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Having trouble getting organized after the New Year?
Q: One of my big New Year's resolutions was to get organized. Well, it's February and my office is still cluttered, and it's even more difficult to get anything done. What can I do?
A: Many people vow to get organized in the new year, but fail to follow through a few weeks later and get discouraged. That's because wanting to "get organized" is very vague — not to mention overwhelming. Obviously, it took some time for your office to get cluttered, the paper piles to grow and your "To Do" list to lengthen. It's not practical to try to get everything organized at once.
First, you should come up with more realistic goals and stretch them out over at least a couple of weeks. For instance, you might resolve to weed out 28 file folders in February — one file folder a day. Or maybe you could aim to cross off just two tasks a day from your "To Do" list. That way, in just a couple of weeks, you should be able to cross off nearly everything. You might even resolve to recycle 10 sheets of paper you no longer need every day.
These are all highly attainable goals that will help steer you back on the course to organization. Be more specific in your resolutions, and you'll be amazed at how easy it is achieve them. If you keep up with your mini–goals on a daily basis, you'll be able say "I did it" well before we ring in 2008.
First, you should come up with more realistic goals and stretch them out over at least a couple of weeks. For instance, you might resolve to weed out 28 file folders in February — one file folder a day. Or maybe you could aim to cross off just two tasks a day from your "To Do" list. That way, in just a couple of weeks, you should be able to cross off nearly everything. You might even resolve to recycle 10 sheets of paper you no longer need every day.
These are all highly attainable goals that will help steer you back on the course to organization. Be more specific in your resolutions, and you'll be amazed at how easy it is achieve them. If you keep up with your mini–goals on a daily basis, you'll be able say "I did it" well before we ring in 2008.
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