Can A Disorganised Person Become Organised? (yes)
5 golden tips to show that for even the most seemingly disorganised person, order and structure are just beneath the surface — it’s simply a matter of communication.
My misconceptions
I always thought that being organised was a personality trait. And because I always believed that people can’t really do much about their personality, I then surmised that either you were or were not organised — a case of ‘lucky you’ or ‘tough luck.’
The other misconception I had for many years was that being organised was about being tidy and good at planning.
And while that is often true, as my career has progressed and I’ve got to work with more and more highly organised people, I’ve realised that true organisation is actually about communicating — to others and yourself. And when I realised this, it became clear that a disorganised person - eg me - can in fact become organised, and as a result increase their productivity no end. Here’s how.
1. Self-communication
“The only difference between an organised and a disorganised person is that the former actually writes their ‘must-do’ tasks down, whereas the latter keeps telling themselves they ‘must write them down’ — but don’t.”
A person isn’t disorganised because they’re lazy, incompetent or negligent. More often than not, it’s because they don’t tell themselves the things they have to achieve. You know the scenario well — so many times in our day, we think ‘I must write that down’ or ‘I mustn’t forget to do that.’ And then soon after, more and more ‘must not forget’ items get added (or rather piled on) to the mental checklist. The only difference between an organised and a disorganised person is that the former actually writes their ‘must-do’ items down, whereas the latter keeps telling themselves they ‘must write them down’ — but don’t. It’s not about incompetence or lack of planning — it’s about not seeing the benefit of self-communication. Self-communicating is so simple — what do I have to do? — but its impact can make you feel (and look) like an organisational guru in a matter of days. Get a pen and a blank piece of paper — and make it happen.
2. What’s really important?
Organisation is not just getting stuff done — it’s getting stuff done in order of priority. The most organised people with whom I’ve worked have all had a laser-like focus on what’s important and what can wait.
Part of the reason I had a reputation for disorganisation in the first part of my career wasn’t because I wasn’t diligent or meticulous — it was because I tried to do everything as if every single item of my work was as important as the next. But if you do a great job with the high priority stuff and have the confidence and discipline to leave or defer the less urgent pieces of work, you’ll never be or feel swamped — and you’ll be able to take comfort in knowing that the vital stuff got ticked off.
When I’ve got a particularly large workload, I find it really helpful to put everything into the 4 ‘Ds:’
- Do
- Delay
- Delegate
- Delete
In other words:
- What needs doing now?
- What can wait?
- What can you give to someone else?
- What simply isn’t worth doing?
Again, self-communication is key. Tell yourself what you’ve got to do and in what order of priority. You’ll suddenly find that time becomes a lot more abundant, and your colleagues will want to give you a cuppa instead of a headbutt.
3. Tell people what you’re doing
“You can’t communicate too much — it generates an environment of clarity and transparency, and this is the DNA of organisation.”
Something I learnt quickly when I started working in a marketing team was that you can never over-communicate. And I’m not taking about announcing ‘I’m focussing on this piece of work this week.’ I’m talking about fine-detailed, granular level of comms that will leave you looking like a transparent human calendar. Seriously — tell your team everything you’re doing everyday, where you’ll be, and at what points in the day you will be most and least available. And update people if this changes. And you should ask for and expect the same level of candour and openness from your team. You and your department will start to run like clockwork.
Again — you can’t communicate too much. It generates an environment of clarity and transparency, and this is the DNA of organisation.
I worked with a designer during lockdown who used to Teams message me every time she went to lunch, had a coffee break and went to the toilet. TMI? Heck no — she understood, as I do now, that being organised is not about your colour-coded highlighter pens or being fantastic at planning — it’s about knowing clearly what you’re doing and when, and then making others equally aware of what you’re doing and when. And because of all the time this efficient process creates, you’ll have the capacity to do all the vital work. And this is true organisation.
4. Learn to say no
A big characteristic of disorganisation is taking too much on. And we often do this by agreeing to things we don’t actually have time to do. It’s natural — we want to please and we don’t want to be seen as uncooperative or apathetic. But this is where you need a clear, ‘high-quality no.’
A ‘high-quality no' is a very short but honest explanation of why you can’t do something that someone has asked you to do. For example:
- “I’d love to help you but I have to prioritise my current work — I’m sorry but I won’t be able to get to that.”
- “Sorry — I have to prioritise other more important work as I have a really full and busy day, so it won’t be possible.”
It’s not a grovelling apology, and it’s not delivering false hope by being ambiguous. It’s a frank, honest justification as to why you can’t take more on at that time.
Very rarely have I given a ‘high-quality no’ and been met with anything other than understanding. Try it — your ‘to-do’ list will shrink in days, and you’ll have the time to let your new organisational skills burgeon even further.
5. What’s your mantra?
Finally, as with most things in life, being organised is an attitude — and any attitude needs upholding and maintaining. The last piece of self-communication that you need for enhanced organisation is what I call your inner mantra. What slogan are you going to say to yourself at the start of everyday to ensure you keep on top of things? What phrase can you repeat to renew you with fresh inspiration when fatigue, frustration or complacency rear their heads?
I have two.
The first one is:
‘2 minutes now saves 2 hours later.’ It works every time, reminding me of the value of that inner and outer-communication, and how it makes the crucial difference.
When I’m really up against it, I repeat a slogan I stole from my old manager Davey. His prioritising mantra was ‘What’s the nearest croscdile to the boat?’ I’ve used it so many times in my career, and it never stops being useful.
What’s your mantra going to be?
Move past the chaos
So. Organisation. Turns out it’s not the elusive, mythical concept you thought it was. If you can communicate to yourself and others consistently about the important things in your day, you too can get ahead of the curve and move past the chaos.
Interested in reading more of my blogs on succeeding at work? Head over to my latest article here.
