Being Organized

By:  Bob Rogers

Anyone who has seen my basement woodworking shop and my garage, knows that I am a very organized person. Here are some of my thoughts on being organized.

Why have an organized life?

Having an organized life leads to  minimizing wasted time and reduced frustration.

How to stay organized?

The key aspect to staying organized is realizing it is a mental state a person needs to desire and make committed efforts attain and to live with. A person must desire the end result of not just being organized but staying organized. Once you have organization systems in place, being organized will create a more peaceful living and work environment.

Planning to be Organized?

• Getting and staying organized can take serious thinking and planning. Some plans are easy to keep in memory like always putting the car keys in the same spot in the same drawer. Other organizational tasks take very serious thought, planning, and even documentation.

   Examples:

• How to organize incoming e-mail can be as simple as planning:  read it once, reply, forward, and/or save to an in-box folder or delete it. Only keep read e-mails in the in-box if there is a need to address them later (avoid this case if at all possible).  

• How to be organized for moving to a new home takes serious planning.  It is essential to research what needs to be done, and then make a comprehensive written plan that is also a check list to document tasks as they are completed.

Organizing:

• Mail:
  Avoid handling each item more than once. Glancing at the mail, then putting it on the desk or counter  then waiting to read it again later is a waste of time reading it more than once and the pile of mail will likely grow, bills can be lost etc.. Open and read the mail once, then decide :
1. Discard in recycling or trash immediately
2. Reply now: do not wait, do it now
3. Reply later: store in particular spot like a drawer, in, box, folder etc., if it is a bill to pay later, store with other bills, high-light bill due dates as a reminder
4. Save part of the mail such as coupons in a coupon holder

• E-mail:
  Same as mail, don't waste time reading the e-mail, then not doing anything with it. Read it once, then decide:
1. Reply
2. Forward
3. Save to an in-box folder
4. Delete it
5. Only keep read e-mails in your in-box if you need to address them later (avoid this case if at all possible).  

• Computer desktop Icons:  Shortcut icons to files and programs can be useful on your computer's desktop. Once you accumulate more than maybe a dozen, the icons become a waste of time because you have to hunt to find the one you want to click. With Windows 7 learn to pin files and programs to the Start Menu or to the Task Bar or Task Bar programs.
1. Put all of the programs that are used regularly on the Task bar such as Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Internet Explorer,  Chrome etc.. To put Programs on your task bar:
1. Press the Windows (Start) key
2. Click on "All Programs"
3. Find the program, Right click on the program
4. Select "Pin to Task Bar"
2. Drag program shortcut icons to either the Task Bar or to the Start Menu symbol to pin it to these locations
3. Files are different: if you drag a .doc file or a .pdf to the task bar, it will ask to pin it to Word. To access the file, right click on the Work Icon on the Task Bar and select the file or select recently opened files.

• Computer files:  Use folders and sub-folders to categorize and save files. A folder with 2000 photo .jpg files makes it very time consuming to locate a particular photo.
1. Press the Windows (Start) key and D at the same time to open File Explorer
2. Locate the folder to create a new sub- folder
3. Right click on the folder, select New, then Folder: name the folder as it is high-lighted
4. To Rename the folder later, right click on the folder name then select Rename

• Appointments / being on time: Being late to appointments and meetings is often disrespectful, inconsiderate, and stressful. Thorough planning allows appointment times to be met.
1. Have a calendar system to record your appointments such as a paper calendar, Outlook Calender, PDA, or cell phone
2. Put ALL scheduled events on the calender
3. Consider preparation and travel time (including possible traffic and delays) and record when to start preparing to leave and when to leave: this is a key step that many people do not take the time to do and then rush
4. Planning is mastered by always thinking about: Appointment time,  travel time,  leave time, preparation time, and start time

• To-do lists: Simple to-do lists are essential for planning tasks to be completed.
1. Create a to-do list on a paper (notebook, composition pad, spiral pad), "Outlook Tasks To-do List", cell phone, Google Desktop Gadget, Windows Sidebar Gadget, or PDA etc.
2. Plan a system that can be updated easily
3. Mark or remove items when completed, do not keep re-reading
4. Have a set time each day to review, update,and add items to the list

• Work areas: The level of organization of a person's desktop, workbench, or kitchen counter is a key visual indicator of person's skill and attitude towards being organized. One of the biggest wastes of time is looking for missing items on these three surfaces.  
1. Everything that is used regularly should have a specific home location: 
1. Always return tools to the same location
2. Always return knives in the same holder or drawer
3. Always return pens, pencils, scissors to the same holder or drawer
2. Store tools and appliances, that are not used frequently, in another organized area, not on the work surfaces
3. Limit the number of decorative items on these surfaces to maximize the usable areas and minimize the cluttered look
4. Only put a item on these surfaces for a reason such as to be worked with immediately not for  later decision;  decide where it should be placed and put it there immediately

• Work environment organization:      "5S" is a Lean Manufacturing essential organizational philosophy.  5S is used in work environments as a systematic way to approach to organization, the same methods apply to many situations:
• Sort                                                  Eliminating unnecessary items from the work area
• Straightening or Set In Order     Efficient and effective storage locations and methods
• Sweep or Shine                              Clean the work area thoroughly
• Standardize                                    Standardizing best consistent practice in your work area
• Sustain                                           Continually review, improve and sustain these standards