Stephen Covey was aware of Simple Truth #3.........who knew?

The now famous author Stephen Covey made an observation that some people just seemed to be more effective than others and set about to make an inquiry into the reasons for their effectiveness.

Through the research for his now famous book "7 Habits of Highly Effective People" he came to the conclusion that highly effective people achieve their success because they practice certain behaviours regularly. These behaviours were so easily done and so automatic to these people that they were habitual.

In other words Stephen Covey noted that highly effective people had developed habits that contributed to their success.

In other words he set out to understand their behaviour just as was suggested in simple truth # 3!

Stephen Covey knew that if the habits of these effective people could be studied and understood then other people could learn these same behaviours and if practiced consistently these behaviours would become habits.

The end result? More consistent predictable results and that is control.

Following Stephen Covey's lead, the behaviours of highly organized people can be examined to reveal that they also have certain habits that produce an organized life. It is these habits that form the foundation for the body of knowledge used by a professional organizer.

These principles can can guide your actions no matter what process or space you are trying to get under control. All that is needed is awareness and consistent application.

But please do not get rigid or obsessive about this. Control is achievable without obsession. In fact if all these principles are not followed all the time there are no organization police to charge you with an infraction and you will not have to go to the "court of organization". So please provide yourself some room as you flex your organizational muscles.

As explained in the “three simple truths”  page on this website, organization is a process. We are always the process of becoming more organized. Some of us just have to practice a little longer than others!

Each principle can be explored more thoroughly by clicking on the link.