Can Being On Time And Organised Help You Succeed?
If you are seeking success, there are many different factors that come into play. Here I am going to focus on just two of them, being on time and organised. These two can make an enormous difference in your day-to-day life. If you look to some of the most successful people you have met in your own life, the chances are they were good at both; being on time and organised. There is a solid reason why both factors can make such a big difference when it comes to being successful.
Both being on time and organised can help you make the best possible use of your time and energy. When referring to energy, this includes both your mental and physical energy. We have a limited supply of both, as well as being restricted to 24 hours in a day. In other words, both time and energy are finite resources. What being on time and staying organised helps us with is making the most of those resources and focusing them on tasks and activities that help us reach the goals that define our success.
There are two different ways in which being both on time and organised will help you succeed, I will briefly discuss each and how to get better at them.
Being On Time And Organised Saves You Time
Ever catch yourself, rummaging around for your stuff like it’s a treasure hunt? Lost documents, house keys playing hide and seek, and searching for that magically disappearing mobile phone! And not to mention the time wasted picking out an outfit? Most of us have been here at one point or another.
Then there’s the classic scenario: running late, rescheduling, and waiting around. Who hasn’t been a victim of the clock’s betrayal or unforeseen circumstances?
Trying to be on time, staying organised and being prepared for the unforeseen helps you save precious time and energy. Being on time is all about time management and awareness. Becoming more aware and better at time management will help you work more efficiently too, as work will always stretch out into however much time you give it. The same is true for being well organised. Remember, it’s not about working harder, it’s about working smarter.
Being On Time and Organised Makes You Look Professional
In a professional scenario, showing up late for appointments or interviews is not a great reflection on you as a person, it shows a lack of respect for the other person’s time. So does not being prepared or having to dig around for a few minutes to find something needed. That is particularly true when it comes to first impressions.
Work on getting better at both, so you get the chances you deserve, and people see you as the respected person or expert in your field that you are. Tardiness as a habit, it is not the headspace you want to be in for your success.
It can also strain friendships and relationships in a few ways. Again, being consistently late can be perceived as a lack of respect for their time. It sends the message that your time is more valuable than theirs, which can create resentment and frustration. Moreover, constant lateness can lead to your friend or partner feeling neglected or unimportant. When someone is repeatedly kept waiting, it can erode the trust and reliability that are crucial for maintaining strong friendships and relationships. They might start questioning the importance you place on your relationship.
Additionally, being late can disrupt plans and cause inconvenience. If they have organised an event or made specific arrangements, your lateness can throw a wrench into those plans, causing unnecessary stress and annoyance. So, it’s crucial to communicate openly about time expectations and make a conscious effort to be punctual to maintain healthy and respectful, not only professional, but personal relationships too.
How To Get Better At Both
The above are simple examples of why it’s important to work on getting organised and being on time. So, let us now look at how we can improve both those skills:
- Get into the habit of being conscious of time and staying on top of organisational tasks. We are all built differently and have had different life experiences, shaping how we tackle these, but we can put systems in place that help us to build these skills.
- If you are exceptionally disorganised, it will take some up-front work to clear things up and get everything in a place which can feel natural to you. The system must work for your personally.
- Once completed, you must make an effort every day to put things back in their place and stay organised. It might feel challenging at first, but once you get into the routine of it, it becomes second nature. It is okay to slip, but when you catch yourself in that zone, correct this by taking a little time out to reorganise.
- If something needs doing and you think about it, do it. No deliberating with yourself, it crossed your mind for a reason, if it is something that takes you 1 to 5 minutes to do, get it done. If you are delaying the inevitable, you shall just think about it again later and might have to do it later anyway, save time by not having to have those thoughts enter again, which takes from your time and your energy.
- Organise physical items, digital items, and even your thoughts and ideas.
- Plan your journey well ahead of time, organise your time in blocks of what needs doing. You will find you have so much more free time to do the things you want and love to do.
- IT TAKES PRACTICE of both being on time and staying organised daily until they become habits.
- Being organised and having great time keeping go hand in hand.
- Success in achieving more of what you want in life comes from consistency and perseverance. Keep at it! It is literally practice.
If you would like to read part two, you can find it here: Part 2 – Tips To Stay Organised and part three here: Part 3 – Creating Your Time Management System
You can read more about clearing clutter here, it comes with a handy checklist: Let’s Get Organised – 10 Steps to clear clutter today!