7 Habits of Highly Organized people

How do habits affect our organization and productivity?  If you ask me, I would say immensely!  If you are in the habit of leaving work with the papers all over your desk, it will be harder to maintain organization the next day.  If you are in the habit of organizing those papers about ½ hour before you leave each day, you will notice the difference when you walk into your office the next morning - you will be more ready to tackle the projects of the day.  (And as a bonus, you will have a place to set your coffee!) 

Below are 7 Habits of Highly Organized people.  Try to incorporate even just one at a time and see how it affects your organization and your life.  

1. Highly organized people have a place for everything. Every item they have has a consistent, assigned “home.” There are homes for all of the computer and electronic product warranties and instruction booklets.  There are homes for the papers/reminders that are waiting for a response, such as your order form for the last audio book you ordered on Amazon.com.  The home for books is on the book shelf. The home for toys is in the toy room on the toy shelves. The home for blank greeting cards is in the greeting card organizer in the office.

2. Highly organized people put things back where they belong.  Whenever an item has been removed from its assigned home, it is used for whatever reason and then immediately returned to its home when no longer in use. There are no "temporary holding piles."  It's just put back where it belongs right away.

3. Highly organized people record things.   Organized people make lists and notes, and keep these in one consistent place such as a planner, notebook, PDA, or calendar. They don't try to remember things in their heads. They let the pen and paper (or the computer) work for them. They reference their lists and notes on a daily basis.

4. Highly organized people don't allow papers to pile up.  Papers to file are filed each day, not left to grow into mountains. Mail is opened over the recycle container so papers not needed don't even have a chance to multiply. Kids’ permission slips are signed right away and sent back to school with the kids. Bills are tucked into a bill paying system until bill paying day, and then paid bill statements are filed away that day. Magazines are read within a week or two and then recycled or donated.  Articles from those magazines that need to be saved are torn out or copied and then filed right away.

5. Highly organized people don't procrastinate.  When something has to be done, organized people schedule time to do it and keep that scheduled appointment. They know that the more they delay, the more likely deadlines will be missed and/or opportunities will pass.

6. Highly organized people set goals and assign deadlines.  They know if they want to accomplish great things, they need to know exactly what they want the end result to be, and by what date. They review these goals often, and set aside time each day to work on achieving them. They also review what they've accomplished and never forget to reap the rewards.

7. Highly organized people only keep what they use and/or enjoy.  A fellow organizer and colleague of mine, Barbara Hemphill, always says, “Keep only those things that you find to be useful, know to be beautiful, or love.”  How’s that for simple?  Set up this habit in your life and watch your stress fly out the window - just in time for the holiday weekend.

Nicole
nicole@organize2optimize.com

Sources: 

Maria Gracia - Get Organized Now!
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