everybody's mind but with most people that is as far as it goes; just thinking about it and still every time one looks around all one sees is more clutter and mess.

Doesn't that just drive you mad? And even after a long day at work you can't even see the grain of the wood on your desk much less the expensive black leather blotter your mate got you for Christmas, or was that blotter brown? My favourite is when one is on the phone, sounding all professional and efficient, and the ever-familiar statement slips out "I know it's here somewhere'' five minutes after looking through a mountain high pile of papers and making small talk all at the same time, and having to revert to "can I get back to you on that?'' Everything seems to be screaming for your attention and you have neither the time nor energy to address them all.

If this is you, you've come to the place right. There is bad news and good news about getting organised. The bad news first, trust yours truly, a born again reformed organiser, no matter what mummy preached and drilled into us as youngsters, organisation for most is not an inherited trait and basically due to the fact that our fabulous brains don't function in an organised way. But the good news is that organising is a learned skill and anyone willing to invest time to learn can, so consider these series of articles on organisation your syllabus to Organising 101.

Keep reading to get yourselves motivated and organised. Our motto for this exercise are the wise words of the late Winston Churchill, who said "the price of greatness is responsibility.'' And another one of my favourite quotes by Eleanor Roosevelt: "Success comes before work only in the dictionary.'' How right the great lady was! Lesson one: Walk around your office and home with a pen and paper and write down all the areas that need attention. Don't try to accomplish this daring feat in one day because as we all know "Rome was not built in a day.'' The accumulated mess on the desk and in the office wasn't either, but do, depending on size and extent of disorganisation, please try not to take more than a work week to complete your list.

Lesson two: Knowing what's hampering you from your ultimate goals is almost half the battle, now you need to figure out what needs the most attention.

Many people working and living from a disorganised position often feel overwhelmed because everything seems like it should have been taken care or dealt with yesterday and by the amount and extent of the clutter and mess it has not. To address this you should underline and highlight your five top organising priorities. To assist with this task, ask yourself which problems negatively affect you most. Which problems if solved, would improve your daily functions. When you have decided on your top five organising priorities focus only on those five until they are completed. Giving as much time daily as possible to deal with them! Tips: Depending on your level of disorganisation, your top priorities may vary but do not list less than three items on your priority to do list. Several methods are used by professional organisers, a popular one is the trash system for paper management developed by Julie a Professional Organiser colleague: T -- Throw it away or recycle it -- file 13.

R -- Refer to it to someone else.

A -- Act on it.

S -- Save it in the place where it belongs.

H -- Halt it, in the case of junk mail or subscriptions you don't read.

Summary: When completed, pat yourself on the back, go home and take a long leisurely herbal bath, treat yourself to a box of those special Belgian or Godiva chocolates, get the drift, whatever is your fancy, indulge yourself and don't forget what mummy and in my case, also Sister Andretta drilled into us "practice makes perfect...'' organisation is not a one-time deal. Its a constant, and when you get on top of your disorganisation, it is much easier to stay ahead in the game.

Next topic: Streamlining paper flow.

*** Cindy Swan is a Professional Organiser with over 20 years of office administrative managerial experience. She is a Member of the National Association of Professional Organisers.