Increase your productivity by getting Organized

Anyone who wants to increase their productivity in their life or profession has to get organized. Often that is easier said than done. The first step in to becoming organized is to set aside a specific amount of time to begin the process. Disorganization reduces your effectiveness and can make you feel out of control. A disorganized person often takes longer to accomplish a task because they have to spend time looking for things or information that an organized person has at their figure tips.

So how can you become organized? First thing is to make a commitment to yourself that you will become organized. If you are a person who says I would like to be more organized but I don’t know how, you need to stop and change today. It is a lot easier than you think. It involves the 3-D’s. No, that is not special glasses to watch a movie. It is Do it, Dump it or Delegate it.

Step 1 in the process is to set a minimum 2 hour appointment with yourself. Put it on your calendar. Turn off your phone , cell phone and computer. Put a do not disturb sign on your door.  During this appointment you are going to handle every piece of paper and other things in your office once.  You need to determine if it needs to be done, dumped or delegated. If you say that you have no one to delegate to, that is wrong. You can always outsource an activity. This is especially true if someone else can do it faster and better allowing you time to do what is more productive.

It is obvious that the dumped items are going away and uncluttering your office and life. Remember if you have not done anything with it in the past 6 months, you either need to throw it away or put it in storage. Even the IRS does not require you to keep things forever.

The delegated things are also going away where they will be properly handled and processed.

Finally you have the Do It group. Put them in 4 groups. Today, this week, Next week, When I have time. It is amazing how few things need to be done today. The problem is when we postpone doing them until tomorrow. The problem with tomorrow is that it never comes.  ” Today is yesterday’s tomorrow”.

So set yourself a goal to become a person who is determined to unclutter and begin doing today. You will amaze yourself on how much more relaxed and productive you will become.