We are what are habits are and that includes organizing.  Getting and staying organized can be a challenge especially if you are working full-time, running a business, or trying to get kids to practice on time.  Nevertheless, there are number of actions you can take at this very moment to enhance your organizational habits. We’re going to explore six good habits for achieving better organization.

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WHAT IS A HABIT?

A habit is a routine or behavior that is regularly repeated and tends to occur unconsciously. Habits are often formed through repetition and reinforcement, and they can be both positive and negative.

Positive habits contribute to personal development and well-being, while negative habits can be detrimental to one’s health, productivity, or overall happiness.

Understanding how habits work can help make positive changes to your life by intentionally creating and maintaining beneficial habits or breaking bad ones.

Cultivating good habits can contribute to personal growth, increased efficiency, and overall well-being.

As kids, every night our mom would ask us:

“Have you washed your face and brushed your teeth?”

Even now, I find it impossible to go to bed without doing these tasks.

HABITS LIFECYCLE

In 2018, I read Charles Duhigg’s “The Power of Habit” and found it incredibly powerful. If you haven’t read it yet, I highly recommend it; it provides insights into understanding yourself and why you do what you do.

There is a cycle of life when it comes to habits.  First, there is a trigger or cue, then there is a routine, and finally a reward.

The cue is a signal that initiates the habit, the routine is the behavior itself, and the reward is the positive outcome or satisfaction gained from performing the behavior. Over time, the brain associates the cue with the reward, reinforcing the habit loop.

A book that has resonated even more with me than “The Power of Habit” is “Atomic Habits” by James Clear.  He explains habits in simple terms and how to create and build new ones.

We are going to use my habit of washing my face and brushing my teeth at night to explain his theory.

1. My trigger is getting ready for bed.
2. The routine is washing my face and brushing my teeth
3. I’m rewarded with a clean face and mouth before going to bed.

The reverse effect works in the morning too.  I’m triggered by getting out of bed, the routine is washing my face and brushing my teeth and the reward is having a clean face and mouth.

It’s the reward that drives us to do what we do.

There are nights to this day when I don’t want to wash my face and brush my teeth because I’m tired and want to go to bed.  Why do I keep doing it even when I’m tired?  It’s the reward, I love the feeling of being clean before going to bed.

CREATING NEW HABITS

Getting organized tips revolves around creating new habits.  Creating habits is hard, it takes on average 66 days to create a new one.  It’s the reward that will continue to drive you.

I added a habit about a year ago of waking up early in the morning between 5-6 am to journal, pray, and blog.  It was my quiet time before the kids woke up in the morning.  It got my day started on the right foot because it started before the kids.  If you have kids, you understand waking up after your kids leave you rushing for the day.

We have three kids, our youngest will occasionally come into our room during the night and wake me up.  I walk her back up to her bed and then try to go back to sleep.  There are times when I’ve been up at 4 am and contemplated what to do, should I go back to bed or get up and complete my morning ritual?

I’ve done both and it all depends on how I’m feeling.  Sleep is critical to everyone’s health and I know myself well enough to know that if I don’t have enough sleep I’m not as productive.

However, I can’t stand waking up after my kids.  It leaves me feeling rushed for the entire day and it drives me nuts.

There have been times when I’ve been so tired but it’s the reward that keeps me going.  When I’m able to complete my morning routine peacefully before the kids wake up, it’s refreshing and it starts the day off on the right foot.

BREAKING BAD HABITS

While creating new habits is hard, breaking old habits can be just as hard.

Confession time.  There was a time when I was obsessed with The Real Housewives.   It became a ritual, eagerly waiting for Thursday nights latest episodes when there was only the Orange County franchise.

I was so obsessed that I scoured Bravo’s website, studying every housewife’s profile and religiously reading their post-episode blogs.  Yes, I know, not my proudest moments but it was a habit.

I knew this was a habit that needed to be kicked to the curb. Watching The Real Housewives no longer aligned with the kind of life I aspired to lead. What initially started as entertainment transformed into a spectacle of women drinking and screaming at each other, making it uncomfortable to watch.

Determined to break this habit, I found guidance in The Power of Habit. The book inspired me to replace this unproductive habit with a healthier one. Identifying the triggers that led me to watch the show, I consciously substituted them by finding something else to watch.

Instead of tuning in to The Housewives, I opted for an alternative show. Gradually, my interest in the Housewives waned.

