The One Thing You Must Do If You Want To Get Organized

Make a decision and get organized!

Just as My Very Best Life-Changing Tip For A Clutter-Free Home will put you on the path to neatness nirvana, this one idea will transform your approach to personal organization.

Seriously – if you apply this strategy, you’ll find it far easier to get organized and stay organized.

Getting Organized: One Thing You Must Do

You must make quick decisions

Indecision is what causes the clutter to accumulate, the paperwork to pile up, the inbox to overflow. Instead of things, paper, clothes, emails and everything else flowing through your life, indecision keeps them stuck in limbo.

Now clearly I’m not talking about deciding who to marry or what job to take. I’m talking about where to put the remote, how to reply to the email, and when to pay the bill.

Every decision you put off – however tiny or unimportant it may seem – is a barrier to a more organized life.

How To Make Quick Decisions And Get Better Organized

Make a habit of deciding fast. The more you do it, the more of a habit it will become.

Don’t worry about making the ‘wrong decision’. Let me put your mind to rest right now by saying that you definitely will. Expect that sometimes you’ll later wish you had done something different.

But – and don’t undervalue this – your net gains from being decisive, taking action and cleaning up your life will far outweigh the minor losses.

Here Are Some Examples:

  • Opening the mail?
    Decide now if it needs to be actioned, filed or discarded. Then do it.
  • Tidying up?
    Decide now where things will go and put them there. Or throw them out.
  • Wondering whether to keep or toss?
    Decide now to toss it. There – now you can blame me. 🙂
  • Got random papers on your desk?
    Decide now whether to keep and, if so, where to file.
  • Reading email?
    Decide now what action if any is needed, and take it.
  • Been reading the paper?
    Decide now if you’ll look at it again and if not, put it in the recycle bin.

You get the idea.

Personal Organization Made Easy

Start thinking of yourself as a decisive action taker. Practice with all kinds of things – which muffin to have, what outfit to put on, where to go for dinner. Learn to love the feeling of keeping your life flowing rather than letting stuff stagnate.

This mindset will make it much easier to be organized. Try it – and let me know how you go!

Image: http://www.flickr.com/photos/dominik99/ / CC BY-SA 2.0

24 thoughts on “The One Thing You Must Do If You Want To Get Organized

  1. Pingback: Monday Motivator: Clear The Clutter! | The Zen Mom

  2. Pingback: Monday Motivator: Clear The Clutter! | The Zen Mom

  3. Michele Connolly says:

    Hi there Marge!

    I’m not sure how much ‘memorabilia’ you’re talking about…

    If you’ve kept every little thing, you might consider becoming your own curator and selecting only the most meaningful items to keep. Then simply ‘release’ the rest. Ask a friend to do the releasing for you, if that feels more comfortable.

    If you think there’s a book there, you might find a writer for the job at Elance – http://www.elance.com/.

    Good luck!
    Michele 🙂

  4. Marge Bomford says:

    I determined from your ‘quiz’ I’m not a hoarder – but: I have a somewhat unusual (my choice) task. I have single-parented all my life, my son is now grown and in business for himself. I’ve sorted ‘memorabilia’ many times and now, since it is so difficult to sort any more, I’d like to find (commission???) a writer to write a book. Does that sound unreasonable and/or possible? Then I think I’d be able to get rid of even more ‘stuff’.

  5. Kelli Wilson says:

    Simple and brilliant Michele
    email is my biggest culprit with so much coming in all the time. Your tips and fabulous. love the “don’t worry about making the wrong decision” comment…I think that’s the biggest fear for people. Keep ’em coming…
    I also love the idea of turning on the audible notification that you got mail…keeps the pavlov effect at bay! Kelli

  6. Hadassah Miller Tzadok says:

    I have found that your advice to decide to do it now and make a decision helps me. I don’t pile clothes on the cedar chest anymore. I put them into the dirty clothes…I can still be shameless and get them out to wear again but it take so long to sort and put a whole pile away. Life as an efficient woman is working for me. I have my own business and being organized is key. I have a place neatly piled on my desk with all my support stuff. Business card blanks, stationary and letterhead and envelopes. I act on leads as soon as I get home…It’s working.

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