How to Get Organized – Focus on 3 Core Areas

Next to blogging, my greatest passion is organizing. To get organized you must focus on 3 core areas.

I believe that organization is truly the key to success.

You can have all the smarts in the world – but if you can’t deliver then you are a smart person that isn’t getting anywhere.

To be able to deliver, you NEED to be organized. It makes the job much easier.

Too often I see people, myself included, miss great opportunities in life because of disorganization.

How many times have you missed

• spending time with your family,
• meeting an important deadline,
• paying a bill on time,
• finding a special photo or object

all because you weren’t organized enough?

Throughout my life I have gone through phases of being on top of my game with everything in order and being at rock bottom in total chaos.

Let me tell you, the top of the game is a much better place to be.

That is why I am passionate about organizing and why I like to share information, ideas, and products that make life a little more orderly.

If you, too, feel that you are always a step behind trying to play catch up – I hope you will follow along with me.

Related Post: 10 Ways to Create an Organizing Mindset

Get Organized: The Three Core Focus Areas

When it comes to organizing and productivity, there are 3 core areas on which to focus:

• organizing your space
• organizing your information (and your finances)
• organizing your time.

Organize Your Space

If your mother has ever said “A place for everything and everything in it’s place?” raise your hand.

There is a deep truth to that statement.

Too often we become disorganized because we have too many things that are – shall we say – homeless.

The logic is simple, if every single thing you own has a “home” you can easily put it away.

Physical clutter really does add a lot of noise to life.

When you are bombarded with stuff – all you see are things to do. “Oh – I should put that away.” or “That is a project that I need to start (or finish).” etc.

How can we expect to relax as we sit smack in the middle of our to-do list every evening?

To get organized you must declutter your space.

Organize Your Information

Information overload is real, my friends.

Whether you are surrounded by piles of physical paper or your computer is crammed with digital files – you have information to sort and organize.

We live in an information explosion and we need strategies to deal with it all – email, statements, receipts, courses, eBooks, you name it.

The thing is, if your information isn’t organized – then you can quickly spiral out of control.

Missed appointments, bills, and deadlines not only cost you time – they also cost you money.

And if your finances aren’t organized it has hard to save and build wealth.

Whenever I find ideas and products to help with digital organization or budgets and finances, I like to share them here as well.

Related Posts:

• Organize Your Important Documents the Easy Way
• How to Name Your Digital Files So You Can Find What You Need

Organize Your Time

Time management has been around through the ages – Arnold Bennett said it way back when in his book How to Live on 24 Hours a Day which was written in 1910.

We only had 24 hours back then, and we still only have 24 hours today.

So, what you do with that 24 hours is really important.

For me, time management and productivity is always a work in process.

I recently discovered Michael Hyatt’s Full Focus Planner and I can honestly say that it has helped my quite a bit in how I structure my days.

I have also tried other planners in the past – all of which are useful, like:

• the Erin Condren Life Planner
• Planner Pad and
• Franklin Planner

At the end of the day (see what I did there :-)) it doesn’t matter what planner you use – as long as you actually use it.

More Helpful Organizing Resources

•  10 Organizing Tasks You Need to Squeeze Into Each Day
• How to Conquer the Overwhelm When You Have Too Much To Do
• See all my favorite organizing products on Amazon

Are You Ready to Get Organized?

Now you probably understand why I feel that organizing is the key to success and why I am so passionate about the subject.

If you’d like to get tips, ideas, product recommendations, and other organizing goodness – please subscribe to receive the Almost Practical Organizing Newsletter using the form below.