I’m the least organized person you’ll ever meet. I hardly organize anything. My physical files are a jumble in a cupboard. I need to be more organized.
If you’re like me, then we can explore this topic together. Maybe we can learn the secrets of organized and successful individuals who aren’t us.
A Place For Everything and Everything in Its Place
This is something my dad used to say to me all the time. And even though it plays in my head every once in a while, it didn’t stick until recently.
Do you lose your keys? Have a place you keep them and place them when you walk in the door. Maybe this is a hook or a small bowl on the counter or a basket nailed to the wall.
I keep my dog’s bark collar clipped to a the wall near his door (he’s a German Shepherd and he’s addicted to barking).
Have a place for your pen on your desk. We waste about 2.5 hours a year looking for lost stuff. And most of those things end up being small.
If you can have a place for everything, you’ll save so much time (which is precious).
Write Down All the Things!
You’re standing around the https://www.filtap.com.au water-filtered water cooler. Your boss comes up and says, “I need you to be at Jordie’s desk at 9 AM tomorrow to go over the report.” “Yeah, I’ll be there,” you reply and go back to your conversation about the new Star Wars film.
You wake up the next day, go to work, and get working. 9:30 AM comes and someone calls your desk phone. “Mike, we’ve been waiting for half an hour, where are you?!” You’re hearing double because your boss is just across the room.
What I didn’t tell you is that you had a smartphone in your hand when your boss told you about the meeting. You could have written it down, but you didn’t.
Write down all the things. It will save your career. And use that notification feature in your phone’s calendar.
Procrastinate No More
Once you’ve written down the thing you need to do, do it if you can. The longer you wait, the more it will weigh on your mind. The more it weighs on your mind, the harder it will be to begin.
You’ll play minesweeper or drive around Madrid on Google Earth until the deadline pushes you to do your work. Then you’ll rush the work and submit a sub-par report.
You’ll lose your job and or your client and you’ll end up without work. If you end up without work, you’ll move into your mother’s basement.
If you move into your mother’s basement, you’ll grow a neckbeard and loathe yourself. Don’t grow a neckbeard and loathe yourself. Do the thing right now.
Work Your Ass Off
Organized people aren’t just organized because they know where to put things. They’re organized because they work hard.
They want to be efficient and can’t stand the thought of lost time.
Get motivated and get organized. It’s the only way you’ll work hard and get stuff done.