Have you ever wondered what it would
be like if you didn’t have the stack of papers on your desk?
What would it be like to be able to open your closets without items
falling out onto the floor? Or what would it be like to be able
to actually park your car in your garage?
I know that some of you know exactly
what I am talking about and others of you are in denial! If you
look at it, having these papers and old boxes of stuff sitting around
is not only cluttering up your space, but it is cluttering up your
mind. Every time you go over to your desk, you take a deep breath
and your mind starts going crazy because you don’t want to
deal with the mess. You have a nice new car that you would love
to park in the garage, but when you open the door, there is just
wall to wall stuff. That little voice in your head starts to take
over, “I don’t have time to clean this now”, “My
husband is such a pack rat”, “My kids have too much
stuff”, and “I’m too busy”. It takes you
more time and energy to deal with the stuff being in the way than
dealing with just getting it done!
Well, this article is for you. I
am going to give you a few tools and practices to help get you going
in the right direction. Ready?
Tools:
1. Create a poster of your dreams, motivations, and desires. This
is where you visualize the things that you want in life; make it
a fun reminder of what you are reaching for everyday! When you have
something physical in front of you to remind you why you are doing
this, it will guide you to stay focused on your goals and actually
fulfill them.
2. Have ONE calendar for yourself to put your structures into place.
I know many of you have numerous calendars; one for business, one
for personal. The problem is that you don’t have two different
lives, so having business and personal all in one calendar will
help keep you on track.
3. Make a physical list of EVERYTHING that needs to be done (This
may be a long list for some of you.) If it is not written down,
it won’t get done. Make sure you have only one list, not a
pile of Post-It Notes, paper scraps, and napkins all over your office.
Title it your “Accomplishment List”, not your “To
Do List”. It is always more fun to accomplish something!
4. Have a recording device to be able to talk into every time something
“to do” pops into your head. This can really help those
of you that are too busy to write things down. It is a small device
that you can carry with you in your pocket, so that everything can
get accomplished. Then make sure to transfer these items to your
Accomplishment List.
5. Have one place where you file papers. Get a filing cabinet and
the appropriate file folders to get things in order. Filing never
seems like any fun, but it can make your life a whole lot easier
so that it is easy to just put the papers away when they come through
your hands. It is the one touch system: just touch the papers one
time. Don’t pile them somewhere so you have to touch them
again and again.
Practices:
1. Write down your targets, goals, and future plans.
2. Review your targets, goals and future plans on a regular basis.
This is very important and most of us don’t do it. By reviewing
them on a weekly, monthly and quarterly basis, you will know exactly
where you are and how far you have to go. If you don’t check
in on these items from time to time, it will take a lot longer to
achieve the things you want.
3. Stay focused on your end goal. Remember the poster you created
from item #1 in the Tools section? We all have dreams and goals
that we are working towards and one of the structures that will
help you to reach those goals is staying focused.
4. Continue to move yourself in a forward motion. Don’t listen
to the little voice in your head that says you can’t do it.
Avoid basing your decisions on your emotions, and avoid drawing
fast conclusions about anything. Some of you may be asking the question
‘What little voice in my head?’, that is the little
voice I am talking about! The one that is always talking negative
to you, the one that tells you there is no way you are going to
succeed, or no way you are going to be able to do it. You want to
be aware of that little voice when it starts making your decisions
for you. You know what you want, so go get it, no matter what!
5. Most importantly, DON’T STOP UNTIL IT’S DONE! Make
a game out of it and have fun!! This is a crucial point. As I stated
previously, you are the only one that has your dreams and goals,
so give it everything you’ve got and get it complete. The
key is to continue to make the process fun, because as soon as you
complete this dreams, there will be another one behind it!
I have the pleasure of sitting next
to the owner of Primeco Consulting everyday and have learned a lot
of great tips for getting myself organized. It is truly amazing
how much smoother our office runs because of the systems and structures
that are in place. I started to take these tips into my home as
well and it is so easy to find what I am looking for without having
to go through the hassle of digging through junk first to find it!
When I first started, my office was a mess. Now my teammates refer
to me as the ‘Detail Diva’.
So, if you decide that you want
to take on getting organized but decide that you want to do it your
own way and not use the tools, or use your “piling”
system versus the “filing” system, then you are sabotaging
the system and it more than likely won’t work. The bottom
line is to start looking at the clutter that you can get a handle
on. When you clean it up, notice how freed up you are. If you get
yourself and your space organized, you are bound to increase your
productivity, have more freedom to do the things that you want and
just have peace of mind! Remember, the tips only work if you actually
use them!
Enjoy your life today; don’t
wait to handle it tomorrow!
