Darlene is a busy sales manager and the poster child of organization. Her keys and glasses always return to the same purse pocket. Her digital, color-coded calendar guides her every move. She tackles a goal at lightning speed and makes it look easy. For years I envied the ultra-organized, feeling cheated of an elusive gene that could have saved me hundreds of hours I have spent looking for keys, glasses, pens and shoes—plus the aggravation of always running late. Then I discovered that anyone can choose to become organized with a few learnable behaviors borrowed from women like Darlene.
Reframe the story you believe about yourself
The stories you believe win. Keep telling yourself that you are disorganized, and you will keep getting it right. In his book High Performance Habits, Brendon Burchard shares, “Imagine your best future self and start acting like that person today.” It almost sounds too simple, doesn’t it? Trust me, it is. But only when you decide that being disorganized is not serving you.
Think rituals
Putting your keys in the same place every time, like brushing your teeth, can become an automatic ritual. Starting small is the goal. Focus on adopting only one new ritual per month that will add more order to your life. At the end of the year, you will have 12 new rituals under your belt and a lot more peace of mind.
Win the day before bed
Invest 10 minutes before going to bed to review your calendar, goals and to-do-list for the next day. Once you experience the power of starting your day with a greater sense of purpose and calm, you will want more.
Try the 50/10 rule—work for 50 minutes, rejuvenate for 10 minutes, repeat
Studies show that multitasking contributes to low productivity and diminished mental focus. It is far more efficient to single task and rest. Use an app like Be Focused, to automate your 50/10 blocks and experience more creativity and productivity.
Schedule your to-do list
Highly organized women make appointments with themselves to accomplish the items on their to-do list. Then, they keep the appointments just like they keep ones with a doctor or a client. At the end of the day, they get more done.
Invest in yourself
If you are not sticking with these behaviors on your own, enlist a life coach or an executive coach who can customize strategies that fit your temperament and lifestyle. As it turns out, Darlene regularly invests in coaching! Who knows? Maybe she was one of us at one time.
If you have not figured it out yet, being highly organized is not the end goal. Achieving your dreams, lowering stress and enjoying life more is the goal. You can do it! If I can, anyone can too.
