Over the past few weeks, I’ve been confronted with my lack of organization. First, while doing a recent podcast and sharing my zoom screen with the Core4Life crew +Guest, someone mentioned the massive number of unread emails in my personal inbox (Thanks Dan…). Later that week, when my IT manager at work was installing updates on my computer, he kindly mentioned the need to clean up my desktop along with the ridiculous number of emails in my inbox that take forever to transfer/archive.
The criticism wasn’t a shock, and I must admit that this was just the tip of the iceberg. I’ve historically brushed off the importance of organizing my digital life, but this time I began to think more about how the misuse of these tools slows me down and clouds my mind.
You have probably heard the saying “a place for everything and everything in its place.” After reading an article with that title years ago (check it out here), I have often thought about organization and the need to clean and tidy up my desk, car, workshop, and other physical spaces in order to function effectively. Unfortunately, this never transferred over to my digital life which has become a massive arena in which I operate every single day at work or home. My phone, tablet, and computer are all amazing tools, but they can also be a huge obstacle if used improperly.
Think about all the digital productivity apps and tools at our disposal. They were created because we have no idea how to organize our digital life. Over time the amount of information thrown our way through email, social media, and networking applications seems to grow exponentially and we end up adding new technology band-aids that in the end add to the problem even more.
For example, there are tons of budgeting apps that can create an easy way to track and organize our finances. However, each one of them is useless unless it is used properly. We easily become frustrated with the service that most likely we never took the proper time and attention to actually learn how the resource was designed to function. Does anyone scroll through the useful “tips and tricks” to a new device or service? Count me guilty.
Like most disciplines, maintaining is not nearly as difficult as developing the system for the first time. I’ve found myself buried in digital clutter that will most likely take several weeks to completely sort, archive, and purge. It’s daunting but my hope is that in the end, I will be able to learn and implement a system that I will be able to maintain moving forward once the clutter is taken care of.
In Luke 14:28-30, it says “For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’” I believe that organization is key to being able to complete the tasks and missions that God has planned for us. Keeping our word and finishing what we set out to accomplish is important to our family, friends, and coworkers. It ultimately becomes an important piece of our witness.
The challenge this month is to find the area of your life that desperately needs reorganization. Target the most burdensome offender first and then move on to another. Maybe you already have a system to manage your digital footprint but you lack organization in another area. The point is to create an environment that simplifies and streamlines your life so that you are free from the clutter and distraction that prevents us from doing what we say we will do and becoming effective leaders.