The Pareto Principle dictates that 20% of our efforts yield 80% of the results. By being organized and reducing the excess that get in our way, we stand a chance of identifying the things that make us most productive.
–Italian Economist, Vilfredo Pareto, 1896
Parkinson's Law is the adage that work expands to fill the time you make available for its completion.
Therefore, perfectionism might allow a great deal of time for a project that doesn't merit the work.
For some, allocating the appropriate amount of time to a project is a learned skill.
–Cyril Northcote Parkinson, The Economist, 1955
Research shows that cluttered kitchens prompted people to eat 44% more of their snack food than a kitchen that was organized and decluttered. –USA Today, September 2014
Quotes & Statistics
A UCLA study found that managing the volume of their possessions is so severe that it elevates stress hormone levels for many mothers. –Forbes, January 2015
In 1930, the average American woman owned nine outfits. Today, that figure is 30 outfits — one for every day of the month. –Forbes, January, 2015
Nine in ten (90%) Americans admit that unorganized clutter at home or at work has a negative impact on their life. Their productivity (77%), state of mind (65%), motivation (53%) and happiness (40%) are affected when there is disorder. –OfficeMax, January 2011
Women who are bothered by their household clutter showed increased levels of the stress hormone cortisol. Men were unaffected. –University of California Study, 2013 (Okay, that's a little bit funny.)
Research found we lose up to nine items every day - or 198,743 in a lifetime. The daily loss calculated over a year means an incredible 3,285 items are misplaced.
–Daily Mail, March 2012
It took the self storage industry more than 25 years to build its first billion square feet of space; it added the second billion square feet in just 8 years (1998-2005). –Self Storage Association, July 2015
One study, in the Journal of Experimental Psychology, found that the mind slows down when it switches back and forth between tasks. The only way to turn off this mental friction is to put more time, even just a few seconds, between tasks. –Psychology Today, March 2003