6 things organized people do every day

There seems to be quite a lot of people who manage to get things done despite having very busy schedules. People who consider themselves disorganized might wonder if these ultra-organized people might have this one-size-fits-all approach to making sure that things are in order and that they are on track.

Are you a disorganized individual?

While science says disorganized people are often considered intelligent, these people often feel like they can’t get anything done. Their to-do lists, while present, keep on piling up and they don’t seem to enjoy life. They struggle to keep focused and they often feel tied up with their growing list of things to do. But what characteristics make up a disorganized person?

One sign of a disorganized person is that they create master to-do lists. Many aspects of their lives are compiled into one huge list. To organize your life, categorize your things to do. Then, start from there. That way, your mind is less cluttered and you can start getting things done.

Another sign of a disorganized person is avoiding to develop necessary habits such as creating specific daily routines, following your to-do list, prioritizing tasks, planning ahead, reading and addressing emails on a daily basis, and motivating yourself.

Lastly, if you keep putting things off for later, that makes one a major procrastinator. Coming to a decision is delayed, things tend to pile up quickly which leads to feeling very overwhelmed.

Benefits of staying organized

If there is one important benefit of staying organized, it’s that it greatly reduces stress. And having an efficient system in organizing has a wealth of health benefits. This fact alone makes cleaning up your home or your life greatly worth it.

Here are four benefits why it’s great to stay organized:

• Makes good use of your time. Staying organized allows you to focus on your priorities.

• You are more in control of your schedule than the other way around. Research in occupational health reveals that the more in control you are of your schedule, the more job satisfaction and less stress you are likely to experience.

• Staying organized gives you more mental energy as you worry less about whether you forgot something or are procrastinating on an important project or task. You can rest easy knowing that the most important task had already been prioritized.

• You’re more aware of how balanced or out-of-balance your day or week is. On a macro level, you’re aware of your work and life balance as well.

Habits of organized individuals

If the benefits of staying organized don’t sound good enough, there’s the fact that organized people are not born, but they are built. This is according to John Trosko, founder of OrganizingLA, a Los Angeles-based organizing firm. Trosko also said that “the people who emerge as ‘organized’ use different tools and methods to accomplish their goals and priorities in life.” Trosko adds that these systems turn up to become habits.

Here are some of their habits that you can pick up to stay organized:

They seek out tools

Organized people like finding tools that can help them make the most out of their time. Timers help to visualize the passage of time and tasks are broken down into smaller chunks and take short breaks in between. This alone helps in increasing overall productivity.

They set priorities

Organized people have a clear sense of what is important. They know what their goals are, what needs to be done when, and what can be put off.

They have less stuff

Productivity expert Hillary Rettig said that the golden rule of organization is to have little as possible to organize. Rettig says that the people who have the least things to do already figured out the core of their professional and personal missions and they eliminate everything else.

They know their weaknesses

The most successful people have weaknesses, but they are successful because they are aware of those shortfalls and do not let things get in their way. Keep an agenda if you tend to go off-topic in meetings, or if you lose track of reading articles, set aside 30 minutes a day for reading.

They do the undesirable tasks first

The longer you put off a task that you don’t want to do, the more it hangs over your head and distracts you when you’re doing things that you enjoy. Tackle the difficult things to do first thing in the morning so you have more space to handle everything else throughout the day.

They create a thorough to-do list and stick to it

Create a comprehensive to-do list at the start of the week and re-prioritize items as they come up. Admit it, nothing feels as good as checking off one item from your list.