Organizational Skills
Module One: Getting Started Good organizational skills can prove beneficial in many areas of life, including personal and business areas. Organization can increase a person’s general productivity, project management, and can even affect his memory and retention skills. These skills are not acquired overnight – it will take a lot of hard work and practice.
Don’t agonize – Organize. Florence Kennedy
Workshop Objectives
Examine current habits
Learn to prioritize
Resist procrastination
Module Two: Remove the Clutter One of the hardest parts about getting organized is going through and getting rid of the things that cause distractions and take up space. When you find yourself among the stacks and piles of stuff and items, it can seem overwhelming. But by taking it one step at a time, and remembering to breathe, you can begin to de-clutter your life and start on the path to successful organization.
Out of clutter, find simplicity. Albert Einstein
Just Do it Make a calendar with time to clean
Divide the areas that need to be conquered
Make a list of tasks
Decide where items go beforehand
You Don’t Have to Keep Everything
Am I going to use this in the near Whenfuture? was the last time I needed If I keep this? this, what is it organized into?
Three Boxes: Keep, Donate, and Trash
Box 1 – Items to Keep Box 2 – Items to Donate Box 3 – Trash
A Place for Everything and Everything in its Place What do I need to put here/there?
Where would this be best suited?
Will it be in my way/contribute to clutter there?
Case Study Stacy decided she would clear out the clutter in the family den She took her three boxes marked Keep, Donate, and Trash She remembered that it isn’t necessary to keep everything She managed fill a donation box with items she knew she no longer needed or wanted
Module Two: Review Questions 1. What is one reason we do not remove our clutter? a)We make excuses b)We like how it looks c)We find it convenient for our stuff d)We wait for someone else to do it
3. What is one way we can “Just Do It� with our clutter? a)Move it all to another room b)Put it off for a better time c)Work on one area at a time d)Make someone else clean it up
Module Two: Review Questions 3. Why do we commonly feel as though we need to keep something? a)We like the color b)We need it to keep it for a friend c)We want to donate it to someone d)We might need it later
5. In general, we only need about _______ of the items we keep. a)All b)Half c)One quarter d)None
Module Two: Review Questions 5.What is an advantage of the Three Box approach? a)It is the fastest method of cleaning b)It can be done with a friend c)It forces a quick decision d)It increases our charity donations 7.What is a disadvantage of the Three Box approach? a)It can be time consuming b)It forces us to get rid of our stuff c)It can be boring d)It can be overwhelming
Module Two: Review Questions 7. If items are not in a proper place, they can make the area seem _______________. a)Friendly b)Cluttered c)Inviting d)Eccentric
9. What is one suggestion when discovering a proper place for things? a)Throw older items away b)Stack items on top of each other to make room c)Try to store everything in one room d)Evaluate available storage spaces
Module Two: Review Questions 9. From what room in the house was Stacy clearing clutter? a)The children’s bedroom b)The garage c)The family den d)Her bedroom
11.What common approach did Stacy use to decide what to do with everything? a)Out of sight, out of mind b)The Three Boxes approach c)Doing a clean sweep d)Nothing
Module Two: Review Questions 1. What is one reason we do not remove our clutter? a)We make excuses b)We like how it looks c)We find it convenient for our stuff d)We wait for someone else to do it
One of the main reasons we do not act on removing our clutter is that we make excuses and delay taking actions to correct the problem. 3. What is one way we can “Just Do It� with our clutter? a)Move it all to another room b)Put it off for a better time c)Work on one area at a time d)Make someone else clean it up
By working on one area at a time, we are actively attacking the clutter problem without letting it overwhelm us.
Module Two: Review Questions 3. Why do we commonly feel as though we need to keep something? a)We like the color b)We need it to keep it for a friend c)We want to donate it to someone d)We might need it later
The most common reason we keep something and contribute to our clutter is because we think we will need it at a later time, and thus feel less reluctant to just let it go. 5. In general, we only need about _______ of the items we keep. a)All b)Half c)One quarter d)None
Generally, we need about one half of the items or papers that we keep or tell ourselves we need to keep, which causes use to accumulate more clutter.
