Overview
Do you know someone whose office looks like the picture above? Many years ago, I had a colleague once who was close – stacks of paper were everywhere, but amazingly, he seemed to know where everything was. As we’ve transitioned to a digital-first society, the physical clutter seems to be better, but it seems like we’re just making more of a mess in the cloud.
Whether it’s looking for something physical like your keys, wallet, or the remote control, or something digital like an email, an important file, or instructions on the web, we spend a big chunk of our day searching. According to a McKinsey article, we spend 432 hours a year searching for stuff 🤯! That sure opened my eyes! In this article, we’ll look at why it’s so valuable to be organized, how to improve at it, and some specific hacks that I’ve found to be really helpful.
Why being organized is so important
There are several reasons why being organized is worth the effort.
It saves a lot of time
The 432 hours/year searching stat and the Benjamin Franklin quotes are about all we need to say here. This is an area where most people can improve. It’s just not productive to spend a lot of time searching for things when a fairly basic approach can pay huge dividends. Not only can you save the time spent searching, but you can save the time spent replacing. Have you ever given up and bought a replacement item or rebuilt a document, only to find the original one afterwards?
It can save you money
If you can’t find what you’re looking for, you’ll likely have to replace it by buying something or spending the time to build it (both of which are costly). Minimize that risk by keeping everything organized, and it can save you quite a bit over time!
It keeps you ready
Do you ever notice how that scrambling to find something is often at the last minute – when you’re in a hurry – the worst time possible? When you keep things organized, you drastically reduce the risk of scrambling to find something at the last minute, which reduces stress that tends to compound when you’re frantic.
It’s good for your reputation
If you saw an office like the one in the picture above, you might not ever come back! Being organized is a valued trait and infers trust, reliance, and intelligence. People are much more likely to trust you with their stuff when you can clearly take care of your own stuff!
It’s just more to deal with
Do you enjoy troubleshooting stuff that breaks as much as I do? Of course you don’t. The more stuff you have, the more maintenance you have. The more space you need. It’s easier to concentrate when there’s less to worry about.
It keeps you from missing out
Have you ever missed an important appointment, event, or deadline because it wasn’t in your calendar? This is a huge part of being organized, from a time perspective. If you have kids or others in your family, it magnifies how important it is to know where everyone needs to be and when.
How to get better organized
There are several tips and techniques for getting better organized. Don’t try to boil the ocean and apply them all at once – try one at a time and aim to get a little better than yesterday.
Think about it more and take it seriously
Simply committing to being better organized – even just a little – is the best place to start. Consider the most important things in your life and what you use most frequently, and organize those first. Be aware of what you’re doing…it’s just good life advice. And do it constantly!
Have a place for everything (and put it back there)
Is there anything more frustrating than not finding a tool where it’s supposed to be? Take the extra few seconds to put it back where it goes. Ask others you live with to do the same – it’s a huge act of respect. Put things where it makes the most sense. That could be all the office supplies in an area of the closet, but it could be a place of convenience. For example, we keep scissors in 3-4 places so it’s convenient. For digital files, try to set up folders logically – by date period, by department, by process, etc. and pin your favorites so you can access them quickly. Consistency is key!
If you don’t use it, get rid of it
This sounds a LOT easier than it is. For one reason or another, we get emotionally or financially attached to things we don’t even use. It’s okay to keep things “in stock” to an extent (i.e. batteries), but be honest with yourself about whether you really are likely to use things. Here’s a good rule of thumb – if you haven’t used something in a year, it’s probably worth purging. A friend of mine has a great approach with clothes. They turn all the hangers the same way once a year. At the end of the year, any clothes that haven’t been flipped (used) are purged unless they are for special occasions. If you struggle with this like most people, ask yourself this one question: “If I were moving to another country, what would I take with me?” This is also a great approach for deciding what to buy in the first place!
Write things down
If you have an idea or something you need to buy, write it down. Keeping lists that sync to the cloud is awesome for tasks, shopping lists, and other items you might have to collaborate on with family, friends, or colleagues. A surefire way to forget important things is to not write them down.
Put everything in your calendar
For the past 4+ years, my calendar has been crucial to keep up-to-date with dozens of customer meetings each week, not to mention all the kids’ activities. If it’s in the calendar, chances are it won’t get done, at least not at the ideal time. Block off time for your priorities, no matter what they are. It’s a great way to hold yourself accountable. It can also help to include “FYI” items, even if you’re not involved with them.
Some great organization time hacks
Getting and staying organized takes some effort, but there are some great ways to do it really efficiently. Here are three great ways to save time staying organized.
Include the date in the file name
In virtually every file name, add the date you created it at the end in a YYYY-MM-DD format (this is key). You may not remember what you named it or where you saved it, but you probably remember about when you created it. Search for the year/month (i.e. 2023-02) and if that doesn’t work, try the couple of months before or after. In most cases you’ll find it quickly!
Use auto-complete/suggestive search
There are several tools that can show recent files as you type to find and open them really quickly. With the Search Recent Files macro in the XLEV8 add-in, you can search the file name and path to find virtually any file in seconds! Take a look if you’d like.
Update your calendar in bulk
It was mentioned earlier how valuable it is to keep a complete, organized calendar. That can often mean a ton of clicks to add all kinds of extra items in the calendar, but it doesn’t have to. Use the recurrence option where it makes sense. Where it doesn’t, you can import calendar items in bulk! Use the Bulk Edit Appointments macro in the XLEV8 add-in to import hundreds of items in one step! Excel allows you to easily leverage copy/paste, filtering, and formulas to build a list of appointments to import. We use this for our kids’ activities each year – school drop-off/pick-up, important dates, and other activities. With two kids, it’s about 600 appointments – that would take all day one at a time, but we import them in bulk! Best of all, we can reuse the template each year and simply adjust the dates slightly! Check it out for yourself!
Summary
Being organized is such a critical way to use your time wisely, save money, and always be ready. It sets you apart and helps others more than you probably realize. Plan ahead, give it some thought, and stick to a process. Attack it a little bit at a time. Write it down. Get rid of the clutter (or stay away from it in the first place). You’ll be glad you did.
What approaches do you take to stay organized? Please share your thoughts in the comments below!
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