Time is precious. We need to make the most of it as we create change, embrace creativity, pursue peace and hold space.

It is especially important to stay focused and “confident and unstoppable” (thank you, Billy Porter). Being organized helps clarity, messaging, action and result.

So we have compiled a few useful tips for those changing the world:

  • Scooter Tip 1 – Find your organizational style(s)
    Firstly, accept and embrace your gift of creativity. Knowing you might be better suited to concept than to clean up. It’s a gift but it also can cause you undue chaos. You should know that you do not think, work, or live the same as our inherently organized counterparts, but that’s ok. Embrace it! You just need to find your style(s).

    • “The list maker”: You have a running bullet point list that you check off as things get accomplished. In no particular order.
    • “The Stacker”: Your notes and papers do not belong in a file, they belong in a massive stack on your desk.
    • “Tornado Alley”: Your desk has no order to anyone but you. Your files on your computer are exactly where you left them. Think: when mom used to “clean” your room and then you couldn’t find anything.
    • Post-its on everything: You organize by putting a fluorescent square label on every piece of paper, document, and CAPITAL LETTERS on important files on your computer.
  • Scooter Tip 2 – Embrace Organization
    Once you determine which style(s) most associates with you, it is important to note that organization is helpful to getting to your goal. Different tasks have different priorities. It is important to know which ones are more urgent than others. Many tasks are time sensitive and without being organized, an email, or a new client document that comes in can get lost in the mix. Understand that everyone has their own way of tackling a job, or their own take on organization. Those jobs however, still need to get done. In our WFH situation (see our previous blog here) distractions seem endless. Organization helps transition between one task to the next with ease. Even if it is 3 PM and we’re still in our PJs.
  • Scooter Tip 3 – Work more now, and more later
    While working, we often get into one of two moods. The first is a lull that we need to learn to pull ourselves out of (does 4 cups of coffee help?). The second is the bulldozer effect: you can accomplish anything put in front of you. The con? It can leave you feeling exhausted, leading to a bit of a downtime to gather thoughts and let your creativity build back up. Interestingly enough, both work moods balance each other out very well. In one study from Harvard, a professor found that actually setting time aside to be in a lull/procrastinate allowed subjects a higher level of creativity in the end. What’s the point? Take a few minutes to decompress then jump back in. Sometimes instead of ramming your head through a wall for 2 hours, you can take a 10 minute break and accomplish that same task in half the time. Organize your day by scheduling in those breaks, and pick right back up where your creative self left off.

We can all agree that staying organized is important. It is a skill that takes time to build and a muscle that grows by working it out. Organization can come in many forms though and just because your desk is messy to others, doesn’t mean that you don’t have your own system. That after all is the ultimate goal. Get your own system down so that you can be efficient and creative in the midst of the chaos, and bulldoze through the new tasks that each day brings.

https://blog.dce.harvard.edu/professional-development/perks-procrastination