It's here! It's "Get Organized & Be Productive Month"!

What is GO Month?

January is Get Organized & Be Productive (GO) Month, an annual initiative sponsored by the National Association of Productivity & Organizing Professionals (NAPO). This month-long event increases general public awareness of what NAPO is and how our members are drivers of change by providing unique services tailored to meet their individual client needs.

January is the ideal time for GO Month since “change” is a popular New Year’s resolution. During GO Month, NAPO professional organizers and productivity consultants across the country host events in their communities or online to empower individuals, families, businesses, and organizations to regain control over their surroundings, help with time management, how to be more productive, prepare for a disaster and more.(These first two paragraphs are taken from NAPO’s GO Month Marketing Kit.”

Whether you are a fan of New Years resolutions or whether you have a less formal approach to wanting to step up your organization and time management skills, here are my top 10 tips…

Set goals by thinking through what works and what doesn’t. Ask yourself what you need your spaces to function as. Who else needs to access and use that space? Close your eyes and visual it the way you want it to look and function. This is a huge part of the process, which should not be skipped and will greatly increase your chance of success.
Break down tasks into small, manageable steps. Do not try to organize your entire house or even an entire room all in one day. Just completing one cabinet in the kitchen or one pile of papers in the office is an accomplishment to be proud of and is often enough to serve as motivation to continue.
Avoid “zig-zag organizing” where you are constantly running around your home relocating items from one area or room to another. Stay focused on completing the one task you have chosen to conquer.
Make sure you are in decision making mode when tackling an organizing project. Be sure you have eaten and are in a good frame of mind to make what may be difficult or emotional decisions.
Keep it simple! In order for you and others to keep areas maintained, you do not want too many steps nor do you need high tech, complicated products and tools.
Create systems that work for you and your family. Sort and place items according to how you use them, which may or may not be the way your parents/siblings/best friends do it.
Make sure you have paper management routines in place. Even in this digital era, paper is still many people’s nemesis. Being able to manage the daily influx is crucial towards staying on top of important appointments, deadlines, bills, and more.
Revisit your to do list systems. Are you making the most of your days and planning proactively or are you in reactive/putting out fires mode most of your days? Give thought to how you should manage your urgent/important tasks but not lose sight of those “one of these days” items which you truly hope to make time for.
Make it fun! Crank up the tunes, make it a game, set a timer and work in sprints. Hey, light a candle and pour a glass of wine if that’s what it takes.
Know when to ask for help – whether it be a friend, family member or Professional Organizer.

Should you need help with the physical organization of your home or office spaces or your time management skills, Put It There is available to help make this the year you reach your organizing goals!

2021 is finally here and I wish you all a happy, healthy, productive, organized year!