3 Keys Thursday: 3 Keys to Strategies that Work Across Styles

Dodgerton Skillhause via Morguefile

Yesterday, I wrote about list-making style-by-style. Although organizing works best when we approach it in a manner consistent with our personal and organizational styles, some strategies work well across the styles.

My favorite strategies when it comes to big goals and long lists are the ones that help me focus on what I've accomplished. 

Big 3. This is a new approach for me, relatively speaking, born out of too many goals and too little time. Each day, I jot down three things I want to accomplish before day's end. In order for this strategy to work well, the goals have to be medium-sized. If they're too big, I'll end up feeling frustrated and overwhelmed; too small and I might just miss out on that feeling of accomplishment that comes from checking them all off the list. 

Give it 5. Have an overwhelming task? Set a timer for five minutes and tackle it. You won't finish, but you'll make a dent, and, once you get started, you just might keep going and get more done than you expected. Getting started is often the hardest part, and promising ourselves to work for just five minutes can help us clear that hurdle, 

Backwards to-do list. Some days, we have to make a special effort to focus on our accomplishments. Those are backwards to-do list days -- days when, instead of writing down what we need to do, we write down what we've accomplished as we accomplish it. A load of laundry in the washer? Jot it down. Dinner in the slow cooker? Add it to the list. One shelf in the closet reorganized? Write it down. At the end of the day, instead of having a partially checked-off list, we have a list of everything we've done. It's a small difference in list-making that can make a big difference in motivation.

And, make no mistake, staying motivated is a key part of the process when it comes to the marathon that is getting (and staying) organized.

3 Keys Thursday: 3 Small Steps with Big Payoffs

Dodgerton Skillhause via Morguefile

As a sometimes too busy person who sees organization as a process, I'm a big fan of small efforts with big payoffs. Since I wrote about "small things" yesterday, today seemed like a good time to revisit a few of my other favorite strategies.

Don't put it down, put it away! If you're a drop and run organizer like I am, this strategy is all about reversing that bad habit. Creating one-step systems that make it just as easy to put things down as it is to put them away is an important step in taking this from something we do only occasionally to an organizational habit.

Give it 5! Lacking the time and/or energy to dig into a big task? Set a time and give it five -- minutes, that is. Just five minutes can make a small difference, and sometimes, five minutes turns into ten or more. Often, getting started is the hardest part, and Give it 5! is just a way to clear that hurdle.

Make it better. Ever have a day when you can't seem to find even five minutes to make some progress? Yeah. Me too. These are the "make it better" days. If you pass something that's out of place, pick it up and put it where it belongs. That's it. Just one thing on each pass through. Unless you want to do more, of course.

Organization doesn't happen all at once. Any strategy, no matter how small, that leads to progress keeps us moving in the right direction.

No matter how busy we are.