8 successful execs share their best organization tips

Flickr/Juhan Sonin

You can try new ways to get organized, but when it comes to forming new habits, sometimes you just have to see what other people have done well, and then copy it.

Here, 8 successful people, from entrepreneurs to expert networkers, share their best organization tips.

1. Get tomorrow's outfit ready before you go to bed.

“Ever since I was in primary school, I set my clothes out the night before. I still do this. It just helps me get ready and excited for the next day. My closet is extremely organized, categorized by type of clothing, by season, and by color.”

— Janis Smith-Gomez, Vice President, Marketing for the Ethicon Inc.

2. Make lists all day long and share them with co-workers.

“I love lists. I make them all day, all the time. What works best for me is having lists everywhere. I email myself lists all day. I email lists to my team. I write them on my phone…Lists everywhere.”

— Linda Lightman, CEO and Founder of Linda’s Stuff

3. Meditate to focus your mind so you can organize better.

“This may sound strange to some people, but meditation is absolutely my #1 organizational hack. Sure, I do things like set three main focuses for the day so I can stay intensely productive and only doing things that drive me toward my bigger vision, and I also have a calendar always available that shows me an overview of my whole year as well as each month, but nothing helps me stay organized like meditation.

Here’s why: When your mind is focused, it’s amazing what you can achieve. I can sit in meditation for 10 minutes and solve a problem or organize things that would have taken me at least an hour to if I was just sitting at the computer.

Meditation brings me the crystal clarity, and has been the biggest contributing factor to organizing what has become a very hectic schedule with multiple projects always being juggled.”

— Natalie McNeil, Emmy Award-winning Media Entrepreneur and Founder of She Takes on the World