I think organization; dis-organization and planning are cousins...they go hand in hand, etc.  A dis-organizatized person is probably not a good planner, and is probably a time-waster; whereby a good planner is probably well organized and he or she is good at time management, etc. 

Being a dis-organized person and a poor planner, can cause bad feelings among family members; fellow-employees and others such as your boss, etc. 

Planning to keep the peace; For as long as I can remember, I have kept a little 'to do' list in the form of a spiral notebook, in which I keep all my agenda for the coming week, etc.  I update the little book on Sundays, and give it a glance throughout the week, to make sure I keep my appointments, errands and other stops along the way.  I don't like to be late or miss a doctor's appointment, or miss picking something up at the grocery store or post office and then have to go back. 

When it comes to shopping for groceries, I always shop in the early mornings, to avoid all the inconsiderate mis-fits that go to a grocery store; and I always make a list of what I have to pick up, that way I don't have to go back. 

"A place for everything...and everything in its place?  Unknown

I remember when I was daying my girlfriend, and we were over at her house.  She went into the kitchen, and I followed.  She reached up to open the cabinets above the stove...and when she opened the doors...a pile of papers and files fell out of the cabinets and onto the stove!  She went through a few things on top of the stove...and then threw it all back into the cabinets!  She closed the doors to the cabinets..and we were off.  As we headed out of the kitchen, I asked her, "Is that your filing system?"

She did the same thing with the garage...open the door and throw something in...close the garage door and took off.  I knew right from the beginning, that there were going to be some bad habits that were going to have to be broken, if this relationship were going to make it. 

"If anything is certain, it is that change is certain.  The world we are planning for today will not exist in this form tomorrow."  Phil Crosby

 Bosses don't like people who are late all the time;  In between job layoffs, I worked for this company for about three years, and they had one of the best systems to deal with people who can't come to work on time.  When a person was hired, they were given a certain amount of points to their credit...let's say twenty.  When I person didn't call in sick or was not late on any day of the month, they would increase their points and were give 3 points, for example.  On the other hand, if an employee was late...one point was deducted from their total; and if they called in sick, three points were deducted and so forth. 

If an employee lost all their points...they would be fired automatically...not questions asked!  There was no need to squabble...just clean out your locker...you're finished.  The reader cannot imagine how many employees got fired this way...one person after the other, would come in late...chronically late all the time...and before you knew it...the person was fired!  Being late at anything...anywhere...is do to poor planning...it's as simple as that! 

These people stay up too late at night...and can't get up in time to go to work ON TIME!  There's nothing that an employer hate worse...people that don't show up for work...and people that show up late!  It puts strain on the other employees, because they have to cover for the late employee...and it doesn't matter the service or product.  A person who doesn't show up for work, or who is chronically tardy...is usually on somebody's black list. 

By the way, because a person could gather up the points during the year, the person who kept their nose clean, could usually get off the list in about a year.  I spent my final two years at the company off the list.  I was never late, and I missed no days in three years! 

"Two things are infinite:  the universe and human stupidity...and I'm not sure about the universe."  Albert Einstein

Me and this fellow-employee, worked together and lived near each other, about 30 miles from work.  One day, he asked me if I would be interested in car-pooling to work everyday.  I was hesitant and had my doubts, but I said okay, and he would drive one week, and I would drive the other. 

It was amazing, because everytime he would drive, we would both be late, and my timecard would show that...and every time I drove, we both would be on time, and the timecard would show that.  If I continued this car-pooling, my time record would just get worse, so after about two months of this, I told him that we would disolve this arrangement and we would both drive to work.  He was undependable to be on time.  My time record at work inproved right away when I started driving.  Why people are late all the time, has to do with poor planning of their lives, etc. 

"Let our advance worrying become advance thinking and planning."  Winston Churchill

Young people should PLAN to keep their personal record clean:  In 2010, we live in the age of computers and high tech, and a person's personal record can be found in seconds.  A young person should keep their personal record free from traffic tickets; DWI's; late payments, etc.  All this will be important NOW, and as you get older, and you might need services from the government.  It takes a long time to acquire a good record...it takes no time at all to screw up and have a bad record.  When I applied for the government Senior Center and Section 8 program...I was accepted right away, because I know I have a good background record.

Caught between a rock and a hard place:  In 2009, and a year after I moved to the southeast heights in the city where I live, I found out through three newspaper articles, that I live in an unsafe neighborhood, because of a chemical dump by the US Air Force, just a mile down the street.  This chemical dump, could affect the drinking water in the local area.  Now, that I'm aware of this chemical dump, I have to exericise my options, and I PLAN to move to a safer part of town, as far as I can get from the Air Force Base. 

"Meticulous planning will enable everything a man (or woman) does appear to be spontaneous."  Mark Caine

I don't consider myself a neat-freak...but I do consider myself organized and a good planner.  It makes things in life go much smoother.  When growing up, we lived across the street from a woman who was a neat-freak.  She wouldn't allow anyone to enter her front room, and she had all her furniture covered with plastic, so nothing would get dirty.   Us kids never went around the place! 

There's a difference between a dirty house and clean but messed up house...a house that is lived in.  I like to have a clean house, in which I can find things...and organized and everything has its place.  I don't want to find the Scotch tape in the freezer and I don't want to find the can of green beans under the pillow on the sofa! 

Growing up, my mother always taught us kids to pick up after ourselves...and after 19 years of marriage, my wife never, ever picked up after me!  Some wives pick up after their lazy husbands...and they're fools for doing so...The rule around our household...'everybody picks up after themselves'...no exceptions.  It just makes for good organization and planning, etc. 

I like to have the kitchen clean at bedtime; and the kitchen has to be clean when I come home from a trip or errand, etc.  There's nothing worse than coming back home to a sink full of dirty dishes stacked to the ceiling! 

"There is a huge stress with disorganization, and there is also a cost in being disorganized."  Carolee Canata

As far as I'm concerned, everything begins with good planning...and I certainly hope the reader PLANS to read other articles I have writtern...

Prepare for the worst...and hope for the best...and that includes reading my articles, too! 

SITEMAP; 350+ Links For Your Convenience;
Copyright; 2010; Jerry Aragon/The Humor Doctor
Website name; humordoctormd