What it means to be Organised

The word organised. We think of it as a state of being, of ‘having our lives together”. "getting our sh*t together". Gathering everything in our lives into a neat little pile so we can keep our eyes on it. Let's deconstruct this word to see what being organised really means. 

Oxford English Dictionary Definitions

Of Organised:

“provided with organs; composed of parts connected and coordinated for vital functions or processes;”

Of Organise:

“to give organic structure or function; to arrange or form into an organ or body”

Of Organ:

“something that acts as an instrument or means”

So what are we doing when we organ-ise our lives? We are forming all our events, all our tasks and all the things that help us complete each task into one coordinated body. Identifying the organs which allow us to complete our tasks and making sure that they work with each other. 

Example.

Before moving house, I had shelves of books, a wardrobe with clothes in, a bed, a routine and knowledge of how long it took me to walk to work. I had a schedule on the wall of post-its, where I would plan my week, a shelf for my makeup and even hooks which I could grab my coat off and rush out the door. I wouldn’t say I was the most organised person in the world, but my surroundings were arranged in as functional a way as they could be to assist me in my daily life.

But when I moved house, everything was in boxes and for the first few weeks I slept on a mattress on the floor. I remember going to work and just feeling all over the place, I was playing catch up all day and my brain just didn’t quite feel able to focus. My external body, my organisational system had been disrupted. I was organisationally ill as I no longer had my organs working in harmony to ensure my life ran smoothly. And in fact it did have actual physical consequences on my body. I felt stressed and constantly tired.

I think we take for granted how much our home is part of our lives, if it is a mess, we will be a mess.
That doesn't mean if you don't make your bed in the morning then you will fail in life. But not everything in your house has to be perfect for to function to the best of your ability. Work out what parts of your routine you give a f**k about and make sure that they are easy to work with.

Example.

If you every day MUST have a coffee in the morning before you can function, make sure your kitchen is arranged in the most efficient way possible for you to make a coffee.
If you hate dirty clothes ending up on the floor at night, work out where to put a laundry basket so that lazy you will put them in every time.
If you don't care about making your bed, don't do it.
If you don't care about the news first thing in the morning and you would rather watch friends, make a space for your laptop in your room and get rid of the radio.


I’m saying, organise things around you, as an extension of yourself in the way that makes you your best self and identify the organs required for you to do this. In the way that means you can reserve more of your brain for things you get paid for and for things you enjoy, rather than for finding your goddamn headphones in the morning. (No 1. thing that makes me late)

And, see my next blog post if you would enjoy reading about me extending this ORGAN-isational idea further.

Further Reading:
Sarah Knight - The Life Changing Magic of Not Giving a F**k