Organization Skill: Why Is It Valuable?

Introduction

Organization: a very important term in today’s chaotic world. Everyone needs to be organized, and everyone who considers themselves organized should try to get even better at it. Living life without even the slightest form of organization can get rough later down the road, and this is why it is always a good time to start getting better at it, no matter what field of work or study you are in.

There are three sections to this article that will help you understand general organization and what it entails. At the end of this read, you should be ready to start taking the necessary steps to amplify your organization levels even further.

Personally, I have always had a natural aptitude for neatness and organization. I believe that it is in the top five must-have skills in the world today. I hope that after reading this article, you will have multiple takeaways to reflect on; I am just a simple person looking to help people master simple things. On that note, let’s begin.

What is Organization?

So how exactly can one define the term organization? Simply put, organization is the state of being:

• In Order
• Sorted Out
• Arranged
• Structured

There are more definitions you can add, but those are good enough for the time being. As you can see, most of those words can also be applied to neatness. However, keep in mind that organization and neatness are two different concepts. Organization is more of an umbrella term which encompasses neatness, while the latter focuses specifically more on appearance and how organized something looks. Regardless, both are good skills to master in the long run.

Organization is a transferable skill. This means that organization is a skill that can be transferred, be it from one job to another, or from being single to being married, etc. A person who is generally organized will be organized in everything that he does.

For example, doctors and teachers utilize this skill every day. Doctors need to make sure that their patients are well taken care of and teachers need to make sure that their students are learning in an effective manner. Without organization, they will get lost and overwhelmed because of how many people they are working with.

Another example that most of you can relate to is when you were stuck in the transition between graduating from university and starting a career. Organization skills were important to you back in university, and those same skills are now applicable to your career.

Overall, everyone needs to have some level of organization skills to succeed and make their lives better off. Without organization, life is messy, chaotic, and a nightmare to deal with.

Now, let’s move on to how this skill can be applied to your personal life.

Personal Organization

Personal organization relates to how your life outside of the professional world is kept stable. For instance, as soon as you wake up, you might make your bed; this is a good habit, and is just one example of personal organization.

So, what exactly determines which activity falls under personal organization? The nature of the activity is one factor; is it something that you must do for work? Or is it something that you do for yourself?

I will keep things simple; here is a list of some things that relate to personal organization:

• Your house
  • Decluttering
  • Maintenance
  • Neatness
  • Making your room
  • Tidying up other rooms
  • Chores
• Your social life
  • Planning get-togethers, events, and parties
• General tasks that need to get done
  • Buying groceries
  • Filling up your car
  • Meal preparation
• Personal development

Notice how each of these things need some level of organization skills to do effectively. For some people, most of these tasks are trivial. However, people usually procrastinate until the last second, no matter how easy a task is. Keep in mind that these things differ from person to person. For example, if you take public transportation daily, then “filling up your car” would be crossed off the list. Also note that there are many more things that can be included on the list; I just chose to list a few things for the sake of your time.

In summary, personal organization relates to how organization can help keep your daily life routine in check, outside of school, university, or work. One final aspect that is important for everyone to consider is your own personal development. Organization, or personal organization, allows you to have an adaptable, and flexible, thought process. This skill helps you train your mind to prioritize the most important tasks first. Master this skill, and you will be an efficient, and effective, thinker. But I think you now understand the essentials; let’s move on to professional organization.

Professional Organization

When people think of organization, they mainly think about projects, deadlines, and so on. This is because these things all help you move forward in your career. Universities and schools prepare you for the beginning of your career, and while organization skills are not as important there compared to when you start working, they are still valuable.

The activities found under professional organization should be at the top of your priority list when compared to activities such as meeting with friends to go for a movie. Your organization should be split in a way that gives 70% of your time for professional activities, and 30% of your time for personal activities.

I am not going to go in depth on everything that relates to professional organization for the sake of your time. I will highlight them briefly in a list:

• School or university
  • Projects
  • Essays, papers, and reports
  • Exams and quizzes
  • Homework
  • Getting to class on time
• Work
  • Projects
  • Getting to work on time
  • Presenting for your manager
  • Meeting preparation
  • Meeting up with company stakeholders (anyone involved with the company)

Each of these points has a role in progressing your life forward. You graduate from school, and then you start university. After getting your degree, you move on to finding work, and you build yourself up from there. Organization will help you be successful. Go and ask any CEO in any company; he/she will tell you that organization is one of the most important skills to master in today’s dynamic world.

Do not underestimate any of these tasks. Preparing properly for something as trivial as a quiz in your Philosophy class might make the difference between you passing or failing that class, and you wouldn’t want that, now would you? I have seen many of my friends back at school and university fail classes because they failed to hand in one homework assignment; trust me, it happens. It is embarrassing to say the least; do not fall into this pitfall, get your work done!

Also, do not procrastinate unless you know that you can get the task done before the deadline. If the deadline is after three days, but you know that you can get your project done in one day, then you can procrastinate for two days. That’s not to say that you should procrastinate; you need to strive to complete your task as soon as you can, for you never know what might happen. Your boss might call and give you another task or some emergency might arise unexpectedly, and soon enough you will find yourself overwhelmed and stressed out.

Complete your tasks as soon as you get them; get into this habit, and you will feel not only satisfaction but in control.

Conclusion

If you have made it this far in the article, kudos to you. I am very passionate about organization, and have always been since my university days. I have always had a natural aptitude for organization and neatness, and I just wanted to share my knowledge on the matter.

You now have an understanding of what organization is, both in your personal life and your professional career. You can start right this minute putting some order in your life. Go out and buy a diary and start using to-do lists. Begin working on that project even though it is only due in five days. The possibilities are endless!

We could all use a little more organization in our lives.