Staying organized is like smashing yourself on the foot every morning, ensuring you move slowly as you put out hundreds of fires.
For me, staying organized itself became an unmanageable task. Every three months or so, my anxiety would get the best of me because I knew I had a huge to-do list hanging over my shoulder while I pretended it didn’t exist.
And I looked for every reason to justify my reasons for not fulfilling my self-imposed responsibilities.
But finally, I found a solution. It’s a book called Building a Second Brain by Tiago Forte.1
Can We Learn to “Be Organized?”
Let’s take a step back and ask ourselves, “When do people learn organizational skills?”
I’m seriously asking you because I never learned them. I can’t remember learning them at any level of school or in my childhood.
I asked Perplexity the question, and it told me that children are taught organizational skills beginning in pre-school. You may remember learning how to put the toys you took out to play with back in their places.
As we get to middle school, we’re introduced to higher learning, so we’re taught new organizational procedures so that we are able to manage our tasks easily.
I think this is where some of us develop an aversion to staying organized, because this is also where numerous social and emotional changes begin.
However, if you don’t develop the necessary skills at this age, you’re stuck, and you may be one of those who finds learning difficult by the time you’re in college and beyond.
ADHD doesn’t help.
If you’re a business owner or decision-maker with ADHD, one of your symptoms may be “severe and chronic disorganization.”
I’d like to add the adjective “debilitating” to that definition. For me, this word best describes how disorganization has affected me over time.
My Personal Organizational Struggles and Demons
I’ve had a love-hate relationship with organizational skills.
When I was younger, I was a typical teenager who rebelled against being organized.
My soccer locker was a disaster of smelly socks and uniforms piled on top of each other, about two feet high. If you’re familiar with what fruit looks like after it molds, then you can envision what my socks looked like. But I thought it was cool to leave them there for months and use them when I forgot to bring a clean pair from home.
My room at my parents’ house was no better, and I remember some knock-down, drag-out fights with my parents because I refused to clean my room.
Perhaps the reason I didn’t learn how to stay organized was because I fought it for so long.
I realize now that I’m a perfect example of someone who didn’t pick up organizational or planning skills. Needless to say, I have a hard time completing tasks.
You have no idea how many times I’ve heard people tell me that I have visionary ideas but no follow-through. Enough to hurt.
But here’s the thing: it’s not that I lack follow-through; it’s that I lack the skills to organize my thoughts, develop a plan, and manage the tasks.
There are several reasons I feel I never developed these skills or developed the bad habits of laziness and not following through.
They may have to do with my parent’s beliefs on male and female roles, my personal drive and curiosity, or my fears.
I actually think it’s my overactive mind that causes the problem. I have trouble focusing. I’ve never been diagnosed with ADHD, but everyone who knows me and knows about ADHD tells me that I show all the signs and symptoms.
Whatever the case, organizational skills have always escaped me, which is why I’m making this area of my life my most significant focus in 2024.
Navigating Disorganization in the Business World and Beyond
So, let me ask you a question: How do you know what tasks you need to do and when to do them if you are disorganized?
Many of us wake up with a plan for what we’re going to do or what we want to do that day. Or, if you’re like me, you plan to do whatever is on your mind or makes your heart race the most.
Some of you may be able to plan in your head, but I’ve found that business owners tend to get increasingly busy as the business ages, and tasks begin to get pushed to the side if you use this method.
Typically, the tasks pushed aside are the ones that customers, clients, or employees don’t directly affect, like remembering to pay your quarterly taxes or keeping your human resources records up to date.
If you’re an SMB with a small staff, you’re responsible for all of these duties. So it’s imperative that you stay organized. Perhaps keep a task list somewhere or follow a daily routine when possible.
A lot of this sounds obvious, right?
You’d be amazed at the number of ways I’ve attempted to ensure that I get my tasks done.
I’ve tried to keep it to one major task per day. I’ve tried ten tasks or more. I’ve tried set tasks and a more free-flowing system.
No matter what I’ve tried, I’ve gotten overwhelmed, which is why I’ve shifted from method to method in three-month intervals. TBH, I learn of a new method, use it for two days, maybe a week, and then revert to my old habits by week two.
Then, by month three, I was frustrated with my mountain of tasks, inactivity, and lack of progress.
But I think I’ve finally found a system that I’ll stick to. It’s sort of an amalgamation of all the systems I’ve tried in the past, plus things I’ve inherently been doing already.
This time around, I’m pretty excited and organized.
This newfound skill has happened because a book has changed my life over the last few weeks and months.
