In this post, we have the pleasure of some insight from Jo Ebisujima of My Organized Chaos.
Thank you for inviting me over Joanna, I’m so excited to be here!
It doesn’t matter if you are building your own business or you work in a large corporation, if you want to reduce the stress and get ahead, you need to be organized. I can hear an audible groan from that! But really, it doesn’t have to be hard and if you set yourself up for success it becomes easy and streamlined, honest!
First things first – forget about everything from yesterday and the past, you can deal with that at another time, instead concentrate on today. If you are too scared to sort out your accounts or an email system or your filing because of what is already in there, you are NEVER going to get started and the crisis is only going to get worse. So, let’s start from now, set up systems you can start with today and then when you have some time you can dip in and start organizing the mess that you have already got.
Once you have made the commitment to be organized, from this point on, you have won half the battle. This doesn’t just go for business but for your home life too. In fact, if you have a family, you need to be even more organized!
WHY IS IT IMPORTANT?
Organized people have more time
It takes on average, 7 minutes to locate missing paperwork, just think how much time you are losing because your papers are not in order. How about the time you spend chasing up people for non payment or time wasted because you missed appointments or meetings?
Organized people make more money
If you have everything in order then invoices get sent out on time, you know exactly who has and hasn’t paid, bills get paid on time so you don’t get hit with late payment charges, you are less likely to lose money off coupons, gift vouchers and gift money. Plus the universe rewards those who respect their money and look after it carefully.
Organized people are less stressed
They know exactly what kind of situation their finances are in, which enables them to take action when needed. They don’t spend half their time running round like a headless chicken and the other half with their head buried in the sand trying to avoid the chaos. They have more free time to kick back and relax.
Sounds good doesn’t it?
HOW DO I GET ORGANIZED?
Many people are disorganized because they don’t take the time to set up a system. You can use these steps for whatever it is you want to get organized with…
1. Schedule some uninterrupted time so you can sit down and work out exactly when you need to do.
2. Choose one area that you want to tackle and focus on that only, again don’t worry about the past, you are starting from today.
3. Grab a pen and paper and jot down exactly what you need to make the system work for you. I am not a one size fits all type of person, I think tailored systems work much better. You need to think about how to do it, so it is simple, simple is the way forward, if you over complicate things then you will never stick to it. Don’t be afraid to ask friends and family for help with this, ask what systems they use and how it works for them. You can borrow their ideas or just take the bits you like! There are plenty of apps and software to help with organizing, you might need to try a few before you find one that works for you.
4. Once you have a plan, set up the system. This might mean physically with a filing cabinet or digitally with spreadsheets, remember to keep the focus on starting today and keeping it simple.
5. Now the hard part… making it work, laziness is the biggest downfall so you need to make it a habit and remember what I said about making it simple. Every day check in with your new system, you should be able to keep on top of everything if you make it a daily habit. If you have a backlog of filing to do, then add 5 minutes a day to your new habit to file things from last week until you have caught up.
Jo Ebisujima runs My Organized Chaos and Clear The Clutter where she helps busy mamas organize their homes, kids and minds so that they have time for the fun stuff. She is also the author of the best selling book Montessori Inspired Activities For Pre-schoolers.