Organizational Skills
It
seems as though today everyone is looking for a more enjoyable
life of balance. When you get right down to it what you really
need to put balance into your life--is more time. Unfortunately
we can't control how many hours are in a day. And so we must try
to control, instead, how we spend the hours we have. Effective
organizational skills are just one tool that can help.
You might be wondering what organizational skills have to do
with putting more balance into your life. Doesn't becoming
better organized just mean "having a place for everything
and everything in its place"? Big deal. What if you did
have everything in its place? What difference could that
possibly make?
It makes all the difference in the world!
Organizational skills can and do help you to cope with the world
around you. They provide structure, they create a semblance of
order and they reduce daily stress levels. How? Well, there is
SO MUCH in the world today, so much to do, so much to read, so
much to know, so much to learn, so much to choose from, so many
places to go, so many routes to get there-SO MUCH! Without
organizational skills to help us cope with the sensory overload,
with the "so much" we're exposed to constantly, we'd
be overwhelmed and paralyzed by an endless stream of information
to process and decisions to make. Don't believe me? Probably
because you take this area of organizational skills for granted.
Think about it. What if you didn't organize each day? You
wouldn't wake up at a consistent time each morning. You may not
get dressed. You might not make it to work. You'd never have
groceries in the house. You wouldn't get the laundry done. You
may not pay your bills. You probably wouldn't accomplish
anything. You'd spend your days thinking about all the things
you COULD do but you'd probably never get around to doing them.
This area of organization involves making a decision about what
to do and figuring out when to do it.
The organizational skills you apply toward planning each day
insure that you are at least somewhat productive and that you
accomplish what you must. They direct the demands on your
attention and give you some sense of control.
Organizational Skills are also at work when you have large or
time-consuming projects you must accomplish. Thinking about them
in their entirety can be overwhelming and discouraging. But by
breaking these projects down into smaller more manageable pieces
(i.e. organizing them) they don't seem to be as difficult to
achieve. For example, I am in the process of building a web
site. The thought of building a whole site is very intimidating
and, I must admit, it stopped me dead in my tracks for a while.
But I finally took the task apart piece by piece and organized
it. As a result I have registered a domain name, found a web
host, built the shell of the site, and opened a merchant
account. As a whole, the project was overwhelming. Individually,
the tasks involved were small and accomplishable. Suddenly, I
wasn't tackling the whole all at once. I was tackling pieces. It
felt better. And so it was.
Finally, yes, organizational skills are about having "a
place for everything and everything is in its place". When
this has been mastered you don't waste countless hours trying to
find your most recent bank statement or last year's tax return.
You know exactly where they are because they are in their proper
place. Conversely, when a bank statement arrives in the mail or
when the tax return has been completed you know where to put
them away immediately. This action prevents them from lying
around, only to be moved over and over again, whenever they get
in the way. Remember, the less you touch something, the more
time you save. It is true that perhaps the time saved may mean
only seconds here and seconds there. But throughout the course
of a day or a week those seconds add up to minutes and hours.
I learned the importance of this kind of organization when my
son was born. I was overwhelmed by the responsibility of a new
infant. And so the last thing I wanted to be doing was looking
around for blankets, burp cloths, baby wipes and diapers.
Therefore, I kept all of those supplies on hand in the family
room, in his room, in the car and in the kitchen. They were
handy and convenient anywhere I spent time. I always KNEW where
I could find whatever I needed when I needed it. My son is now 4
years old and although the blankets, burp cloths and diapers are
long gone, I still keep a supply of baby wipes in all of the
same locations!
The other supplies have been replaced by "bags". We
have a restaurant bag, a swimming bag, an airline bag and a
shopping bag. Each bag remains stocked and ready to go with
toys, nacks, baby wipes, or whatever is appropriate for the
activity for which they're packed. Because of this, I don't have
to spend time packing bags each time we go out. They're already
done. All I have to do is grab one and go! And the cost of all
of these various bags is minimal. They're inexpensive, vinyl
bags purchased from Target or Wal-Mart.
I learned to do the same thing with cleaning supplies. For
example, each bathroom has a full complement of all of the
products I use to clean it. Consequently, I don't have to lug
Windex bottles around the house and I always know where my
cleaning supplies are. It's just easier and even a little bit
quicker that way. And if you think about it I'm really not
spending any more money on the supplies I use. I do have more,
but I'm also not buying them as frequently.
"A place for everything and everything in its place."
Organizational skills are the keystone to having a more balanced
life. They work hand in glove with Conscious Prioritization and
Time Management to help you design a more fulfilling life your
way!
Jacqueline
McLaughlin Hale is a CPA and the editor of "The Balanced
Woman" a monthly ezine. It contains parenting tips,
household hints, ideas for pampering yourself and more.
Subscribing is easy and FREE. Just send a blank TheBalancedWoman-subscribe@onelist.com
She is also the author of The Woman's Guide to Resumes and
Interviewing, Lessons From a Toddler and 77 Ways to Pamper
Yourself. All of these publications are available through AJAY
Publishing at: http://angelfire.com/sd/jobsearchforwomen.