3 Keys Thursday: 3 Keys Underlying the Success of the Make it Better Approach

Dodgerton Skillhause via Morguefile

Yesterday, I wrote about my "necessity is the mother of invention" strategy of making it better. Beginning as a form of solace ("just make it better"), over the week that followed, it became more.

Part mindset, part mantra and part strategy, "make it better" became the way I looked at piles, the phrase I repeated to myself as I walked past clutter and the steps I took to make progress when I simply didn't have the energy to take anything more than baby steps.

The mindset: Overwhelmed by burgeoning clutter, yet lacking the energy to really "dig in,"  I adopted the mindset that simply making it better was a good starting point. This absolved me from any guilt and set me up to win every time I took even a baby step. Accepting this as a mindset (admittedly, I had little choice) influenced my outlook, too. Instead of seeing every pile as one more thing to do, I saw it as something I could improve upon, even if only a little at at time.

The mantra: How many times have you walked past a pile and inwardly groaned "that's still there?" "Make it better" gave me an answer to that. That's still there? Yep. Make it better. Since picking up just one thing made it better, I found myself groaning less and de-cluttering more.

The strategy: Small successes inspire big successes. Every time I walked past clutter, the only thing I had to do was make it better. Since every item picked up and put away accomplished this, it was easy to feel successful, one item at a time. Watching piles get smaller inspired me, once I was feeling better, to dig into the clutter that predated my illness.

It took getting sick to remind me of a basic idea: setting small, reachable goals is the key to success, whether in organizing or in life. Because I couldn't manage big, impressive goals, I had to stick to a simple one, and, with time, it proved its value as philosophy, mindset, mantra and strategy.

And I have the clear surfaces to prove it.

Organization Extra: 14 Habits

Photo: pippalou via Morguefile

This summer, in preparation for a class I'm teaching in the fall, I'm re-reading some of my favorite books on success (Mindset, Outliers), along with some other fun books I've discovered that tackle topics like perfectionism and procrastination.

When it comes to books on success, those of us who came of professional age in the last two decades of the 20th century think immediately of Stephen Covey's 7 Habits of Highly Successful People. With his private and public victories and focus on putting the most important things first, Covey reminded a generation of overachievers not to forget what really mattered, and, consequently, what truly defined success.

And so it I couldn't help but think of Covey as I read Sarah Klein's "14 Habits of Ultra-Organized People," primarily because her title was so reminiscent of Covey's. Klein's article describes what I've dubbed the "Type A" organizer: the logical, naturally organized person who rarely struggles with the concept and execution of "a place for everything and everything in its place."

If you, like me, are not one of those people, Klein's article is still worth a read. With twice as many points to cover, she gives less space to each, but still manages to cover them all in a way that makes sense, particularly to a generation raised on sound bites instead of self-help books. What I like best is that she discusses the why behind organization, as well as giving consideration to concepts like perfectionism, optimism and taking things one step at a time.

And, whether your organizational style is Type A, drop and run, cram and jam or I know I put it somewhere, letting go of perfectionism, seizing hold of optimism and taking things one step at a time is a pretty effective recipe for successful organizing.