Are You Prone to Clutter?
After reading an article on How Clutter Control Works, I noticed a box to the right of the main article with the following information:
Chronically disorganized people are often overwhelmed by clutter and exhibit the following behavior:
- They collect or save large amounts of papers, documents and things that have no apparent use, or bring no pleasure.
- They have difficulty getting rid of things.
- They have a wide range of interests and many incomplete projects.
- They’re easily distracted.
- They have poor time-management skills.
[source: The National Study Group on Chronic Disorganization]
I read this article to my wife, and for every bullet point she let out a little “bing” sound and made an in air check mark.
I’m pretty sure she wasn’t referring to herself.
The first step to recovery is admitting you have a problem. So, if you’re a chronically disorganized person (like me), here’s something you can try to help combat the issue:
- Create a new document in Word (or Notepad, or whatever you like). A word processor that can create numbered lists will work best.
- Put a title at the top, or in the header, that works for you. Mine reads, “Stuff To Do (just getting it out of my head)”.
- Create a numbered bullet list and begin typing. Type down anything that comes to mind as a task you have to get done, whether it’s today or two months down the road – just stop trying to store it in the filing cabinet in your head and put it on paper. (It’s not on paper yet, but it soon will be.)
- At the bottom of the list, as a non-bullet item, type “Last update: Monday, 29-Apr-2010, 12:44pm”. Obviously you will put your own day, date and time here. Don’t put it as a footer, which will change each time you open the document (depending on the program you’re using) – you will want to manually enter this item.
- Print the list, and keep it on your desk where you can refer to it throughout the day.
- Take a ruler and draw a line or two through each item you complete.
- Use a pen to add new items to the bottom of the list whenever things come to mind or when new tasks get tossed on your plate.
- After a few days, or whenever you feel your list is becoming severely outdated, open the soft copy. Delete old items, starting from the end of the list (so your numbering doesn’t get messed up as you go), and then add any new, handwritten items (obviously you don’t need to add crossed off handwritten items). Print a new copy, and file the old in a “To Do” folder – you may need to refer to an old list some time, plus, sometimes it’s nice to look back and see all that you have accomplished.
To shake things up, you may occasionally want to go through your list and re-number items, to prioritize. And consider reviewing your list each morning before you start working and decide which items are the top five things you want to accomplish that day. This way, even if you only tackle one or two tasks, you’re still getting work done (and taking things off the list).
There are many other methods of getting organized – and you may have to try a few until you find one that works for you. But the method above drastically cuts down on Post-It notes, stray pieces of paper, and overall stress (you know exactly where everything is, so no more panicky searches).
And it’s okay to admit it if you’re a self diagnosed chronically disorganized individual. You’re definitely not alone.