Angie Stegall

Executive Wayfinder

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20 Truths About How to Stay Organized

20 Truths about How to Stay Organized – An essential guide for anyone in business!

  1. The point of getting organized shouldn’t be to “fit more in” – this goes for clothes, tasks, files, or email.
  2. Organizing just for the sake of “getting organized” is a bit like paddling in circles – you’re creating movement, but you’re not getting anywhere. What’s the point?
  3. The most beautifully labeled filing system won’t work if you don’t “get it”
  4. “Getting Organized” is not a one-time event. It takes time and attention to do it and it takes time and attention to maintain it.
  5. People fear “getting organized” because they might lose something. Never mind that they can’t find anything now…
  6. White collar workers waste an average of 40% of their workday. Not because they aren’t smart, but because they were never taught how to stay organized and cope with the increasing workloads and demands.
  7. People fear “getting organized” because they fear having to change.
  8. Most of the time we acquire clutter unconsciously. The clutter shows up, and builds up, over time.
  9. A good reason to get organized: you’re losing vital information, wasting time, or wasting money on duplicates. A bad reason to get organized: someone else tells you need to.
  10. Organizing is a bit like riding a bike: some do it naturally; others need training wheels and practice. The point? It can be done!
  11. Professionals spend 50% of their time searching for information, leaving only half of their remaining work time to actually use what they finally found.
  12. Clutter (physical or electronic) screams one word: Indecision!
  13. If it took you five years to create the clutter, it might take 5 months to de-clutter it.
  14. People waste enormous amounts of time and money by being disorganized, buying duplicate items, losing information, etc. Rather than stopping the cycle by hiring someone to help them, they persist with the “I’ll get it together soon” dialogue.
  15. My wise sister once said, “It is easier to keep up than to catch up.” Brilliant!
  16. Sticky notes are bane of the disorganized office workers existence. Lots of notes create tremendous visual and mental clutter.
  17. Sometimes the easiest way to stay organized isn’t by using some whiz-bang software program but rather getting out a piece of paper and a pencil to create a simple list.
  18. There is no “one way” to get organized.  If the system, process or routine doesn’t work for you, it doesn’t work. Period.
  19. In organizing, you must go slow now in order to go fast later.
  20. Be very clear about WHY you want to get organized before you start trying to actually do it. That “WHY” will carry you through the hard work of getting it done!

If you find yourself struggling with the “why” or see yourself (or a team member) in many of these examples, give us a call. From weekly accountability calls to hands-on organizing, we can show how to get organized, help you tame the clutter beast, manage time, or create orderly systems and processes for increased efficiency.