behaviorWhat is behavior based organizing?  The answer is, organizing solutions based on natural habits and routines.  If a solution is created that requires actions radically different than you are used to, it forces you to radically change your behavior.  When you force a behavior change, you are less likely to maintain your solutions.

We all have them, even the most disorganized have some established routines and habits.  These routines may, or may not work well, depending on how you organize the steps.  The key is the efficiency of the steps in the routine, in terms of behavior.  Organization equals efficiency.

When a routine fails to deliver an acceptable outcome, it could be because of a change in your living situation, or another reason.  Think about your behavior as you execute the steps to determine the reason.  For example, if you end up late to work every day, you may be taking too long to complete your routine, or maybe you can’t find a necessary tool to complete a step.  This causes you to adjust the steps in your routine, which is an adjustment to your behavior.

Let’s expand on the example above, getting ready for work.  For most of us, the routine begins in the morning after hopefully, a restful night of sleep.  Everyone has mostly the same tasks – shower, get dressed, grab a bite to eat, and gather items to take to work.  The longer you perform the same tasks in your routine, these repetitive actions will become habits.  Habits are second nature and you don’t even think about it, you just do it.  Once you get into a routine, or habit, these tasks take less time to complete, which is another benefit.

Routines typically require tools of some sort, and that brings us to organizing those tools.  You need to be able to access them quickly.  It makes sense to store them in the area where you will use them.  You want quick and easy access to these tools to keep your routine on track.

Consider a behavior based approach to get organized.  As you go about your daily activities, think about the steps you take to complete a task, your behavior.  Also, store the tools you need where you will use them. Keeping this in mind, you may find that organizing is not as challenging as you originally thought.