If you want to reach your long-term goals or accelerate your career, you need to be organized. Organization helps you prioritize tasks and eliminates the mental clutter that keeps tabs on your to-dos, so you can spend more time on strategic work and higher impact problem solving.
This doesn’t come naturally to everyone, but you can learn how to get organized. Start by taking these small steps:
1. Start Small
Getting organized is an essential part of maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Whether it’s your personal life or work life, being organized can save time and stress, improve productivity, and help you achieve the things in your life that are most important to you. But organizing doesn’t have to be a daunting task that you struggle to get through; it can be a daily practice that is easy to incorporate into your routine.
It’s easy to feel overwhelmed by the thought of cleaning your entire home or starting an organizational project at work. To combat this, it’s helpful to break down the process into manageable steps. Start with a single room, such as your kitchen or office, and work on one area at a time. This will make it easier to maintain your newfound organization throughout the year.
Clutter can weigh us down physically and emotionally, stealing away our energy and creating a sense of heaviness and failure. By breaking down big projects into smaller tasks, you can take the pressure off yourself and get back to enjoying your life.
Organizing your workspace helps you focus and reduces distractions by making it easy to find what you need when you need it. It also allows you to collaborate and communicate with colleagues effectively, which will increase your overall productivity. This can be as simple as setting up a folder for each project you work on or implementing a workflow system like Trello.
When you’re working in a team, it’s important to be able to quickly locate files and documents. This will save you time and reduce debriefing meetings by allowing you to easily point team members to the right resources.
To get started, try these organizational hacks to boost your productivity at work and at home. From repurposing cleaning wipe bottles to organize pens in your desk drawer, these tips will help you make small changes that will lead to big results. By practicing these habits every day, you’ll eventually experience the benefits of an organized mind and a clean space.
2. Organize Your Space
The first step toward organizing your home is getting rid of any clutter you have. That means emptying out closets, reducing the number of papers on your desk and putting items back where they belong. While it may take time, it’s worth the effort when you can open a drawer with ease or go to bed with a clear head.
Professional organizers recommend starting with the most-visited spaces (like bedrooms, bathrooms and kitchens) as well as areas that are popular catch-all spots for everything, such as desks, dresses and shelves. To start, make a list of all the things in each space that need to be organized and work your way through it, prioritizing as you go, advises organizational coach Emily Wilska. Then, once you’re done with the list, tackle one room at a time—making sure that your plan is realistic for the amount of time you have to spend on it.
Once you’re through the list and have decided what to keep, be sure to put it in its place. This will help ensure that you can easily find the item when you need it. A key tip here is to group like items together: all of your Christmas decorations should be in the garage, all of your cleaning supplies can go in a cupboard and so on. This makes it much easier to put things away and less likely that they’ll end up on a counter or in a pile on the floor.
Another way to help keep things tidy is to clean the area regularly. Try to set aside a day a week to give your bedroom, office, desk and kitchen a good wipe down. This will help reduce any clutter that is building up and make it easier for you to maintain your newfound organization.
When it comes to keeping your home organized, the old saying “a place for everything and everything in its place” is definitely true. It’s also helpful to use organizational tools, such as bins and drawer dividers, to really get in control of your space. When you can see all of your belongings clearly and in their designated places, it’s easier to solve everyday problems — whether that’s finding your keys or finding the newest book for your kids.
3. Create a System
Whether you’re looking to reduce clutter in your office or create a more effective workflow, creating and implementing systems will help. The key is to start with an analysis of the areas you want to systemize and determine what you need in place to reduce distractions, minimize interruptions and focus on the most important tasks.
A system is not some complicated, 20-page document; it’s simply a series of steps that produce a consistent result. As we work across teams, it’s critical to create systems that simplify cross-team collaboration and provide clear instructions for how to complete specific tasks.
A well-designed organizational system will help reduce the amount of time spent on “work about work” (e.g., following up on a task, switching between apps or looking for information) and increase the time available for skilled work and strategy. This will ultimately result in higher productivity and a lower risk of burnout.
4. Get Organized
If you want to get organized, start with a clear plan. Organizing can be overwhelming, so it’s important to take it step by step and break it down into smaller pieces. This will help you feel more in control and manageable. Whether you’re organizing your to-dos, work flows, or project-level tasks, creating a plan is essential.
It’s also important to track your progress. This will not only give you a sense of accomplishment but also keep you motivated and on-track. Using apps or printable finances trackers can be a great way to do this. This is especially helpful when it comes to your budget and identifying areas where you can save.
One of the most important aspects of getting organized is eliminating what you don’t need or use. This will not only make your space cleaner but it will also help you stay on track with your goals. This could be as simple as throwing away old papers or organizing your closet, but it’s a great way to start your organizing journey.
Another way to maintain momentum is by finding a buddy or group who are going through the same process as you. It’s always easier to tackle a difficult task when you have someone with you. This is why many people join home organization challenge groups on social media to hold themselves accountable.
Lastly, be sure to reward yourself for your hard work. This will not only give you a much-needed boost of energy but it will also help you stick with your new habits long-term. Rewarding yourself can be as easy as treating yourself to a cup of coffee or watching your favorite show. It’s also a good idea to get a planner and use it to track your progress. This can be a digital or physical planner and can include everything from scheduling to financial trackers to work flow chart templates.
Although organization may seem like a “born with it” trait, it can be learned and honed just like any other soft skill. With a bit of planning, you can turn those messy drawers into organizational bliss and enjoy all the benefits that come with it.