Anxiety is caused by a lack of control, organization, preparation, and action.

—DAVID KEKICH

Organize

Create Order

Organize, arrange, marshal, methodize, systematize, order. We are here because we are trying to create order in our lives. We have talked so far about where we currently are through self-reflection and self-examination and assessment, then we have talked about where would like to go with planning and goal setting. We then talked about why we haven’t done those things yet with procrastination, and then we talked about our patterns of behaviors that will move of closer to those goals, positive habits, or negative behaviors and addictions that can keep us from those goals. Now let’s talk about some more practical applications in getting starting and getting organized in our endeavor. Everything we have discussed is of the essence of creating order.

“Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”

—Genesis 1:28

The first commandment to man was to create order. And that is what we have been starting to do for the past 6 weeks. So, let’s begin to implement some of the things we have learned and start by cleaning our room. Literally, we are going to clean our rooms.

We can’t have an ordered, organized and productive life, if the physical space we live in does not reflect this. If you disagree with me. I challenge you to argue your point. Can you truly be your optimal self while you are living in chaos? Can your life truly be ordered if your house is a mess?

We will discuss a few best practices for organization your life in both time and space.

Time

Have you ever forgotten about an event, meeting or appointment? I have, and it was because I was not practicing good time keeping habits. Organizing our time is really how we organize our actions in time, in relation to each other. Time management is action management.

Calendar

Your calendar should be sacred. What goes here, anything that must be done at a specific time or day. Meetings, appointments, special days.

Schedules

Routine time blocks of regular and repeated activities, usually for work or school.

Routines

I like to think of schedules as something like a small-scale version of a routine. Also, can be thought of as a habit stack.

Open Loops

Project Lists: This should be a list of everything you need to do, that requires more than one action item, such as “paint the fence”.
Next action items (To-do list): Any discrete and easily definable task, such as call grandma and wish her happy birthday. Tasks that do not need to be done at a specific time, even if they do need to be completed by a particular deadline.

Regulars Reviews

Regular reviews of your calendar and any of your organizational tools or practices is the key habit here that you want to build. Be sure to set time aside every week to review your open loops, projects, meetings and appointments to review them and to remind yourself, and perhaps your wife of the things that you need to or even want to do.

Space

This is the physical space where you work, where you live, and where you play. This is our pfhysical environment. If you recall from the previous weeks on habits, our physical environment strongly influences who we are, and how we behave. If we want our life to be organized and orderly we need to shape and optimize our environment for this.

From the great book Unstuff your Life by Andrew J. Mellen, Mellen describes his guiding principle of organization as “One Home for Everything and Like with Like”. If you can’t find a home for something you own, perhaps you don’t need it in your life to begin with. I highly recommend reading his book for more practical examples and methods for physically organizing your stuff.

Money

It’s not just a budget it’s also how you think about money. How we spend our money, ie. buying too much unnecessary stuff, can make our physical space all the more chaotic and cluttered, and it is here a clear example of how being organized or disorganized can be reflected in multiple areas of your life. Set a budget, give yourself spending limits for each category.

How I do my budget

I have separate checking account for the following categories.

Bills (fixed)

This is where all my income is deposited and where all my regular bills, member ship fees or subscription services are deducted. I generally do not use this account for discretionary purposes. My mortgage is broken up into biweekly payments allowing me to avoid asymmetry in my monthly balance, also more frequent payments allow for faster repayment of any debts.

Groceries (discretionary)

All food items, hygiene and all household cleaning and consumable supplies.

Spend (discretionary)

Clothes, appliances, tools, toys, etc. All non-food, “stuff” discretionary spending.

Gas (discretionary)

Gasoline for my vehicles. If you want to get even more fancy, have a gas card for each of your seperate vehicles.

Fun (discretionary)

Eating out, entertainment, trips, vacation.

I then have labeled by debit cards and only use each card for it’s intended purpose, this more easily allows me to track and limit spending for each item, as well as reviewing how I have spent money historically. I have automatic deposits set up for each account, corresponding with when my payhecks hit my bank account, so that each is replenished on a regular and predictable basis.

Discussion

What are your thoughts on organization? What has your relationship been towards being organized? Is being organized something that generally comes easy to you or something that is more difficult for you? Share any best practices for organization.

Homework

Clean your room and see what happens.

Week 7: Organization

Organize

Discussion

Homework

Further Reading