In the realm of professional organizing, you often hear the term “systems.” Systems for laundry, systems for mail, systems for decluttering. But what exactly is a system and why should it be so important to you?
Systems are processes and procedures.
They are the established steps you follow when completing a task, no matter how big or small. Efficient systems function like auto-pilot and morph into habits that require very little thinking. Systems help you make the best use of your time and energy resources as you go about life. Everyone’s got ‘em. But not everybody has good ones.
A key strategy to ensure successful organized living is assessing, correcting, and setting good systems in place. Think of systems like bumpers in bowling --- they almost always ensure you’ll hit your target!
And you want to live successfully, right? You didn’t just have your home organized for the fun of it, did you? This is supposed to be a complete life change, right? Well in that case, let’s grab our magnifying glass, a pad of paper, your favorite pen, and get down to business.
During my initial consultations, I ask clients to tell me what systems are working really well for them in their home or office. Every client has a different answer, but most begin with a blank stare. Yes, I’m asking a question and no it’s not a hard one. But we hesitate to answer because sometimes when life is SO disorganized, it’s hard to see what’s working at all.
So, what's working well for you?
Nothing coming to mind? What about your morning routine or even just a sliver of it. Do you know where to find your underwear after the shower? Well, that’s working well! And what about your makeup --- do you know where it is and can you apply it without having to think much of it? Great! You’re on a roll. What about in the office --- are you able to successfully grab a cup of coffee from the kitchen area? Do you know how to send a fax? See, you do have SOME systems (even though they might only be a few steps) that are working well.
I want you to write down the systems that ARE working well for you. This boosts your confidence and will serve to remind you that your life isn’t completely a wreck, even if it might feel like you’re spinning out of control. We have to focus on facts; we have to get OBJECTIVE.
Now that you know what’s going well, I want you to write down the jobs/systems that aren’t going so well. In fact, maybe these tasks aren’t getting done at all. It’s okay, we all have a few…..in fact, most clients struggle with the same ones. Does that surprise you? You aren’t alone. Tasks that require more steps are harder to refine. They take more brain power than we typically want to allocate. They take more time to evaluate to identify the loose screws.
But we’re taking the time now.
Systems are processes and procedures.
They are the established steps you follow when completing a task, no matter how big or small. Efficient systems function like auto-pilot and morph into habits that require very little thinking. Systems help you make the best use of your time and energy resources as you go about life. Everyone’s got ‘em. But not everybody has good ones.
A key strategy to ensure successful organized living is assessing, correcting, and setting good systems in place. Think of systems like bumpers in bowling --- they almost always ensure you’ll hit your target!
And you want to live successfully, right? You didn’t just have your home organized for the fun of it, did you? This is supposed to be a complete life change, right? Well in that case, let’s grab our magnifying glass, a pad of paper, your favorite pen, and get down to business.
During my initial consultations, I ask clients to tell me what systems are working really well for them in their home or office. Every client has a different answer, but most begin with a blank stare. Yes, I’m asking a question and no it’s not a hard one. But we hesitate to answer because sometimes when life is SO disorganized, it’s hard to see what’s working at all.
So, what's working well for you?
Nothing coming to mind? What about your morning routine or even just a sliver of it. Do you know where to find your underwear after the shower? Well, that’s working well! And what about your makeup --- do you know where it is and can you apply it without having to think much of it? Great! You’re on a roll. What about in the office --- are you able to successfully grab a cup of coffee from the kitchen area? Do you know how to send a fax? See, you do have SOME systems (even though they might only be a few steps) that are working well.
I want you to write down the systems that ARE working well for you. This boosts your confidence and will serve to remind you that your life isn’t completely a wreck, even if it might feel like you’re spinning out of control. We have to focus on facts; we have to get OBJECTIVE.
Now that you know what’s going well, I want you to write down the jobs/systems that aren’t going so well. In fact, maybe these tasks aren’t getting done at all. It’s okay, we all have a few…..in fact, most clients struggle with the same ones. Does that surprise you? You aren’t alone. Tasks that require more steps are harder to refine. They take more brain power than we typically want to allocate. They take more time to evaluate to identify the loose screws.
But we’re taking the time now.
I want you to pick just ONE inefficient, broken system on your list to think about. On a clean page, I want you to break that job down into as many steps as you can. No, I’m not kidding. And, no, this isn’t busy work. This is the exact exercise I use for every broken system I encounter with my clients. I invest my time to find the fix, and you’re going to do that today too. Some tasks like “arriving to work on time” have a specific start time that frames the job. Other jobs like laundry have varying start times. Just pick a starting place and go with it. The point is that these jobs, tasks, activities, whatever you want to call them, are cyclical. During this exercise, you’re going to be able to identify the broken steps that throw off your rhythm. As you’re writing down your steps, the first few will probably be really easy. These are the steps that are working well and are easy to complete. Here’s an example of dishwashing.
….so far so good. This looks like a pretty great system…..until you SEE this.
