Stephen Covey Started It

7 habits of Organized Living

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.

It is as if he asked himself this question:

"What are these highly effective people doing on a consistent basis that contributes to their effectiveness?

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.

When behaviours of highly organized people are examined it is apparent that they too have certain habits that produce an organized life. It is these habits that form the foundation for the body of knowledge used by the professional organizer.

Taking a lead from Stephen Covey then we can ask the same question about how to be organized.

"What are these highly organized people doing on a consistent basis?

Here are the 7 habits that you can establish to achieve organized living.

Create a place for everything...........then put everything in its place - You probably learned this in kindergarten! The hall mark of organized living!

Make timely decisions! -procrastination is the enemy of organized living

Regularly edit stuff - get rid of stuff that no longer contributes to your life

Control what comes into your space - control your shopping habits

Set boundaries and learn to say no

Set priorities - people are always more important than things

Set up systems for regular everyday activities like sorting the mail, paying the bills, doing laundry, picking up toys, grocery shopping etc, etc.

Obsessed with How To Be Organized?

Stephen Covey did not mention in any of the 7 habits that the effective people he studied were perfect or that they even strived for perfection.

Good habits are not supposed to make you perfectly organized they are supposed to help you establish and maintain control of your life.

This concept of being in control rather than having everything neat and tidy looking is illustrated in the story of my friend Betty.

If you are wondering how to be organized the answer is as simple as developing these 7 habits for organized living.

Now that you are aware of the 7 habits of highly organized people, it is up to you to commit to their consistent application.

Everyone is always in the process of getting organized, just be aware that you can never really get there because perfection is not an achievable goal!

A reasonable amount of control however, is an achieveable goal for organized living.

What is Organized Living?

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How to Organize Your Life