The Secret to Organization is Prioritization

If you never seem to be able to get organized, perhaps it's because you've never taken the time to truly understand your personal priorities. All too often, people try to do things not because they have to, but because they think they should. For example, do you feel as though you have to iron every piece of laundry just because that's the way your mother always did the laundry? If so, you might be spending a good deal of your time each day on things that really don't need to be done or things that simply aren't important to you. By following these tips on developing your personal priorities, you might just find that you have more spare time than you think you do.

What Do You Do Each Day?

Before you can figure out what you should be doing each day, it's important to understand what you are currently doing. It can be helpful to keep a personal activity journal for a week. Make note of the chores and activities you do, as well as when you do them. As you write down your activities, it can be helpful to make a few personal notes as to how badly the chore needed to be done, or if there might have been a better way to get it accomplished. At the end of the week, make a careful assessment of your journal. Look for chores and tasks that aren't really necessary, or things that you do just because you think you are supposed to do them. You should also look for ways to economize on your efforts. For example, you might think you are saving time by doing all your laundry on one day. However, taking a look at your activity journal might show that you could actually save time by doing a load of laundry each morning, perhaps during the same time period that you are downstairs walking on the treadmill.

Set Your Priorities

Once you have a good idea as to what you do each day, give some thought as to what is actually most important to you. For example, do you vacuum the carpet in the formal dining room every day just because you are also vacuuming the family room carpet? It could be that the formal dining room only needs vacuumed once every week or so, which could save you a lot of time throughout the week. If you never seem to have time to do your morning exercises because you are busy washing last night's dishes, perhaps your priorities need to be adjusted. If you washed the dishes the night before or assigned this chore to your children or spouse, you would be able to improve your health by exercising each morning. It's all about deciding what means the most to you, and finding ways to include more meaningful activities in your life. By eradicating the unimportant activities from your daily schedule, you'll have more time and energy to devote to the things that mean the most to you.