Are you looking to become more organized at home or work?

Wondering exactly where you should start?

In today’s post I offer some quick and simple tips to help you take a step in the right direction.

Correct a poor habit.

One of the easiest ways to become more organized is to simply correct a poor habit. Take a moment to consider a habit that has a drastic impact on your ability to find or get things done. Where can you make a few tiny modifications to help you find what you need in a pinch? Let’s say you constantly lose your house or car keys at home. To remedy this, you could create a dedicated space for your keys when they are not in use and train yourself to place your keys in this location every time your enter the house. As soon as you shut the door, you could place down your keys, either in a small bowl in your hallway, on a mounted hook, or in a pocket behind your door before going any further into your home. Problem solved!

Make a conscious effort towards organization.

Organization doesn’t just happen overnight and it certainly doesn’t happen without premeditated thought. If you want to be more organized, you need to make a conscious effort to turn something that is chaotic, into a more organized form or situation. As opposed to vaguely saying “I’m going to be more organized,” tell yourself specifically what needs changing and/or what you are going to do to put things in order. For example, instead of just saying “I’m going to organize my desk,” take things a step further. You may say “I’m going to create a place for active files on the left hand side, a place for my office supplies on the right, and a place for my laptop in the center.” You’ve clearly stated your intent and now you can get down to the actual physical task of moving things to their new location.

Practice the act of preparation.

Having things organized means having things in some sort of coherent order for a future purpose. A great way of getting things organized in your daily life is to think ahead and make preparations for all those things that will take place during the day. You could prepare your purse or bag for work in the morning, making sure you have your cellphone, wallet, ID, and keys at the ready, pulling out all the ingredients and kitchen utensils to prepare a chicken dinner at home, or just make a quick list of all the questions you want to ask your supervisor at your daily check-in meeting. Preparation goes a long way in making things run smoother.

How about you? What are you looking to organize in your life? Where are you going to begin? Join in the conversation and leave a comment below!