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The Cost of Being Disorganized

Around here, we talk a lot about being organized. Obviously it makes sense, it saves time, and it can be a lot easier than you think. That’s the focus of a lot of these blog posts; using simple supplies, easily attained, to make your life easier. But here’s something you may not have thought of: what does it cost you, literally cost, to be disorganized? There’s a site that recently came to my attention that helps you figure out just that.

Organize 4 Results, who preach the “GO System” (standing simply for, of course, Getting Organized) not only offer a comprehensive suite of resources for companies looking to get organized, but they provide a simple calculator to help you realize what it might be costing you to put off organizing. I plugged in some hypothetical numbers and got the following results:

Cost of Disorganization prepared for FakeCo, Ltd:

You entered this data:

Average cost per hour (including benefits) for an employee’s time:

$25.00

Time lost each day due to disorganization:

0.5 hour(s)

The number of employees in your team or organization:

500

Cost of Disorganization Results:

Disorganization is costing you about $1,500,000.00 each year. The real cost is even higher when you consider the cost of alienated and lost customers.

Yikes. As you can see, it’s not always about putting the right things in the right bins; organization is serious business. And if you’re serious about it, check out our friends over at Organize 4 Results. You’ll be glad you did!

My favorite go-to blog for organizing and streamlining my life, Lifehacker, has a great article up right now about organizing your space.

While the article is geared toward general organizing, I find the tips within to be pretty much in line with my own philosophy about cleaning up my home office.

Basically, the article (which quotes from another favorite organization blog, Apartment Therapy), says the main trick to making sure you do the job you set out to do is to stay in the room you’re doing it in:

When you’re in the sorting process (the crucial first step) of organizing a specific room, STAY in the room for the organizing session. (Prepare for the session by having trash bags on hand for trash, recycling, donations.) Invariably you’ll find objects that actually do have a home in another room or on another floor. Most of our clients, if left to their own devices, are inclined to leave the room immediately every time they come across an object like this to return it to its home. And in the process, it’s REALLY easy to get distracted and to not return to organizing.

I find this to be immensely true. I’ve never had a huge house to fan out and get lost in, but even during apartment living I’ve found that the second I leave the room I’m tidying, I lost the motivation to re-enter it. Seems like the farther you get from the job at hand, the easier it is to not go back. Solve the problem by staying put.

The best office redesign I’ve ever had came when I purchased some plastic organizers of the bucket and bin variety, set up some new shelves, and sat down in the office and went to town. Remember, you have to make a mess to clean one, sometimes, so don’t be afraid to tear your office down before re-building it. Just don’t walk away after step 1 and never come back for step 2.

Office Ink Blog

Tag: organize office

Resource: The Cost of Being Disorganized

Article: Organize More Efficiently By Staying Put

Cost of Disorganization prepared for FakeCo, Ltd:
You entered this data:
Average cost per hour (including benefits) for an employee’s time:	$25.00
Time lost each day due to disorganization:	0.5 hour(s)
The number of employees in your team or organization:	500
Cost of Disorganization Results: Disorganization is costing you about $1,500,000.00 each year. The real cost is even higher when you consider the cost of alienated and lost customers.