than learning the tricks and tools for getting organized
and improving your own personal productivity!
Have you ever opened your eyes first-thing in the morning with the best of intentions?
Have you ever said to yourself something like,
or…
“I’m going to get a lot done today
and use my time super-efficiently!”
The 2 Big Benefits of Organizing Your Day Ahead of Time
And then… the day just seems to get away from you, and you were only able to accomplish a fraction of what you had hoped.
Well, it happens to the best of us. It’s partly human nature, and, partly the perils of hectic modern life.
Don’t fret. There are 2 significant benefits to organizing your typical day. I’m going to tell you what they are, with the hope of inspiring you.
Additionally, at the end of this post, I offer some reading suggestions in which highly productive people reveal their secrets for staying organized, that can really empower you to begin a mental de-cluttering process that can improve your life in remarkable ways!
Benefit #1: Being Beautifully Organized Increases Your Prosperity
When you’re organized you don’t waste money buying stuff that you already own, but can’t find.
I’m a big believer that when you get serious about The Universe, The Universe gets serious about you. When you’re organized, you’re better able to recognize and seize opportunities when they present themselves. Organized people are prone to succeed in their careers.
“…organizing is a form of reverence and respect –
for the time you’ve been given
and the physical energy and able-bodiedness you possess”
Benefit #2: Being Beautifully Organized Brings You Serenity
There are few things that bring peace of mind like being organized.
You have more time to spend with your loved-ones and cherished relationships, and what is more: that time you spend together is of a higher quality because you are less frazzled, with more peace of mind and more physical energy.
With these benefits in mind, today I’m sharing with you some of the great thinkers in productivity who have inspired me, and can inspire you to get more done in less time:
Marla Cilley
Cilley wrote a popular book called Sink Reflections. I have recommended this book to most of my friends. Some look at Marla’s bookcover or website and don’t understand why I am big fan; her site is pink, feminine and her community has many midwestern soccer moms. Well, I’m a guy, live in California and I don’t play soccer — yet, while I may not be the “target demographic” of her book, I still know that her guidelines are extremely helpful for anyone who believes an organized home fosters success in other areas. Cilley has this whole philosophy about “sink shining,” which represents the importance of completing small tasks that give you big feelings of accomplishment.
Here’s a short video “from the vault” (back when this site was called Bionic Butler) that talks more about what Cilley’s book can offer — with specific examples:
David Allen
Allen wrote the huge bestseller Getting Things Done and coined a lot of the productivity terms that we all now use.
Allen consults for big companies and some people see his bookcover and worry that it is geared toward the cubicle-corporate culture and won’t apply to them. Well, I say that even if you are a creative type or work from your home office or are a homemaker or entrepreneur, Allen’s book is still for you. You can modify some of Allen’s specific tips to fit your own situation (he would want you to), and his general concepts of how productivity improves the human life apply to everyone.
Kathleen Norris
Stay-at home dads, where is your bestseller? You deserve one. I know there must be a million (or more) of you out there needing helpful resources and a sense of community. I would write that book myself except that I am not a dad. But (as the kids of today say), I feel ya. Until you have your own bestseller, I want to recommend a book that, just like with Cilley and Allen’s books, you might have to look past the cover and look instead to the very soul of the book (which will energize you!): The Quotidian Mysteries.
Quotidian Mysteries is a very short book, and one of my favorite reads of all-time. It talks about laundry, liturgy, and “women’s work” (that last phrase is in ironic quotes). Norris is an esteemed, literary writer and this book deserves a place in your productivity-library. (My copy is highlighted, dog-eared, and much loved.) Norris has a mystical quality to her writing — and makes connections about homekeeping and her own spiritual path.
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Hi: just saw the one-minute videos and they are very much what I was serching for. Have you wrote any books? If yes, please send me a link of where a I can find them? Thank you!
Hi Marco! Yes, we have informational products that help others to improve their daily quality of life and live a healthier lifestyle <– click here, and… thank you for supporting the site!
I can’t believe my luck! I just found your sight today and I’m amazed!
I had no idea others felt the same way. Just last night, I was loseing sleep over whether or not I should leave my old habits of chaos and disorder, and step into this new way of living and thinking.
I had dubbed it in my mind “Beautifully Organized”, and had conscidered some key thouhgts as the basic foundation for what I was conscidering as a major life change:
1) There is no such thing as “Controlled Chaos”, “Creative Clutter” or my favorite “Beating the Deadline”.
I need to call these what they are, disorder, disorganization and procrastination.
2) If I am to live a highly effective life, then everything around me also has to be highly effective. ie…Home, food, finances, health, fitness…ect…
3) I can no longer allow mediocrity to define me, I dont have to be the best there is, but I must strive to be the best that I can be.
4) Orderlyness in the small things will lead to orderlyness in the big things. I must give myself permission to start small.
It’s just like you said, I finally got serious about the Universe last night, and found your websight Today! The Universe sure works fast!! Thanks Dane.
thanks so much for your insightful comment, Sandy.
Lately I’ve been seeing in my mind a visual image of:
the Full Circle of Wellness.
Each spoke on the wheel helps support the wheel’s weight and enables it to move freely. When I look at my own life, I recognize many essential spokes that need to be finely balanced: finances, physical health, human relationships, etc. It’s a holistic approach to extreme health that resonates with me, and it sounds like it’s resonating with you, too!
The forum is a brighter place thanks to your posts. Thanks!
The longer I live, the more valuable time feels. Even small 15-minute windows of time — that used to feel inconsequential — now feel worthy of mindfulness, whether I’m working or playing.
{ twitter = @danenow }
Cleaning top down makes so much sense but for some reason the idea never occurred to me before. I am the kind of person that sees what is directly in front of them perhaps at the expense of the whole picture. When I think about it even my art work is like that–close up and intense.
Great post, Dane. I followed Cilley a few years ago and then “fell off the wagon” so to speak. But, I do get the point about routines.
Often times I find I can’t sit down at home and work on a project, or relax, until the floor is swept and the counters are wiped down.
Things organized in particular ways evoke certain feelings, that’s what art is, learning how to communicate by ordering light or sound etc., in ways that evoke shared human experience.
As I often say, organizing is an extremely healthy way to manage anxiety and relax the mind — it works even better than red wine and dark chocolate!
{ twitter = @danenow }