"Organization is a process"

Study great men (or women) and you will learn to grow like them. Lately I have started reading biographies of individuals who have accomplished a great purpose of some kind in their lifetimes. Despite their differences of time period, situations, personalities and temperaments, and chosen professions I find a great many things in common with these men. Found within nearly all of these various examples of success are discipline and organization.

Building wealth is not just about money, but rather it’s about maturing as an individual. Jesus said in Matthew 6:33, “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.” In order to achieve good success it is important that we grow in many ways as individuals and I’d like to specifically discuss the process of getting organized here.

Organization is a process. That means it isn’t just something we do one time and now we’re organized. It’s like a good diet — we can’t just try to hurry up and lose those 15 lbs., we need to learn to eat healthier. Well, just like that diet, we need to make a lifestyle change to improve our organization.  One of the simplest things you can do to get started is to use a daily planner.

Personally, I’ve been using a planner for years and it is amazing how much more organized I am with one.  There are several good planner companies and each has numerous designs — for me, I’ve found the Leadership series from FranklinCovey works best. The pages are laid out in a way that’s convenient for me and I’m very impressed with the additional leadership tabs that the pack comes with.

In fact, the Goal Setting, Values, and Mission Statement sheets in the back are so good that I often recommend them to family and members of my financial group. Before I go on telling you how good these sheets are, I should let you know that I do get commission on FranklinCovey products. However, I joined their affiliate program specifically because of how much I love their product, so I have been recommending this product long before I could ever make commission on it (isn’t the internet wonderful though, really?). That being said, the extra section in the Leadership pages really is a great way to start changing your lifestyle to be more goal-oriented.

These pages walk you through part of Stephen R. Covey’s 7 Habits , which is an excellent book focused on identifying some of the most prominent habits consistently found in successful people.  The great thing about the planner pages is that they’re a shorter version of some of the topics covered in the book, and they do a good job of walking you through the process.  It even comes with a couple of pages of instruction.

Remember, this is a process that you’ll turn into a habit.  My habit is that I take a look at my values, mission and goals each time I’m on a commercial flight.  For me flying is relaxing and quiet, so it’s a great time to do some introspection and to reassess my goals.  You find your own time, but if you have these leadership pages in your planner, then they’ll probably be with you when you’re ready to do some self-assessment.

Maybe we’ll talk more about the process in the future.  Be sure to post comments if you have questions and I’ll either answer them here or write another article to address them.  One way or another, start to form a process and make organization a habit.