3 rules to be better organised.

Last week, I spoke to a bunch of professionals at Regalix. My close friend, Pavan, had nominated me for the talk. After much thought, I’d decided on talking about being organised, because that’s kinda my jam. Before that, a little story.

Here’s my childhood home.

Here’s how we organised things.

Here’s me now (I’d argue that it’s as a result of the chaos in my childhood).

Yes, I keep my carrots up vertically, why do you ask? 

Anyway, the point is: It’s this level of obsession, that helps me run three businesses and a beautiful home without losing my mind.

To make this work, I follow three basic rules.

(1) Everything needs a permanent place.

• Make it accessible. If you put even your most favourite game in the attic, you’re unlikely to play it.

• Make sure it’s visible. Out of sight is out of mind, as people say.

• Keep it updated. An expired vehicle insurance is useless.

• Use a WIP basket. And clear it out every weekend.

(2) Everything needs to have clear boundaries.

• Separate place for each item.

• Don’t club money unless you don’t care. This way, you won’t have to break your travel fund for emergencies and vice versa.

• Do one thing at a time — even if you’re the boss. You might be able to get things done multitasking, but it takes infinitely more energy to do them both well.

(3) Everything important needs backup.

• Keep a copy of all documents on the cloud.

• Save bills, receipts and everything as and when it happens.

• Email is not smart backup.

If you’ve time to watch my life story in three acts, here. I’m sure you’ll have plenty of questions. Ask them all on Twitter @_tharkuri.