Truly Neat: Hurdles to Organization

I’m excited to start a series called Truly Neat on the True Media blog that is all about organization – one of my favorite topics! In this first post, I wanted to share some of the hurdles to becoming an organized person, and why they don’t need to hold YOU back!
#1: I’m just not naturally an organized person

I understand that not everyone is born into this world dreaming of color-coded binders and Post-it notes, really, I do get this. And thank goodness, right? However, just because you don’t have a natural disposition for organization doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t try to develop it as a life skill. I am unfortunately not naturally patient, however, I know it is a valuable trait and I know it’s important for me to make a conscious effort to get better at it! I firmly believe that anyone can be organized if they are willing to make it a consistent part of their everyday life – like any other good trait or life skill; it just takes practice and discipline.
#2: I don’t have the time
Time?!? I understand that it does take time to be organized, but the time that it will save you in the long run will be more than worth it. In fact, time is one of the best reasons TO BE organized. My question is, who has time to be unorganized? I could go on and on here, but I think you get the picture :).
#3: Too much stuff

This is one of my favorite topics :), as I think de-cluttering is therapeutic and good for the soul. I firmly believe that there is no way you can be an organized person if you have too much “stuff.” As Americans, we are hard wired to want lots of things around us. However, if you have too much stuff, you can never be organized.
#4: It’s too overwhelming
To this, I would ask – isn’t being unorganized even more overwhelming? I understand that if you are currently unorganized, it may seem as though you have no idea where to start. Well, I would start with making a list :). Take baby steps – this isn’t an overnight process and there is no magic pill. Start with a simple organization project – maybe that top drawer of your desk? Once you complete one simple organization project, make sure to maintain it, and start on a new one. Carve 15 minutes out of your day each day to tackle a big project by breaking it into smaller projects. Don’t be overwhelmed: suck it up, take a deep breath, and get to work!
#5: Thrive on chaos
I’m not going to lie – this was not something that came to my mind as a hurdle to organization, but it was something that I found as a recurring theme when I was researching hurdles to organization. I have a really difficult time wrapping my head around this one, but my best advice here would be to just get organized!  You can always add a little chaos to another part of your life.  For example, at work ask your boss to give you an extra assignment, at home take on a DIY project, or spend some quality time with your family and go on an impromptu day trip.
No matter which hurdle or hurdles you need to overcome to get your life organized this blog series will help you get motivated and tackle that unruly desk drawer or pile of unopened mail. My next blog post will get into the nitty gritty of how to start organizing your life and how to keep it organized.  I will focus on the dread email Inbox.  If the number of emails in your Inbox is closer to the distance between the U.S. and China and not the number of points scored in a basketball game than this next post is for you.