Organization Skills

I am quite sure you have said the phrases before: “I don't have time”, “I’m overwhelmed with so much homework”, “I wasn’t able to sleep early yesterday because I had so much to do!” Yet, I’m also sure that most people, whenever they have time or the opportunity to advance on work, the thought, “I’ll do it later, the due date isn’t until tomorrow,” comes in. We often desire more time for ourselves and freedom to have more energy and peace. However, we put up a barrier that limits our freedom, which is called procrastination. Procrastination is the act of voluntarily delaying an important task or goal, despite knowing there are negative consequences to doing so, often choosing to do something less important or more enjoyable instead. When we decide to procrastinate, our brain feels relaxed at the moment because the belief that you are doing something enjoyable overcomes the pressure and stress from the work that needs to be done. This feeling is linked to the misconception that discipline can become a limitation and obstacle to spontaneity and enjoyment. Still, the truth is that discipline is the key to freedom, and in this article we will explore how you can overcome procrastination in order to unlock an organized mindset.

Whenever the term discipline comes to mind, most people think of a strict schedule, rigid control, planners, etc. The idea of it has become so haunting that humans link organization with boredom and lack of liberty. Still, being a disciplined person isn’t being an inflexible person who annotates every single detail in a planner and lacks time for themselves to relax and enjoy life. Being a disciplined person is someone who creates a structure based on the core principles of clarity, consistency and intentionality in order to achieve freedom, creativity and peace of mind. Discipline isn’t a state or action, it is a way of thinking which allows us to have clarity on what matters the most in order to thrive in our lives. For example, as a student, procrastination becomes really tentative due to the existence of lack of motivation/interest on many of the tasks assigned. We know that they are necessary in order to learn, still the tasks don’t seem appealing, making most of us leave them behind until the last minute. Leaving the tasks for the last minute leads to high stress levels, lack of time (leading to a bad performance or the famous “all nighters”), mood swings, and many more just to name a few. We know all these consequences, but still most of us repeat the act of procrastination in our daily life because we don’t know how to break the cycle. But what if I told you that there was a way in which discipline could help you break the cycle and help you create an organized structure which allows freedom. What if instead of having lack of sleep and high stress, you could have spare time in your life to feel relaxed and enjoy the freedom that comes when you have an organized mindset. This is possible through discipline and here are some easy daily strategies in which you can create an organized mindset and overcome procrastination in your life to achieve freedom:

Plan with purpose
- Align your tasks directly with your personal goals in order to create an intentional structure on your daily life.
Prioritize Effectively
- Weight the importance (pros and cons) of your tasks in order to create a prioritization list, granting clarity over which tasks should be done first and why. This allows a clear schedule on your life with intention because you understand why each task is crucial to be done. You can utilize the Eisenhower Matrix in order to prioritize tasks between how urgent and important they are. The matrix consists of creating a table divided in four quadrants: Urgent and Important, Not Urgent but Important, Urgent but Not Important, Not Urgent and Not Important. Based on the position in which the tasks are set, you can prioritize them, for example if a task is “not urgent but important” you can schedule a time for when it can be done, but prioritize another task that follows the category “urgent important.”
Declutter your environment
- This relates to the saying “your environment is a mirror of your mind.” Physical spaces are able to affect mental clarity because they set the tone for how a person processes information, regulates stress, and approaches tasks. For this reason having a cleared environment allows clarity of thoughts and therefore greater effectiveness when performing tasks.
Time management
- When performing a task, set yourself time limits and breaks in order to allow your brain to rest for a while. This grants yourself a break from the tension and hardworking environment making the task feel less boring, difficult and stressful.

By following these simple steps, an organizational mindset can be reached. Even if you don’t notice it at first, payoff that comes from being organized leads to freedom in all aspects: emotional freedom (less stress and anxiety leading to more confidence and tranquility), creative freedom (organized mind leads to clarity fostering innovational thoughts), and time freedom (being organized helps you to have a more effective time management allowing more space to rest and enjoy other activities). I encourage you to apply these simple methods in small aspects of your life and see the big outcomes that will come from having an organized mindset. The truth is discipline isn’t the enemy, it is the pathway towards freedom.