Long-term Organizing

Time Management

Long-term Organizing
by Patty Kreamer



You walk into your office and you're not sure which paper-covered object is your desk. Just last week you cleared all of the papers from your desk (and you were so proud!), and now it looks like a cyclone has hit. Sound familiar?

The myth is that being organized means being neat and tidy. The truth is, being organized means being able to find things when you need them.

For example, you get a phone call at 2:00 in the afternoon from your boss. She needs to meet with you in 10 minutes…in your office! What do you do first? You shove those piles of papers into any hidden, available space (under the desk, in the file cabinet, in the credenza—you know the routine).

In 9 ½ minutes, your office looks pristine. No traces of clutter anywhere. (Just pray that nobody has to open anything with a door on it.) Now your office looks neat, but is it organized? I think you get the point.

There is a 3-step process to getting organized.

Look into…This is when you have to take a good, hard look into yourself. This means asking yourself why you are the way you are.

Look around…This is simple but rarely done. Look around your office to see if it is set up logically.

Look OUT!…you've asked yourself why you are disorganized, moved your office to a logical setup; now you are ready to dig in and get organized!

Remember the day you stormed in and cleaned up your office? You went right to step 3 and skipped steps 1 and 2. Skipping any of these steps makes success less likely.

Long-term results are what we are after. So the next time you get in the mood to clean up a room, don't forget to:

Look into…

Look around…

And Look OUT!


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Patty Kreamer,TimeFinders, Inc.,www.timefindersinc.com.