by Jenna Pope

Created on: May 21, 2010   Last Updated: May 22, 2010

The biggest reason that people find it difficult to organize their lives is because they feel overwhelmed and don’t where to start.  You wonder if you should start on your house, and – if so – which room should you start with?  Maybe you want to build exercise time into your daily routine but don’t know where you can possibly squeeze it in. 

Or maybe you’ve been planning on seeing a counselor to work on those childhood “issues” that have been plaguing you for your entire adult life.  You have sixteen thousand other things on your agenda. 

You are not a bad person just because you are scattered.  Many people feel an immense amount of guilt over having a disorganized life.  But, believe it or not, even organized people feel the same way – just to a lesser degree. 

Disorganized people are often empathic and helpful to others, put people before things, and don’t spend a lot of time at home because their disorganization makes them feel irritable and fragmented.  Often disorganized people do nice things for other people but don’t do the same for themselves.  But there is hope. 

Here are some things that you can do right now to begin digging out from disorganization:

1.  Make a list.

Make a list of every area of your life that you would like to fix, i.e., clean out your car, pull the weeds in your yard, clean out the garage, find a counselor to help you with childhood issues, pack up the boxes in your guest room, plant a garden, etc., etc.

2.  Do one thing.

Just pick one thing and start on that.  You don’t even have to finish it.  Just start.  It may take you a few week-ends to complete, but the sense of accomplishment you receive from finishing it makes it all seem worthwhile.

When you have finished one project, reward yourself.  Go out to dinner or buy a new pair of shoes or that charm bracelet you’ve been scoping out.  Rewards are important.

3.  Pick another task.

Now you can pick one more thing on your list and begin to tackle that.  When you finish that project, reward yourself.  Continue tackling each task – one at a time - and rewarding yourself.  Now you know the pattern.

4.  Re-evaluate.

After you have completed several projects on your list, stop and re-evaluate where you are in relation to your projects.  Are you feeling a little bit better about yourself?  You probably are.  Look at your list and re-prioritize each item.  Add more projects.

Remember that just as Rome wasn’t built in a day, you will not become more organized all at once.  It takes consistent progress one day at a time.  But even with baby steps, a lot of them will take you a long, long way.

Learn more about this author, Jenna Pope.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.