Organize Now

Organize Now

Organize Now

Here are the five basic rules to getting organized:

1. If you do it often, follow a procedure.

Whether you run a business or a household, you need a procedure - one that consists of a beginning, middle and end. The procedure must also assume consent by all those concerned. For example, mom, dad and three teenage kids all agree that when you answer the phone, you take a message, include a phone number or e-mail address, and put the message in a tray.

Once the system is in place, you have to be willing to review it. If someone on the team or in the family disagrees with the procedure, he or she will stop participating. You can always replace the procedure with a better one. A procedure serves you, not the other way around.

2. Let importance dictate proximity.

Your mom probably told you, “Everything should have a place.” True, but that's only a start. Next step is to let the importance dictate where the place is.

There is no mystery to why you keep your wallet, keys and spare change on you. You don't want to struggle to find them - ever.

Now, you wouldn't carry around a copy of your grandmother's recipe for Russian tea cakes, but it should be close at hand during the holidays. In fact, all your holiday recipes could be moved to a temporary spot during the season, and kept elsewhere during the rest of the year.

3. Join the electronic revolution.

You could scour your entire house in search of the scrap of paper that has the name and number of that contractor you met three years ago, or you could do a quick “find file” on the computer.

At work we keep everything on our computers. Home is often a different story. But the convenience of palm pilots, online bill paying, and other electronic tools can all help to get you organized and reduce stress in your personal and professional life.

4. Use discipline to de-stress.

In Home Comforts: The Art & Science of Keeping House, Cheryl Mendelson coins the term “neatening.” It's basically organizing as you go.

When you go upstairs, take something with you that belongs up there. When you use a plate, wash it, dry it, and put it away.

5. Do less, but do it better.

Reconsider the belief that it's all important. According to Makes, when the small things are put in their places, you start to see not only the inefficiencies, but also the mass of trivia that has buried you for too long.

Bottom line: you can't really prioritize until you organize. Remember this and you will strike a double-blow against stress.