….now the dishwasher, sink, and counters are all full. Anxiety is high. Piles are getting tricky. No one in the house knows which step to complete next because the task is completely out of control. What was the missing step that could have PREVENTED this scenario? Easy. Unload the dishwasher after you run it. But you need to get more specific. When are you going to unload it? It takes about two hours to run and dry. And don’t forget about those plastic pieces that never dry as quickly as the glass.
Having a plan is crucial!
If you want to reduce the amount of resources you’re spending on broken systems, then you’ve got to make them so simple that they become automatic for you and everyone else that touches them. Of course, life will throw you curve balls and you’ll need to adjust, but 95% of the time, your system will be fool-proof and your habit will be easy to complete.
Now that you’ve assessed your system and made some corrective marks, give it a try. If you’re still having trouble, look at the other systems that interact with the system you’re refining. In the scenario above, maybe the problem in your system isn’t the dishwasher component at all. Maybe it’s the dish return. If you’ve got inefficient storage for your dishes, you’re less likely to put them back. Make returning objects easy. Keep your dishes in cabinets near the dishwasher.
Keep it simple and you'll find your systems are working like a charm.
For the skeptics, I know you are arguing with your computer screen right now. I can hear you. You’re coming up with all the reasons a system so simple just won’t work. You’re giving me excuses. But excuses don’t solve problems. Excuses simply delay solutions. If you’re ready to change your life and live in freedom, then you’ve got to stop coming up with excuses. You’ve got to get creative and really evaluate your schedule. You need to find a way to implement a system that closes the loop and gets you back to start with a fresh slate each time. You CAN do this! And I guarantee that when you give it a chance, when you tweak your system to help you rather than annoy you, life will get better. The tasks will get easier. You’ll forget the struggle you had once upon a time, and live like the person you were always meant to be.
- Rinse dirty breakfast dishes and place them in the dishwasher.
- Rinse dirty lunch dishes and place them in the dishwasher.
- Rinse dirty dinner dishes and place them in the dishwasher.
- Start the full dishwasher after dinner.
….so far so good. This looks like a pretty great system…..until you SEE this.
- Rinse dirty breakfast dishes and place…..wait. I forgot to unload the dishwasher last night, and I don’t have time to unload it right now. I can’t put the next set of dishes in the dishwasher. I’ll just leave them in the sink.
- I don’t have any more clean dishes in the cabinets, so I’ll just grab what I need for lunch out of the clean ones in the dishwasher....and not unload the rest of it.
- Rinse dirty lunch dishes and leave them on the counter because the sink is full.
….now the dishwasher, sink, and counters are all full. Anxiety is high. Piles are getting tricky. No one in the house knows which step to complete next because the task is completely out of control. What was the missing step that could have PREVENTED this scenario? Easy. Unload the dishwasher after you run it. But you need to get more specific. When are you going to unload it? It takes about two hours to run and dry. And don’t forget about those plastic pieces that never dry as quickly as the glass.
Having a plan is crucial!
If you want to reduce the amount of resources you’re spending on broken systems, then you’ve got to make them so simple that they become automatic for you and everyone else that touches them. Of course, life will throw you curve balls and you’ll need to adjust, but 95% of the time, your system will be fool-proof and your habit will be easy to complete.
- Rinse dirty breakfast dishes and place them in the dishwasher.
- Rinse dirty lunch dishes and place them in the dishwasher.
- Rinse dirty dinner dishes and place them in the dishwasher.
- Start the full dishwasher after dinner.
- Empty the dishwasher before bed.
- If there are items that can’t yet be put in the cabinets because they are wet, either dry them or place them on a drying rack.
- In the morning, empty the drying rack before or after you take care of the dirty dishes from breakfast.
Now that you’ve assessed your system and made some corrective marks, give it a try. If you’re still having trouble, look at the other systems that interact with the system you’re refining. In the scenario above, maybe the problem in your system isn’t the dishwasher component at all. Maybe it’s the dish return. If you’ve got inefficient storage for your dishes, you’re less likely to put them back. Make returning objects easy. Keep your dishes in cabinets near the dishwasher.
Keep it simple and you'll find your systems are working like a charm.
For the skeptics, I know you are arguing with your computer screen right now. I can hear you. You’re coming up with all the reasons a system so simple just won’t work. You’re giving me excuses. But excuses don’t solve problems. Excuses simply delay solutions. If you’re ready to change your life and live in freedom, then you’ve got to stop coming up with excuses. You’ve got to get creative and really evaluate your schedule. You need to find a way to implement a system that closes the loop and gets you back to start with a fresh slate each time. You CAN do this! And I guarantee that when you give it a chance, when you tweak your system to help you rather than annoy you, life will get better. The tasks will get easier. You’ll forget the struggle you had once upon a time, and live like the person you were always meant to be.
Having trouble identifying the mis-steps and mistakes in your broken systems?
Let the Clutter Coach help!
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