Quote:
Originally Posted by impaul99  This article gives the "how", but that isn't my problem. My problem is more along the lines of "why", as in "Why get organized?". |
A post from lifehack yesterday:
How Disorganization Costs Money
In my experience, organization of
stuff is to allow you to find the stuff, whilst simultaneously having enough space and time to do things. So I'd say the answer to the (for example) book and glass questions depend on you. If you put a book down on the coffee table, will you be able to find it again? Is your desk large enough that when you set the glass down on it you'll be able to keep working? If those answers are yes, then don't worry about cleaning up any more. (Although often the problem is not the single book on the coffee table, but the fact that you can't find that book under all the other books, bills, junk mail, water glasses, and so on. Most people have room for one glass on their desk; few have room for 20 glasses.)
IMHO the more important organization aspect is time and task management. How much time do you spend looking for the books you needed to write this essay? How much time do you spend re-thinking the outline for the essay because you thought it all out yesterday but didn't write it down? How often do you spend all day working on something, only to have a boss/friend/spouse/teacher call and ask you about something else that you
promised you'd have done today and then forgot? How much time do you spend thinking, "I should be productive" but then can't figure out what to do next? How much time walking back and forth because you didn't bother to gather all the materials you'd need ahead of time?
Your answer to those questions may be "None." But it may be "more than you think". I don't remember if it's in the post Steve linked for you or another, but he recommends doing a trial. One day, go through your day as usual. At the end of the day, see how you did. (Maybe use
David Seah's points system) The next day, plan at the beginning of the day what you need to get done and in what order you will do it. At the end of that day, review what you got done. If you're one of many people that got a lot more done on the planning day, and a lot of what you got done was more useful, then
that's why you should organize.
According to some guru, planning gives you time-returns of about 5:1. So 10 minutes spent planning will save you an hour of walking back and forth, redoing work, and so on.
But give it a shot and see what you think.