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Who Should Read “Organise Yourself”? and Why?

Do you feel that you need a few extra hours a day, to finish all your work and have time actually to live?

Well, you can have them, if you learn how to manage your time better.

John Caunt gives you workable ideas and useful solutions to clutter and chaos.

We recommend “Organise Yourself” to all people who feel that they need to overcome their bad habits and boost their productivity.

If you think of yourself as a disorganized person – even better. Pick up this book and let it work miracles.

About John Caunt

John Caunt is a freelance writer, trainer, and coach. He was a manager in professional education for more than a decade.     

“Organise Yourself Summary”

Living in today’s fast-paced world is not easy.

Working in companies that require you to multitask and finish tasks quickly, while maintaining the quality of the work is daunting. You may feel like while you are chasing for deadlines, you have no time left for yourself and for developing your personal life.

We understand that it may seem hard to do, but even with increased time constraints and job requirements, you can still have a rich personal life. The key to having it all is getting organized.

People come up with a lot of reasons why they cannot get organized, be it their chaotic work environment, or their character, but let us assure you – those are all excuses.

Everyone can get organized, and everyone should since procrastination and chaos will fill your life with stress, and empty it of the real values.

The first step towards finding a solution to your problem is recognizing that you have a problem.

In this case, you need to accept that you are disorganized. Once you accept it, you can start finding ways to put your life into order.

If you are a person who has been disorganized his/her whole life, you have to break that pattern. Try to do it by visualizing the calmness you will feel once all of that clutter is gone.

Next, set SMART objectives. SMART is an acronym for: “Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Results-oriented and Time-related.”

Create a to-do list by grouping tasks into four categories according to their urgency and importance:

• • Important and urgent

• • Important and not urgent

• • Urgent and unimportant

• Not urgent and not important

But, how do you decide which task fits where?

Well, you need to get honest with yourself and assess both your work and personal life, as well as your values.

What do you consider important?

Do not let the urgency of your work-related project, keep you away from attending that family celebration, which holds greater importance in the long run.

Balancing work and family life is hard work since you will have to balance your agenda along with the others’, but it can be done.

You just need to stop procrastinating and start to manage your time efficiently.

To manage your time better, first, notice where you spend most of your hours. You will be surprised at how many hours you spend idly. Apart from that, also track the time you spend going to meetings, doing your work, answering to e-mails et cetera.

Thankfully, you have a vast number of applications available, which can help you track and organize your time. Use the tools that technology offers you, and create a full schedule and a to-do list, in which you will list even the seemingly unimportant tasks like making routine phone calls.

Such mundane, routine tasks can take up an immense amount of time, and fuel your procrastination if you fail to organize them well.

We are all procrastinators in nature but do not put off work even if you feel that you do not have all the information at the moment. Furthermore, do not leave the hardest tasks for the end – instead, do them first, since pushing them to the end of your list is another form of procrastination.

Lastly, make sure that you prioritize the information that reaches you according to its usefulness. In today’s world which is information overloaded, this is an important step to take.

The data which is not necessary for doing your job is not of priority so that you can push it for later assessment.

Do not be a perfectionist and do not get trapped in the notion that you can do the job only if you have better information. Accept that you cannot get all the information at once, and start working as soon as you obtain the essential pieces of data.

Now that we have given you the basic ideas of this book let’s move on to the key lessons.

Key Lessons from “Organise Yourself”

1.      Steps to Follow When Delegating Responsibility
2.      Steps to Not Getting Stuck And Finishing A Project
3.      Steps to Put the “Ideavirus Formula” to Work

Steps to Follow When Delegating Responsibility

• • Decide the tasks you want to delegate, according to whether another person can do the job cheaper or faster than you. However, never delegate a core piece of work.

• • Find the right person for the job.

• • Explain in detail what you expect the other person to do. Be clear and set simple goals.

• • Describe the benefits the other person will get by working on the job.

• Once you are sure that you have explained everything, let the other person do the job.

Steps to Not Getting Stuck And Finishing A Project

• • Set the general objectives of the project.

• • Break the project down into smaller, manageable tasks.

• • Coordinate vital aspects of the project with the people involved.

• • Monitor progress.

• Review the final project, and assess whether it needs improvement.

Methodical Decision-Making

• • Understand the “why,” “what,” “how” and “who” of the decision: why you have to make the decision, what the objectives are, how you can achieve them, and who should get involved.

• • Find alternative approaches.

• • Consider all your options.

• • Reduce your options according to their probability of success.

• Make a choice and communicate it to others.

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“Organise Yourself” Quotes

Our Critical Review

“Organise Yourself” offers you a way to beat bad habits and become an organized person. The information it provides is useful and easy to grasp, although some readers may find it familiar since the author offers the same techniques listed in most time-management related books.