this a more efficient use of your time.
Set time limits on tasks
There are certain types of tasks, reading e-mail for example, that can occupy all your time if you allow it. Most tasks fall victim to Parkinson’s Law, expanding to fit available time. Get into the habit of scheduling fixed time slots for your tasks. Once you reach the end of the time limit, stop what you’re doing and head to the next task or appointment.
Once you’ve spent some time with this system, you can refine the way it works. You will know which tasks will fit in the half-hour before meeting starts and which tasks are better suited to a full afternoon.
Delegate tasks
Delegation allow syou to achieve more through others than you can accomplish on your own. Delegation involves passing responsibility for completion of work to other people. Delegation is useful for the following reasons:
- Once people have learned your expectations, they can take responsibility for jobs you do not have time to do.
- You can develop people to look after those tasks that are not cost-effective for you to carry out.
- It transfers work to people whose skills in a particular area are better than yours.
- Transfer of responsibility develops the person receiving the tasks and can increase their satisfaction and sense of accomplishment.
Of course, if your organizing your home, you may want to avoid “delegating” tasks to your spouse. A collaborative approach is more relationship-friendly. 
Have an accountibility partner.
Once you’ve shared your organizing plan with someone else, you will be more motivated to meet the plan. You will not want to disappoint or look like a failure. Don’t just ask someone to keep you accountable; meet with them regularly to review progress.
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Becoming an organized person has the benefit of much more time to do the things you love guilt free.