Being Organised Enough

One of the many issues our small business community faces is a lack of time. Renee and I hear “can you please tell me how to find an extra 10 hours a day” a lot.  A. Lot.

Having a lack of time is enough to make us struggle with all of the ins and outs of running our own business.

If you add disorganisation to the mix, you’re looking at a problem with efficiency.  When you’re inefficient,  you become harried, hassled, annoyed and frustrated.

Be kind to yourself as we say all the time, and be organised.  It’s really self care and smart business.

Then there’s the other end of the organisation spectrum.  Procrastination in the guise of perfectionism.  Waiting until things are completely tickety-boo before we even start doing stuff is a super easy way of self-sabotaging our goals.

So what is being Organised Enough?

Having recently read the book called “Organised Enough” by Amanda Sullivan, I’ve gleaned a few key handy hints and tips.  As a recovering perfectionist myself, this book has supported my efforts towards efficiency and general tidiness without throwing myself into a frenzy because it doesn’t look like something Marie Kondo folded.

The basis of Sullivan’s principles are about being realistic, focusing on gratitude but not messing yourself up by maintaining systems that don’t work for you and make you less efficient and frustrated.

There are 7 key habits she lists out as the building blocks for an organised life:

1. Take inventory
2. Block out time
3. Do a last sweep
4. Set limits on stuff
5. Buy less but better
6. Ten-minute maintenance
7. Cultivate consistency

All of these habits are small and useful methods of remaining on top of your life, your things, your stuff and all of your goodies so that you are not owned by them.

Dotted throughout the book are charts comparing “Perfectly organised” with “organised enough” which help the reader to identify the difference between getting caught up in perfectionism vs being a practical human with a life.

One of the “aha” moments of the book for me was the assertion that “Fear creates clutter”.  There are a few different types of fear; waste, financial, missing out. There is also a fear of loss that contributes to us keeping stuff we may not need, which inhibits our efficiency.

For me, I have slowly learned over the years the difference between sentimentality and just plain STUFF.  This is another interesting concept whereby keeping small meaningful things is really OK, but being able to identify what you really don’t have an attachment to is key to prevent hoarding.

Consolidating for creatives

One of the best pieces of advice offered is to consolidate craft items in one place.  To “resist the urge to squirrel away items in various nooks and crannies”.  Making sure your storage system is accessible and practical.  Being honest about how much you really need.  That my friends is my eternal struggle.

I think as creative people we are always thinking; “this could be useful one day for [insert successful creative project here]”.

Part of being organised enough is knowing yourself too!  Knowing your habits, what you really will use, what you really appreciate, what really means something to you.  All things that lead to less clutter, less confusion and greater flow of energy, both in creativity and in work (for some of us those things are inextricably linked after all).

What was affirming about the book was that there were some habits I’d already begun developing on my own.  For example, as MGTH Members will no doubt know from our Action Planner*, blocking out time is one of the key hints that Renee and I espouse when it comes to achieving your goals and getting things done.

At home, the last sweep of the day has been a part of my daily routine for most of my adult life.  I sleep better if things are returned to their usual home before bed, and I rise with less grumpiness if I don’t enter a dirty kitchen or a disheveled lounge room first thing in the morning.

Be kind to future you

So while people often poke fun at us for having things in their place and being on top of “all of the things”, they can continue spending 45 minutes looking for what they need if they like! 

I’ll continue instead to happily pluck items from their living space at a moment’s notice for the foreseeable future.*smug face*

That’s what organised enough means to me.

Buy Amanda Sullivan’s book here

How do you stay organised?  What are your tips?

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