This strategy of breaking a habit by substitution can be applied universally, extending beyond TV shows to habits like nail-biting.

Recognizing the impulse right before engaging in the undesirable behavior, you can replace it with a more constructive alternative, such as using a fidget.

MENTAL TIPS FOR BREAKING BAD HABITS

Saying no to something now, means I’m saying yes to something else.  For example, if I say no to watching The Housewives, I’m saying yes to how I will feel by not watching it.  I want to feel good about myself and saying no gives me the reward of feeling good about myself later.

Resist the temptation.  Doing this is hard, really hard sometimes.  If you’ve ever tried to lose weight, you know exactly what I’m talking about.  There are times when you just want to eat that cookie but if you resist the temptation you’ll thank yourself later and be happier.

There are good habits and bad habits.  When you focus on creating more good habits, you’ll start to see the bad habits eventually fade away on their own.  It is what will ultimately help you succeed in life.

GOOD HABIT THAT WILL KEEP YOU ORGANIZED

1. Make Your Bed

Making your bed every morning sets the tone for the day.  If you don’t have time to make your bed because you don’t have time, the rest of your day is going to be off track and you’ll feel unorganized.

When you make your bed, it’s a sense of completion and it’s like the horn blowing off saying it’s time to start your day.  The second you roll out of bed, do it immediately.

2. Hang Up Your Clothes

It’s easy to come home after a long day of work and change out of your work clothes and put them on the bed or floor.  It only takes seconds to do so but at night you’ve made yourself believe that it’s going to take 5 minutes and you are too tired.

Put them away immediately when you change out of them, you’ll be happier you did and won’t end up with a pile of clothes on the floor at the end of the week.

3. Keep The Sink Empty

Doing dishes is an annoying task.  Do them right after dinner is over, if you can’t do them right away, do them after the kids go to bed.  Waking up in the morning without a sink full of dishes to do will save you time.  Plus, you won’t be starting your day behind.  Keep the end in mind with this one.

4. Plan Your Day

Write down your appointments or use your smartphone calendar, whatever you decide to do, stick to it.  Take your ‘To Do’ list and schedule them into your calendar.  By doing this, you will get your to-do list done faster and not waste any time. To help you keep your schedule on track, use a timer.   When you use a timer, you will boost your productivity. When you plan the day, you run the day instead of it running you.

5. Track Your Expenses

Keeping track of where your money goes will keep you more organized.  You’ll spend less and feel like you have control of your money rather than it having control over you.  You’ll save more by knowing where your money is going.  Mint and Every Dollar are great budgeting apps, both are free so there’s no excuse for not creating a budget.  It takes discipline to stick to a budget but keep the result in mind here as well and you’ll feel great.

6. Hang Up Your Keys

Misplacing your keys is frustrating.  Invest in a key holder and hang them up every single time.  The best place for it is right by the door so it’s the first thing you do when you get home.  One of the toughest times to remember to do this is when you bring in groceries from the car.

Your keys are in your hand and then you start to unpack the groceries and forget to hang them up.  Make it a habit to hang up your keys the second you want in the door.

If you are reading this at home, you can complete four of these tasks right now:  Go make your bed, hang up your clothes, hang up your keys, and clean out the dishes in the sink.

Your house will be cleaner and your head will be clearer because you’ll have greater focus.

MAKING A CHANGE

Creating a new habit or breaking an old habit is hard, it takes hard work and discipline.  Start with one habit and build from there.  Once you have one habit down, add another one and keep going until the list is complete.

It takes on average 66 days to create a new habit, that’s just over two months.

To help you create a new habit, ask a friend to help you.  Tell them what you are trying to achieve and have them be your accountability partner.

Write it down, when we write things down we are committing ourselves.  Make it a goal to create new habits.

There’s a quote out there that says:

No one succeeds alone.  Never walk alone in your future paths.

We all try to do it on our own but it takes a village.  There is much we can learn from others if we are willing to ask for help.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Habits are the cornerstone to success and help keep us organized.  When we recognize our triggers, we can easily break habits and replace them with good ones.

List out your bad habits and write down good habits you can do to replace the bad ones.  If you don’t make your bed daily, write it down and replace that habit with making your bed daily.  It’s as simple as that, don’t overthink it.

Track your progress to help keep the momentum going, and reward yourself once you’ve reached your goal.

The simple daily tasks of making your bed every day, hanging up your clothes, keeping the sink empty, planning your day, tracking your expenses, and hanging up your keys will keep you organized every day.