The Importance Of Organisation

You have probably heard time and time again, whether it be from parents, bosses or lecturers about the importance of organisation. Or perhaps, you are one of the people always touting the effectiveness of being organised. 

I find that being organised allows me to stay up to date with my work. But, how effective is it really? Is having an organised approach to projects truly helpful? Well, let’s have a look.

Chaos Versus Organisation

Obviously everyone has their own method of studying and just because there may be a general rule for ‘what works’, does not mean that it will work for everyone. I’ll be going through some scenarios illustrating the difference being organised can make.

Now, the initial benefit to being organised, and having your studies or work organised is your mindset. Consider what is your ideal mood when you want to have an effective study session. Majority of people absorb the most information when they are calm and collected. Being frustrated or stressed can cause you to struggle to take in new information; especially if the work is challenging.

So How Does This Unplanned Approach Go?

The first thing you do is grab the work you want to complete, or at least the pile of papers, files, books, etc where everything should be, and look for some place to sit and get some work done. Maybe you pick your kitchen counter, maybe the bed; but the desk is a complete mess so that isn’t an option. In the end you decide to sit on the bed and start flipping through your work grabbing the individual books, papers etcetera and putting the rest off to the side. What you’re left with is half the original pile in front of you and a general idea of what you have to get done.

Since you don’t have a plan, you take the first item off the top of the pile and just get started, you’re uncomfortable so you keep shifting around on the bed, changing your posture etc. After an hour of working you are starting to get sleepy, because the only way for you to get comfortable on your bed was to basically lie down.

Now you’re working slower, and you have a whole new problem that you have to solve, so you get up, rub the sleep from your eyes, try to wake up and ultimately continue to work inefficiently.

The Consequences Of Disorganisation

Already we can see that not being organised, and not having a dedicated study area causes problems, at this stage, the ‘you’ in this scenario hasn’t even realised the biggest error your disorganisation has caused; the project you are working on, is not what you should have started with.

Due to your projects not being planned, without important deadlines and the necessary time allocation you have left an important project, due in just a few short days, in the middle of the pile. But it will be okay you’re thinking, it’s not like you will completely forget about the project. In reality by the time this realisation hits, your work descends into a mad scramble to get it done…

Inevitably, the work is not your best and could have been much better, if only it was given the time and attention it needed.

The Organised Approach, It’s Just Simpler

So, what’s the alternative? Well, thats the organised approach. Where you sit down at your clear desk, pull out your planner, check what is due and perhaps even consult your schedule. Then you simply start working.

The organised approach works for any type of project, whether it be school or work, or just to keep on track with your hobbies. It removes barriers that will stop you from starting, and gives less opportunity for you to get distracted or to give up. People think being organised is hard, but in reality not being organised is much much harder. Yes, there is the initial time investment which makes people dismiss the importance of organisation, but in the long term it is by far the more time efficient option. So think of it as an investment, figure out how to be organised and what systems and procedures you need to use.  Thats how you succeed!

The Importance Of Organisation And Me

One of the ways I managed to stay organised was by using digital planners, as they are easier, and neater than any physical planner. Plus, its much more difficult to lose! After I switched to digital planning, I even went so far as to start making my own digital planners, so I could have ones that covered EVERYTHING that I needed. So maybe if you are struggling with you pen and paper planning, try going digital. I can recommend some truly great planners!