Some of us find it stressful to even contemplate being organized. We might imagine an ongoing marathon of sorting and tidying to achieve painfully micro-levels of tidiness.
This is a false picture and will not assist us. Rather, consider these helpful hints in the Quest for being Organized:
Do the daily basics:
Do Dishes
Make Beds
Put clothes away
Empty garbage
Even if you do nothing else, these basics will have an immediate impact on your environment and your state of mind. Spending 10 – 15 minutes of each day on these chores before work is a very worthy investment in you being able to relax more when you get home.
Getting it done is better than doing it perfectly
Just do something. Start somewhere. Anywhere. It does not have to be perfect. If you can’t face one particular task, use the time to do another. Use this method every day, and you will begin to see results quite quickly.
Balance effort with result
If you can achieve the same result with less effort, then consider taking the path of less effort. For example, would it be just as easy for you to find a pair of socks when you have thrown the matched pairs into a drawer or basket, as it would be if you spent your time compartmentalizing them by colour? The answer is: almost certainly.
Being organized is about balancing the benefits of being organized, with the efforts to achieve it, while still maintaining a visually pleasing result according to your taste.
Work with yourself, not against yourself
Give yourself positive messages and acknowledge efforts, no matter how small. Negative self-talk and guilt are not at all helpful, but will drag you down mentally and physically.
The more you acknowledge your efforts, the more positive results you will see.
Imagine becoming organized as a journey in which you work with yourself. Perhaps you are a very creative and visual person, and it would not suit you to have a minimalist environment. Or perhaps you really need a very clutter-free space, and need the right storage and routines to help achieve this.
You can transform your environment to reflect the best you, by working with yourself, not against yourself.