Order – A Blank Canvas That Stimulates Creativity and Productivity
Order
A Blank Canvas That Stimulates Creativity and Productivity
Today I want to talk to you about order. Order is a habit of great importance for everyone, and especially for entrepreneurs, because it stimulates creativity and helps you be more productive, with a positive effect on your business.
“Our environment is connected to us and reflects our mind: when it is disorganized, our mind is too.”
In a couple of months, we’ll start a New Year. The feeling of a new beginning always brings freshness and new energy. While it's more noticeable and widespread at the start of the calendar year, in general, any new beginning comes loaded with renewed vigor.
Starting a new project, a new job, a new class, a new relationship is like having a blank canvas where opportunities are wide open.
This is why it's so common for people to make New Year’s resolutions. Many of us begin the year full of plans and determined to make some changes.
But... it often happens that these resolutions are not fully accomplished.
Sometimes, when we want to bring new colors to our canvas, ready to be unveiled, we find we don’t have space because we're facing a canvas that isn’t clear and clean, but instead is cluttered and filled with things we need to get rid of if we want to make room for new experiences.
Hence, the importance of order: order stimulates creativity.
In all areas of our lives, it's important to maintain order:
In our home.
Our work.
Order in our physical files.
And in our digital files.
Organization in our finances.
Order in our mind.
Why is it necessary to maintain order to be efficient and feel better?
Order saves time
When things are in order, everything has its place, and generally, whatever we are looking for can be found where we expect it to be. If we don't maintain order, when we need something, we waste a lot of time searching in all the possible places it could hypothetically be. And, as surely has happened to all of us, we end up finding it in the most unlikely and improbable places. So, if we keep our surroundings organized, we don’t waste time on tasks like searching for things and can use that time for creative and productive activities.
Order increases the feeling of security
Keeping our environment organized allows us to be certain that things are as they appear, that nothing is hidden behind piles of other things. This gives us confidence that what we need is at hand, what should be secure is safely stored, and whatever is missing can be found without problems.
Physical order promotes mental order
When we are faced with a cluttered, disorganized environment, it’s difficult to focus on our tasks and thoughts. Even if we try to block it out, being surrounded by disorder generates anxiety and distress.
Order and cleanliness make us feel better and promote abundance
Whereas disorder and dirt give us a sense of poverty and problems. A cluttered environment fosters depression and makes any task feel more difficult. An organized environment invites us to try new things and creates space for creativity.
Order facilitates decision-making
When our thoughts are organized, it’s easier for us to know the best courses of action and make the most appropriate decisions.
Order invites new ideas and stimulates creativity
When there’s space for new things, ideas emerge more easily than when we are immersed in a full, cluttered space. We need to organize and let go in order to make room for new ideas and experiences.
Of course, there are different levels and styles of order.
When we refer to order, we don’t necessarily mean almost surgical environments, where everything is spotless and always in place, almost giving the impression that no one has ever used the space. This is one extreme of order, with which many people likely feel comfortable and productive, but it's not the only level of order that promotes productivity and efficiency.
Find the level of order that suits your style, personality, and activities. But find some level of order. Extreme disorder should not be mistaken for a “style.”
How can we develop the habit of living in order?
Thinking about organizing shouldn't be an overwhelming task. Unless your environment is truly a disaster of disorder and dirt at the moment, you can achieve many improvements and benefits by simply getting used to small daily habits that will help you.
Yes, start with a clean canvas. Make a commitment to do a deep clean now that the year is beginning. But make sure that effort continues over time, so it’s only a one-time effort.
From there, get used to maintaining order.
Maintaining order is faster and easier than doing big cleanups every now and then, and it gives you a continuous, lasting benefit from cleanliness.
Here are some ideas of things you can do:
Clean your workspace daily: At the end of your workday, tidy up your tools, papers, documents, books, materials, whatever you use. Prepare your space to welcome you the next day with a fresh, clean face, inviting you to work on your new day. If you tidy up each day what you use, you’ll never accumulate disorder.
Get rid of defective equipment and tools: Unless they hold great value and there’s a real possibility of repairing them, don’t hold onto old things that no longer work. Let them go to make room for new things.
Avoid dirty environments: Did something spill? Clean it up immediately. Did something break? Fix it or throw it away. Were you given many documents? File them as soon as you can. Don’t let dirt and clutter take up space and accumulate.
Don’t fill your space with things you don’t need: Minimalism favors order. Of course, minimalism is a particular style that doesn’t necessarily suit everyone, but the concept of relying on minimal resources can be applied rationally and adjusted to the level of order that best fits you. Try to avoid accumulating things you don’t use.
Make next year your year of order and cleanliness. Remember that order stimulates creativity. Commit to a deep clean, if your space needs it, during this first week of the year. And from there, establish a routine of order and cleanliness. Remember, as we’ve discussed on other occasions, that a habit takes at least 21 days (3 weeks) to begin to internalize and become automatic. It may be difficult at first, but force yourself to do it regularly for that time, and the rest of the year you’ll see a benefit in your ability to focus on your tasks and be more productive.