If you're thinking about how to become organized, you probably feel at least some parts of your life are out of control. Perhaps you often forget about commitments you have made, or tend to show up late to most events. Or it may be that you waste too much time trying to find things that you have misplaced.

There may be many reasons for your disorganized state, but there is no excuse not to take charge and become more organized. It is not necessary--or beneficial--to become so perfectly organized that you are obsessing over minute details, but a reasonable level of organization has many benefits: less stress, more efficient use of your time, and a more effective perception to the world.

• Start by organizing your physical space

• Then move on to taking control of your time

• Finally, take charge of your tasks and respnosibilities

• Enjoy the benefits of being completely organized

Before you take any action to improve your level of organization, you need to be sure you are doing so for the right reasons. If becoming organized it truly something that means a lot to you, and you feel you have the motivation and will power not only become organized but remain that way, then by all means proceed. However, if you are only looking for a quick fix because your boss, spouse or parent has told you to, you need to take a step back and decide whether or not you truly believe in the benefits of being an organized person.

Thankfully, with the right amount of motivation, becoming organized is far from rocket science. The largest amount of effort must be expended up-front, and from then on, with a few simple routines, you will not find yourself back in a disorganized state again.

If your living and working spaces are full of clutter, it will be difficult to become organized in other areas of your life. Therefore, in your quest for an organized life, start with your physical environment. The best way to do this is to dedicate a large block of time to each main physical space that you spend time in, starting with the most used. Bring a box of large garbage bags, as well as your favourite type of storage containers. Then, start anywhere in the space, and for each item you come across, decide whether your really need it. Be ruthless: if the item has some minor sentimental value, but you can't see yourself appreciating it over the coming years, toss it.

For the items you decide you really do need to keep, organize them in a system that makes sense to you, and keep it simple. This could be alphabetical, by category, or whatever you think will allow for the easiest recall of that item when you need it.

Once you have completed this purge and organizing frenzy, follow the simple rule of always returning an item to its place immediately after you are done with it. The few seconds of effort will gain you many times the efficiency later.

In order to avoid introducing new clutter into your space, be selective about what items you acquire. Even things you are given for free should not necessarily be thrown into a room: if it is not something useful or that you value, get rid of it.

Finally, keep a single "inbox" in your home and office, where you (or others) place anything new that needs your attention. This could be receipts, a reminder to get something done, or even a broken pair of glasses that need fixing. By using the inbox to collect all new items, these will not spread out into the rest of your living or working spaces.

Once your physical space is in order, the next order of business is your time. As you may have heard, time is arguably the most valuable thing you have, so getting it organized is important. This does not mean that you must be doing something "productive" with every minute of every day; it is all about having enough visibility and control of your time that you are doing precisely what you want to be doing, as much as possible. This may be writing a novel, spending some extra time on your day job in the evening, or just watching whatever is on TV: as long as you are choosing what to do, rather than just doing it by default, you are all set.

The number one most important tool for organizing your time is a calendar. This could be on your computer, smartphone, or on paper--whatever works for you. The key is that it is a single calendar, and that it is always 100% accurate and complete. Of course, you do not need to bother noting routine daily activities, such as "eat breakfast" or "go to work", but every other one-time or recurring activity that occurs at a specific date and time must be on your calendar. As soon as you start leaving some things off, you will start to doubt whether you can rely on your calendar, and it will lose much of its worth. Once you are confident that it is always up-to-date, you can relax and just rely on it, rather than spend any time thinking about where you are supposed to be next.

In addition to your calendar, keep a task list of all your commitments that do not need to be done at a certain date and time. These may still have due dates, which should also be noted, but otherwise you could work at them at any time. Avoid complicated prioritization schemes: if you don't have more than 20 tasks, you can simply eyeball them to figure out which is the next most important one. If you have more than 20, then a simple "A, B, C" or context-based scheme will do it.

With a little bit of time invested in the upkeep of your calendar and task list, you will reap the rewards of easily knowing what you have to do when, and what else you might choose to work on. And of course, fill in the rest of the time with your passions, guilt-free.