Dear Anne Marie: Every inch of my office is covered with files. My boss insists I clean it up, yet I'm afraid to move anything. What if papers get lost or worse yet, what if I throw something away and need it later? Is there a right way to organize papers? If I don't do this soon it could hurt my performance evaluation.
   —Josh Q.

Dear Josh: You are a responsible person who likes doing things right. It is unthinkable to you to "cut corners" in order to make life easier for yourself. So you tolerate a messy office space rather than risk losing important papers.

Managing The Moment

The "Moment to Manage" is your feeling of perfectionism. Perfectionism slows you down. As you slow down work continues to pile up and suddenly you find yourself overwhelmed. Overwhelm and perfectionism work together to hinder both your creativity and your productivity.

While it is always important to do your best, a burning need to do everything "right" can get in the way of just getting things done. It may be better to make a mistake and risk losing a few misfiled papers than make no mistakes and file nothing at all.

The Game Plan

First, a messy office and being disorganized are separate problems. A messy office is a symptom of being too busy, which is easily solved with a few hours of clean up time. Disorganization is an on-going problem that "clean up" time cannot solve. The problem is not knowing where to put things vs. not having time to put things away.

Second, acknowledge what is working. As rudimentary as it may seem, you do have an effective system set up; you are able to retrieve any document requested. This is the essence of a good organizational system.

Third, hire a professional to work with you. There are hundreds of organizational systems with professionals to help implement them. A good professional will come to your office, go through every piece of paper with you and work with you until everything is filed. Follow-up visits are essential to help you stay on track.

Finally, consistency is the secret ingredient for success. New habits become ingrained when you make daily efforts toward your desired goal. Your success is the result of these many small, sincere efforts made over time. Time is your greatest ally when you apply the rule of consistency to your goals.