• What is your purpose or desire for wanting to get better organized?
• What is your organizing style?
• What systems are already in place and effectively working that you can use as a model?
• Why did things get this way?
• How can they be fixed?
• What is your disorganization preventing you from having in your home, life or work?  

In this early phase of the process, you must go on a path of discovery.  Your mission is to discover the physical "stuff" that takes up space in your life.  Think about and find the things you have at home, at work, in your car, in your computer, and filling up your calendar.  Be bold and be broad.  Getting organized is about decluttering all facets of your life by clearing out the deadweight and then implementing systems that keep only the things you love, use often, and need.  Thus, being organized has less to do with the way an environment looks than with how effectively it functions. The goal is not to BE organized, but for your life, home, and office to run more smoothly.

This is also the time to seriously think about your goals and priorities. Unclear goals and priorities play a large part in causing physical and mental disorganization.  What is clutter?

Most physical clutter (and often mental clutter too) can be traced back to a delayed decision.  This is a typical conversation with a business client.  "What is that pile of papers on your credenza?" "Oh, I went to a business conference last year and meant to sort through the handouts and give aways. I wasn't sure if I wanted to keep them, so I just put them there."  A typical conversation with a residential client may play out like this. "What is that pile of yarn in the family room? Do you knit?" "No, I haven't in a few years, but was never sure if I would pick it up again, so I kept it."  Unclear goals and priorities. Delayed decisions.

 

To be fair, some clients keep too many things because they do not know what they need and what can safely be discarded.  I primarily see this with paper management and filing systems at home and work.  In those circumstances, asking advice of relevant professionals usually yields tremendous results.  Your professional organizer, financial planner, attorney, insurance agent and accountant will be able to assist with what important papers should be maintained and for how long. 

 

So I challenge you to Discover what you have and want at home, at work, and in life so that you can continue on the DECIDE™ journey.  Next month, we will move onto Step 2, Eliminate.