Create order – maintain order. Not just in the office

You know the saying: “Those who maintain order are simply too lazy to try.” It’s exactly like this: those who have tidied up their office, their desk and (ideally) all the other areas of their life will save a lot of time because they will no longer have to search.

Incidentally, laziness is a famous trait of software developers, which leads them to always build their code in an orderly manner. DRY (Don’t repeat yourself, don’t write anything more than once) and other organizational principles help us save a lot of time.

Here you will discover how to organize your environment in the simplest way possible to…

• You don’t waste time searching because everything is housed in one foolproof system
• you always know where something belongs when you want to put it down
• Orient yourself among family or colleagues in case of emergency and relieve you (keyword: holidays)

Systematic order: a place for everything

This should be your goal. Anyone who is constantly looking for their keys knows the problem. You return home and your thoughts are already with your family. The bunch of keys ends up somewhere. By the time you go back to work in the morning, you will have forgotten where you were again. Now it’s time to look for the keys (if you don’t cheat with a tool like KeyFinder and just boo the part).

How much easier it would be if you had a permanent place for your key. You put it here, you take it back with you from there. It doesn’t have to be a key ring, a nice old pudding plate in the hallway is fine for me.

The things you use every day need a place where you can reliably store them and find them again. This includes not only keys, but also

• Wallet
• Smartphones
• Identity cards, including special ones such as social security cards, x-ray subscriptions and bonus cards for visits to the dentist
• Bank cards, credit cards, gym and library access cards
• necessary daily medications

Don’t forget everything related to home and personal hygiene

• Cosmetics
• Cleaning products
• Clothes, shoes
• Tool
• Groceries
• Dishes and pots
• Supplies

What do you usually carry on hand every day in the office:

• Computers and peripherals
• Handakten
• Your lists for everything and anything
• Hole punch, stapler
• Filing system

If you find a place for everything here, you will save a lot of time when you need it.

Why is order so important?

Are you creative at work, do you have a family and a circle of friends, do you play sports and continue your studies in your free time? All of this requires your full attention and decisions every day: Should I listen to this podcast? What birthday gift should I buy for my daughter? Do I want to accept this project or not? Decisions require willpower and focus, but you only have so much in a day.

Don’t waste it on trivial things like looking for glasses, keys, cell phone, folder with bank statements. A systematically and carefully developed order will help you save energy and time. It keeps your head free for the really important processes and decisions. Order is the first pillar of your productivity!

What is the secret of an orderly environment?

Let’s go back to my key ring. I carefully chose the seat in the aisle because I pass there several times a day when I leave or enter the house. The pudding shape is easily accessible, attracts attention, and is pretty much the key’s natural environment when I don’t have it with me.

This is what your space should look like for all the items you’re dealing with. Since you can’t or don’t want to have everything you own and use fully visible and within reach, you sort them by purpose.

• Positioned in the most natural and evident way possible on everyday objects
• Where possible, where you need it: at hand when the situation requires it. So your favorite clothes aren’t at the back of the closet, the storage baskets are right next to the desk
• It is best to store it so well that it does not clutter the surfaces
• the less often you need them, the further away they should be from where they are used (current project files right on the job site, sales tax documents behind you on the shelf, master data and inventory folders in the filing cabinet)

Once you have things in order, the real magic called routine takes effect. With frequently used things like the oft-mentioned set of keys, a new habit quickly develops: you carry it with you, you put it down. At some point this will happen automatically. You no longer have to think about where to find your key. This relieves tension on the brain and frees up the ability to make important decisions. A well-structured system for your organization always has a positive impact on your productivity and well-being.

How do you create order and maintain it?

First things first: please don’t turn your entire house upside down in one quick motion. This means that you become overwhelmed with yourself and your motivation automatically decreases. It is better to proceed systematically:

Choose a logical area, a group of things, to start with. It could be all your clothes and shoes scattered around the house, your office supplies, or even all your financial documents. Sort them critically according to these criteria:

Do I still need it? Have I ever used it and plan to use it this year?
You will surely find a t-shirt with the tag still attached, a really bad purchase! Or the tenth frame you received as a housewarming gift. Or the pot of cream that has long since expired.

If you want to follow Marie Kondō, ask yourself if they bring you joy. If the answer is no, then get rid of the pieces. You can do them

• upcyclen
• give away
• swap away
• sell or – if nothing works –
• throw away

Some also recommend keeping anything you don’t want to make a decision about yet. I don’t agree. Experience shows that this little rummage box will never be touched again. The decision could easily have been made during the first review.

Once you’ve gone through all your clothes, documents or tools, all that’s left is what you really want or need to keep with you. Now look for suitable places and containers to store everything so you can find it quickly and preserve its value. This also includes sorting, organizing and storing things according to your logic. The system must support you and your life. That’s why the order is a very individual decision.

What always works:

• Get (good) containers for anything that divides large areas like cabinets and shelves into smaller units. So boxes or drawer tops for your screws, your sewing thread. They don’t have to be expensive organizational systems, you can be creative and recycle.
• If you change your bag often, I recommend a bag organizer. It holds everything you need and just moves it from bag to bag with just one handle.
• Again, surround yourself with things that make you happy when you use them (no jammed drawers, no unsightly paper clip trays).
• Clear and systematic labels are your friend, especially in the office. Find the right pattern for file folders here and create a template for printing folder spine labels.
• Place everything as close to you as possible, as far away as possible. So again: archive in the basement, folder 2023 on the shelf behind you.
• Keep lists of anything that isn’t intuitive or isn’t used often. For example, a Christmas list with the location of the Christmas trees, tree decorations, Christmas paper, etc. throughout the year.

Once you have brought order to your environment, area by area, that suits you and supports you, it is easy to maintain. Everything that arrives now automatically finds its place: the book in the right place on the shelf, the shoes in their rack at the back of the wardrobe, the printer paper in the roll container. The more often you follow your new order and use it, the faster it forms a habit that you no longer have to think about.

Create order – also for others

When you go on vacation, your organizational system will prove its worth. You entrust your work to the representative and the care of the flowers to the neighbors. With a list of the most important things you need you will be fully informed and can leave with complete peace of mind. If something unexpected happens, you can, if necessary, remotely indicate exactly where your helpers can find everything they need. Even if you suddenly have to go to the hospital (let’s hope not), a well-thought-out agreement will help ensure that your girlfriend can bring you everything you need.

Well-organized documents in your network and a well-thought-out, well-tested workflow don’t just support you. If you want to delegate work you can count on a proven system, everything is explained to you faster and you can actually delegate the task.

You see, creating and maintaining order seems boring and unattractive at first, but it brings many benefits. You increase your productivity because you can focus on the important tasks that will take you further and increase your income.