Whether or not being organized is one of your strengths, it’s a habit all of us should get into. Why? When you’re organized, you know where various items are, you’re aware of what you’re doing, and definitely know where you’re going. Being organized isn’t the same as being tidy—but rather being able to store and find things in the least amount of time.
“For every minute spent organizing, an hour is earned.” —Benjamin Franklin
Being organized is a practice, not a project. It’s not about being perfect—it’s about customizing your whole world to work for you. If we thought about being organized as an important, valued character trait—such as being responsible, loyal, or honest, our lives could be so different, less busy, and definitely less stressful!
Keeping things organized.
Did you know that there is a rule of thumb about how much closet space you should have in your home? It’s true. The closet space in your home should equal no less than 10% of the total square footage. Build a 3000 square foot house, you should shoot for 300 square feet of storage.
“Science is organized knowledge. Wisdom is organized life.” —Immanuel Kant
The idea of a closet is to have one convenient location to store your stuff. For example, most of us store our clothes and shoes in our bedroom closet. How you organize your closet is up to you. Some arrange clothes by color, some by season, some by occasion. The idea of a closet is to arrange your wardrobe in a structured and systematic way so that you know where everything is and can find things quickly and easily.
We have a variety of things that we use to keep our physical things organized. There are dressers, drawers in the kitchen and bathroom, toolboxes… and on and on.
But being organized is easier said than done, right?
An organized closet for the mind.
Most of us have closets and drawers, but do you have something that helps you organize things you can’t touch? Like your time, appointments, and the things you have to get done? What about organizing your goals into daily actions which add up to achieving your dreams?
“Good organizing is not about changing your personality—just your habits.”
PlanPlus Online is like a closet organizer for your life—for the things you can’t exactly touch, but, nevertheless, own and are responsible for—such as your dreams and goals, your values, your time and appointments, your tasks and actions, and your thoughts and ideas.
Even the rules for being organized—whether it’s for physical things or non-physical things are pretty much the same:
A place for everything and everything in its place.
Appointments and time commitments to yourself and others are all placed on the calendar—including details if needed—and color-coded according to your established categories. One glimpse of the calendar keeps you on time all day.
Today’s to-dos and tasks are prioritized according to importance and found on your task list. Your goals and tasks can be broken down into simple next-step actions, in order to always know what to do. When partnered with the calendar you’ll not only know what to do, but also when to do it. Tasks that aren’t for today are kept on your unscheduled task list—instead of inside your head.
Tasks can also be assigned and grouped together on additional Lists and to your personal Roles—so that when at work, you’re only focused on work tasks or when in class, you’re only focused on your school tasks.
Write things down.
Stop trying to manage your work and life in your head—your mind is a lousy office. We all have proven limitations for remembering, reminding, and prioritizing. You need to establish the habit of keeping track of any and everything by writing it all down—in only one, convenient location. Getting things out of your head and into PlanPlus Online makes room in your mind for more creativity, intuitive thinking, and just being present.
Daily thoughts, notes, ideas, and journal entries are kept in the Daily Notes section—which opens and closes just like your desk drawer. Out of the way when you don’t need it and yet right at your fingertips when you do.
As mentioned before, your tasks are all written down and tracked on your task lists, and your appointments are listed on your calendar.
Your mind and your life will thank you!
Take five.
Take a few minutes before you go to bed every night and do a quick tidy up—especially to quickly plan for tomorrow. Check tomorrow’s agenda on your calendar, reprioritize your tasks for the day—which you can do from the Daily Planning/Quick Prioritize page under the Planning Tab.
Reward yourself for staying organized.
To help motivate you to stay organized, use a rewards system. Rewards can be simple, like a 5-minute walk or a healthy snack when you complete an item on your task list.
