The term organon and ergon both trace roots to Aristotle. Simply because the root words can be traced back to Aristotle does not mean that he invented the concept of organization. He merely put it in words. As previously stated, organization is a skill. It is not a hobby, an activity, an exercise. Organization is something that you are bad or good at. It is something that you have or you lack. It can be addicting (hence people who vacuum the couch right after you stand up), but it is one of the easiest things in the world to lack because it takes individual effort to maintain an organized lifestyle, and most people run from things that take effort like Forrest Gump ran from the bullies. Only we don't see our lives break free in a marvelous display of happiness, rather we see the crumble and disarray that accompanies an unorganized lifestyle.
I hope that by now, you realize just how big organization is. It can make or break you and because of that, here are some common tips on how to stay organized.
(1) Date it!
Get a calendar. Get one that is big enough that you can put on your door, wall, fridge, table, etc. Basically any place that you will constantly see it is good enough. So you go out and buy a calendar. Congratulations but you are only halfway there. Use it! Write down important dates, things that you need to do, deadlines that need to be met. Many people will take it one step further and carry around a miniature version of their calendar on their person at all times. I am all for this. I have programmed my calendar to correspond with my iPhone, and so at all times, I know what I have going on on which days. Others will carry around a planner or other device that allows them to stay on top of things. Either way, one of if not the most important tips on how to stay organized is to get a calendar and to date it!
(2) No more Piles
I truly do not understand why people get into the habit of walking into their houses, apartments, or dorms, and just throwing their stuff everywhere. I cannot belittle on this topic, because I was once one of those people and probably still am as my parents would be quick to tell you. This is one of the worst things that a person looking to be organized can do. It becomes almost impossible to keep track of things, and as time goes on, we start to form little piles of things here and there. They look so innocent, but really, they can be your downfall. These piles of crap (yes, although it may hurt to admit for some, most of the material in these piles is junk) may seem to be a relatively decent way to organize things, but it is not! These piles come from our fear of throwing things away. We do not need to hold on to anything and everything, and so make a decision and stick with it. If you decide that you really can't throw some things out, do not make a pile of things that you really can't throw out; rather put them in a box/container and label them: trash in a month or whatever time frame. Then when that time frame arrives, go back through the contents of that container and re-evaluate their importance.
3)To-Do, To-Do
One of the best ways to stay organized is via the To-Do list. These simple and efficient lists will save you a lot more time and effort than you would think. By making a list, you are reasserting to yourself the things that are important for you to accomplish. I would even take your To-Do list a step farther and prioritize the tasks on your list. By ranking your items on a basis of importance or necessity for completion, you now have a strategy for how you want to spend your time accomplishing your tasks. Like all good advice though, To-Do lists can be a negative thing is used incorrectly. Try to stray away from making too many lists, or making them too often. Spiderman's dad once told him, "With great power comes great responsibility." Well, I like my own version and how it applies to a To-Do list. With great numbers, come too many responsibilities. If you make five lists, each with ten items, you will not know where to start and chances are you will end up forgetting something along the way. Make your lists simple and concise, and when you finish one list, you can move and make another.
4)Mail Time!
Basically put, open your mail everyday! Whether that's actual postage mail, or e-mail, you will find that you are so much more organized when you open your mail every day. We start getting into problems when we let mail sit, or we don't check our emails on a daily basis. We begin missing opportunities, being late on deadlines, and we feel like we are always rushing. So stay ahead of the clock. Make a set time each and every day that you check your email, or open the mail after it has been delivered. For college students, email is the primary form of communication, and once you miss something, there is no getting it back.
5) The Avalanche
Do not get overwhelmed when the going gets tough. Organization is something that is done best in small amounts. People start to get stressed when they try and take on tasks that are way too big to take on at one time. Pick one thing that needs to be organized and start from there. After that is done, move on to the next. This method is similar to the To-Do list method. If you take the time to organize things in increments, you will find that little by little, your entire life will begin to run a bit more smoothly. When people "bite off more than they can chew," that is when they see The Avalanche of stress and pressure coming down on them. They being to question why they are even trying to organize something so big, and they soon begin to feel the heavy weight of realizing how unorganized they really are. So please, for my sake and yours, take small bites and chew, chew, chew. You know, we are supposed to chew each individual bite of food 20-30 times before swallowing. If only everyone took this method to organization..
As stated previously, organization is a skill that you will use for the rest of your life, and so why not get a head start while you can. Not only is organization important in school, but in almost every single facet of our lives. So even if you are swimming in a mound of junk and debris, just keep swimming and start working on things from the inside out. We cannot expect someone to come in and organize our lives for us. So step up, grab your calendar, your color coordinated sticky notes, and get at it.
I know that for the observant ones, you would have enjoyed how I color coordinated my five main topics today. For those of you who didn't notice, it's okay, but you may want to go back up to the beginning and read this again. If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to post them, and I will get back to you.
Closing thought for the day, "The secret of all victory lies in the organization of the non-obvious." ~Marcus Aurelius
Shout-out to NW 333 and the Rock
Signing off,
JD
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