Getting Organized On Purpose
Brought to you by Joan Kosmachuk, Professional Organizer
and Personal Life Coach

“May the inner and outer man be one.” Socrates

Perhaps one of your New Year’s resolutions or one of your current goals is to “Get Organized.” Sounds great, doesn’t it? But if you are just going to get organized for the sake of getting organized, well, what’s the point? In fact, where’s the motivation? What principles will direct your organizing efforts and how will you know when you’ve reached your goal? How organized do you have to be to be well, organized?

You see it’s not enough to get organized for the sake of being organized. You need to have a BIGGER goal. Why is it that you keep feeling the need to get organized? Are there problems that come to mind that you feel could be alleviated by becoming more organized? Are there other life goals that could be achieved if you were more organized in a particular area? Where does your desire to be organized fit in with your life values? How would being organized help you with your mission or purpose in life? Do your spiritual beliefs match and support how you currently handle your time and possessions? Do you see any contradictions that you’d like to work out? Does getting organized mean letting go of the past so you can embrace the present? Would getting rid of clutter free you to embrace something new in the future?

Here are three steps toward helping you achieve your organizing goals:

1. Identify your bigger goal(s):

• Identify the areas of your life/home/office you feel need to be better organized.
• Identify your primary reason (s) for wanting these areas to be organized.
• How will your life and spaces be different/better if you achieve this goal?
• Is that difference important enough to you to motivate you to do what it takes to achieve this goal?

In order to reach any goal, you must look at where you are now, at where you are going, and plan specific and realistic steps to reach your goal. Decluttering takes time. Sorting through your stuff takes mental energy. Hauling stuff away to donate or holding a garage sale or even passing things off to your friends, is an effort. Dealing with the things left, takes thought and energy.

2. Implement a plan of action:

• Create an action plan with all the steps you need to take to get the job done.
• Break each step into smaller, more manageable tasks.
• Identify any resources you may need.
• Identify any obstacles that may prevent you from implementing your plan and ways you will overcome those.
• Set aside specific times in your daily/weekly/monthly schedule for your organizing tasks.
• Choose an accountability partner who will help to keep you on track.
• Don’t quit until you’ve achieved your goal.

3. Keep the end in sight:
A final step in reaching our goals is to keep the end in sight. For a great measurement tool, try using the phrase: "I'll know my (insert name of space or system) is organized by...”

I borrowed one of my bigger goals from Anne Morrow Lindbergh.

“I want a singleness of eye, a purity of intention, a central core to my life that will enable me to carry out all [my] obligations and activities as well as I can... I would like to achieve a state of inner spiritual grace from which I could function and give as I was meant to in the eye of God.” Gifts from the Sea

Having an organized home and a simplified lifestyle frees me from outside distractions. I know that the complete answer is not to be found in dealing with the outside, that the final answer is on the inside, but somehow dealing with the outer world frees me to discover what’s inside.

There are hundreds of good reasons for getting organized, but the most important reason is yours!!

If you need help with setting your organizing goals, making an organizing plan and/or getting organized, consider getting professional input by hiring a professional organizer.

To hire the services of Joan Kosmachuk, please email your request to info@simpleeffects.com or call 617-784-0707.