Some people find organization—which is an expression of external self-discipline—boring. Others find it an interesting concept, but don’t put any efforts establishing it, or just don’t know how.

Why does organization matter?

To organize is to put each thing where it belongs, and keep each thing where it belongs. It is actually an exercise of focus and purpose. You keep things in front of you that you need today, and put away what you’ll only need in the future. When you do that, each element of your environment is there for a purpose, and not simply because it was left there mindlessly. This also contributes to more headspace and psychological wellbeing.

Imagine an office or bedroom where you look around and only see items that you need to use daily, or that you are using right now. Such an environment helps you stay present and focused. There are no items reminding you of leftover tasks. Your mind is freed from the burden of cognitively processing multiple things that are irrelevant to your purpose right now, just to find that one thing that you were looking for.

Organization is the practice of optimizing your physical space, digital space, schedule and priorities, so that you can be more focused, calm, and effective.

The opposite of organization is chaos. It makes your mind busier, slower, and less clear. It takes more energy to navigate chaos than it takes to navigate order. Tasks take longer to complete in a chaotic environment than they take in a structured environment.

Exercise

What area of your life needs to be more organized? How would that benefit you? Schedule an hour on your calendar to tidy it up, and find out!

Going Deeper

If you need one-on-one help with digital decluttering, or decluttering your life in general, contact me for coaching.