The Sequence of Organizing

I was hanging out at my house a few weeks ago, going through my closet and I got to thinking about the steps -- the sequence -- of organizing. First, you have to be feeling pain of some kind. You may have a disorganized home or office, however, the pain isn't quite bad enough yet to get you motivated to do something about it. And that's okay. When it gets bad enough, you will. As for the pain, maybe it's frustration because you're forever searching for the same things day after day. Or perhaps you're always running late and it makes you look bad to your clients, colleagues and friends. Or maybe you're fed up with coming home and not being able to just relax and enjoy your space. Or it could be that walking into your office feels overwhelming and you're sick of it. Whatever your pain is, it has to be bad enough that it spurs you to action.

Secondly...

you have to choose to act. Action is the only way anything gets accomplished in your life. You know I'm big on attitude and visualization, and all that Secret stuff, but unless you ACT, none of that matters. You can sit around on your butt all day and visualize a whole bunch of new clients, but unless you do something to generate them, they're not likely to show up. So ACTION is your next step.

And third, you need to follow-through. Action is wonderful, however, separating out the things you no longer need or want isn't the only step. If those items stay in a pile in your bedroom, or in a box in the garage, what's the point? Follow-through closes the loop and makes your efforts effective and worthwhile. There are so many ways to release things back into circulation, such as Freecycle, Craigslist, Goodwill, and other charity organizations, that there's no excuse to be hanging onto stuff you're just not using. Once you've sorted it out and mentally and emotionally released it, then move it out and your loop is closed. Doesn't that feel good?

What are you willing to act on today?

Comments

[Jon King]

This post reminds me of some research findings a team I was on at one point concluded. The study was for small business. We discovered that as they grow, major purchases were fueled by "events" such as the prospect of hosting a meeting with a new client.

Hence the term "event based action" was coined. The same is true in a home. Especially this time of year when we are forced with fulfilling the comment we made for hosting the family Christmas party and we realize there isn't enough room for 12 in the dinning room, so you have to organize the whole first floor to deal with it. Sound familiar?

Jon

[Monica Ricci]

Jon, many of my clients hire me because of upcoming life events or transitions (wedding, impending move, baby arrival) or recent PAST events or transitions, such as divorce, relocation, job switch, etc), so I am indeed familiar with the concept. :)

~Monica