Being organized makes you better

Organization is more than productivity, because it points toward making good decisions. That’s why it’s so hard.

Andrew HainesBlockedUnblockFollowFollowing

Nov 14, 2017

We sell software. But really, we sell organization. That’s what our customers need, after all—it’s what we all need. And disorganization is the most serious problem that most software can help to solve.

Organization is intelligent

But organization isn’t easy to sell, because it’s not easy to recognize. “Productivity” rules the day, yet it’s a far cry from organization. Being productive only necessarily means you’re doing something to make something; that could be useful or not, or maybe even harmful. But organization is a characteristic of intelligence. It’s more than performing mere, unqualified action. It helps to promote good action.

Building software to solve organization problems helps users to be more intelligent by helping them do what’s good. It might be something good for them personally, or for their companies, or their customers. But organization is always intelligent, and intelligence and understandability lead to good things.

‘Good’ is achievable

Most people tend to feel disorganized a lot of the time. That’s because to be really organized we first have to know what “good” looks like. What’s good for me—as a parent, writer, student, business owner? What’s good for my company? What’s good for my customers? And how do they relate?

We can figure all of this out. But sometimes we make it too hard. “Good” as a parent means having healthy, joyful kids who learn to love. As a business owner it means nurturing a sustainable environment that serves customers and where employees are justly compensated and generally satisfied. Our customers are other us-es, so the cycle starts over.

Knowing what’s good is achievable. It’s easy to forget that.

So why not just get organized, then?

Even though we can know what’s good, and can be smart enough to choose it, sometimes we don’t (obviously). No amount of software can help with that. (Sorry, “productivity” apps!) Neither can thinking. (That’s you, Medium self-help articles.) Only practice. The reason we don’t “just get organized” is the same reason we don’t “just stick to a diet”: we’re in bad habits—personally, and corporately—of making bad, unintelligent decisions. That’s a type of laziness that’s hard to shake.

Anyone, and any company, can be organized. We’re human beings, built for mastering lots of things and performing incredible feats. But that means recognizing the opportunities for maturity and growth that drive out laziness. Lazy people are usually unhealthy people. And lazy businesses are unhealthy ones.

Breaking the cycle

Many times, our software projects are equal parts “build me something” and “help me figure out why this thing I’m doing doesn’t work.” That’s great, it’s what we love! But it doesn’t come easy. It’s a delicate balance of investing the right amount of time, attention, and money, and letting go when that’s not ideal. A personal trainer would demand that you try hard; but also that you trust her to back off when things start to hurt a little, no matter how fast you want to see results. The same is true for designing software that produces real organization, and that promotes real good.

They say that healthy eating is a lifestyle choice, not a short-term fix. Starting to think about your projects the same way offers the best chances for long-term success, and results that’ll point you and your company toward the “good” you’re looking to accomplish.