Be Organized Be Productive

The organized person ... makes the most of his time and goes to his bed for the night perfectly relaxed for rest and renewal.

- George Matthew Adams

Getting organized is getting your life in order. The most important thing is to have time

 to do what you want to do and get things done smoothly without stress.

1. Change: Getting organized is making changes; avoiding bad habits and adopting good ones. Make positive changes and be more organized and productive.

2. Direction: Having goals is the most effective way to be organized. Your daily activities are geared towards achieving your goals. There is no waste of time or effort.

3. Planning: Planning is the first stage to get organized. I have a yearly planner which highlights the most important things to be done in each month. I have another monthly task list with things to do every day. My daily to-do list is extracted from the monthly task list with other things which crop up from time to time. The list is short and prioritized.  It is focused only on one or two important jobs for the day. When the major tasks are done the rest of the things will take care of themselves.

4. Communication: To communicate effectively you need to organize your thoughts like writing an article. In the opening of your communication, you need to highlight the subject matter briefly so that others will know what you are going to talk about. Write in bullet points cohesively from one point to another to allow your message to be understood easily and quickly. The last thing in your message is to call for action. State clearly what you want people to do   

5. Time management: To organize is to get things done in an orderly manner according to the importance of each task. A to-do list is a powerful tool to get you organized productively. Time is limited, the key is to do less and get more done.

6. Do it now: The most effective way to beat procrastination is to adopt the habit of doing it now. As an example, there are telephone calls, usually asking for things that you can take action on right away. As and when you receive such calls, do it immediately instead of forgetting to do it later.   

7. Less is more at home: Organize your house to avoid clutter. Less clutter means more spacious living and allows positive energy to flow freely in your house. Fewer things at home mean easier and quicker to organize and retrieve things   

8. Delegation: You can’t get organized alone. Delegate as much as possible to achieve greater productivity.

9. File management: Handle each and every document only once.  Decide quickly to act on it, toss it, file it for reference or put it in a tickler file and do it when it is due. Avoid clutter on your desk by clearing your in-tray every day. Have a permanent home for everything in the office and aim for fewer files because it is more efficient and easier to locate something you want.  Use a tall shelf against the wall and not the floor for storage.

10. Write it down: By writing things down you can look at the whole picture clearly.  You can then organize everything accordingly to suit your needs.

11. Networking: The idea of getting connected with people, especially successful ones, is to learn from them the way they organize things and be productive. There is so much you can learn from others. 

12. Personal finance: Organizing your financial affairs is another great way to get things done smoothly. You will not get your normal supplies interrupted just because you do not pay your bills promptly. Live within your means and uphold your creditworthiness.

Organizing is what you do before you do something so that when you do it, it is not all mixed up.

A. A. Milne