Tips for Finding Time to Get Organized

Get up; go to work; shop; cook; clean, spend time with your family, go to sleep; wake up again the next day and do it all over again. No wonder you can't find time to get organized!

Here are some tips that will help you save time and create space in your busy life to make needed changes.

TIP #1 - WHAT WOULD A LAZY PERSON DO: Start asking yourself how you can do something faster, better or not at all, Train yourself to look for inefficiencies and eliminate them.

TIP #2 - GO TO BED EARLIER; GET UP EARLIER: Doing this at either or both ends of the day can add 30 - 60 or more minutes of extra time to your day that you can use to get organized. You'll also feel better!

TIP #3 - HOLD ONCE A WEEK FAMILY MEETINGS: Gather the family together once a week to talk about the week ahead. Organizing it in advance will help head off any unpleasant surprises. Sunday night is a good time since most of us think of the week as starting on Monday, but any convenient night will do. Go over: who needs to be where and when and how they're going to get there; who's cooking; who's doing the dishes; who's doing other chores; who's helping with homework; which evening(s) will mom or dad or both be out; is a babysitter needed, etc.

TIP #4 - LEARN TO SAY NO MORE OFTEN: Don't let anyone else determine your priorities for you. Have the courage and good sense to say "No" when necessary.

TIP #5 - GO PAPERLESS AND DON'T PRINT: Most everything is available online these days. Get your phone bills, banking statements, etc. electronically and save them to your hard drive. Shop and pay bills online whenever you can. Think Green (the environment will thank you!) and don't print anything unless it's absolutely necessary. Printing creates paper clutter and will require your time and energy later on to file, review, purge and shred all that paper.

TIP #6 - SHUT THE TELEVISION OFF: The average American watches 4.5 hours of television a day. Enough said?

TIP #7 - USE YOUR TIME WELL: Whether you're sitting on the subway or bus, in the doctor's office or at your child's soccer game, use that time productively. You can: pay bills, write out birthday cards, plan menus or an event, fill out forms, read a book or magazine, update your planner, knit or do needlework, listen to an audio book, write a shopping list, balance your checkbook, etc.

TIP #8 - REDUCE YOUR CHILDREN'S ACTIVITIES: If you're feeling overscheduled and overwhelmed, your children may be as well. Do they really need two or three after-school activities? Think about it.

TIP #9 - DELEGATE, DELEGATE, DELEGATE: Focus on what you like and do best. Don't do something yourself if you can get someone else equally or more capable to do it. Communicate clearly, show that you have confidence in the other person and follow-up to make sure they got it done.

TIP #10 - BUY SENSIBLE CLOTHING: Don't buy clothes that are high maintenance or costly to care for. Try to eliminate items that require time-intensive ironing or expensive dry-cleaning.

TIP #11 - GET EXPERT ADVICE: It's worth it to pay someone who does something every day to save you all the time, energy or money you'd have to spend figuring it out yourself. Time is money and we all only get so much of it. Spend yours wisely.

TIP #12 - USE VACATION TIME TO ORGANIZE: Even though most of us think of vacation time as travel time, instead of spending money to go away, think about staying home and getting organized. You'll go back to work refreshed and relieved knowing that you don't have those projects hanging over your head anymore.

TIP #13 - CONSIDER THE RETURN ON INVESTMENT: The time, energy or money you invest in an organizing project should pay off by giving you more time, energy or money in return. If it won't, think twice about whether you should bother.