By Dana Phillips.

Lack of organization can be a substantial obstacle in your efforts to reach your goals. Improper planning and disorder can make your work seem unnecessarily hectic and stressful. By taking steps to organize your life and your business, you’ll become more productive and find work more enjoyable.

Here are some valuable suggestions that can help you become more organized:

• Set definite goals. Whether by the day, the week, the month, or the year, clearly defining your objectives will help you maintain focus on the purpose of your efforts.
• Plan ahead. Plot out the “small” jobs you need to accomplish in order to reach your long-term goals. Keep track of your progress.
• Fight paper clutter. Put away or file materials you haven’t used recently.  If you really don’t need something, throw it away.
• Keep a daily “to do” list, ordering tasks according to their importance. Concentrate on completing high-priority tasks and update your list regularly.
• Keep a datebook, and keep it current, and readable. These materials are the keys to organizing your time–be sure you can refer to them as complete, reliable sources.
• Break your biggest projects into small, manageable steps, then approach each step one at a time. Focus on the task at hand; don’t allow the size of the overall project to discourage you.
• Keep yourself organized by scheduling a regular time to straighten, file, update, throw away, and prioritize.

Pick one that you are going to commit to do for the next month. Revisit this list and add others as they seem relevant to you.  Remember that being organized is not the same as being “neat”.  Do enough to be more effective, not perfect.

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