3 Keys Thursday: 3 Keys to Establishing Consistency

Photo: Dodgerton Skillhause via Morguefile

In yesterday's post, I came down on the side of flexibility when it comes to list-making. But since organizing requires both flexibility and consistency, how do we establish consistency, if that's our goal?

Here are three keys concepts to establishing consistency when it comes to organizing -- and other things as well.

1. Same time. Whether it's making your daily to-list, creating tomorrow's schedule or doing a quick pick-up to get ahead of clutter, doing it at the same time every day can help to establish a habit and good habits are one of the foundations of organization.

2. Same place. Maybe you put your keys or your purse in the same place every day or maybe you're good at using the systems you've set up so that things go in the same place every time. Or maybe you're working hard to find consistent homes for all of the homeless items that keep turning up. All of these things contribute to automaticity, another key part of organization. When we know where things go, we're more likely to put them away instead of just putting them down.

3. Same tool(s) - When we find ourselves using the same tool every time (consistently), that's proof that it works. Once we've established which tools work for us, we can use them everywhere in one form or another. Identifying the attributes of containers that work allows us to quickly find the tools we need to tidy up problem spots.

When it comes to time, flexibility is often the way to go. But, when it comes to stuff, consistency is key. What consistent habits and tools keep you organized?