The Procrastinator’s Guide to Getting Organized

Photo by Gaelle Marcel on Unsplash

Has “get organized” been on your to-do list for what seems like forever?

If you tend to put it off rather than plunge in or dawdle instead of do, you’re procrastinating. The question is why. The answer is somewhere in that head of yours.

Maybe the thought of getting organized makes you feel overwhelmed, frustrated, or even afraid. It’s hard to get anything done in that state of mind, wouldn’t you agree? The trick is to change how you think and feel about getting organized. I call that “getting your brain in gear.”

Envision success.

Imagine walking into your uncluttered kitchen or office. Envision it. What do you see? How do you feel? What might your family members and friends say to you if they could see your newly organized space? Focus on a successful outcome.

Make it easy on yourself.

Organizing is a decision-making process. We need to make decisions about what to toss and what to keep as well and where to put what. To simplify the decision-making process, develop a few umbrella rules such as:

* If I haven’t used it in a year or more, I will let it go.

* If I love it or think it is beautiful, I will keep it.

* If I could get another one fairly easily and/or inexpensively, it’s outta here.

Forget about perfect.

Believe it or not, perfectionists are some of the biggest procrastinators. You could be one of them if you put things off because 1) you don’t feel you enough time to do the job right, 2) you don’t have the “perfect” tools for the job, 3) you haven’t yet figured how to do the job perfectly, or 4) all of the above.

When you set perfection as your goal, you rarely achieve it because perfection is elusive. Instead, set your goal to simply get the job done as quickly as possible. You can always perfect it later. But don’t be surprised if you discover that “done” is perfect.

Tackle today’s stuff.

Instead of hoping that someday you’ll get organized, start by organizing today’s stuff. For example:

* If you sort through your mail every day, you will be less likely to miss payments on bills or important events.

* If you hang up your clothes when you take them off, you won’t have a whole pile of wrinkled clothes on the floor that will later need dry cleaning or ironing.

* If you get into the habit of putting things down where they belong, you will be able to find them when you need them.

Once you organize your everyday life, you can begin to set aside time to work on selected projects such as decluttering your pantry or organizing your closet.

Start small.

Stop thinking about how you have to get your whole house organizing. Start by decluttering a small space such a drawer, desktop, medicine cabinet, purse, glove compartment or trunk – something that you can complete quickly. Seeing the result of your efforts will increase your confidence in your ability to get organized and motivate you to do it again.

Make it fun.

Consider inviting a friend to help organize your closet in return for your help at his or her home. Organizing is more fun when you have an organizing buddy and four hands make quicker work than two. (You might also consider joining my Organizing Support Group on Facebook where you can participate in our regular “Saturday Shakeout” and other group organizing projects.)

Reward yourself.

Before you begin, establish a reward for getting the job done. For example, you might decide to reward yourself after one hour of organizing by putting your feet up for 15 minutes and relaxing with a good book or your favorite magazine. Or add a bouquet of fresh flowers to your grocery shopping list for planning your meals for the week.

 

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