***What Does “Getting Organized” Really Mean?

How many times have you thought or said, “I need to be more organized?” It usually comes after a moment of frustration or stress and a desire to create a different situation than the one you are currently experiencing. So where do you start? OR do you start? There’s good news and not so good news.

The not so good news is that most people don’t do anything. You might find yourself in the same situation and feel paralyzed by the frustration and the overwhelming task before you; unfortunately giving up thinking it’s your lack of ability to change the situation. This tends to compound this unpleasant experience; first not feeling organized and second feeling helpless to do anything about it.

The good news is that you can easily overcome being paralyzed and move beyond the frustration by asking yourself a few simple questions and listening to the other words you express about your behavior. Your very own words will lead you to a clearer picture of the action you need to take to change your situation and propel you into motion.

It is worth taking a quick look at the reason most people become paralyzed in the first place. It certainly is not from a lack of willingness to take action, it comes from not having a clear picture of what needs to be done, and therefore nothing happens. How can you take action if you don’t know what action to take? It’s very much like the statement, “I need to be healthier.” What does that really mean? It might mean that you need to change your eating habits, exercise, sleep patterns or stress level. Until you determine which aspect of health you need to improve, you most likely won’t be able to identify the actions you need to take. The same situation goes with the statement, “I need to be more organized.”

As we look at the good news part of this scenario, the goal is for you to begin to automatically listen to yourself and ask yourself the next layer of questions. After the statement, “I need to be more organized,” echoes in your mind, these very easy questions and category definitions will get you closer to identifying and creating greater organization for your life.
If you find yourself saying, “I just can’t get out the door on time,” or “I’m always late.” The type of life organization you need to improve is your punctuality.

If you find yourself saying, “I know what I should do, I just don’t do it,” or “I have a file folder for that document ...somewhere!” The type of life organization you need to improve is your self discipline.

If you find yourself saying, “My space is a mess,” or “I have things sitting around I have not used in years.” The type of life organization you need to improve is related to your physical space and creating a Mindset of Abundance.

If you find yourself saying, “I have so many things to do; projects, life interests, etc and I don’t seem to be getting any of them done.”
The type of life organization you need to improve is your focus.

If you find yourself saying, “I start off great, then fizzle out,” or “I thought it was a good idea, but now I’m not interested.” The type of life organization you need to improve is your level of commitment.

Once you reveal which organizing category best addresses your need, you can move into finding solutions with more clarity which in turns brings an increase in your ability to take action. While there is an investment of time to implement any solution, once it is in place it will allow you to move into the “living” part of life. The benefit is that once the solutions are in place, your daily life happens with greater ease, less stress, money saved, more time, and a joyful attitude and that’s what being more organized can bring to your life!