“Habit is either the best of servants or the worst of masters.”  ~Nathaniel Emmons

A lack of organization leads to frustration, management by crisis, and eats up chunks of your life. Chunks of time that erode your quality of life and nibble away at your self-worth. Two important components of organization require relentless consistency.

First, do what you are supposed to do when you are supposed to do it. Successful people are prepared people. They don’t wait until the last minute. When something unexpected comes along, it is far less challenging to manage. Simple things such as keeping your gas tank at least half full, having extra cash tucked away in your billfold or purse in case you find yourself short of money, choosing your outfit for work the night before,keeping the cell phone charged and carry a charger in your vehicle.

Examine every possible inefficiency in your daily schedule and then take action to find a more efficient solution. When you find yourself getting frustrated or stressed, recognize that this is an opportunity to change your systems and improve your life. This is a critical step if you’re serious about getting a better life. If you want a more stress-free, relaxed lifestyle, it’s solely up to you to make this happen. You don’t do the work, you won’t see the results. 

Secondly, become a fanatic about using Pareto’s Principle, which is better known as the 80/20 rule. Named after Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto, his principle states that in many instances 20% of the input or activities are responsible for 80% of the output or results. Using Pareto’s Principle will be an invaluable asset to becoming better organized and opening up huge blocks of time. Time which can then be deployed in actually living the life you so want. If you think about it, you’ll discover it applies to every facet of your world. Personally, I have found that 20% of my efforts yield 80% of my income, 20% of my customers give me 80% of my grief, 20% of any service club does 80% of the work.

I kicked this principle into high gear when one of my family members became seriously ill. As one of the caregivers, I quickly realized I could no longer do business as usual and was motivated to find ways to streamline operations so I could be there for my family. I needed to be able to run things from a hospital room if I had to. Using the Pareto Principle, I searched for what I could minimize, modify or eliminate in my life. I began by eliminating  part of my business operation that held little future, consumed large blocks of time, but only constituted about 20% of my income. Then, I put an end to the 20% of my customers that caused 80% of my work and grief. I didn’t stop there. Eventually, I went from working 50-65 hour work weeks to 12-20 hour work weeks. Finally,  I then improved my remaining operations and regained the 20% income I had lost. 

Get serious and stay serious (bad habits will creep in) about Pareto’s Principle. Pretend you are in a family crisis and have absolutely no choice. You have to make this work. What would you do? Then do it. You can always go back to your old way of doing things, but I’ll bet you won’t. Once you “get a life” you’ll find yourself reluctant to give it up.

“Do. Or do not. There is no try.”  ~Yoda, “The Empire Strikes Back”