A Better You in the New Year—Get Organized!

Being disorganized can make one feel like a failure. Organizing is a skill that can be learned and developed; make a New Year’s resolution today.

New Year's ClockMaking a New Year’s resolution to get organized? Start by making a plan.

The New Year is here—which means it’s time to make some resolutions. You might be looking around your home or office, resolving to get organized. Great! The key to keeping that resolution is planning how you’re going to get organized. Being organized is more than just cleaning up: it’s setting up systems and habits to keep life’s clutter from returning.

Being organized isn’t always easy—if it were, we would live (and work) in a perpetually organized world! Getting organized takes mental and physical effort, valuable time, and resources. It can feel daunting.

Take heart: you’re not alone. Clients I’ve helped get organized tell me that the feeling of being disorganized at work makes them feel unproductive and unsuccessful, even though they may be top performers and, by many external standards, huge successes. Still, being disorganized can lead to tremendous feelings of failure.

Now for some good news: you can get organized. Getting organized is a skill, and like any other skill, it’s one that can be learned and developed. I’m constantly surprised when people, with crestfallen expressions, tell me that they feel like they “should be good at organizing” or “should have great systems for being organized”—even though hardly anyone is taught in any formal way how to organize. Without any training or skills development, how can one be good at something?

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