Growing up I have distinct memories of my mother rising at sunrise because her checkbook did not balance!  She was determined to find that missing 3 cents and she knew that for HER…early morning was when the thinking cap fit best.  Rather than time management, I like to think of it as ENERGY management and finding your peak productivity time.   Now I realize to some of a certain generation I might have already lost you due to several references in the previous paragraph…

• check book?
• balance a check book?

…stay with me on this…turns out Mom knew what she was doing (I have said this on many occasions in my adulthood).  It seems that studies have shown there is gobs of quantified proof that the brain’s performance improves at certain times of the day.   Imagine DO LESS and GET MORE DONE!   It all has to do with our circadian and ultradian rhythms (and some of you thought you didn’t have ANY rhythm at all). Interestingly it is not the same time of day for everyone.  There is a name for this “magic time”.  It is called PPT…Peak Productivity Time and some like Craig Ballantyne of Early to Rise theorize that this “magic time” allows for 3 times as much productivity when compared to other parts of the day.  Click here to see his hints on how to find your Peak Productivity Time.

So what does this have to do with getting organized in your office space?  Organizing is exhausting…especially when papers are involved. Just as clutter can be described as “delayed decisions” …organizing can be described as”constant decisions”  It can be mentally draining work so don’t sabotage yourself by trying to do it when you are tired and unable to focus.

Once you’ve determined when YOUR magic time is…begin organizing your office or work space and…

• BE REALISTIC…set aside a defined chunk of time but recognize you may not complete your organizing.  Don’t beat yourself up if you don’t finish…just commit to another defined chunk of time on another day.
• BE A-LONER…Organizing requires thinking…thinking requires quiet.  Shut the door or if that’s not possible, make it well known that you don’t want to be interrupted.
• BE A TURN OFF…limit distractions…facebook and twitter can wait and make a conscious effort not to answer the phone if possible.

Remember…organizing whether it’s papers, stuff or information is a process…not an event.  Oh and about my Mom’s 3 cents?…she ALWAYS found it!

Langton Designs creates offices that work well and feel right !