“Building A Second Brain”
Until now, it had never occurred to me that staying organized is the foundation of being creative and task-based. But this is the main idea of Tiago Forte’s book, “Building A Second Brain.”
I didn’t think that once I’d grown accustomed to my chosen organizational system, my mind would become free and clear, and I could start using my intellect for creativity.
I stumbled on this one during another panic day when I realized that I had another mountain of tasks on my plate and no idea how to complete them or the desire to complete them.
I decided to go to YouTube and see what it had to offer, and I found Ali Abdaal:
In this video, Ali Abdaal outlines his organizational system, providing several helpful tips and tools, and refers to Building A Second Brain as one of the influential books he uses to get and stay organized.
The reason the book works so well for me is because it’s helped me move my ideas and random thoughts from my brain into an organized system quickly.
I can then use those recorded thoughts in the future. Using them in the future is made possible using artificial intelligence (AI). Here’s Tiago Forte teaching us how he uses Notion:
The key here is using AI as an overarching tool to make your life easier and tap into the creativity your mind craves.
The other good thing about this book and its system is that I’m learning to get random thoughts out of my brain and into my notes so that I can move on with the task at hand. I can then refer to those thoughts and ideas later.
For people who have ADHD or have a hard time focusing, this is life-changing because it offers a way to get the jumble of random thoughts that constantly bombard your senses out of your head and into a system where they become useful.
And then you’re able to focus on what you’re doing.
Imagine staying focused long enough to actually complete a task or many tasks. Imagine knocking out your entire to-do list by the end of your workday.
The book does this by using a method its author calls CODE, or Capture, Organize, Distill, and Express. Each of these has its own section of the book where you learn each step. At the time of writing this, I was re-reading the “Distill” section.
For me, this is where it all began to come together. I’ve captured my thoughts, moved them into a project management system, and organized them into categories of importance.
Now, I’m able to use AI to sift through those captured and organized thoughts at the appropriate time and then express them as new ideas or use the experience I’ve gained to tackle daily obstacles and tasks.
One thing it’s allowed me to do is desire to become a better mentor and guide to my girlfriend’s teenage son. I was reluctant and afraid to do that, but after seeing that I have the capabilities, it’s become something I look forward to.
Building A Second Brain will help whether you’re an SMB, own a medium-to-large business, or work as an executive at a huge conglomerate. You’ll learn how to organize and use your thoughts efficiently and productively.
That means you’re beginning to make better business decisions, distinguishing where to focus and where you should seek outside help, pointing your business in the right direction, and growing it.
Who Knew that Success Equals Staying Organized, Which In Turn Grows Your Business?
Back in the day, I got into content and SEO when it transitioned from being mysterious to something marketers could tie to ROI. Understanding how to tie SEO and content marketing into a business’ ROI meant they could illustrate its importance to owners and decision-makers.
I sold myself as a one-man juggernaut that handled my client’s SEO research, data analysis, website maintenance, content strategy, content writing, editing, posting, social media, community management, updates, etc…
Thirteen years later, SEO, social media, and content are huge, and I could argue, the most important part of online brand building.
They’re ubiquitous to a successful, comprehensive brand strategy.
But each of those skills requires a specialist to do them well. Yes, one person could handle them, but companies shouldn’t expect one person to handle them all.
They’ve become too much for one person to handle on their own. Trust me, I’ve tried, and it’s why I’m writing this blog now: Because I can’t do them all without killing myself.
For example, I don’t go to a restaurant and expect the chef to till the land, plant the seeds, water them, ween them, harvest the veggies, transport them, prep them, cook and plate them, bring them to the table, then follow up with me and ring me up when I’m done with my meal.
It’s crazy to think one person could do all of that. Can you imagine?
So, why would you think you can do this on your own? Why not build your second brain to help understand yourself and your limitations?
Business owners have tight budgets. But, if you get your ideas from your head to your “second brain,” you can see what you can handle alone and where you should seek help, and then you can make your tight budgets work for you, not against you.
Isn’t that what’s going to drive your business forward and grow your brand?
I think so, but I want to hear your thoughts.
Notes:
1. Building a Second Brain: A Proven Method to Organize Your Digital Life and Unlock Your Creative Potential (Hardcover) – This isn’t an affiliate link, but it is where I bought my copy.
2. I used ChatGPT on this blog to help me organize my thoughts after I wrote my first draft. Then, I used it to ensure I clarified my main points and that my content would flow for readers.
Deven Bhagwandin 