Early to bed and early to rise may make you healthy, wealthy and wise, but it won’t necessarily make you organized. I head to bed at 8:30 p.m. and have a 5 a.m. wake up call, which most people would consider early. The simple truth is I can be distracted and procrastinate regardless of the hour. The days I’m most organized and productive occur when I follow a set schedule. Deviation from the schedule results in what I like to call “where did the day go” syndrome.

I’m not scheduled down to the minute, but I do set the following general agenda:

• Nourishing my inner-self
  Some people call it meditation, others call it quiet time or devotions. For me it’s personal time with my God, which helps me focus on what is truly important and sets the tone for my day.
• Exercise
  Whether it be the treadmill or Yoga and Zumba on the Wii, I feel better when I get in at least 30 minutes of exercise a day.
• Personal care
  I try to make myself presentable for the day as if I were commuting to a place of employment. Even though I’m creating from home, I feel more professional and polished when I’ve fixed my hair, put on make-up and dressed.
  My goal is to have all this accomplished by 8:30 a.m. Some days I meet that goal, other days, well…
• Writing
  This is my profession and my talent. I continue to write even though I’m no longer doing it to earn a paycheck. Writing keeps me creative and gives purpose to my days. My goal is to have by blog written and posted before noon.

The rest of my day is devoted to the everyday tasks such as paying bills, grocery shopping, cleaning, etc. The fact is, if I fail to follow my schedule, I can get to the end of the day and be scrambling to get even the least amount accomplished. I’m admittedly a disorganized procrastinator by nature. However, that doesn’t mean I have to live a disorganized life. I just need a little structure to help me stay on task and be productive.

My organization *finesse level: 
Novice     Advanced beginner     Competent        Proficient        Expert      

What’s your organization finesse level?

*finesse (skill, flair, grace elegance, poise, assurance)