Having spent yesterday alone - and my typical alone day consists of doing nothing - I am now motivated to get organized so I can face myself in the mirror (and my gf) at the end of this weekend knowing I am an accomplished individual.
So I poured another cup of coffee, spent a few more minutes on the sofa, watched TV about the war in Gaza, Obama's day on the train, the uplifting of the US Airways plane intact from the dingy and disgusting Hudson River, NYC real estate, surfed the web looking for places to sell my art to get famous, and googled articles about getting organized!
I found and inspiring article of which I have gleaned the best of it to motivate me - now that I am motivated I have decided to spend another 15 to 30 minutes contemplating the best of the best in the hopes that it will inspire the next task to organizational success for the day, the week, the month, the year and the rest of my life which hinges on:
Making to do lists.
Make a to do list for your day. Your list should never be more than 5 items long, or else you're taking on too much and setting yourself up for failure. Mark one or two of those items as things you absolutely must get done that day, and pursue those tasks relentlessly until you get them done.
Make a to do list for the week. Appropriate items here would be: Grocery shopping, fix air conditioner, etc. Draw from this list to make your daily to-do list. A white board or board with erasable markers can help to remember all one has to do every day, or long term goals.
Make a to do list for the month. This list would have more general tasks like: Birthday gift to Jill, get car serviced, dentist appointment. Draw from this list to make your weekly to-do list.
Make a to do list for your life! Drastic, yes, but why not use this time to rethink your life and where it's going? Getting organized is all about priorities, and it never hurts to get your ducks in a row.
And above all else-
1. Know what "organized" looks and feels like. Organized spaces also feel calm, open, and welcoming.
2. Use timers. Set a timer for how long you think a cleaning organizing task should take then work like crazy to get it done in the allotted time.
3. Ziplock bags are your friends. Store away items in plastic zip lock bags. Place the bags in closets, desk drawers, cabinets, and other places. Zip lock bags are convenient, useful, and cheap, so use them!
4. Follow through. There's no point in making a to-do list if you don't discipline yourself to complete the tasks you've assigned yourself. There are many ways to stick to your to-do list. Stop procrastinating, remove or ignore distractions, and hop to it!
As I set out to scribble to-do lists, contemplate my ducks, and pack them tightly in my new found friends - zip lock bags which will be discretely placed like easter eggs throughout my apartment before the egg timer expires - I shall remember where I came from before the to-do lists and zip lock bags pushed me in the direction of my dreams- pressing ever onward and upward into the stratosphere of a lifetime of organizational success.
