Off-Limits Until...

Organizing is easier if you set boundaries. Some examples might include only keeping the number of books that fit into your bookshelves, only keeping the amount of paper that fits into your file cabinet (a 4-drawer cabinet holds 18,000 sheets of paper), or saying "no" next time someone asks you to volunteer for a committee. Other examples include making certain activities "off-limits" until other tasks have been completed.

Case and point, once I enter my office, it is hard to pull me away. I love what I do! Whether it is checking email, writing articles, recording audios, creating presentations, once I enter the office, chances are that other tasks will be left undone...even if I set boundaries. So this morning I knew that I needed to work out. But I felt the "pull" of email and twitter:-) I said to myself, "I will set my timer for 10 minutes and at the end of that time, I will go exercise." Before I put my hand on the door to the office, I realized this wouldn't work. I would get involved in something and pretty soon hours would have passed. So today I made my office off-limits until I exercised and got ready for my day. It took discipline, but it worked. I feel better because I worked out (I even read during cardio, killing two birds with one stone since I enjoyed reading).

Off-limits doesn't have to be a permanent restriction, it can be temporary, like my example above. So what activity should be "temporarily off-limits" so that you can exercise your organizing muscles?

For more information about setting boundaries and related concepts important to organizing, listen to a clip of the Stop Letting Stuff Overwhelm You audio.