Some Recent Thoughts on Organization
Introduction
Lately, staying organized for me has been a tough struggle. Every time I try something new—whether it is an activity, technology, or interpersonal relationship—I have found it hard to reach a satisfactory level of order. Oftentimes, my room gets more cluttered, the wires behind my desk become more entangled, and I make promises with people to do stuff which never truly come to fruition. This has made it hard to be presentable to other people as a smart, reliable, and organized individual living in our society.
Recently, I have noticed this weakness of mine, and I have attempted strategies on a path towards self-improvement. In this blog post, I would like to share some of those insights from the perspective of someone who easily gets distracted, which adds clutter to their life.
Why Organization Is Important
Before diving into my personal struggles and solutions, I first want to note how important organization is for quality of life. I highly recommend watching this snippet from the TODAY show here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XR2q45SnNNs
The psychologist, Dr. Jonathan Lassiter, mentions that organization provides the following three main benefits:
- Less stress: You know what you are going to do and when you are going to do it.
- Better sleep: When you are not organized, you tend to leave things for later, which can cause your mind to start racing and lower your quality of sleep. When you are organized, you will have more time to sleep, and your mind will be better prepared to get good-quality rest.
- Better health: When you’re organized, you can plan your meals and exercise more effectively. If a doctor recommends eating more fruits and vegetables and getting 30 minutes of cardiovascular exercise five days per week, you’ll be better equipped to reach these goals when you are organized.
Therefore, according to Dr. Jonathan Lassiter, it is in our best interest to improve the level of organization in our lives since it will ameliorate our stress levels, sleep quality, and overall health.
Understanding My Personal Struggle
So why has organization been such a struggle for me despite knowing its importance? I am someone who has wide, varied interests and likes to commit to things I don’t have time for. In other words, I am a people pleaser whose mind is always racing to find the next fun activity that will excite me.
The activities I enjoy include gardening, learning languages, reading books, helping the needy, spending time with friends and family, playing sports like soccer, cooking, looking at artwork, and working on technology-centered projects. These activities are great and all, but there is a caveat. These activities, for the most part, fall under the category of free time. Free time is frankly a limited resource, and therefore, I oftentimes get hurt by spending too much time engaging in activities I enjoy while neglecting my needs.
My needs fall under the following categories:
- Sleep
- Cleanliness
- Work
- Healthy eating habits
- Exercise
- Personal hygiene
When I overcommit to enjoyable activities, I often neglect these essential needs, which ultimately affects my ability to stay organized and maintain balance in my life.
Tools Which Have Been Life Savers
Recognizing the problem was only the first step. Spending some time to consider various tools that could ease my levels of life organization has been superb. Here are some of those tools:
Calendar
I honestly don’t know why I didn’t use this tool earlier in my life. If I had learned to use a calendar earlier, I would have gotten better grades while in school, and I would have probably had markedly more success in my career. I now use this religiously to schedule events like doctor’s visits, volunteer shifts, meeting up with friends, job interviews, and recreational sporting events. You can use iCal, Microsoft Calendar, or Google Calendar. It honestly doesn’t matter which one you use; they can all be helpful.
Cable Management Kit
Organizing the cables around my desk so that they don’t get scattered or touch my feet has made working at my desk much more enjoyable. I use a cable management kit for all my chargers because it is an inexpensive way to remove unwanted dangling wires and make your desk a useful hub to charge your devices while you write an essay, watch YouTube, play video games, or do work.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B687J37D?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title
Buying a Yoga Mat
Before, I was not very into yoga, but now I realize how many benefits it has. If I am short on time during the day, I almost always can release some of my excess energy on the yoga mat before going to bed. Personally, I find a simple 10–20 minutes of breathing exercises has greatly improved my sleep quality along with any aches and pains from sitting in a chair. I bought the Amazon Basics yoga mat, but there might be better-quality ones out there:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01LP0U5X0?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title&th=1
Creating a New Email to Separate Work and Life
I know people who have been doing this for years already, but I was very slow to do this. I used to have all of my emails managed in the same place, which was a disorganized nightmare. Creating a separate work email has helped me maintain a delegated place for important messaging. This was especially helpful for managing all of my job applications in my most recent round of applying for jobs.
Moving Forward
The journey toward better organization is ongoing, and I’m still learning every day. What I’ve discovered is that organization isn’t about being perfect—it’s about having systems in place that work for you. The tools I’ve mentioned have made a real difference in my daily life, but more importantly, they’ve helped me understand that organization is a skill that can be developed over time.
If you’re someone like me who struggles with staying organized, I encourage you to start small. Pick one area of your life—whether it’s your calendar, your workspace, or your email—and focus on improving that first. Once you experience the benefits of having just one organized aspect of your life, you’ll find the motivation to tackle the rest.
Remember, the goal isn’t to eliminate all the activities you love, but rather to create structure that allows you to enjoy them while still taking care of your essential needs. Organization isn’t the enemy of spontaneity or fun; it’s what makes those things sustainable in the long run.