How To Organize

I Corinthians 14:40, “Let all things be done decently and in order.”

The following information can be helpful in organizing any project. I will compare organizing for a project to the taking of a trip. The journey of organization leads to a destination of success. The average person could not organize instructions on “how to organize,” but we can all follow them. I hope you will follow these easy guidelines.

1. Where are you going?

• Define your goal.
• What are you trying to accomplish?
• What do you want to organize?
• It is very difficult to plan a map for a journey if you do not have a final destination.

2. What must be done to get there?

• Determine what needs to be done.
• The things you need to care for should be listed.
• Write down any and all ideas, not just the good ones. Don’t worry about how you will do them.
• Elaborate completely. It is far better to have more than what you need and to eliminate some later on, than not to have enough later.
• Ask yourself this question: What needs to be done for this to work?
• List specific tasks or jobs.
• Start jotting notes far in advance of final organization.

3. Divide your trip into small journeys.

• Break down your ideas into categories of workable units, listing them in the order that they will be done.
• Ask yourself this question: Which ideas fit together?
• In what chronological order do these things have to be done to achieve ultimate success?
• You should have a list that looks like a schedule of events.

4. Start with the first small journey and plan its details, then go to the next one.

• Work on the details – one idea at a time, beginning with the most important task.
• What do you need to make your idea work?
• Will it run smoothly if everything is done right?
• Do you need to add anything to make it run more smoothly?
• What about the transition time between major tasks? Is there anything that needs to be done between major changes in your schedule?
• Have you forgotten anything?

5. List every obvious problem with your schedule.

• What will not work?
• Why won’t it work?
• What is the problem?

6. Decide in advance how you will solve possible problems.

• Solve the problem using the resources that are available, and consider the alternatives.
• Take each problem individually, and list as many solutions or alternatives to the problem as you can find.
• Can you add or leave something out?
• Is there another way of doing it? Does it have to be done exactly the way that you concluded it should be done?
• Is there a better way of doing it using the resources that you have?
• IF you absolutely cannot solve the problem yourself, THEN seek additional help from other sources.
• Your alternatives may not be exactly what you want, but the question is, “Will it work?”
• The ideal situation rarely exists!

7. Determine the time factor for each individual part of your trip.

• Figure the time needed for each task to be completed.
• Be conservative in your estimates. (Things always take longer than you
• think they will.)
• Allow extra time for unexpected problems.
• Allow extra time for transition periods.

8. Determine who will help you and what they will do.

• Place faithful men and women in key spots. (If they are not faithful, they will not do their job.)
• Everyone must understand his/her part. Explain exactly what they are to do.
• You must give your workers the authority they need to do their assigned task.
• Make sure that you allow them enough time to do their part.

9. THINK THROUGH your schedule.

• Think through your schedule. Take time on this. Ask yourself this question: Will everything work smoothly if your plan goes according to schedule?
• Picture in your mind each step that you have written down. Picture how it will be done.
• Visualize yourself doing each task and correct any problems that you see.
• You should now have a clear picture of how everything will be done and have solved all major problems.

10. PLAN for the unknown.

• MURPHY’S LAW: Everything takes longer than you expect – AND if anything can go wrong, IT WILL – at the worst possible moment! Remember, nothing is as easy as it looks.
• Think of everything that could possibly go wrong and have a backup plan. (Plan “B”)
• Know how you are going to react to any given situation.
• Be flexible. EVERY plan has unexpected obstacles. You will have to adapt to the situation as quickly as possible and keep on going.
• If you have planned all that you can plan and have done all that you can do, then turn it all over to God!

NOTE: It helps your planning and organization to write everything down with each step you take, as you will not remember it all.

There are usually two problems you will encounter in the completion of a task:

1. You will never attempt to do anything if you have not planned and organized or do not know where to start.

2. All of the organization in the world will not help if you do not follow through with your plan.

SOLUTION: THINK AND DO!