Change your Habits Change your Life

by Stacey Knechtel, Professional Organizer

Quitter’s day. What is that you may ask? It’s a day marked on our national calendar that falls on the second Friday of January, it’s the day most people have already quit on their New Year’s Resolutions. Did you make resolutions this year? Perhaps you set out to be more organized and less overwhelmed in 2025? Well if you did you are not alone.

Being disorganized makes everything harder! Your work day. Your home life. Your personal relationships. It zaps your productivity, costs you more money, makes you overwhelmed, and leads to unhealthy habits.

Thankfully, there are ways to avoid it. The good news is the benefits of being organized are exceptional. How do we get and stay organized?

In this Brief Discussion Paper, we’ll clear up some myths about what being organized means as well as share 8 transformative benefits to being organized and some practical steps to take in your own life.

What does being organized mean? Being organized is not merely decluttering or getting rid of stuff. It goes far beyond tidiness and strict routines. Being organized means having a system in place to manage something. A system to manage your finances and your budget. A system to manage your laundry in all the various stages from dirty to clean. A system for inventory management. Whatever life looks like for you, being organized creates structure and balance and allows you to be in charge of how you manage your time, spaces, priorities and workflow.

8 Ways being organized will transform your quality of life:

1. Productivity Booster

   When you are organized, you maximize your time and effort. Prioritizing tasks so you don’t waste time on the less urgent matters. Streamlining work flows, using tools like apps to simplify your work and help with repetitive tasks. Managing your time efficiently, using an electronic planner to keep track of appointments and tasks helps you to stay focused. An organized workspace helps you find things when you need them and minimizes distractions and helps you maintain concentration.

2. Improves your decision- making

   Being organized, reduces stress. Minimizing clutter around you also minimizes the clutter in your mind making it easier to think clearer. It improves confidence. If you have all the information you need to make a decision, you will feel more confident in making it and make it with conviction.

3. Ignites your creativity

   Being organized enables you to unlock your creative potential. Decluttering, when you remove physical or mental clutter, you create space for creativity. A clean work space inspires you to new ideas and projects. After decluttering, you can intentionally surround yourself with things that inspire you. Letting go opens the way for new things.

4. Improves your Physical health

   Increased organization decreases stress which improves your overall physical health. When you are organized and manage your time well you have more time to take care of yourself. Eat better and exercise and do the things you love to do. Studies show being organized also helps you get better sleep.

5. Improves mental health

   Reduces Anxiety. Clutter and disorganization lead to anxiety and stress. Being organized increases your sense of dignity. Feeling in control of your space, time and finances boosts your self esteem. This helps you feel empowered and less overwhelmed. Better relaxation. An organized life is a more relaxed you. It allows you to feel at ease in your space and the time to incorporate relaxation methods into your-day-to-day.

6. Boost your work-life balance

   Protect your personal time. Being organized helps you eliminate long work days. When you schedule your week, you can create physical and mental boundaries between your work and personal life. This will ensure your personal time is honored by you and others. Prioritize self-care. When you schedule self-care, you can treat these activities as non-negotiable appointments. Taking regular breaks can help recharge and prevent burnout, which is crucial to work-life balance.

7. Strengthens your relationships

   Relationships are crucial to our health and being organized benefits them by increasing reliability. If you are on top of your schedule and task load, you won’t frustrate others by forgetting commitments or over booking. This frees you up to make time for those that are important to you. 

8. Unlock your potential for growth and success.

Set Goals. Being organized can help you to set realistic goals and a plan to achieve them. Managing resources, through prioritizing tasks, eliminating time-wasting activities, and optimizing your work flow, you can make the most of your resources. Organized individuals focus on high- impact tasks that pave the way for continuous growth and success. Leave your self in a position to seize opportunities that come your way.

How to become organized today:

• Organize your time by creating a weekly schedule.

• Organize your space by decluttering your spaces at home and work.

• Organize your finances so you can manage your resources well.

• Set micro goals where you break down manageable tasks into smaller actionable steps. Celebrate each accomplishment so you fuel your motivation to see the entire goal through.

• Refine your skills. Explore new techniques, tools and systems that align with your needs and preferences. Even small changes will improve your productivity and mindset.

The more you incorporate organization into your life, the more you’ll reap the benefits. If you stick to the task, you will quickly experience the rewards. Here’s to a well organized and enjoyable 2025 to all.

For More Information on any topic in this Brief Discussion Paper please contact. Stacey Knechtel, Professional Organizer, est 2010 Stacerella7@gmail.com. 

Disclaimer and Notice to Reader: This Discussion Paper should not be construed as legal or tax advice but rather only as a general statement and explanation of the topic matter. Professional tax and legal advice should be obtained for the readers own personal situation. For more information on this topic or how it applies to your family, please contact our Wealth Advisory team.

Last edit Feb 1, 2025