For many, being organized means a place for
everything and everything in its place. For others, it means nothing. The true
definition of being organized is being able to find things when you need them,
not 3 weeks later.
But if you ask me, being organized means
saving BIG money…period. Simply put, time is money. If you waste time all day
long looking for things, you are wasting money. 
Here’s how:
If you spend just 5 minutes of every hour
of an 8 hour day (how often do we only work 8 hour days?), looking for things,
that adds up to over 4 weeks per year (166 hours). Many times, we spend hours
looking for something. It adds up fast when you take each employee’s hourly
rate of pay and multiply it by 166 hours per year.
For example: $15/hour X 166 hours X 10
employees = $24,900/year thrown away! OUCH.
The worst part is (yes it gets worse!) that
most management and executives average even more wasted time…as much as eight
weeks per year!
So what can be done to eliminate most of
this wasted time?
READY…
For starters, if you are not as organized
as you’d like to be, you have to be willing to explore WHY you are not
organized. This may reveal some answers that you would rather not hear, but it
is the key to success. Over the years, we develop excuses, obstacles and
reasons to avoid getting organized. Here are a few examples:
-
You might
need it someday!
-
You are a
true perfectionist.
-
If you
can’t see it, you forget it
-
You have
too much stuff!
-
Your
stuff needs a home.
-
You grew
up with clutter.
-
You have
too much to do!
-
Not
enough storage space.
-
You are
very sentimental.
-
You have
had major changes in your life.
SET…
Second, you have to take the time to look
at your space and map out what you want the space to look like when you are
done BEFORE you touch the first piece of clutter. In this step, you will need
to:
 |
-
Do a
Needs Assessment
-
Define
the activity for the room
-
Use Logic
-
Make a
drawing of the room
-
Make a
list of what you will need
-
Have a
realistic time schedule
-
Have the
URGE TO PURGE
|
GO!
Finally, you get to declutter by sorting
and putting away in a methodical fashion.
Most folks skip the Ready and Set steps and
just start to tear into the clutter but don’t develop any long lasting
systems. This Band-Aid® will only last a short while before you have to attack
the clutter again.
In order to make the clutter go away, a
simple process is necessary. When it comes to papers and office clutter, I
recommend the E.A.S.Y. system. There are only four things you can do with a
piece of paper.
Eliminate
it
Act
on it
Send
it away (it doesn’t belong here)
You
file it
If you create four piles that correspond to
the E.A.S.Y. system as you sort, decision-making becomes more concise and
narrow.
The bad news is that getting organized
takes time and commitment. It has to be on your list of priorities for it to
really become achievable.
The good news is that getting organized is
simple if done methodically and it pays off. Not only does organization
provide a less stressful work environment, but it also boosts morale,
increases productivity and positively affects the bottom line.
Set the example by taking a look at your
space and those around you. Could you stand to be more organized? If so,
schedule the time to declutter. After you start, you’ll be inspired to
continue and you’ll feel like a huge weight has been lifted off your
shoulders!
Here's to simplifying your life!