Module Two: Review Questions 5.What is an advantage of the Three Box approach? a)It is the fastest method of cleaning b)It can be done with a friend c)It forces a quick decision d)It increases our charity donations The Three Boxes approach forces us to make a quick decision about an item, which keeps us from dwelling on our ‘ifs’ or ‘buts’ and focuses and what needs to be done. 7.What is a disadvantage of the Three Box approach? a)It can be time consuming b)It forces us to get rid of our stuff c)It can be boring d)It can be overwhelming The Three Boxes approach can take a lot of our free time to do since we have to stop and examine each object individually, depending on the amount of clutter we have to go through.
Module Two: Review Questions 7. If items are not in a proper place, they can make the area seem _______________. a)Friendly b)Cluttered c)Inviting d)Eccentric
When we have stuff or items that have not been put in a proper place or stored correctly, they can make the area seem cluttered and disorganized. When we put these items away properly, it improves our organization. 9. What is one suggestion when discovering a proper place for things? a)Throw older items away b)Stack items on top of each other to make room c)Try to store everything in one room d)Evaluate available storage spaces
When finding a place for everything in our office, a good suggestion is to go through and evaluate the available storage space you have, including closets, shelves, etc. Once we know what area we have available to us, we can better assess where our things can belong.
Module Two: Review Questions 9. From what room in the house was Stacy clearing clutter? a)The children’s bedroom b)The garage c)The family den d)Her bedroom
Stacy decided to take time and clear clutter from her family den. 11.What common approach did Stacy use to decide what to do with everything? a)Out of sight, out of mind b)The Three Boxes approach c)Doing a clean sweep d)Nothing
Stacy used the Three Boxes Approach while she was cleaning out the den and sorted items that she wanted to keep, to donate and to throw away.
Module Three: Prioritize Organization doesn’t only refer to our physical items and physical possessions; it can also include organizing our time and activities. Taking time to label what we want and what we need to accomplish allows us to sort through everything on our plate and find out how to tackle it. Since everything is lined out and identified, regulating our time and energy can seem less overwhelming.
The key is not to prioritize what’s on your schedule, but to schedule your priorities. Stephen Covey
Write It Down
Master list Helps you remember Visual aide
Urgent/Important Matrix Urgent and Important
Important, But Not Urgent
Urgent, But Not Important
Not Urgent and Not Important
Divide Tasks Sort tasks by project What tasks can be done the fastest Determine what tasks will need more time
80/20 Rule
Focus on the 20% Disregard 80%
Case Study Joseph wants to become more organized and realized he has some free time do it He looked around at what needed to be done, and began to feel overwhelmed But he sat down and wrote a list of everything he wanted to accomplish Now that Joseph had lined out what he wanted to do, he was ready to tackle his list of jobs and get organized
Module Three: Review Questions 1. What is an advantage of writing things down to prioritize? a)It can be done on pretty paper b)It makes us focus on one thing at a time c)It can be done in groups d)It makes it easier to prioritize tasks
3. Writing things down serves as a what? a)Chore list b)Quick reference c)Visual aide d)Reminder system
Module Three: Review Questions 3. How many boxes are used in the Urgent/Important Matrix? a)Eight b)Three c)Four d)Two
5. How does the Urgent/Important Matrix help us organize our time? a)It allows us to see what needs to be done, and how quickly b)It takes time out of our day from doing other things to create it c)It creates a chore list for us to follow d)It helps us decide what is important and what is not
Module Three: Review Questions 5. Why is it important to divide a large list of tasks into smaller groups? a)It allows us to micromanage our life b)It makes our to-do list less overwhelming c)So we don’t miss something we need to do d)To easily assign them to someone else
7. Which of the following is one example of how tasks can be divided? a)Things to do at work b)Things to do this week c)Things to do later d)Things to do for the “Accounting” project
Module Three: Review Questions 7. What is the purpose of the 80/20 Rule? a) b) c) d)
It makes us organize our time by focusing on the important 20% of things It tells us the way to clean each room It makes us organize our time by focusing on the important 80% of thing It helps us decide how we want to categorize our to-do list
