How many organizing books have you read? One, three, ten? Are you any more organized than you were before? Has the clutter magically disappeared? Can you find things easily when you want and quickly put them away when you’re done?

I hope so. But, if you’re like most people who are disorganized, I doubt you’ve seen much change.

Most disorganized people have a stack of books and magazines brimming with ideas for how to organize this thing or that sitting on a shelf gathering dust. Even if they’ve read the books they haven’t managed to follow the advice inside.

Obviously, you want to get organized or you wouldn’t have bought all those books.

So what’s going on here?

Two things I think:

First, in my opinion, many books approach getting organized all wrong. Sure they’re a decent source for organizing tips and tricks; well suited for organized people simply interested in honing their organizing skills.

However, for people wandering in a dense forest of true disorganization, acquiring more organizing tips and tricks is kind of like trying to cut down a tree with a nail file.

Disorganized people need more than tips and tricks to control the clutter and chaos invading their homes and offices. Their needs run much deeper.

What they need is a comprehensive approach to getting organized. A step-by-step program to help them understand, at a core level, how to be organized, where to start and exactly what to do. They need to know how to change their habits so they can actually stay organized once they’ve cleared the clutter.

They need all this from someone who understands what it is they’re going through; someone who has walked this same path before.

That’s why the people who read and follow my Organized For Life! program get such superior results. Organized for Life! provides a step-by-step guide designed to teach disorganized folks how to get organized so they stay that way. It’s practical approach builds upon the methods I used in my own transformation from a disorganized to an organized person.

As for the second reason organizing books don’t work, we can’t blame it all on the books and authors. I think some people are looking for the impossible — an organizing book magically able to do all the work itself.

I’m always amazed when I check in with someone who’s bought Organized for Life! to see how they’re doing and they tell me they are too disorganized to read the book. They like the idea of being organized better than the reality of getting organized.

Third, I think people get discouraged and give up too easily. Transforming from a disorganized to and organized person takes time. It means pulling the fabric of your life apart at the seams and rebuilding the habits, actions and routines that stitch your life together.

So if you’ve bought a stack of organizing books and still aren’t much closer to getting organized, don’t give up. Think about what’s actually going on. Perhaps you need a book better suited to your needs. Some books on getting organized are more likely to get you organized than others. Perhaps you need to adjust your expectations of your organizing project or maybe, just maybe you need to admit that if you really want to get organized you’re going to have to get to work.

Find out more about Organized for Life!

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Dana Rayburn is an ADD Coach and former Professional Organizer dedicated to helping adults get organized, outsmart their ADD / ADHD and live more successful and satisfying lives. Read more free articles about living successfully with ADD / ADHD.