Change isn’t easy and some folks can’t get motivated to change their habits until they’ve had a bad experience. For example, if you never get a checkup, you may not discover a medical problem until it’s well advanced. Some people avoid going to the doctor because they’re afraid their doctor will find something wrong with them. Anyone you know do the same?

When you’re working naked, a bad experience could be losing an account, missing an important deadline, or double-booking appointments with two important clients. Bad days are part of life, but you’re a lot less likely to experience these types of setbacks if you take steps to get organized.

• Be ruthless with your time. If you waste one hour each day, at the end of the year (subtracting two weeks for vacation—you deserve a vacation when you’re working naked), you will waste over 32, eight-hour days.

• Develop false deadlines. If you have a deadline at the end of the month, record the deadline one week earlier. You’ll eliminate the last minute rush to complete the project because you’ll have given yourself ample padding.

• Store items near the place they’ll be used. For example, keep printing supplies in one place and office supplies together rather than stashed throughout your home.

Don’t wait for something bad to happen to trigger you to get organized. Instead, do something now to change your bad habits. Although it’s easier to continue to do things the way you’ve always done them, there’s probably a better way.