9. Which if the following is something that can be divided by the 80/20 Rule? a)The number of folders to be filed away b)Organizing the new storage closet c)The number of emails in your inbox d)The list of daily tasks/projects
Module Three: Review Questions 9. What was one of the first things Joseph did to prioritize his projects? a)Divided his tasks by priority b)Decided which ones to postpone until later c)Made a list of everything he wanted to do d)Divided his tasks by areas of the office
11.How did Joseph decide to divide his tasks? a)By the different projects he was working on b)By how much time it would take c)He did not divide his tasks d)By the size of job
Module Three: Review Questions 1. What is an advantage of writing things down to prioritize? a)It can be done on pretty paper b)It makes us focus on one thing at a time c)It can be done in groups d)It makes it easier to prioritize tasks
One advantage of writing things down is that it helps us organize and prioritize a list of things, such as tasks or projects, by allowing us to see the whole picture of what needs to be done. 3. Writing things down serves as a what? a)Chore list b)Quick reference c)Visual aide d)Reminder system
Writing things down creates a visual aide for us to use while sorting through things. While we most commonly use lists, we can also create tables and graphs with the information.
Module Three: Review Questions 3. How many boxes are used in the Urgent/Important Matrix? a)Eight b)Three c)Four d)Two
The matrix uses four boxes, or quadrants to help plot activities and tasks. 5. How does the Urgent/Important Matrix help us organize our time? a)It allows us to see what needs to be done, and how quickly b)It takes time out of our day from doing other things to create it c)It creates a chore list for us to follow d)It helps us decide what is important and what is not
The Urgent/Important Matrix allows us to see a range of jobs that need to be done in a period of time and helps us determine how quickly or urgently we should accomplish them.
Module Three: Review Questions 5. Why is it important to divide a large list of tasks into smaller groups? a)It allows us to micromanage our life b)It makes our to-do list less overwhelming c)So we don’t miss something we need to do d)To easily assign them to someone else
When we create a to-do list, the long list of projects and tasks that needs to be done can seem overwhelming to us, which can scare us away from starting on them. By dividing the big list into smaller groups, the whole thing can seem more do-able, and a lot less scary. 7. Which of the following is one example of how tasks can be divided? a)Things to do at work b)Things to do this week c)Things to do later d)Things to do for the “Accounting” project
Making a list of things that needs to be done only for the “Accounting” project is one way of dividing duties into smaller, do-able groups. It targets a specific area and groups of tasks.
Module Three: Review Questions 7. What is the purpose of the 80/20 Rule? a) b) c) d)
It makes us organize our time by focusing on the important 20% of things It tells us the way to clean each room It makes us organize our time by focusing on the important 80% of thing It helps us decide how we want to categorize our to-do list
The 80/20 Rule is used while organizing and prioritizing our time. It forces us to focus on the more important 20% of things while not allowing the other 80% to run our lives. 9. Which if the following is something that can be divided by the 80/20 Rule? a)The number of folders to be filed away b)Organizing the new storage closet c)The number of emails in your inbox d)The list of daily tasks/projects
Your daily tasks and projects can be divided by the 80/20 Rule since you can determine a number of the tasks or jobs that are the most important to do (20%) and then the remaining things to do will follow (80%).
Module Three: Review Questions 9. What was one of the first things Joseph did to prioritize his projects? a)Divided his tasks by priority b)Decided which ones to postpone until later c)Made a list of everything he wanted to do d)Divided his tasks by areas of the office
Before Joseph did anything else, he sat down and made a list of everything he wanted to do or accomplish so he could have a visual aide. 11.How did Joseph decide to divide his tasks? a)By the different projects he was working on b)By how much time it would take c)He did not divide his tasks d)By the size of job
Joseph decided he could best perform his jobs if he divided them by the different projects he was working on and what needed to be done in each one.