What do organized people do differently from the rest of us?

I’m not the world’s most organized person, but I have studied organized people. No, I’m not a stalker, but I’ve found myself adopting habits from people I’ve met along the way, who seem to make work seem effortless. Why reinvent the wheel, when someone else beat your to it?!

Here’s just a sampling of some of the habits of highly organized people I’ve discovered. These may seem simple, but some I have been more successful at emulating others–that first one is a doozy for me.

Habits of Highly Organized People

1. Get Started Early – While not all highly organized people are early risers, they all get started with their day right away. There is no wasting time checking the phone from bed. Get up and get ready for the day.
2. Make a List–and Stick to It – One of the most effective organizational habits is to make a list. I regularly make daily lists, weekly lists, and longer-term lists. It is important to write things down, so you can stay on top of it all, but also, crossing items off builds such a sense of accomplishment.
3. Set Priorities – By the same token, making lists help organized people set priorities. Setting and following through on priorities is key. It allows you to accomplish tasks in a streamlined and systematic way, which keeps you from wasting time by completing things out of order, or ahead of more crucial items.
4. Implement Routines – Highly organized people are creatures of habit. While you may want (and need) to retain some spontaneity in your day, it can be helpful to follow a basic routine. Checking email first thing in the morning and after lunch, catching up on phone calls in the late afternoon, etc.
5. Everything in Its Place – Clutter is kryptonite to organized people, and they learn to keep their physical and virtual spaces clutter-free. File papers and email away as soon as possible.
6. Necessary Tools Should Be Handy – It’s also crucial to keep everyday tools at hand, so time isn’t wasted hunting for things you need.
7. Practice Upkeep – Organized people maintain their stuff to avoid slowdowns, or worse, getting off task completely. Organized people are just as likely to get their cars tuned up regularly as they are to run regular malware and virus scanners on their computers.
8. Clean Up As You Go – Whether you are working on a graphic design job on your computer or making a meal in the kitchen, clean up as you go. It keeps your mind from getting distracted by unnecessary things and just makes everything more pleasant.
9. Get in the Zone – Highly organized people understand the need to compartmentalize. When you have set your priorities, get to work and get into the “zone”. You will be amazed how more you will be able to get accomplished.

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If the whole “66 days” rule to break bad habits is starting to feel daunting, here are some tips to keep you on track.

Confession: I’ve been trying to break the same bad habits for over two years now. While we all work hard to make our healthy habits stick, there are always a few straggling bad habits that become our… kryptonite. Sure, I could feel totally pathetic about my epic failure in this department, or I could feel proud about the fact that I’m still sticking it out after all this time – so natch, I’m choosing the latter. And you should too.

Here are 4 tricks to hide up your sleeve the next time your bad habits are about to break you instead:

1. Shrink it

If your goal isn’t being met in its current form, then make it smaller. Let’s say your caffeine habit is getting out of hand, and your current goal is to cut your intake in half… but you ultimately end up caving in the end to meet your work deadlines. Make your goal smaller, such as cutting back by one cup. Once your body’s adjusted, remove another cup, and another until you’re back to enjoying coffee because it’s awesome, not because you “need” it.

2. Bait and switch

Anytime you feel the urge to follow through with your bad habits – for example, if you suddenly feel compelled to bite your nails – choose a habit you’re going to replace it with to throw yourself a bone. More than that, make it a habit that turns you off your current one. For example, put on lip gloss (the goopier the better!). I mean, who wants lip gloss all over their hands, amiright?

The one habit I have managed to break is my sugar addiction – junk food and I go way back. Now, every time I have a craving that’s about to send me to the corner store, I brush my teeth. Since everything tastes disgusting after you’ve brushed your teeth, by the time the minty taste wears off, so has my craving. Bonus: My teeth are so clean they practically glow in the dark.

3. Build on your good habits

Can the bad habits you want to break be “linked” to healthy habits you’ve already established? Your established healthy habit will then become a trigger to remind you of the next healthy habit you want to put in place. Let’s say you cheat in the flossing department: Use brushing your teeth before bed, an established healthy habit, as your trigger to floss.

4. Visualize, don’t fantasize

When you visualize your goal, you picture the steps involved in accomplishing it. For example, if you want to learn how to play the guitar, you’d visualize learning notes with a teacher or following along to a DVD (wait, do they still make those?). When you fantasize, you skip thinking about the pesky learning process and head straight to picturing yourself nailing the “Crazy On You” solo. While fantasizing is fun, it can also be counterproductive, making you easily frustrated during the learning curve. Visualizing, on the other hand, keeps you aware of the hard work involved, and also decreases your anxiety about it. (Cha-ching!)

What process do you go through to break bad habits?

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