Getting Organized - What is Being Organized and Why is Organizing Important

Before one can organize effectively, it is important to understand what getting organized means, and what it entails.

Being organized is being in control - of our time and space. You know where your things are - material and informational, you know you can locate them easily when you need them, without putting in a lot of physical or mental effort, and you know you can set them back just as easily enough.

Why is that important? Well, for one, it's the convenience. Isn't it convenient to have that kind of control on everything that goes on in our lives? Convenience improves our efficiency. We no longer focus on where our things are, but instead, on what we need to do with them. In other words, our mind becomes free to focus on the task at hand. And that improves our productivity.

So getting organized sounds like a good idea, right? So why don't everyone just go ahead and get organized? One reason - we get overwhelmed. One look at the clutter we need to organize, can make us mighty overwhelmed. Either we don't know where to start, and not start at all. Or we try to start out all the tasks at once, and end up not finishing any of them. And at other times, we may start with the wrong task and get hung up on something specific for hours, without moving an inch in our overall organizing effort. Ever started out to organize photo albums, when you started looking at those photos and slid down the memory lane, only to realize later that a couple of hours have elapsed? You know what I mean.

Well, the good news is - there are some well-established tips that can help you get organized, and help you stay that way. It is a two-step process. Get rid of the clutter (a one time process, hopefully), and keep it that way (an ongoing process).

"Don't agonize. Organize." -Florence Kennedy