I believe there are four things that deter us from taking that first step to living organized. And, these four things are the reasons the overwhelming condition thrives. They are decision making, motivation, time and space. So, we need to put them in perspective if we want to experience a beneficial result.
Time is the next thing that can keep us from organizing our lives. It is one of the most valuable things we own, yet we never seem to have enough of it. But, becoming aware of how to use our time wisely results in productivity and freedom.
It is a reality that we may not know how to fit our organizing projects into our limited schedule. With work and kids and home and kids and work, but that’s the key, enter it into your schedule. Schedule time for your organizing project with the same importance as you would any other special event. As with an event we want to attend, we don’t usually schedule it considering we are going to cancel. We look forward to the date and make the commitment to attend. Scheduling time places value on your organizing project which makes you are more likely to follow-through or at least make the effort to start.
You may be unsure of how to anticipate the time you will need to work on a project. You want to schedule the right amount of time to allow you to handle the other things on your calendar and yet enough time to make an impact. Two hours is a perfect length of time for starting your first project. This will give you time to sort and make some decisions about where you want to put your sorted things. An extra hour will allow you to put things away in their new space until you are ready to schedule another time to continue with your comitment. By restricting your organizing event to a couple of hours instead of a full day, you will be able to accomplish a great deal, be refreshed and able to move on.
If your project is massive, like organizing a garage, give yourself permission to take breaks. A garage usually takes anywhere from four to eight hours depending on the amount of clutter and cleanliness. Schedule four hours a day but take breaks and schedule those too. Keeping to a schedule will enable you to maintain momentum. However, if you take that break and lose focus, give yourself permission to re-schedule. Don't let your desire to organize affect your well-being but also don't put your project on hold too long. Set up another date for yourself right away.
Once you train yourself to commit to a project the quicker it will be completed. Putting your things in order means that you won’t have to address the same situation twice and even if you want to make changes to the same space later it will never require the same intensity.
It takes time to make your new changes habitual. So, schedule yourself the time to go back and look at the changes you just made. Ask yourself if you are keeping on track and putting things in their proper places or if those changes are effectively meeting your goals. It’s a waste of your time if you fall back into old habits. Make your time productive. It will result in positive behavioral changes that will last a lifetime.
It's as simple as that!