Use good structure to make a better impression

How organized you are can influence how others perceive you. This is what a study published not too long ago at the University of Michigan concluded.

During three experiments, 160 test subjects were asked to sit and wait in two different offices. The first one — referred to as ”office A” — was kept in good order with books and binders on neat rows in the bookshelves, clearly marked drawers, and a desk free from clutter. The other office — referred to as ”office B” — was in slight disarray during the first experiment with books that had toppled off the bookshelf, papers on the floor, and a clock on the wall that was an hour off. In experiment two and tree, office B was made very messy, uncleaned, and with even more miscellaneous items strewn about.

For you who prefer listening to reading, this post is also available as an episode of the “Done!” podcast:

Judging the book by its cover?

The people involved in the experiments were asked to estimate the personal qualities (based on the five-factor model) of the person whose office they were supposedly sitting in and whom they had not met.

In all three experiments, the test subjects concluded that the person who worked in the messy ”office B” was less organized and even less conscientious than the person who worked in ”office A”. In the second and third experiment, the test subjects even imagined that the person who worked in the now extra messy ”office B” was less friendly and less sympathetic than the person who worked in ”office A”.

So, except for the fact that your life tends to become a little easier when you are more organized, it appears to also influence how others perceive you.

If you are not as organized as you would like, this is as good a time as any to deal with it and make a change.

Do this

If you feel the time is right to do so, decide to clean and get your workspace in order right now.

First, decide what you feel is messy and needs to be cleared or cleaned up. It can be your office (if you have one), your desk, or some other place where your structure (or lack thereof) is visible. If you do not have a physical desk, you will have a computer desktop that people catch a glimpse of once in a while and get an impression of — they might, for instance, see it as you are about to show a presentation on a larger screen during a meeting and connect your personal computer to the big screen. I can assure you that an empty one always draws positive attention.
Then, decide exactly how much you will clean right now since you do not have all the time in the world for cleaning. Will you start with a specific area first such as a pile, a corner, or something that hangs on your wall? Or, will you clean and clear things out for a set amount of time (perhaps half an hour) and do as much as you can in that timeframe?
Finally, either start cleaning straight away or book a slot in your calendar sometime this week intended for making a move to become more organized (thus making sure you actually get around to it).
And lastly, when the order is restored, celebrate having made the improvement with something that makes you happy.

Multiple merits

If you keep your workspace nice and organized, you will — judging by the study mentioned above — give a better impression than you otherwise might. Besides, having good structure and being organized has a number of other benefits as well — for example, that you find what you are looking for faster or that you need not get distracted by all kinds of random papers laying on top of piles since you more consciously decide what you will have in your line of vision when working.

What is your way?

Getting and being more organized is great, by all means, but does it not tend to get messy again quite quickly? How do you ensure that what you cleaned and organized remains so? Please email me and share your thoughts.

(By the way, do you know that good structure actually can extend your life span?)

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